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HQ:
Emperor's Champion
AAC
[140]

Marshal
Artificer Armor, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer, Terminator Honours, Holy Orb
[170]

Elites:
(5) Terminators
2x Cyclone Missile Launchers, Chainfist, Tank Hunters
Drop Pod
[300]

(5) Terminators
2x Cyclone Missile Launchers, Chainfist, Tank Hunters
Drop Pod
[300]

Troops:
(8) Crusader Squad
8x Initiates
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Plasma Gun, Frag
Drop Pod
[187]

(8) Crusader Squad
8x Initiates
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Plasma Gun, Frag
Drop Pod
[187]

(8) Crusader Squad
8x Initiates
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[191]

(8) Crusader Squad
8x Initiates
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[191]

(8) Crusader Squad
8x Initiates
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[191]

Fast Attack:
Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

[1997]

So, the idea here is that the Typhoons are on table first turn, letting me put the Marshal and EC into reserve with one of the Crusader squads. The rest of the army Drop Pod Assaults - The Marshal, EC, and both Terminator Squads drop in first, most likely. Tank Hunter CMLs and TML give it a bit of reach, but its most assuredly a close-combat army. With army-wide Rage, it should hit suitably hard in combat. Its major drawbacks seem to be lack of mobility, which the CML/TML only lessen slightly, as well as the same weakness many armies have with flyers currently. The Power Fists are not able to be challenged dead, so they seemed suitable, especially for the price and factoring in their four attacks on the charge should dent a lot of stuff.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I think it would be a fun army to try in a friendly game but I don't imagine it would be super competitive.

There is no AA support.

Your drop-squads are gonna sit a turn before they can assault. A smart player will assault you to counter your rage.

Like I said though, it would be fun to try it out.

I could be wrong, but i do believe that only half your army can be in reserve. Ill try to find the rule page and edit this post later whether i am right or wrong.

Ozomoto wrote:I could be wrong, but i do believe that only half your army can be in reserve. Ill try to find the rule page and edit this post later whether i am right or wrong.

The Drop Pod and the unit embarked upon it do not count toward the number of models you may have in reserve. Therefore the Marshall, EC, and 2 Speeders are all that would count should they be placed in reserve. So he must deploy 2 of those 4, of which he already said he would deploy the two Speeders so the 2 ICs could go into pods. He is well within the rules.

OverwatchCNC wrote:

Ozomoto wrote:I could be wrong, but i do believe that only half your army can be in reserve. Ill try to find the rule page and edit this post later whether i am right or wrong.

The Drop Pod and the unit embarked upon it do not count toward the number of models you may have in reserve. Therefore the Marshall, EC, and 2 Speeders are all that would count should they be placed in reserve. So he must deploy 2 of those 4, of which he already said he would deploy the two Speeders so the 2 ICs could go into pods. He is well within the rules.

Just out of curiosity, why do the units in the drop pod not count as being held in reserve?

Looks like an interesting list. I was experimenting around with a drop list. Its actually more effective then I thought. One drawback I would say is your Terminators. I would just start them on the table top, and save 50pts each for the pod. Just move them at shoot. They still have the reach you need with the CML.

BT Pods are 30pt.

BT Pods are 30pt.

Good point! well, then youll save 30 points then. I just see it as a little waste, unless they are dropped in first turn. But if you have to roll for there pod to come in, your losing out on a few rounds of shooting your CML. I always start mine on the board to get a few shots off. Yet then again, with night fight, you might have that on the first turn, so its a horse a peice i guess.

They come in first turn via Drop Pod Assault now. The two Terminator squads, along with the EC and Marshal squads.

I think I would go for assault cannons with tank hunter. It will be mostly be better for you. Though the range is a major issue.

Could you drop down to 4 troops.
One without a drop pod hiding behind an ADL with quadgun.
Then the points spared bring more typhoons, it is just the typhoons speed and range really help your drop pods.

Not a bad idea at all, actually. I am not a fan of even number pods, so I will need to rework the list a bit and I will post it later.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
HQ:
Emperor's Champion
[140]

Marshal
Artificer Armor, TH/SS, Terminator Honours, Bionics
[165]

Elites:
(5) Terminators
2x CML, Chainfist, Tank Hunters
[300]

(5) Terminators
2x CML, Chainfist, Tank Hunters
[300]

Troops:
(8) Crusader Squad (EC)
6x Initiates, 2x Neophytes
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[179]

(8) Crusader Squad (Marshal)
6x Initiates, 2x Neophytes
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[179]

(8) Crusader Squad
6x Initiates, 2x Neophytes
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[179]

(8) Crusader Squad
6x Initiates, 2x Neophytes
BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[179]

(6) Crusader Squad (Deploys on the Aegis Line)
5x Initiates, 1x Neophytes
BP/CCW, Lascannon
Drop Pod
[135]

Fast Attack:
Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

Fortification:
Aegis Defense Line
Quad Gun
[100]

[1996]

Just a revised list taking into account its weaknesses. Not sure if this helps them too much, but it might.

The Quad Gun can at least give them some sort of mediocre air defense, when coupled with lucky CML/TML shots if needed. The Plasma is mostly gone, but only because I don't trust a single Meltagun in a squad to open up a tank too often. This gives me a few more and they are AP1 afterall, so they can still shoot Terminators - just not as well.

Anyhow, thoughts?

HQ:
Emperor's Champion
AAC
[140]

Marshal
Artificer Armor, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer, Terminator Honours
[160]

Marshal
Artificer Armor, Storm Shield, Power Fist, Terminator Honours
[155]

Elites:
(5) Terminator Squad
2x CML, Tank Hunters, Chainfist
Drop Pod
[300]

(5) Terminator Squad
2x CML, Tank Hunters, Chainfist
Drop Pod
[300]

Troops:
(8) Crusader Squad (Marshal)
8x Neophytes w/ BP/CCW, Power Axe, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[186]

(8) Crusader Squad (Marshal)
8x Neophytes w/ BP/CCW, Power Axe, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[186]

(8) Crusader Squad (EC)
8x Neophytes w/ BP/CCW, Power Fist, Meltagun, Frag
Drop Pod
[191]

(5) Crusader Squad
Missile Launcher, Bolters
Drop Pod
[120]

(5) Crusader Squad
Missile Launcher, Bolters
Drop Pod
[120]

Fast Attack:
Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Bolter
[70]

[1998]

Another variant of the list I am debating on.

Why a Marshall over a Chaplain?

I understand having a Marshall is giving you a 10 LD all around, but with LoH, if you do get to charge you would get to re-roll all failed To-Hit rolls with the unit he is in.

I do think having the 5 man crusader crew with an Aegis and having an odd number of drop pods is in your favor.

I would hate to lose the pods on the Terminators for 2 reasons.

1) Without a Teleport Homer you face the risk of losing the whole squad to mishap, and putting 300pts in the deep 6 of the warp. The Drop Pods scatter, but they have that guidance system rule that means that even if you scatter over an enemy or terrain you get to move the pod the minimum required distance to avoid mishap, a nice piece of tech with such an expensive squad.

2) Having the additional pods on the termies drives up your total number of drop pods, meaning that you get more pods dropping on turn 1 under the new BT FAQ that grants Drop Pod Assault from the C:SM codex. This will ensure that more of your forces are slamming into your enemy on turn one instead of having to wait for them on turn 2 or later.

So my vote is keep the pods on the Termies, otherwise fun list

Does it look competitive?

I agree with roguejm11, keep the odd number of pods, might want to look into swapping a Marshal for a chaplain, and see if you can fit in an ADL with quad gun as you currently have no AA. You don't even have to start with men manning it and can have on of the second round of pods drop a squad there so they can counteract fliers in the second turn.

 Instinctual wrote:
I would hate to lose the pods on the Terminators for 2 reasons.

1) Without a Teleport Homer you face the risk of losing the whole squad to mishap, and putting 300pts in the deep 6 of the warp. The Drop Pods scatter, but they have that guidance system rule that means that even if you scatter over an enemy or terrain you get to move the pod the minimum required distance to avoid mishap, a nice piece of tech with such an expensive squad.

2) Having the additional pods on the termies drives up your total number of drop pods, meaning that you get more pods dropping on turn 1 under the new BT FAQ that grants Drop Pod Assault from the C:SM codex. This will ensure that more of your forces are slamming into your enemy on turn one instead of having to wait for them on turn 2 or later.

So my vote is keep the pods on the Termies, otherwise fun list

There is NO risk to using Drop pods at all for the Mishap table... put your pod 13'' from any table edge and that is it.

This may be a bit forward, but if you mishap on your own accord with a drop pod, you are a moron.

Also you are taking 1-2 5 man squads of terminators and you are taking Cyclones, you should just have them on the table at the start of the game shooting.

 Roguejm11 wrote:

 Instinctual wrote:
I would hate to lose the pods on the Terminators for 2 reasons.

1) Without a Teleport Homer you face the risk of losing the whole squad to mishap, and putting 300pts in the deep 6 of the warp. The Drop Pods scatter, but they have that guidance system rule that means that even if you scatter over an enemy or terrain you get to move the pod the minimum required distance to avoid mishap, a nice piece of tech with such an expensive squad.

2) Having the additional pods on the termies drives up your total number of drop pods, meaning that you get more pods dropping on turn 1 under the new BT FAQ that grants Drop Pod Assault from the C:SM codex. This will ensure that more of your forces are slamming into your enemy on turn one instead of having to wait for them on turn 2 or later.

So my vote is keep the pods on the Termies, otherwise fun list

There is NO risk to using Drop pods at all for the Mishap table... put your pod 13'' from any table edge and that is it.

This may be a bit forward, but if you mishap on your own accord with a drop pod, you are a moron.

Also you are taking 1-2 5 man squads of terminators and you are taking Cyclones, you should just have them on the table at the start of the game shooting.

The only thing I would worry about here is that if the rest of the army is in the pods, and your opponent gets first turn, any long range firepower he has will be raining down on your expensive terminators. In addition, they will be out of range to use their storm bolters, or to reasonably threaten an assault unless you are at the forward edge of your deployment zone. However, the further forward you go, the more of your enemies weapons can focus fire on your 2 temrmie squads, significantly increasing the risk of losses. By placing them in the pods they will avoid the problem of being the only thing on the board, will deploy synergistically with the rest of your army, will still be able to fire on you're first turn, and will be close enough to your other drop pod units to support them in close combat. Me, I'd probably opt for the assault cannons anyway, with TH and a chain fist they should make short work of most tanks. Just my 2 cents

Well, CMLs help remedy range issues. Highly mobile armies will evade my footslogging units once they hit the dirt. Also, as far as flyers go - if I can get a vast majority of my army in their deployment zone, they will need to move on over 18", meaning they need to take some seriously oblique angles to fire on me, making their maneuvering somewhat more difficult (in theory). Also, Linebreaker and First Blood should be easy for me to get.

With DPA, my CMLs will be shooting in the first turn without much of a loss for targets. They should be able to weather the storm a lot better now to with the 2+ meaning as long as I neutralize units like Vindicators and Plasma Cannon/Guns, I can apply a lot of pressure.

My area is all very pro-IA unit currently and I see a lot of organized events going that route too. How about adding in a Hyperios unit of three missiles and a command emplacement? That would solve my anti-air issues for only about 150pt. Is it worth knocking out some CMLs for that and maybe going for Assault Terminators?

The Hyperios might be better than a ADL and Quad, just don't know the rules for them. Do you have a link? Also, do they require you to provide a crew or can you just put them in the backfield and let them handle their business unsupervised?

 Instinctual wrote:
The Hyperios might be better than a ADL and Quad, just don't know the rules for them. Do you have a link? Also, do they require you to provide a crew or can you just put them in the backfield and let them handle their business unsupervised?

Pretty sure they don't need a crew - but I can't recall. They are in IA: Aeronautica and have Skyfire, Interceptor, and Heat Seeker. Also, with the Command upgrade, they can each shoot a different target. So, they are pretty awesome. The big issue is that the unit would set me back about $100+ from Forge World.

 Roguejm11 wrote:

 Instinctual wrote:
I would hate to lose the pods on the Terminators for 2 reasons.

1) Without a Teleport Homer you face the risk of losing the whole squad to mishap, and putting 300pts in the deep 6 of the warp. The Drop Pods scatter, but they have that guidance system rule that means that even if you scatter over an enemy or terrain you get to move the pod the minimum required distance to avoid mishap, a nice piece of tech with such an expensive squad.

2) Having the additional pods on the termies drives up your total number of drop pods, meaning that you get more pods dropping on turn 1 under the new BT FAQ that grants Drop Pod Assault from the C:SM codex. This will ensure that more of your forces are slamming into your enemy on turn one instead of having to wait for them on turn 2 or later.

So my vote is keep the pods on the Termies, otherwise fun list

There is NO risk to using Drop pods at all for the Mishap table... put your pod 13'' from any table edge and that is it.

This may be a bit forward, but if you mishap on your own accord with a drop pod, you are a moron.

Also you are taking 1-2 5 man squads of terminators and you are taking Cyclones, you should just have them on the table at the start of the game shooting.

Ah, no. The Drop Pod's rules only move it away from impassable terrain, but not troops, so going off the table isn't the only way to mishap.

Even at $100, that would add some spectacular flexibility to your army. Getting to shoot 3 fliers a turn for 150 points seems to be points well spent! The only additional question I would have is what are their survivability and range? Are they treated as vehicles, emplacements, do they have AV or wounds?

 Godless-Mimicry wrote:


Ah, no. The Drop Pod's rules only move it away from impassable terrain, but not troops, so going off the table isn't the only way to mishap.

My BT Codex says that the scatter stops 1 Inch from anything that would cause it to be destroyed -other than a table edge. So yes, the only way to mishap is going off the table edge.

 Instinctual wrote:
Even at $100, that would add some spectacular flexibility to your army. Getting to shoot 3 fliers a turn for 150 points seems to be points well spent! The only additional question I would have is what are their survivability and range? Are they treated as vehicles, emplacements, do they have AV or wounds?

T6 3+ with 2 wounds, I think. I can't recall 100%, but they should be somewhat durable.

Edit: They are artillery. BS3 w/ a S8 AP3 48" range missile. Heat Seeker gives it re-roll to-hit for fast skimmers and flyers. It is a FA choice too, a slot I am not really using.

These are really useful for giving Marines some solid anti-air power, I think. However, I am also debating on a Mortis Contemptor. It is much more expensive (by about 100pt), but it can choose to not move and shoot air targets or move and shoot ground targets. This would probably necessitate a Dread Drop Pod, which is another 70+ pts or such. That would basically replace a single Terminator squad and I am not sure its worth that.

Hmm, was mulling it over and came up with the following list, tell me what you think

HQ:

Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge (140pts)

Marshal w/ Power Weapon and Storm Shield, Orb of Antioch, Artificer Armor, Terminator Honors (416pts)
***4 Man Terminator Command Squad w/ 2x Assault Cannons, Chain Fist, Tank Hunters, Drop Pod

Elites:

5 Man Terminator Squad w/ 2x Assault Cannons, Chain Fist, Tank Hunters, Drop Pod (300pts)

5 Man Sword Brethren Squad, 2x Bolt Pistol and CCW, 2x Storm Shield and CCW, 1x Lightning Claws, Furious Charge, Drop Pod (201pts)

Troops:

(2x) 8 Man Crusader Squad w/ bolt pistols and CCW, Melta, MM, and Drop Pod (178pts each)

(2x) 8 Man Crusader Squad w/ Bolters, Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon, Drop Pod (184pts each)

Fast:

Land Speeder Typhoon (70pts)

Hyperious Missile System as Described (150pts)

If I did my maths right that should be an even 2k

The way I figure it, you are going to have 7 drop pods, which means 4 on first turn. I'd slam down both of the Terminator Squads, and the Melta Boys or Plasma Boys depending on the opponent and the availability of Armor targets. The Marshal and his squad unload, and if needed he can throw the orb (auto glance on vehicle, decimation for anything non 2+ armor save). That's 8 assault cannon shots and 4 storm bolter shots, and the orb, most likely on the rear or side armor of a tank, or strait to the face of any MEQ targets. I don't think the missiles are realy necissary as you have the chain and power fists if you need them to pry open a land raider, and the assault cannon is better against all commers. Plus, witth all those drop pods and the Hyperious you don't need to worry about reach, just throw a 2nd or third round pod at any small units sitting on out of the way objective. The other termie squad does the same (2 more storm bolter shots, no orb). The crusader squads can either go for a kill on light armor with side / rear shots, or open up a can of whoop ass on infantry, you pick your poison. The next round you move your Termies forward and Slam the EC and his Sword Brethren Squad as close to the hardest target you have left, the shields and tartget saturation should keep them alive long enough to get the champion stuck into CC the following round. The Typhoon can either deep strike or play the backfield to protect the missile defense system.

I think this gets at the gist of what your going for, gives you plenty of scoring bodies, Provides strong squads to support both the EC and the Marshal, and has the bonus of plenty of anti tank and anti air capability The Crusader squad special and standard weapon load outs can of course be altered to suit, bolters for hoard opponents, CCW and bolt pistol if you're looking to get everyone stuck in. I'm a fan of plasma for 6th, cause you can sit back and unlload on enemy infantry and with Drop Pod deployment you're almost garunteed side/rear armor. I prefer to stay clear of Power Fists on characters now as you need the higher initiative for duel, so stick with the sword. The termies will have more than enough power fists to go around.

What do you think?

Not nearly enough scoring bodies! I think I am giving up on the Templar option for my Drop lists until they get a re-vamp, because the Wolves are just better in almost all regards.

Honestly you may be right on that. Hope itcomes soon!