Drop Pod Assault

[Clone]

I currently have 4 Drop Pods, thanks to the Wife this Christmas, and am going to buy another so I have 5 and 3 can arrive 1st turn.

 

What are the best units to put in a Drop Pod? How do Pods fare with delivering CC specialised units such as Bloodclaws or WG?

 

I recently ran a list with 3 Pods, which held 2 Dreads and a GH squad. The Dreads did well and the GH's mopped up a few things but I am not sure what would be best to fit another 2 Pods. Maybe 5 TDA WG and another GH squad, or 9 WG plus an IC/Ragnar and a GH squad.

 

My main opponents will be Orks, Infantry based Guard army, New Nids and a Mech based Guard army.

[Sarapham]

I think the two best units you can put in a pod are firstly 10-man GH with 2 meltaguns, as they can pop a tank or an infantry squad and then be a major pain in the backside when they come down and are not that expensive if they all should die.

 

The second I think is a dreadnought of some kind. I like to drop down with a Multimelta or plasmacannon with a DCCW and heavy flamer to really give the opponent something to think about.

[Thunderpup]

How well does an all Drop Pod army work? Seems like a very Space Marine thing to do.

[Gondlir the Wandbearer]

They're a bit hit-and-miss, though I want to try one with Ragnar one of these days - it's supposed to be his forte, after all.

Plus, landing within charge range and giving your oppponent only one turn to shoot at you *has* to be good for something with an assault force.

[Grimfoe]

I'm considering putting Logan in a drop pod with Long Fangs. He grants relentless and they can then pop two tanks on a good turn. To be sure, you could add a Wolf Guard with a Combi-Melta, that would grant 6 melta gun/multi-melta shots on turn 1 or three shots each at two targets.

 

For the second pod put Njal in Terminator armor and a squad of CC terminators. The Wolf Guard can have TH/SS for survivability and give one a cyclone in addition to the TH/SS. This will allow two str 8 shots and D6 Str 7 shots on the turn they arrive.

 

For the rest of the pods, I'd place 10 man grey hunter squads with 2 plasma guns.

 

You could through in a dread as well, if you'd like. I think you'll already have plenty of anti-tank, though.

[Sarapham]

I'm considering putting Logan in a drop pod with Long Fangs. He grants relentless and they can then pop two tanks on a good turn. To be sure, you could add a Wolf Guard with a Combi-Melta, that would grant 6 melta gun/multi-melta shots on turn 1 or three shots each at two targets.

 

 

Great trick when you come down, not as great when Logan becomes completely alone in your Foe´s turn from all the LF dying horrible deaths ;)

[Inoki]

The Wolfguard has a hard time coming out of a drop pod, mostly because you can't assault with them out of the pod. Once they come down, they'll have big targets on their heads. That being said, you can make some tactical choices to keep them out of harm's way until you can get into the assault. Terminator armor will help survivability, but there much better options to put in those pods then wolf guard.

 

Grey Hunters and dreadnoughts are arguably the best thing to do, if only for tank punching.

[Grimfoe]

The Wolfguard has a hard time coming out of a drop pod, mostly because you can't assault with them out of the pod. Once they come down, they'll have big targets on their heads. That being said, you can make some tactical choices to keep them out of harm's way until you can get into the assault. Terminator armor will help survivability, but there much better options to put in those pods then wolf guard.

 

Grey Hunters and dreadnoughts are arguably the best thing to do, if only for tank punching.

 

I think this post and the one above illustrate my point on why you need both the Wolf Guard AND the Long Fangs. With both of these squads in play on turn one (plus a dread or a GH squad) your opponent will have to choose his fire carefully. If he shoots your long fangs, your terminators are free to charge and wreck havoc. (Be sure to land the termies right next to Logan so he can split off and go with them on turn 2) If your opponent decides to shoot your termies, he'll have a hell of a time trying to kill them and the Long Fangs will be left to shoot away. Logan can stay with them if you need str 9 melta guns or he can go with the remainder of the terminator squad.

 

 

If you saturate an area and decimate your opponent in that area, you'll likely survive both squads with only a few casualties. Then Logan and Njal will be free to rampage around the board for the remainder of the game.

[Clone]

Would people recommend using 5 pods against horde armies like Nids and Orks? I would get into combat quicker and I could always drop the pods away from the enemy so it would give me a turn or two before we're in assault range of each other.

[Grimfoe]

I think the more the better. I've also had good luck with the deathwind launchers against hordes. I'm not sure if they're always worth the cost against other armies, but if you go all pod and no mech, you'll probably find the points.

[Grey Mage]

I currently have 4 Drop Pods, thanks to the Wife this Christmas, and am going to buy another so I have 5 and 3 can arrive 1st turn.

 

What are the best units to put in a Drop Pod? How do Pods fare with delivering CC specialised units such as Bloodclaws or WG?

 

I recently ran a list with 3 Pods, which held 2 Dreads and a GH squad. The Dreads did well and the GH's mopped up a few things but I am not sure what would be best to fit another 2 Pods. Maybe 5 TDA WG and another GH squad, or 9 WG plus an IC/Ragnar and a GH squad.

 

My main opponents will be Orks, Infantry based Guard army, New Nids and a Mech based Guard army.

Wow... and your going DPs with those opponents? Your a Brave Man.

 

Still, lets see what we can do here....

 

Dreadnaught- Assault Cannon+HF, EA, in a DP- 165pts. Its cheap, flexable, and tough.

Dreadnaught- MM+HF, EA, in a DP- also 165pts, flexable and tough... but if your opponent isng using vehicles its quite the waste... so Id go with the AC.

 

10 GHs- 2x Meltagun, Powerfist, Standard, Drop Pod- 225pts, about average for a scoring unit with good all around capabilities- you can rapid fire troops, bust open tanks and transports, and take the charge very well.

10 GHs- 2x Plasmagun, Powerfist, Standard, Drop Pod- 230pts, better against light vehicles *like chimeras* infantry and monstrous creatures *because of more shots* and a good solid unit all around.

 

Wolf Gaurd are decent in DPs... though I reccommend a mix of PA and TDA models to give you some more bodies if your doing this- 5 PA, 1 HQ, 2 TDA is a nicely balanced setup in my opinion, but everyone has their tastes.

 

Dont splurge just on DPs though... theyll want good support- after all the higher the point values the more of your forces are in reserves at the start. To compensate for this take Landspeeders- gauranteed heavy weapon support from turn 1, with good speed to make up for your post drop walking. I reccommend MMs, MM+HF, and Typhoons for DP lists, as theyre always solid choices and the typhoon especially can help cover your but turn 1.

 

Scouts are another great option, able to infiltrate close and give you some more anti-armor shots, and provide some nice reserves if you want. Snipers, CC, Tankbusters... theyre all useful in DP armies *if only we had 2x Elites slots*.

 

For HQs you cant go wrong with a Wolf Lord once you hit about 1750, but before that I reccommend Rune Priests and WGBLs to keep the price tag low and cover your bases- rune priests willl help vs enemy psychers, and stormcaller can be a big help turn 2 against IG. WGBLs on the other hand are cheap and killy- wich is really all you can want from a hero right?

 

Hrmm.... thats the basics for DPs IMHO though.

[lunchb0x]

I like 2 dreads on turn 1, and then blood claws/grey hunters/terminators for the rest.

[Valerian]

I\'m considering putting Logan in a drop pod with Long Fangs. He grants relentless and they can then pop two tanks on a good turn. To be sure, you could add a Wolf Guard with a Combi-Melta, that would grant 6 melta gun/multi-melta shots on turn 1 or three shots each at two targets.

 

Grim,

 

I\'m not a huge fan of this tactic/\"trick\". Sure, you might get a good chance to land and destroy two vehicles with your Long Fangs, but you have to assign Logan Grimnar to them to do it. Afterward, what are you going to do with Logan to get him to make a difference for your army? I suppose that you could just have him charge in by himself, while the Long Fangs get shot up from their up close and now vulnerable to the enemy positions. Not really worth it to me.

 

You could just as easily keep the Long Fangs back in good Base of Fire positions to take advantage of their longer ranged Heavy Weapons, and then just drop in several Grey Hunter packs with Melta Guns with/without Wolf Guard Leaders with Combi-Meltas to kill those same vehicles.

 

Dreadnaught- Assault Cannon+HF, EA, in a DP- 165pts. Its cheap, flexable, and tough.

Dreadnaught- MM+HF, EA, in a DP- also 165pts, flexable and tough... but if your opponent isng using vehicles its quite the waste... so Id go with the AC.

 

Yep, both of these are great choices. Remember that you can target that vehicle you are trying to destroy with your Heavy Flamer, too, and if it just happens to cover some vulnerable enemy infantry, then your are getting a lot more for your money.

 

10 GHs- 2x Meltagun, Powerfist, Standard, Drop Pod- 225pts, about average for a scoring unit with good all around capabilities- you can rapid fire troops, bust open tanks and transports, and take the charge very well.

 

A slight variation to this is: 9xGH - 1xMeltagun, Power Weapon, Standard + Wolf Guard Leader w/ Combi-Melta and Power Fist, all in the Drop Pod.

 

This second option is more expensive, and is only something that you are going to do if you are already taking a Wolf Guard Pack. If you are, however, then the advantage here is a higher Leadership, 1 more attack with the Power Fist, and an added Power Weapon in the unit. Combined with the Wolf Standard, enemy forces will hesitate in assaulting you, because they\'ll know that your pack (especially with easier to achieve Counterattack) is going to give them a thumping in close combat.

 

 

Dont splurge just on DPs though... theyll want good support- after all the higher the point values the more of your forces are in reserves at the start. To compensate for this take Landspeeders- gauranteed heavy weapon support from turn 1, with good speed to make up for your post drop walking. I reccommend MMs, MM+HF, and Typhoons for DP lists, as theyre always solid choices and the typhoon especially can help cover your but turn 1.

 

Also don\'t forget that your Land Speeders can Deep Strike and still shoot in this edition (it wasn\'t allowed in 4th Edition). Thus it isn\'t too hard to drop a Speeder within 12\" of an enemy vehicle and lay the Multi-Melta hurt on it. If your Speeder gets destroyed immediately afterward, who cares?

 

Scouts are another great option, able to infiltrate close and give you some more anti-armor shots, and provide some nice reserves if you want. Snipers, CC, Tankbusters... theyre all useful in DP armies

 

As stated, Wolf Scouts are an excellent support unit for a Drop Pod assault style force.

 

 

 

V

[Quillen]

Going to address 3 diferent posts here.

 

First. I did the Logan Grimnar with Long Fangs. It was not all that. Really wasn't, It won the fight, but it was close. They will not get shot more then if they were in the backfield somewhere. Long Fangs always draw fire. No cannon fodder to shield them. I have yet to try him again. Might run him in the Tourny in Feb. But will be doing alot of testing for it first. Trun 1 he gave them relentless and then turn 2 tank hunter. All the enemywas dead at that point. I was lucky thou and had 2 of the last 3 pods come in turn 2.

 

Second. I pod all the time. And I usually pull a solid win to a close win. I have lost 2 or 3 games podding ( out of like 50 games). And it was because the pods failed to show. And when they did they deviated way from where I needed them. So Podding can win a game. If you do it right. It's all about bringing the pain when and where you want to. So you have to focus fire and think a turn ahead. Like chess. You have to have an idea of where things will be to use a pod list.

 

Advantages are: You pick the place of the fight. You are off board till you land, so no sniping. You can supprise them and they have to play your game and react to you.

 

Disadvantages is your putting alot of faith into dice and dice can screw you 7 ways till Sunday. So you're betting you will get what you need when you need.

 

 

If something you don't need comes down you have to think fast and figure out how to use it best.

 

So pods can be powerful, but are at the whims of Dice.

[rodgambit]

I've recently been thinking about using pods to represent "the gate" for my 13th company army. I tried footslogging and it was ok but I play eldar and guard a lot and having troops in the open is just brutal. I'm gonna try a pod list but the more I see troops stuck in the open the more I think rhinos are the way to go. In my game last night my buddy was harassing a unit with his jetbikes and farseer and I had to come out of cover to try and force the action and get into close combat, unfortunately as soon as they got into the open he dropped off a dire avenger squad and wiped them off the board with doom and bladestorm. When I play IG I'm always fearful of Marbo, hot-shot or plasma troops or ordance. In 2 games Marbo has showed up and wiped an entire pack with his demo charge each time. I'm trying hard to stick with my 13th fluff of gating or footslogging but rhinos are looking more and more appealing.

[commander alexander]

Personally, Grey hunters with a pair of meltaguns and any other options you want are a great choice, they can reasonably take out any unit they land next to in one "free" turn of shooting. They are also troops, the more the better! :(

 

P.S.~ Ive always had fun (and success) with dreadnoughts, especially if they have a plasma cannon, heavy flamer, and now woolftooth necklaces :D

[Harald sternmark]

had a game against orks yesterday and first turn podded 2 dreadnoughts upgraded to have 2 x h.flamers each...lots of orks doing the burny dance!!

 

was using the rules for the lucius pattern pod...nice!! held up two 30 boyz mobs while the rest of the force podded in quite safely to mop up the rest of the greenies..

 

must try a deathwind pod or 2

 

my 2 cents...go with dread for the first wave

[Brother Captain Kezef]

I have a 5 pod army.

 

first wave is as follows:

 

WL: TDA, 2xWC, belt, bear, wolf necklace

WG: TDA, 2xWC

WG: TDA, TH, SS

WG: TDA, FB, SB

WG: TDA, WC, AC

 

2x Vennies each with T-L Las, extra armour, wolf necklace.

 

the other 2 pods each have a 8 man GH pack led by a WG for a nice 9 man objective squad.

 

2 AC/MM landspeeders finish the 1750 list.

 

I find it's nice, nasty and effective.

[Battle-Captain Garro]

I have a six pod army, 3 units of Grey Hunters w/Wolf Guard, Blood Claws w/Wolf Priest, Terminator Wolf Guard, Venerable Dreadnought. Already deployed are a unit of 5 Scout Snipers w/Fenrisian Wolves loitering nearby to add CC punch should they be assaulted. I just finished building all the troops and have 2 out of 6 drop pods built. They are really time consuming to build!

 

I was pleased to come across this thread as I've been wondering whether the army would have a hope. It seems that it will rely on dice...I'm screwed! Don't really care though, the thought of all those drop pods slamming into the table to disgorge my frothing Wolves is too good to pass up :P

[Valerian]

My main opponents will be Orks, Infantry based Guard army, New Nids and a Mech based Guard army.

 

 

Clone,

 

Are you playing against friends (I'm guessing that you are, since you already know who your main opponents will be). If so, and if nobody cares if your list changes around, then I'd recommend some variation, depending on who you'll be playing. Against Orks and Nids, I would be less inclined to Drop Pod in the entire army, or even the majority of my units; simply put, I'd prefer to keep my distance and use my ranged weaponry to attrit his forces as much as possible. That is not to say that it wouldn't be alright to Drop one or two things, like Dreadnoughts for example, but make sure you only send in something that is durable enough to do its job (whatever job it is that you want the unit to do). You could, of course, send in empty Pods to block LOS, divert enemy maneuver, and harass them with their Storm Bolters.

 

Against the Infantry-heavy IG, and the Mechanized IG, then an all out Drop Pod assault would be fine; it allows you to get close to assault the infantry, and destroy the vehicles with melta weapons or close combat, which is what you probably want to do against them anyway.

 

V

[Thylacine]

I just added another three DP's to my list to make 4 troop and 2 dread, the dreads land with HF, EA and MG or Tl-LC, three of the troop pods carry GH's with 2 MG's and the other 2 Flamers. The 2 flamers backed up by bolters can lay down some hurt if they land close.

 

Scatter is your big problem and opposition troops held in reserve, this can be countered with OBEL scouts and a cross-fire or fresh troops going into assault.

 

A DP list is a good thing but it can be a one trick pony, I am not brave enough to take it to a tournament as I know that after my first win I would be facing the hard core tournament players who would eat a list like this. It is fun and I am still working out better builds for this list. Lone Wolves seem to get under the skin of some people try walking them up the table in TDA with a SB and CF.

 

BTW There is some good advice in the posts above.

 

Have fun!