http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/69.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net On to pods.... I havent got the codex for either wolves or codex marines but I do plan on buying one pretty soon . I hear vulcan is great for an all pod list for his twinlinking madness... So what is the best way to play pods?
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They're an iconic part of the space marine mythos and they're great if you know that an opponent will be deploying in a certain area or way -- due to a scenario for example. But in a normal game I've found them a bit too easy to out manoeuvre or even ignore. Whilst they're fairly accurate they're not as reliable as getting unit X to Y as a rhino or razorback in my experience.

That said I have seen some quite nasty Pedro or Vulkan lists using them, mainly involving units of combi weapon armed sternguard.

Oh, one other thing : whilst the current marine codex does indeed let you squeeze 12 models in, as/when this codex is changed I would expect this to drop back down to 10 like all the other marine books. ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067724.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067724.page GMT MOTF list works well here. Hold 2 tac squads in pods for later game dropping onto objectives.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067750.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067750.page GMT
You have no control over whether or not you come in that first turn (so all someone has to do is reserve their army and thereby rob you of your alpha strike)

Once you land, none of your troops are protected by vehicles.

Basically, drop pods are a one trick pony. They deploy, and you drop in and shoot them a lot. The sad part is all they have to do is not deploy and they've beaten you 9 times out for 10. Other armies like grey knights can also mess you up pretty bad with things like warp quake.

The best SW builds are Shooty Mech armies, though TWC and Logan-wing can be competitive as well.

As for who does pods best...well, regular SM might be the best, buy SW are not far behind, since they can drop 6 pods on the first turn, which is a fair amount of units.

SM can get 6 pods coming in as well, but benifit from being able to combat squad their units, meaning that you could feasibly bring in 12 units of 5 on the first turn (assuming points allowed for that).

Sternguard, dreads and regular tac squads are the main things you want to drop in, and you can give pods to devastators to raise your pod count and just drop them empty in the later turns.

Vulkan is good in any list where you use a large number of thunder hammers, flamers and/or meltaguns.

Honestly i would not run a drop pod list. If you want a deepstriking army trying out blood angels. They do a pretty good turn 2 deep strike assault, and can also function about as well if they need to start on the board, which could be a good idea if the enemy reserves.



]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067761.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067761.page GMT SW are the best drop pod armies.

Not only are they very good once they drop inn thanks to cheap troops, counter attack and wolf banner or wolf guard combiplasma/melta spam, but the fact that you can take drop pods on the long fangsand dreadsnoughts means you can drop pods emty vs a enemy who do not deploy anything.

Loganwing DP is a one shot pony with logan and melta fangs and a terminator wing. It looks great but it underperforms I do think.

Be shure to take the 5+ cover save psycic power in a DP list.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067830.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067830.page GMT GT winning builds.
Nonetheless, there are advantages brought by drop pod lists too.

These lists typically (and understandably) focus on melta weapons for their anti-tank, and these weapons are considered arguably the best anti-tank weapons in the game. However, the main flaw of melta weapons is their short-range. This short range however is counter-acted by the drop-pods.
Thats one of the key advantages of drop-pods; they allow you to close the range arguably quicker than anything else in the game; therefore allowing your all important melta weapons to be in-range as soon as they arrive; very important for Dreadnoughts, Grey Hunters and Sternguard.

Similarly, Space Wolves IMHO excel within the 24" range, which they are pretty much in as soon as they arrive via drop pod. With counter-attack, 2 CCW's, Boltguns, Assault Weapons, Wolf Standards, MotW and Wolf Guard pack leaders; they are capable at close range and assault; both of which is difficult to avoid with the use of drop-pods.

Vulkan lists typically also revolve around the use of meltas and flamers (twin-linked), which therefore both benefit from the short range. Also combining well with MM/HF Dreads.

Pedro lists focus around the use of Sternguard; who are commonly best used with combi-weapons; the drop pod allowing them to get within range with ease. Where they excel here however is that they are scoring and combat-squad; the latter of which effectively easily allowing you to have 6 squads arriving on 1st turn, allowing you to target 6 different units.

Some armies loath to get within close range, such as Tau, Imperial Guard and arguably Necrons; the drop pods allow you to close this range instantaneously. Then again, do you want to be within 24" of a Tyranid, Ork or Grey Knight army?!

Drop Pods are typically a risk/reward strategy where you can win big; crippling the opponent with ease, or loose big; being left playing on the back for the entire game.

It's often best to maximise the number of units that can arrive 1st turn; which often means having a few units that don't pod in but can take pods themselves; such as Long Fangs, Dev's and Long-ranged Dreads - they up your drop-pod count, maximising 1st turn arrival but also provide some long-ranged support for such a list.

For Space Wolves, as a quickly calculated example:
- 8 Grey Hunters - Wolf Standard, Meltagun. Led by a Wolf Guard - Terminator Armour, Powerfist & Combi-melta.
This squad in a drop pod is 218 pts; includes a scoring terminator and effectively provides 2 meltaguns and very solid counter-assault potential.

At 1750pts you could easily include 4 of these units, all arriving 1st turn alongside 2 Rune Priests, supported by 3 Long Fang squads and/or Dreadnoughts.

Playing drop-pods isn't perfect by any means and it has A LOT of flaws, but it's not impossible to use either and it can seemingly complement some styles.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067978.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3067978.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069036.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069036.page GMT
However, they don't have the rule that half most show up on turn 1, so your opponent can't screw you by going into reserve.

It's not nearly as good as it was in 4th edition though. In 4th you could consolidate back into hth..and when black templar squads get shot they consolidate forward...]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069046.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069046.page GMT BT drop pods sound very cool. They have many of the same good points as SW and also they have 4x krak missiles with tank hunters. :-)

DP are not bad per say, they just need you to comit.


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BT drop pods sound very cool. They have many of the same good points as SW and also they have 4x krak missiles with tank hunters. :-)

DP are not bad per say, they just need you to comit.

Also, talk with "greymage" over at the bolterandchainsword he is good with SW drop pods.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069545.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069545.page GMT BT player is always in control of the tempo of the game. Some players prefer a "MaxBodies" approach to their Drop Pods, but I prefer the MSU style myself. More Drop Pod discussion.

In either case, huge amounts of finesse and cunning are needed to be successful with them. The Drop Pods themselves are not cheap ($$) and there is no guarantee that they will keep the favorable Drop Pod Assault rules in a new codex. But if you have the money and time needed to build such an army, you will do very well. Problem is, most people don't. lol!]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069755.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/382814/3069755.page GMT