5th edition 40k made deep striking a LOT safer and more productive than earlier editions. That having been said, however, it is still a scary proposition for most. Unless there is a locator beacon (or similar functioning device) on the table, many commanders simply won't drop their troops onto the table. The reality of the matter, however, is that deep striking is really not as dangerous as people think it is. Take a look at the picture below:
If you click on the picture, you'll see that in this drop pod example (ignoring the guidance system for the moment), you're going to land right on target 33% of the time. When deploying, you're guys will end up right inside that little green circle with no worries. 50% of the time, you'll land within the yellow circle, which is just about the size of the pod. And 70% of the time you'll land within the red circle. Only 30% of the time will you land anywhere in the purple zone. You have a slightly better chance to land right on target!
And the same thing is also true for personnel:
Here you've got a vanguard squad that has dropped onto the table. 33% of the time they'll also land on target... 50% of the time they'll land within 5" of their target... 70% of the time within 7" of their target. For something like vanguard, who can actually
charge after they land due to heroic intervention, you've got a damn good chance of landing within range to pull off that charge.
So, what does this mean in practical application? Look at it this way... If you place this same squad just 5" away from your target squad, look at the possible scatter locations below.
Out of
all of the possible landing locations, the green areas are spaces where your charge may fail, but your squad will still be safe from mishap. If the squad lands anywhere in the red area, this means your squad will still be within range to charge the target squad... even if it scatters within that scary 30% range of 7-12" of scatter. And there is only a tiny area of the possible scatter locations, almost all of which lies outside the 50% scatter distance range, which will actually cause a mishap.
And this is with a
regular squad's deep striking ability. If this was a Blood Angels squad, your full scatter distance would actually be
inside the red circle by 1" -- which would allow you to attempt to land even closer to the target squad with less probability of scattering into a dangerous area.
Regardless, I hope the pictures above give a clearer example of just how safe deep striking really is. The vast majority of the time, you'll probably have a safe landing... provided you pay attention to what
else may lie within that circle of scatter, of course.
