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Ok how many are best to use. also won't they just get shot down by quad guns then hole unit dies.

Ok, you want to field drop pods in odd numbers, 1, 3, 5.

You don't have to worry about loosing your guys on arrival, the interceptor skyfire combo that allows you to shoot at units arriving from deep strike doesn't happen until the end of the players movement turn. So you enemy can shoot at the pod, or fire four AC shots at your departing marines, which is not to scary with a 3+.

Moving to tactics, cheers!

Things to run in Drop Pods:

Combi-weapon Sternguard.
Ironclad Dreadnoughts.
Tactical Squads (if in an all Drop Pod list)

Things not to run in Drop Pods:

Tactical Squads (in non-all drop pod lists)
Venerable/Normal Dreadnoughts.
Thunderfire Cannons.
Vanguard Veterans.
Pretty much everything else that's not an Ironclad or Sternguard Veterans.

Crazyterran wrote:
Things to run in Drop Pods:

Combi-weapon Sternguard.
Ironclad Dreadnoughts.
Tactical Squads (if in an all Drop Pod list)

also, for you Fenrisian:

Grey Hunters
Wolf Guard


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 TheLionOfTheForest wrote:
Ok, you want to field drop pods in odd numbers, 1, 3, 5.

You don't have to worry about loosing your guys on arrival, the interceptor skyfire combo that allows you to shoot at units arriving from deep strike doesn't happen until the end of the players movement turn. So you enemy can shoot at the pod, or fire four AC shots at your departing marines, which is not to scary with a 3+.

All of this is quite true.

The former is true so that you can have the majority of your drop pods arriving turn 1.

Crazyterran wrote:
Things to run in Drop Pods:

Combi-weapon Sternguard.
Ironclad Dreadnoughts.
Tactical Squads (if in an all Drop Pod list)

Things not to run in Drop Pods:

Tactical Squads (in non-all drop pod lists)
Venerable/Normal Dreadnoughts.
Thunderfire Cannons.
Vanguard Veterans.
Pretty much everything else that's not an Ironclad or Sternguard Veterans.

While I agree with you for the most part, I think normal dreads have a place in pods. Your basic MM/DCCW(HF) dreadnought works well in a drop list. While an Ironclad obviously does the same job better, the basic dread does it cheaper.

Another thing to consider, particularly with dropped tacticals, is that you choose when and where they land. So you can have one tricked out with melta to drop next to tanks, and another one with flamers and a HB to drop next to infantry.

Don't forget you can combat squad the sternguard and also get to deploy six inches out from it. I like to have one half melta and one half plasma. One pops transport and the other can shoot up the enemy elite infantry.

Also, the six inch helps get the flamer into the best spot to wreck infantry when you land.

iam still very new with drop pods. i normal have very bad luck with them and up all over the place. am use to running more of a meq gun line where i fight more defensive. I use my rhinos to get to the objective and then hold it . if i was to run drop pods i have 4 tac squads two armed for ant inf and two for ant tank one ten man sterngaurd with i few combi melta 2 dreads one ant tank one ant inf. and a ten man tac termys

One thing to consider when dropping is concentration of fire and local superiority. You want to land, and land hard. Anything near the LZ you need to mess up so bad, that when it's their turn, they can't muster the firepower to kill you. This is why sternguard work well. Anything that's taking the full rapid fire, particularly if you click off the combi weapons, is going to feel the love.

If you land front and center and just kind of irritate your opponent, his next turn his entire army is going to focus fire you off the table.

But if you drop 2-3 pods off on one side and blow an entire flank off his army, he's not going to have anything that can hit you effectively. He might be able to move something and take a few random shots, or the shattered remains of what you blew up might get a few rounds off. But it should not be a concentrated, point blank retribution.

This is why sternguard/fragnought turn 1 drop for the BA works decently well. My turn 2/3 pod usually has a tac squad for actually trying to win.

the trick is usually to have two squads of sternguard, both combat squaded hitting the same location in the line. Each can have a different target and should do enough damage to blow up heavy weapons, transports, or troops. They will take a beating the next turn, but they should do enough damage to give you an edge in the game. If you can make units fall back and off the table, then even better. I have manage to take out devastors and thunderfires pretty easily with the sternguard.

I don't drop dread at all anymore. They show up, do nothing and die next turn. I'm better at working them up the board with cover and using longer range weapons. I've had good luck with TLLC and ML to blast away enemy vehicles.

Tac squads in drop pods are good for later in the game. Drop them directly onto objectives and hold your ground with them. I don't combat squad these and try to get them spread out to minimize blast weapons or exploding drop pod.

I've had great effects also with dropping 2 tac squads and a devastator squad right next to enemy units. Not much can survive 30 marines blasting away at rapid-fire range. Plus, the MM can now snap-fire which gives you 4 shots to try and get a lucky hit. Next turn your going to be a real threat no matter what.

If you drop a fragnought, It can massacre a squad the turn it shows up. I guess the vanilla marines don't have anything quite a short range shooty as that, though.

I like to stick with meq army but ever one i play says that drop pods are only way to play marines now i got to buy 7drop pods spendy. I real like playing my army defensively use rhinos to get to objectives and hold even use my stgerngaurd in rhinos but i guess that ant how to use them

Sternguard work in rhinos too. It's just that people like to pop the rhinos. But the sternguard even has extra range ammo. Everyone forgets about it, but they have it. It can be tricky to pod them in in many battles, too. You can't afford to make them the suicide sternguard. They cost too much for that.

I think a cheaper stern guard are more usefull as the got all that ammo