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Do they have interceptor? If not they can't fire at ground units at full BS correct?

No they don't, and therefore, no they can't.

 Paradigm wrote:
No they don't, and therefore, no they can't.

Except skimmers.

 Eldarain wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
No they don't, and therefore, no they can't.

Except skimmers.

Why skimmers? They aren't considered flying..

The Skyfire USR specifically states it applies to Fliers and Skimmers.

 Dalymiddleboro wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
No they don't, and therefore, no they can't.

Except skimmers.

Why skimmers? They aren't considered flying..

I guess they figured they kind of are with the vaulting tall buildings without penalty. But then you'd think it would work against Jump Infantry Jet Packs/Bikes etc. *Puzzled*

Skyfire: A model with this special rule or that is firing a weapon with this special rule, fires using its normal Ballistic Skill when shooting at Flyers, Flying Monstrous Creatures and Skimmers. Unless it also has the Interceptor special rule, it can only fire snap shots against other targets.

The inability to shoot at all targets with full BS is heavily reduced by the tiny point cost of these units and the high likelihood of fighting an army that has at least one flyer, FMC , or a skimmer .

I think the Stalker is pretty nice other than the fact that it takes a TFC slot. And yes, marines have TFC slots, not heavy slots.

Martel732 wrote:
I think the Stalker is pretty nice other than the fact that it takes a TFC slot. And yes, marines have TFC slots, not heavy slots.

Artillery with wounds and giving it barrage where mistakes in my mind.

Mistakes? How so?

Stormravens eat up two of my Heavy Slots. Null deployment Salamanders keep me from running TFCs in my "TFC slots".

Edit: The OP's questions were answered about Interceptor. I like my Ravens for my AA and they do well at firing at 2+ Sv Models and Light/Heavy tanks. I love my Ravens. I hate the models but I built custom Salamander ravens from Lizardmen Carnosaur models. Solves my AA and ugly-model problems. They do a good job killing FMCs and Riptides as well. It's 200 pts each, but when I build a list I start 590/1850. Vulcan and 2 Ravens.

I've played with null deployment a substantial amount. Don't you find the piecemealing to be a big problem?

Martel732 wrote:
I think the Stalker is pretty nice other than the fact that it takes a TFC slot. And yes, marines have TFC slots, not heavy slots.

Try the siege assault vanguard list. You'll get four heavy slots (but only two fast attack).

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Space_Marines/Siege_Assault_Vanguard

There you go. 4 heavies!

Martel732 wrote:
There you go. 4 heavies!

You can also get Marines who can reroll their armor saves against shooting, thus letting you laugh at weight of fire.

Combine with Iron Hands or Red Scorpions to get FNP too and thus make plague marines look like pansies.

Surprised I don't see this more. This is FW right?

Martel732 wrote:
Surprised I don't see this more. This is FW right?

Yes, the rules are free ATM.

Give it a go. It's quite fun and surprisingly balanced.

I used to be quite anti-FW but after Eldar/Tau and then Tyranids on the other end, it literally can't get much worse.

Martel732 wrote:
I used to be quite anti-FW but after Eldar/Tau and then Tyranids on the other end, it literally can't get much worse.

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/S/Siege_Assault_Van.pdf
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/F/FWchaptertactics.pdf

All the stuff you need besides the rules for specific FW units.

With a SAV you can actually more or less run your codex SM army as is (minus bikes). Though you can spam tanks to an extent only the Imperial Guard can even consider matching.

12-24 Predator annihilators is totally a thing you can field.

Stormravens are also fast attack so you can spam more HS.

@Martel, My alpha strike was: Command, 10man Stern. and 10 Stern. Both Sternguards have 4 C-Meltas each, and my Command had 5 Meltas with Vulcan tanking Interceptor shots (most of the time).

Between the Meltas and Special Ammo, I usually get First Blood and cause some damage. I've found that doing damage is what's most important, not necessarily killing everything on Turn1. Most players go into Drop Pod armies thinking, I need X pods turn1 and need to nearly table them. If I don't do enough damage turn1, I lose.

I only run 5 pods, knowing my first 3 WILL do damage. Then Turn2, (even if it comes in piece meal) I'll have 2 Ravens with 3 AP2 shots, 4 Rending shots a piece (missiles are AP2/Concussive). 2 Tacticals with Melta/C-Melta, 3 Grav bikes (or Legion w/ C-Grav/Plas/PC) and 2 5man naked Scouts for late game. (1850 example)

The trick to an army with drop pods isn't killing lot Turn1 or tabling, but killing the targets that need to go.

Turn 1 targets: Skyfire/Interceptor, Skyfire only, Interceptor, AP3 blasts.
Turn 2 targets: The same as turn 1, THEN High mobility units, Ignore Cover weapons, Troop removers (barrages, etc)
(Rough strategy example)

After I kill the AA, my Ravens have free reign over the board. Turn 2/3, I pick my target priorities. Turn 4, I fly off. Turn 5, I fly on and deep strike scouts near objectives and run. Turn 6/7, I clear contesting units (high mobility targets, etc).

They could come in piece meal, but even if they do, you have answers for the enemy's firepower. With mobility and firepower from Ravens, you'll be surprised how durable and deadly they can be. I keep my troops bare minimum. They aren't what the enemy is going to go after. There are too many other threats that need to be dealt with. If they choose to go after the troops, then my AP2 stays alive.

Just curious, what happens with bubble wrapped AA? I just find putting units in Stormravens to be a suicide pact. Raven's aren't durable at all. I've used Ravens a lot. I'm not impressed.

Also, I would interceptor the squads without Vulcan, so he can't tank a thing.

If the AA is bubble wrapped, you kill the second best target. The ravens come in parallel to the board edge and don't shoot anything Turn2 with the Ravens. Clear the bubble wrap. Or come in Hover mode and just shoot the 2 S8, AP2 missiles.

Edit: Tau's ranges aren't that far, 36" usually. The parallel trick helps against the normal Skyfire Heavy Burst cannons. The Skyrays can shoot 72" but it's hard to bubble wrap the 24" MM on the ravens. If they do, use LOS, etc. It's not hard to out position your opponent. On another note, bubblewrapping Skyfires with O'vesa star lists are pretty difficult to do. There are only 4 riptides and 2 suits on the board (troops usually in reserve, 3man crisis, and 4 singles, plus 10 kroot). The list mentioned in the top GT Tau list currently. Interceptor is brutal, but with average rolls, can be handled with a drop pod list with Ravens.

The sternguard have 6 red shirts each for interceptors. So you won't kill my 5 meltas on the Command and you won't reach the C-Meltas in my Sternguard. The good thing about interceptor is you KNOW what the enemy can shoot at. You know what's closest to every enemy model.

Hmm interesting. I still feel like getting your initial three pods of units blown off the table is a concern.

I've been playing 5 pods (3 on turn1) for about 6 months. Even against Tau, I've never come close to being tabled on Turn1. After the interceptor, I'll lose roughly 10 marines. Sometimes less depending on spacing and my armor saves (against the SMS). Against other lists with assault oriented units, I'll deploy 24" away and take my single shots. The C-Meltas are Mastercrafted so I'll get my rerolls on 8 of the shots.

I can see how 3 pods doesn't seem like a lot on Turn1, but even if I deployed poorly and lost every single marine, I'd still have 3 pods that they have to target separately and with 12/12/12, they are hard to kill without decent weapons.

As I mentioned before, the alpha strike isn't what kills your enemy. It might not even kill any units, but it WILL weaken what needs to be weakened. Turn 2, when the reinforcements come it, it will finish off what's left. If their AA gets hurt Turn1 and Turn2, your Ravens and scoring scouts inside, have the upper hand for the rest of the game. It's a list that's built for attrition. There have been a lot of games where the Ravens and scouts are the only thing left of the board and I can consistently squeeze out wins.

About 6 months ago, I would have agreed that Ravens go down fast and putting squads inside is suicide, but how this particular Salamanders list works (and using parallel flyer deployment, as described above), the Ravens rarely go down.

I'm not worried about tabling per se as just losing so many marines. You get to shoot with your three units, then they shoot back with their entire list because none of your reserves have shown up.

It's good to hear some marines getting the better of Tau, though, even if they aren't BA.

I guess in a "worst case scenario" approach, none of my reserves would come in and it'd be getting dicey. But they will come in eventually and you'll just have to target priority a little better.

Marines are going to die there is no preventing that. If you run drop pods enough, you'll get used to taking them off the table. But the real question is how much damage did they do before dying. Also, if they are intercepting with 4 riptides, they don't have much to shoot with on their turn. When you reinforce with more reserves, they might intercept again, and you get to "pick" which models they are going to shoot at. (Red shirts (meat shields) in the front etc.)

As for my 3 squads versus their entire army's shooting. It's not that bad, if its Dawn of War, you drop to one side, if it's Vanguard, you drop to one side, if possible or pod your 24" away and wait for reserves and see how much you get. There are a lot of LOS blocking terrain in GTs now. It's nice.

 Kain wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
I used to be quite anti-FW but after Eldar/Tau and then Tyranids on the other end, it literally can't get much worse.

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/S/Siege_Assault_Van.pdf
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/F/FWchaptertactics.pdf

All the stuff you need besides the rules for specific FW units.

With a SAV you can actually more or less run your codex SM army as is (minus bikes). Though you can spam tanks to an extent only the Imperial Guard can even consider matching.

12-24 Predator annihilators is totally a thing you can field.

Stormravens are also fast attack so you can spam more HS.

And Centurion Devs are Elites, and Stalkers/Hunters can be in squadrons.

I'd miss the Drop Pods but this army type does it for me.

That army seemed SO broken until I read: The Siege Objective. Haha. Good luck.

Saythings wrote:
That army seemed SO broken until I read: The Siege Objective. Haha. Good luck.

The SAV is a list that separates Men and Women from boys and girls. It will cause children to instantly develop into adults due to it's sheer awesome.

I wouldn't mind playing against it

My meltas will finally be able to blow up entire squadrons. I always end up overkilling single tanks anyhow

It's not even the squadroned tanks, that's just a part of it.

It's the Troops option that has double specials and Land Raiders for transports, plus the options for the additional HS slots.