Drop pods and drop pod assault

[VinceBlack]

My question is simple, if you employ drop pods in your marine army are you forced to make a drop pod assault. When I looked at the rules it appears that if you employ drop pods you are forced to drop 1/2 rounding up the first turn and the rest as reserves arrive normally... If this is the case that really limits the usefulness of drop pods because although I have tossed around the idea of using a fully deepstriking army more often I just want them to arrive later in the game...

Read closely and tell me what you think, thanks.

[Dingareth]

At the beginning of your first turn, you must choose half of your Drop Pods to make a 'Drop Pod Assault.' Units making a Drop Pod Assault arrive on the player's first turn.

Why do we need to read closely? This is one of the most cut and dry rules in the book... If it doesn't fit your playstyle maybe consider a different army rather than trying to bend the rules? So, yes, you do have to send in half.

[BuFFo]

My question is simple, if you employ drop pods in your marine army are you forced to make a drop pod assault. When I looked at the rules it appears that if you employ drop pods you are forced to drop 1/2 rounding up the first turn and the rest as reserves arrive normally... If this is the case that really limits the usefulness of drop pods because although I have tossed around the idea of using a fully deepstriking army more often I just want them to arrive later in the game...

Read closely and tell me what you think, thanks.

You are trying to find a way to finagle the rules to allow you to drop your whole army turn one?

LOL

Read the rule. It tells you that you can't quite overtly.

It is powerful enough as is.

[Dingareth]

You are trying to find a way to finagle the rules to allow you to drop your whole army turn one?

Actually BuFFo, I'd say just the opposite. Reserve armies like Drop Pod and Demon armies are more powerful the later they come in, especially if they're a shooty army. It allows you to skip more of your opponent's turns giving less time for them to counter what you do.

[VinceBlack]

I didn't mean to sound like I am trying to drop everything turn one, in fact quite the opposite I would rather be able to hold reserves and deploy them in later stages... I believe this is a change from the last edition where drop pods were just a way to deepstrike troops and it just caught me by suprise. I will just have to revise tactics a bit.

[The Green Git]

You must drop half your pods, and you must round up. If you have three pods that means you drop two on your first turn. No exceptions.

This has to be one of the more clearly defined rules in the GW universe.

[StrikerFox]

I didn't mean to sound like I am trying to drop everything turn one, in fact quite the opposite I would rather be able to hold reserves and deploy them in later stages... I believe this is a change from the last edition where drop pods were just a way to deepstrike troops and it just caught me by suprise. I will just have to revise tactics a bit.

currently i think black templars have to keep their DP in reserve and dont get the droppod assault rule. if you wanted stuff to come on later, that might be your army of choice? XD

[Arschbombe]

All the variant chapters with their own codices lack this drop pod assault rule so all their pods go in reserve. I play BA. Sometimes I really wish I could bring in my DC furioso dread on turn 1 and sometimes I'm really glad I don't have to.

[StrikerFox]

All the variant chapters with their own codices lack this drop pod assault rule so all their pods go in reserve. I play BA. Sometimes I really wish I could bring in my DC furioso dread on turn 1 and sometimes I'm really glad I don't have to.

currently space wolves can use the space marines codex drop pods. i dont know how thats gonna be affected come october.. but i hope beyond hope that they dont make ALL the wolves HAVE to droppod.... *shudders*

anyhoo, yeah, so far all that i know is BT have to buy them for 50pts, and use them as in their own dex..

[Dosadi]

I'm hoping the rumour about all SW having to use drop pods if any are used is wrong. I can't see a fluff justification for it and I think it would be an unnecessary limiter on the SW list. I mean, they want to sell new plastic kits, not 1/2 new plastic kits and a bunch of drop pods (well, maybe they want to sell everything). On a similar note, I really hope SW can get TH & SS. I know quite a few people who will be ripping arms off models if they can't.

Back on topic; I've recently started dropping a pair of Ironclads on the first turn using a locator beacon on a Scout bike that turbo boosted into the enemy's deployment zone. It's nice to be able to put a pair of AV13 monsters right where you want them. Then the enemy army has to deal with them while the rest of your force sneaks up the field. In order to do this I have a third drop pod that comes down empty in later turns. Some people argue that I can't drop an empty drop pod, but I've yet to have anyone show me where it says I can't. It's the same as having an empty rhino really. Hrmmmm...this may not be on topic after all.

Anyway, to the OP; if you want more control over your drop pods then you will need to take more of them. It's as simple as that. I do wish that they had given the player the choice to round up or round down, that way it would be up to the player where the odd pod would go (first turn or reserves).


Dosadi

[Xas]

I'd like to add another dimension to the question:

do the squads have to be dropped in the pod?

example: I have a tac squad in droppod and a dreadnought in droppod.

can I do the following:
deploy the tac squad with the army from beginning and call down the dread turn1. keeping the tac's pod in reserve?

can I deploy the tac squad and call down it's droppod on turn1 as a "sentry turret" with a bacon, keeping the dread in reserve?


this would make stuff liek thunderfires and devastors in pods extremely suefull to "play" with the droppod assoult-slots to either call down your whole army on turn1 (bare a few empthy 35p pods) or keep the more close and personal stuff in for true reserve.

[Arschbombe]

You can drop empty pods. But you have to decide during deployment at the start of the game what units are going in what pods. It's the organizing the reserves part of deployment that requires you to make these decisions and tell your opponent. You can't decide on turn 4 when you make the roll for the tac squad and pod that now they're coming in separately.

[Dingareth]

Yep, my usual army runs three squads of Sternguard, Tigirius, and 2 Thunderfires with Drop Pods. In Kill Points missions I usually try to keep the two empty Pods from the Thunderfires in reserve as long as possible, so that the enemy has less time to get the points for them. But I still need them to bring all the Sternguard in on turn 1... so it's a compromise.

Also, you can use empty ones to bottleneck opponents and contest objectives.

[Ash]

You can't contest an objective with an empty Drop pod, right? I though empty transport vehicles can't contest.

[VinceBlack]

I'm hoping the rumour about all SW having to use drop pods if any are used is wrong. I can't see a fluff justification for it and I think it would be an unnecessary limiter on the SW list. I mean, they want to sell new plastic kits, not 1/2 new plastic kits and a bunch of drop pods (well, maybe they want to sell everything). On a similar note, I really hope SW can get TH & SS. I know quite a few people who will be ripping arms off models if they can't.

Back on topic; I've recently started dropping a pair of Ironclads on the first turn using a locator beacon on a Scout bike that turbo boosted into the enemy's deployment zone. It's nice to be able to put a pair of AV13 monsters right where you want them. Then the enemy army has to deal with them while the rest of your force sneaks up the field. In order to do this I have a third drop pod that comes down empty in later turns. Some people argue that I can't drop an empty drop pod, but I've yet to have anyone show me where it says I can't. It's the same as having an empty rhino really. Hrmmmm...this may not be on topic after all.

Anyway, to the OP; if you want more control over your drop pods then you will need to take more of them. It's as simple as that. I do wish that they had given the player the choice to round up or round down, that way it would be up to the player where the odd pod would go (first turn or reserves).


Dosadi


Actually if you look at the DA FAQ the question about dropping empty drop pods up and it is ruled legal. Now that is for the DA codex so you may want to start there for justification.

[VinceBlack]

You can't contest an objective with an empty Drop pod, right? I though empty transport vehicles can't contest.

Its considered a tansport... if you can contest with an empty rhino you can contest with a drop pod.

[Dosadi]

This is one of the first my gaming group made a house rule for when we analyzed 5th edition. The simple solution was that the vehicle had to be mobile in order to contest an objective. Immobilized vehicles can't contest. We have found that this simple fix makes a world of difference and has caused no perceivable issues within our gaming group.


Dosadi

[Xas]

cool stuff :)

but contesting shouldnt be that effetkive. AV12 and immobile means allmost everything can kill it.
if you keep them till turn 5 this might be a nice idea though. tigurius...worth a try!

[Dingareth]

Except when y'all play outside your group and try telling someone that the Drop Pod that is keeping them from losing the game doesn't count...

I personally find house rules cause more problems than they solve, I mean if a Defiler was standing on top of an ammo crate, I wouldn't run underneath him to try to grab it even if I knew he wasn't going to run after me! Between the claws, Battle Cannon and Flamers, I wouldn't go near the thing!

[Exlorn]

You cannot contest an objective with a drop pod because its immobile. Immobile vehicles cannot contest an objective as per the 40k rulebook.

If you need more proof then actually read the Immobile special rule on a drop pod. I don't have the book in front of me to exactly quote. It says that the drop pod is immobile and counts exactly as if a vehicle that has suffered an immobilized roll on the vehicle damage chart except that it cannot be repaired.

That rule and it wording is there so that we will know that drop pods can NEVER contest an objective. If a squad gets out that squad can of course, but not a pod by itself. An empty Rhino can if it is mobile, as can any mobile vehicle, a drop pod is never considered a mobile vehicle for game purposes.

Fluff wise I wouldn't consider it mobile either. It just falls, might as well call a rock mobile. "Stay away men, those rocks could jump to action at any moment"

Edit, my last sentence was confusing.

[Jwolf]

As per exactly where in the 40K rulebook, Exlorn?

[Arschbombe]

I think he's referring to 4th edition rules where immobile vehicles didn't count as scoring.

[StrikerFox]

uhm, drop pod assault rules in space marine dex pg 69.

dont count as scoring, but do contest, even if immobile.

also apparently are considered moving up to 12". so the guns inside cant fire...(atleast thats what im told)

[Dingareth]

You are 100% correct there StrikerFox.

Drop Pods can contest in 5th Edition (not to disparage Exlorn's effort to the contrary) as they do not have a rule that prevents them from contesting an objective, such as Rippers.

Also, when a vehicle Deep Strikes it counts as moving at Cruising Speed, and since a Drop Pod is neither Fast nor has the Machine Spirit rule anymore, you cannot fire any weapons on the turn that it Deep Strikes in.

[Exlorn]

I stand corrected. I guess I should really learn to look stuff up no matter how sure I am before I post.

I'm also delighted to be wrong in this case as I'm the only person in my group playing with drop pods.

[RealGenius]

Also, when a vehicle Deep Strikes it counts as moving at Cruising Speed, and since a Drop Pod is neither Fast nor has the Machine Spirit rule anymore, you cannot fire any weapons on the turn that it Deep Strikes in.

Except Black Templar drop pods, which specifically state that you can shoot the turn you arrive. There really is a big difference between the Codex:Marines drop pod rules and the BT drop pod assault rules.

[Dingareth]

Correct. But yours are BS2, so I'm alright with that trade off!

[Arschbombe]

BA pods are BS2 but still can't shoot when they arrive. Life is so unfair.

[RealGenius]

Correct. But yours are BS2, so I'm alright with that trade off!

So true... the number of Brothers that have been lost to Deathwind launcher blasts almost equals the number of enemies lost to them.


BA pods are BS2 but still can't shoot when they arrive. Life is so unfair.

And you don't have a real codex either. Here's some salt for your wounds. :)