Drop Pod army vs Iron Warriors

[sanem]

Hi guys,

 

I’ve been out of 40k for over a year now, and want to take my pups out for a stroll.

I used to play 13th Company, so it’s mainly an infantry army. I’ll be taking it against Iron Warriors soon, and wanted to run some ideas by you guys, seeing how I’m pretty rusty. Here’s a concept list:

 

Troops

- Plenty of maxed Grey Hunter squads in drop pods (represented by Warp Portals, fitting with 13th Company fluff and I’m just cheap).

Plasma is my favorite assault weapon, good for shooting both Marines and flank/rear armour.

Most squads will have a Wolf Guard with power fist. One or two will have two assault weapons and go for some juicy rear armour or a Daemon Prince.

Every unit will receive either a Wolf Standard or Mark of the Wulfen, boosting their hitting power.

I’ll send along a Rune Priest with Terminator Armour with a unit, using his Jaws of the World Wolf to snipe at his beloved Obliterators and Daemon Prince.

 

- One 5-man Grey Hunter pack, flamer, Wolf Guard with Terminator Armour and cyclone missile launcher.

These guys act as a mobile fire base, giving covering fire on the move, holding objectives on my side, and fending off units coming after my Long Fangs.

These could also be Blood Claws, but I prefer the tactical flexibility of the Grey Hunters.

I could also give this unit a drop pod, deep striking or coming up from the table edge as is needed.

 

Elites

- Wolf Guard, some with power fist to join the Grey Hunters, others with no upgrade to act as Long Fang bodies, one or two with Terminator Armour and cyclone missile launcher for fire support, one of which usually ends up on his own, using sniper tactics.

Btw I don’t give my Wolf Guard combi-weapons.

 

- Two Dreadnoughts with drop pods, assault cannon and heavy flamer, to mess up the enemy line.

 

- Lone Wolves I won’t take because they can’t keep up, Scouts I don’t like that much and they don’t contribute to the Drop Pod Assault.

 

Fast Attack

- Maxed pack of Swiftclaws led by a Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter. They also get an Attack Bike, a power fist and a flamer. Optionally a Wolf Guard with power fist.

Do bikes with two close combat weapons get the extra attack? I can’t find a rule that says they can’t. If so you get 40 attacks on the charge with re-rolls to hit, plus the power fist and power weapon attacks.

Fast and deadly these guys are to support my Drop Pods were they are needed most.

The Saga of the Hunter combined with Turbo Boost gives the unit a 2+ cover save, according to the last 5th Edition FAQ. In combination with T5 and being Fearless, I figure this is worth the hefty cost.

 

- Land Speeder, multi-melta and heavy flamer outfit, these get close and personal, generally messing up the enemy battle plan.

 

Heavy Support

- 3 full units of Long Fangs, armed mainly with missile launchers (excellent weapons) and heavy bolters (expendable wounds), with some lascannons and plasma cannons thrown in for some specialized shooting.

All units get a Wolf Guard for the extra wound, and so I can get that second cyclone missile launcher.

These guys will sit in my deployment zone and give fire support, drive back any advancing units, maybe absorb some valuable heavy weapon shots.

Is it interesting to give these guys Drop Pods? It would help get more Grey Hunters/Dreads on the table on turn one, but then the Long Fangs would come up on turn 2 at best. I understand you can have them come up from the table edge while the Drop Pod deep strikes? If so I can just deploy them on turn one, keeping most other units in reserve.

[CainTheHunter]

Except that HQ on bikes don't get Saga of the Hunter. Unfortunately.

Also, I assume You know that plasma is rapid-fire, not assault weapon.

[sanem]

yeah I realised that too, buzz kill :P

but I still like the idea of Swiftclaws + Priest: faster, thougher and more hitting power than Skyclaws for 7 points extra per model

if my opponent keeps everything in reserve, they give me the needed mobility to counter my enemy's moves

 

plasma gun gives a nice double shot after deep striking, but I'll try some melta+plasma combo's, cheap and effective

maybe add a plasma pistol for some serious anti-MEQ/medium armour busting

 

I'm still thinking on how to counter the all-in-reserve anti-drop pod assault tactic

- Long Fangs in pods is expensive, and they'll never start shooting on the first turn

but if my enemy stays in reserve, I can deploy them first, moving up from the table edge while using their pods to create choke points (is that legal, or do they have to be in the pods?)

if the enemy deploys everything, they'll start coming in on turn 2, which is a shame. but this does give me more units to deploy on turn 1, and I can deploy them anywhere I want, like behind my assault units on an enemy flank, so they can give maximum covering fire

Edit: - or small Grey Hunter squads in pods, but again that's an expensive solution

[nurglez]

drop pods have to come in via drop pod assault or the remainders as reserves, the squads they are bought for have freedom, so you can buy a squad a drop pod and deploy the squad, then drop the drop pod in empty on the first turn.

[Sarapham]

plasma gun gives a nice double shot after deep striking, but I'll try some melta+plasma combo's, cheap and effective

 

 

Mixing Plasma with assault weapons is generally a bad idea since you lose out on assaulting if you use the plasma, or lose out on the plasma if you assault.

[sanem]

thanks for the pointer nurglez: I re-read the rules on p67 and p94 BBB, and from what I understand units and their dedicated transports are considered to be seperate units; the only exception is that the transport a) doesn't take up a slot and :) they can only come in from reserves carrying their squad + IC

 

so I can always set up any unit during deployment and deep strike their drop pod empty. good to know!

 

Sarapham, good point on mixing, I'll keep that in mind