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I'm talking space Marines here, what units are beat suited to this type of builds? What chapter tactics are beat suited? Is it still a viable strategy?

Drop Pods


Automatically Appended Next Post:
^ Sorry, I just had to xD

I think Salamanders are the commonly used tactic for drop pods.

It's a very viable strategy, and very fun to play to boot.

Units:
Sternguard in Drop Pods are absolutely awesome. Load up on combi-weapons, drop, combat squad and slag two targets with melta/plasma volleys. Great againts vehicles, MCs, even infantry if you save the combis and use flamers.

5 Assault Marines, Drop Pod, 2 flamers. Much like the Sternguard, these guys are all about damage on the drop. After that, they're best at tying up weak units that will take a while to kill them.

Honour Guard can still shoot on the drop, can fit a good-sized squad and a beatstick Chapter Master in a single Pod, and will be in combat T2 if you play aggressively enough.

Command Squads loaded with Plasma/Melta can work like Sternguard, with the added bonus of keeping the Special Weapons.

Thunderfire Cannon seems an odd choice, but it gives you covering fire for the drop and an extra pod slot. Now that pods are scoring, this is great, and it allows you, if needed, to manipulate the number of pods to get maximum effect on the first wave.

As always, Tactical Squads will form the backbone of the army.

Chapters:
Imperial Fists: you've got a lot of bolters, why not give them re-rolls?

Iron Hands: IWND on Objective Secured Drop Pods is awesome.

If you're open to Forge World CTs, Carchadons allow you to turn your Tactical Squads into assault Tactical Squads with extra CCW for 1 ppm, which, given the close range you'll be fighting it, is as useful repelling a charge as taking it.

I may be reading it differently then I should have but you seem to be saying that I can combat squad stern-guard after the pod drops, is that a thing? Iron hands would work quite well, or sallies if I'm going heavy flamer what gear should the tactical squads have?

Well, as two halves of a combat-squadded unit can share a transport, you put both in the same pod and then drop out and nuke 2 targets from one pod.

For the Tactials, I'd take a couple of squads with melta/Combi-melta/Multi-melta for tank-slagging, and maybe a Flamer/Combi-flamer/HB squad for anti-infantry.

And with the amount of flamers doing the rounds are salamanders the chapter you'd reccommend?

Salamanders with Vulkan (for the Melta re-rolls) are a good pick that I forgot in my first post here; they Master-crafted combis give you more chance of getting that one shot off, and Vulkan's melta ability can help with the MM on the drop.

But without vulkan its not as viable?

It's still good without Vulkan, as good as any Pod list, but the re-rolls on melta are great when you're packing so much of it as most pod lists do, and are relying on early damage. It just helps get around the 'anything but a 1' syndrome which plagues melta weapons far too much.

Yeah I know where your coming from there mate just I'm planning on running Silas alberec and while I can choose chapter tactics playing exorcists it wouldnt fit the theme taking another special character

Fair enough then. Sallies CT still helps with the flamers. Out of interest, what does Alberec do? I've not really looked at him.

Pedro kantor + sternguard + drop pods = awesome..
What's not to love about objective secured sternguard as goes for their drop pods

and ofcourse a couple of tact marine drop pods ^^

He's a strength five space marine captain with basic 3+/4++ who gives his unit and himself feel no pain against anything daemonic, psyker or chaos and wounds all daemons and psykers on a 2+ with his thunder hammer. Also has a teleport homer

Sounds pretty nasty, especially to high-T Chaos beasties.

I havn't seen anyone mention my favorite, Ironclads in drp pods. So deadly with meltagun/HF or dual HFs depending on your mood.

 buddha wrote:
I havn't seen anyone mention my favorite, Ironclads in drp pods. So deadly with meltagun/HF or dual HFs depending on your mood.

How did I forget those guys? Yeah, they're awesome.

One of my fondest memories of the filthy Xenos is a whole Tau flank running from a single Ironclad after I nuked the one thing they had capable of penning it. 'Twas glorious.

 Paradigm wrote:
Sounds pretty nasty, especially to high-T Chaos beasties.

Oh and he has a four plus deny the witch against force weapons, instant killing daemon princes for the win

I like using Ultras in drop pods.

Sternguard, tacticals, honor guard, and a couple of iron clads. Maybe marneus, maybe a chapter master, but with the amount of re-rolls that Ultramarine tacticals can get it is pretty nice and Calgar makes that a lot better, especially if you roll that re-roll trait.

Calgar really only gets good in 1850+ lists, otherwise you actually lose alpha strike potential.

I play salamanders albeit casually.One thing i like to do with the assault sqad in a pod is to give a plasma pistol to the sarge...
It may look expensive but a minimum squad will rarely survive the turn after the drop.
Even when there is a bigger threat, opponent seem to erase them out of spite.
With that in mind i think the the extra shot is worth it and is invaluable for the opportunity to get a wound on a tanking model.
Of course with the salamanders CT you get to MC the plasma pistol wich is essentially twin-link for a single shot weapon, add a thrown grenade to the mix and you get a good amount of firepower out of a 5 man squad costing only 110 points with the pod...I am not sure it is worth it with the other CT s tough.

Another thing i cant wait to try (still have to play a game in 7th), is using a deathwind missile launcher on my dreads pods, it has a very low probability to damage the dread even if it scatter and hit the back. I have been hoping since 5th ed for this upgrade to be kind of usable.

My normal list is half drop pods, half long range fire support

My Standard list usually includes three drop-pods. Using Sentinals of Terra

Tac Squad, 10 man, Heavy Bolter and Meltagun
Tac Squad, 9 man, Plasma Pistol gunslinger and plasma gun add a librarian with biomancy
Sternguard, 9 man, heavy flamer, and combi-weapons. Also has an Inquisitor attached for Divination(prescience and perfect timing)

Then I have heavy weapons in the back for long range fire support.

The drop pods make it easy to go for objectives, and this is deadly against horde armies.