Dropping an empty drop pod? And what about the doors?

[Tokunator]

Question A:

 

The Drop Pod rules on page 69 of Codex: Space Marines state that the hatches are blown as soon as the Drop Pod has landed, so does this mean that you have to deploy it with the doors open/ unfolded? The question arose during a game because my opponent thought that is was too much of an advantege for me to deploy the drop pod with doors open as this gave me a pseudo-fish of fury advantage where I could shot him over the doors (with a cover save as the doors obstruct part of the target unit) whereas he could not charge me without first walking around the doors which cover quite a large area. So do the doors have to be open and do they count as part of the model and thus as impassable as long as the Drop Pod hasn't been destroyed?

 

 

Question B:

Drop Pods always enter play using the deep strike rules (page 69 of the codex).

 

A dedicated Transport can only enter play carrying the unit it was attached to or EMPTY (page 94 of the Rulebook) If they are declared to be empty, they are rolled individually from the unit they are attached to (as you only roll for them together when they are carrying the unit they are attached to). --> So the rules actually explicitly state that it is possible to deploy a dedicated transport on its own, separately from the unit it is attached to.

 

So, now to the question:

 

Can I:

- deploy a unit at the beginning of the game and drop their pod on its own as soon as it becomes available (either on turn 1 or when the roll on the reserve table is passed)? --> The idea came to me because I wanted to seed the table with Locator Beacons without putting my units too close to the enemy.

 

- keep a unit in reserves and then deploy it as soon as it is available by entering the game from its own table quarter, whilst rolling separately for the Drop Pod?

[nighthawks]

A-

there's a lot of this question currently under discussion on the board - short answer appears to be ignore the doors when open (except for LOS purposes). reference the hull for distances to and from the pod, and let the enemy march over the doors. or maybe that's just my reading.

 

B-

nothing restricts dropping empty pods as was the case in the previous 'dex. the DA FAQ already clarifies that for that codex, this is a legal strategy. I haven't found anything yet in the new C:SM that makes it different for us.

[Stormcaller3801]

With the exception of making attacks from the vehicle, my understanding is that everything is measured from the hull, which should include the 1" inviso-barrier that prevents enemy models from touching the hull (unless they do so really, really hard. With an axe.) which in turn would mean that the doors of the drop pod are ignored for purposes of movement.

[Kadaeux]

Doesn't a unit HAVE to be deployed with its transport? Ergo they have to be in the Drop Pod as the Drop pod cannot be deployed normally.

[Tokunator]

Kadaeux: As I have shown above, the rulebook explicitly mentions empty dedicated transports, so they don't have to be deployed embarked and as the rulebook also mentions that troops and their transports are only rolled for together if the unit is embarked, it stands to reason that you don't have to be deployed with your transport.

[Mordekiem]

Yes, you can drop empty pods. Be careful doing so in a KP mission, though. But in other missions they can contest objectives. :(

[Gentlemanloser]

Can dedicated Transports contest objectives?

[nighthawks]

really - read the missions section of the BRB. ANYHTING that does not have a unit-specific (from the codex) special rule that says otherwise can contest objectives. yes, this includes DTs, even pods.