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Are Drop Pod lists dead?

Marneus Calgar (Antilocus) 285
8x Honour Guard (Chapter Banner) 270
Drop Pod (Reserve)

Tigurius 165
9x Sternguard 253
Drop Pod (Reserve)

10x Tactical Marines
Plasma Gun, Multi-Melta 200
Drop Pod (1st Turn)

10x Tactical Marines
Plasma Gun, Multi-Melta 200
Drop Pod (1st Turn)

10x Tactical Marines
Plasma Gun, Multi-Melta 200
Drop Pod (1st Turn)

10 Tactical Marines
Plasma Gun, Multi-Melta 200
Drop Pod (1st Turn)

8x Devastator Squad
4x Lascannon 227
Drop Pod (Empty Reserve)

Basically, 1st turn drop in 40x Tactical Marines within 12" of enemy.
that's 64x Bolter shots, 8x plasma shots and 4x Multi-melta snap shots; all of which are twin linked thanks to Tactical Doctrine.

Devastator Squad is there to crack open heavies or a transport to get blasted by the Tactical Squads.
Tigurius lets me re-roll reserves so I should get both his squad of Sternguard and Marneus in quickly.

second turn I can shift fire to any heavies still around as the multi-meltas will be full ballistic skill. Thanks to Marneus all my tactical squad shots 2nd turn will be twin-linked again.


I'm lacking anti air so thinking of dropping a tactical squad and the Drop Pod from the Devastator and picking up a Storm Raven for Marneus.

Open to suggestions that keep a focus on Drop Pods, They are the reason I play Space Marines. I play six armies and they are the only ones with Drop Pods

First of all, you're going about a Calgar list the right way; lots of Tacticals. Tiggy is brilliant in almost any army, so bravo there as well.

Most armies have a weakness; yours is AA. But look at it this way, if everybody does their job, his fliers are irrelevant. Barring helldrakes, anti-personnel damage output from fliers is usually low. Every army has a hard counter, so if you roll up against trip drake, try to alpha strike his land units, combat squad your own, spread out, and pray his big birds come in piecemeal.

One Stormraven isn't going to save you from your nightmare matchup. So I say, play to your strengths and let the dice fall where they may.

Take combies on the taq sarges

This is more or less exactly what I am thinking of doing as well! While Salamanders and Iron Hands really beef up the characters and the special weapons teams, Calgar benefits the core of your army, the greatly underappreciated tacticals! Also the ability to fail morale checks at will can let you overwatch big scary units, take your casualties, break away, fire at them and then overwatch them again when they assault you! I have lost more Dreadknights to retreating Ultramarine Tacticals than anything else out there!

Good luck with your army!

Drop Pod lists are actually one of the strongest ways to run Space Marines.