When deploying units or rolling for their arrival, the contents of one box on the Force Organisation chart is considered to be a single entity. In practice, a single choice on the chart may be several units. It might be a squad and their transport vehicle, an Imperial Guard infantry platoon consisting of a HQ squad and five infantry squads, or a brood of three Tyranid Zoanthropes. When deploying a single chart choice, the units that make up that choice may deploy separately from one another if you wish. When a single chart choice arrives from reserve, the units may similarly arrive separately from one another. Thus a squad does not have to arrive in its transport vehicle if you do not wish it do.

When deploying a unit or independent character on the table, you may specify that it is being placed inside a transport vehicle, subject to them being valid as passengers (see Vehicle rules).

When deploying an independent character on the table, you may specify that it starts the game already inside a unit and place it in coherency with it.

When deploying, players alternate placing units, and then alternate placing units with the Infiltrate special rule.

When all units are deployed, any that are entitled to a move before the game starts will make a move.

A note on secrecy. Your opponent cannot normally inspect your army roster, including asking you what is in each transport vehicle. Players are, however. free to share this information if they so wish.