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I'm in the process of finishing my Astra Militarum Army, but.. I have 3 Vanquishers and a Shadowsword... and no idea how I'm suppose to protect them from drop assault and deep striking units.
Usually I'd just stick a nice mean unit at the back with my heavy support and wait for them to bring it on But what's the best option to protect my assets on the back line with Militarum?

Only two things I can think of is gearing up my command squad (which I'm only using for the master of ordnance) with plasma or meltas, or running Bullgryns which seems like a lot of point sink.

So what's my best option?

Personally, I play only veterans. But what has worked for me vs. drop pods is a small defense force armed preferably with plasma or ap2/3 weapons. a few squads close to your tanks.. It's simple. Tanks and properly armed troops. When the drop pods try to land in your lines , you will be waiting and they won't stand a chance..

You could take Inquisator Coteaz

Castle in a corner and smother the tanks in bodies.

 Vespid wrote:
You could take an inquisitor with servo skulls

Inquisitor - 64
- 3 Servo Skulls
- Psyker Mastery Level 1
- Force Sword

Servo skulls don't stop deep strike. So... No?

Hydras.

An officer of the fleet for each company command squad you have would also help

 Vespid wrote:
Yeeessss they don't stop deep striking, but they do make them scatter more, making their deep strinking more risky and maybe puting them where they don't want to go or making them deep strike of the board or into terrain. And its a cheap option, that also gives you a cheap psyker that is well equiped.

Huh? The Codex: Inquisition servo-skulls reduce the scatter of friendly deep strikes and blasts, and prevents scouts/infiltrators using their special ability to get close. Do inquisitors from other books get anti-deep-striker servo skulls (ala scout speeder jamming beacon)?

 daBIGboss wrote:
I'm in the process of finishing my Astra Militarum Army, but.. I have 3 Vanquishers and a Shadowsword... and no idea how I'm suppose to protect them from drop assault and deep striking units.
Usually I'd just stick a nice mean unit at the back with my heavy support and wait for them to bring it on But what's the best option to protect my assets on the back line with Militarum?

Only two things I can think of is gearing up my command squad (which I'm only using for the master of ordnance) with plasma or meltas, or running Bullgryns which seems like a lot of point sink.

So what's my best option?

Guard have one of the best bubble-wrap options in the game, with Infantry Platoons. Get a blob of conscripts and space them around your important units so that drop pods or other deep strikers physically can't land near them. You have 2" of coherency with infantry models, which means you can spread 20 conscripts out to cover alot of ground. That means the turn they come in they're out of melta range on your tanks, and then you can either First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire rapid-firing lasguns or counter charge with a blob of fearless conscripts to tie them up for a few turns while you pick apart the rest of their army.

 GoonBandito wrote:

 daBIGboss wrote:
I'm in the process of finishing my Astra Militarum Army, but.. I have 3 Vanquishers and a Shadowsword... and no idea how I'm suppose to protect them from drop assault and deep striking units.
Usually I'd just stick a nice mean unit at the back with my heavy support and wait for them to bring it on But what's the best option to protect my assets on the back line with Militarum?

Only two things I can think of is gearing up my command squad (which I'm only using for the master of ordnance) with plasma or meltas, or running Bullgryns which seems like a lot of point sink.

So what's my best option?

Guard have one of the best bubble-wrap options in the game, with Infantry Platoons. Get a blob of conscripts and space them around your important units so that drop pods or other deep strikers physically can't land near them. You have 2" of coherency with infantry models, which means you can spread 20 conscripts out to cover alot of ground. That means the turn they come in they're out of melta range on your tanks, and then you can either First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire rapid-firing lasguns or counter charge with a blob of fearless conscripts to tie them up for a few turns while you pick apart the rest of their army.

This. And don't forget that enemy can't arrive 1" from your units. Most DSing units also scatter, so that reduces your opponent's choices for good DS places even more. Except for Drop pods, but those have pretty big footprint (drop pod + the unit it takes), so you can deny that too. For 150 points you'll get 50 bodies, that's a lot of space covered.

My droppod list has trouble with flyers and tempestus psions. Knowing the latter can come in from the back edge, or deep strike themselves with a teleport homer makes them a very too beta strike unit.

But yes, bubble wrapping is the best way to mitigate the initial damage, then the CounterPunch needs to be able to drop Marines quickly to ensure they don't get to run amok. (My drop pods have 9bloodclaws and a rune priest in them)

Don't use guardsmen for bubble wrap, use conscripts they're cheaper. For 60 points + 25 for a priest you should be able to surround any vehicle squad with objective secured troops, you won't be able to stop them from shooting your vehicles, but you should be able to keep them out of 6" melta range and block the assault.

I keep trying to make bullgryns work, and they're fun to mess around with, but jeez they cost way too many points. And ogryns are so much worse (seriously 5 points to go from 5+ to 3+ save is silly). They're great for fending off deep-striking crisis suits, not so great against marines.

Alternate ideas
- rough riders with 2x flamers, keep them reserve, then pop in and say hello
- armored sentinels with heavy flamers, when the enemy deepstrikes, they either have to shoot your juicy vehicles or the relatively tough sentinels. Then flame them and counter charge the next turn.
- hellhound, in reserves, pop in and say hello
- CCS with plasma and heavy flamer
- special weapons squads with flamers and demo charge
- PCS with flamers

Bring coatez stick with a blob behind an adl. Also dont be afraid of of rolling for night fighting, you have ignore cover anyway, that +1 can help armor live If they are nested in a adl

recently had some fun with a scion cs with 4 hot shot volley guns with coatez in a ruin next to prize assets.
The two pod lists I used this with (sm 3pod and sw 5pod)' we both two scared to go near this unit so podded less aggressively and went for units I deemed as less important

Take a 40-50 man guardsman blob,space them out at max 2" coherency where needed to make sure whatever comes out of the drop pods isnt within the 6" melta range of your vehicles.It wont work for grav guns since they have a much larger range,but you can avoid some of the damage by:

A) deploying your vehicles behind 4+ cover (ADL,buildings,ruins),rolling for nightfigthing for the +1 cover save,giving them camo netting for an extra +1 cover save.

B) if your opponents use ally shenanigans for ignore cover with tiggy or something similar,take ezekiel and his librarian conclave and take a PFG on one or more of them for a 4++ to models within 3" plus divination goodness,or splash cash on a void shield.

Do NOT take conscripts,they are not worth it.Yes,they ll bubble wrap your vehicles but that and tarpitting small elite units that lack volume of melee attacks are they only things they are good at,and while you might think that thats fine,its not.You are already paying 130 points for a barebones platoon to unlock conscripts,and that already gives you 20 guardsmen.Why spend extra points for conscripts when for slightly more you can get a blob of guardsmen that can take heavy,special or melee weapons and have a better BS to contribute more with their shooting?Also,20 guardsmen without support or extra weapons are worthless in anything other than occupying space on the table for the turn before someone sneezes at them and runs them off the table.So,instead of having one or two units of unreliable and
non threatening guardsmen,and one unit of non threatening conscripts,or having to spend extra points on supporting characters for both guardsmen and conscripts take a big blob of flexible guardsmen and be done with it.Conscripts would have been an excellent choice if they were a troop choice by themselves,but alas..

P.S. Coteaz is fantastic for his points;one of the best HQs in the game IMO.Great addition not only for his 12" HELLO RESERVES "BLAM" rule but for everything else he brings to the table.Definitely a good addition.

P.P.S. Bullgryns cost too much for what they do.Unless you really like them,avoid them.

They send in the next wave and drown them in bodies.

Fill the backfield with bodies, and they have nowhere to drop.

Seriously of all the armies you could carpet the land in soo much bodies that the drop pods just go nope and go back home.

50 man blob with 5 lascannons and Cortez will ruin the day of anything arriving via deepstrike. Add an Aegis of Defence line with a tl lascannon for Cortex and you are gravy.

Oh right

also if you want to get REALLY technical there are ways to make pod traps from 6th edition. im not sure if it works anymore but the concept is to build a ring that fits the pod exactly inside without letting the guys inside disembark properly (1" away) that way all models inside are DoA. it only works if they are dumb enough to start it inside, or scatter into them perfectly but its funny if it ever does work.

 Desubot wrote:
Oh right

also if you want to get REALLY technical there are ways to make pod traps from 6th edition. im not sure if it works anymore but the concept is to build a ring that fits the pod exactly inside without letting the guys inside disembark properly (1" away) that way all models inside are DoA. it only works if they are dumb enough to start it inside, or scatter into them perfectly but its funny if it ever does work.

That's sneaky.
But I'll have to try it now

That is awesome. Also, just use vets that are spread out. TBH, vets are probably the best troops in the game, and with the access to three plasmas or meltas, you should be able to deal with them.

Don't do what I dis once which is bunch up 40 guardsmen behind an ADL, and then have your opponent drop a salamander squad with loads of flamers and heavy flamers. End result was they all died, game over.