If you’ve logged into Rainbow Six Siege lately and spotted a new face popping up in your casual or ranked lobbies, you’re not alone. Players across all ranks have been asking who is the new operator in Rainbow Six Siege, and more importantly, how to use (or counter) their game-changing kit to climb the ladder. I’ve spent the last two weeks testing the new op across every map, both on attack and defense, to break down everything you need to know before you pick them for your next match.
Who Is the New Operator in Rainbow Six Siege? Core Background & Kit Overview
The latest addition to the Siege roster is Deimos, a 2-speed, 2-armor attacker hailing from the SAS, added as part of the Year 9 Season 1 update. His kit is built around hunting high-value defenders and forcing teams to split up to avoid his signature ability, making him a perfect pick for coordinated ranked teams and solo queue players alike. A lot of players initially assume the new operator in Rainbow Six Siege is a pure fragger, but he’s actually much more of a support attacker that enables the rest of his team to make plays.
He comes equipped with two primary weapon options: the L85A2 assault rifle, a fan-favorite with low recoil and solid mid-range damage, and the MP5SD submachine gun, a silenced option for players who prefer stealthy flanks. His secondary is the P226 pistol, and he carries two breach charges and one smoke grenade as standard gadgets. You can swap the breach charges for claymores if you’re worried about defender flanks while you focus on tracking targets, but most players stick with breach charges for extra map control.
Key Unique Abilities and How to Use Them Effectively
Deimos’ signature ability is the Death Mark, a deployable tracker that lets him mark one defender anywhere on the map for 12 seconds at a time. When a defender is marked, Deimos can see their exact location through walls, and the marked player takes 10 extra damage from all sources for the duration of the mark. The ability has a 45-second cooldown, and you can only mark one player at a time, so you need to pick your targets carefully. The new operator in Rainbow Six Siege doesn’t have an ability that can win rounds on its own, but used correctly, it can completely disrupt even the most coordinated defender setups.
For example, if you know the enemy team has a roam main playing Caveira or Vigil, marking them first lets your team push into site without worrying about a surprise flank from behind. You don’t have to be close to the defender to mark them, either—you can activate the ability from spawn if you know you’re facing a particularly annoying roam player that likes to hide in far corners of the map. But there’s a catch: the marked defender gets a notification that they’ve been marked, so they’ll know you’re coming for them, and their team can also see the mark on their HUD. That means you can’t just run straight at a marked player without expecting them to set up an ambush, or their teammates to rotate to cover them.
If you’re just starting out with Deimos, stick to these three high-impact use cases for the Death Mark to get the most value every round:
- Mark roamers before your team starts pushing site to eliminate flanking risks before they can disrupt your attack
- Mark anchor players holding the site entry point right before your team executes a push to make them easier to take down with combined fire
- Mark the last remaining defender in a 1vX scenario to track their location and avoid getting caught off guard by a last-minute flank or bait
Best Team Comps and Map Pairings for Deimos
Deimos works best in teams that have at least one hard breacher, like Thermite or Hibana, to open up site walls while you focus on hunting defenders. He also pairs extremely well with support operators like Thatcher, who can take out defender gadgets like Bandit batteries or Kaid claws so your breachers can do their job without interference. If you’re playing solo queue, Deimos is a solid pick even if your team doesn’t have a coordinated comp, because his ability lets you get picks on your own without relying on your teammates to call out locations.
As for maps, he shines on larger maps with lots of roaming space, like Consulate or Bank, where roamers can hide across multiple floors and waste your team’s time if you don’t track them down early. He’s less useful on tiny, compact maps like Clubhouse or Oregon, where most defenders stick close to site and there’s very little roaming space to take advantage of. If you’re playing on a map with lots of vertical play, like Villa, you can also use his mark to track defenders on different floors and coordinate vertical pushes with your teammates. Don’t waste your mark on defenders that are already pinned down by your team, though—save it for players that are out of sight and could cause problems later in the round.
How to Counter the New Operator When Playing Defense
If you’re on the defending side and the enemy team picks Deimos, you don’t have to panic—there are plenty of easy ways to counter his kit and turn his ability against him. First, if you get marked, don’t stay in one spot. Move to a new position with cover, and ask your teammates to rotate to cover you so you don’t get picked off by Deimos or his teammates. Roamers should carry impact grenades to create quick escape routes if they get marked far from site, so they can get back to safety before the attacking team pushes them. You don’t have to ban the new operator in Rainbow Six Siege every match if you know how to play against his kit properly.
You can also use operator-specific gadgets to counter Deimos effectively. For example, Mute’s signal jammers can block the Death Mark if you’re within their range, so if you’re a roamer, stick close to a jammer when you’re hiding to avoid getting marked in the first place. Vigil’s ERC-7 cloaking device also makes him immune to Deimos’ mark, so if you know the enemy has a Deimos, picking Vigil is a great way to disrupt their game plan. Another easy counter is to use bait positions: if you get marked, set up a tripwire or a C4 near your old position, then move to a new spot and wait for Deimos to push into the trap. Most players will run straight at a marked target expecting an easy pick, so you can catch them off guard if you plan ahead.
At the end of the day, figuring out who is the new operator in Rainbow Six Siege is only the first step to mastering their kit and climbing the ranked ladder. Deimos isn’t an overpowered pick that will win you every round automatically, but if you learn to use his Death Mark strategically and pair him with the right team comp, he can completely change how you approach attacking rounds. Don’t be afraid to experiment with his loadout and ability use cases in casual matches first before you take him into ranked, and you’ll be pulling off clean picks in no time.
