Do Drop Pod Armies Still Work?

[eagleboy7259]

I've been considering starting a second army since my return to 40k. I was thinking about doing an all drop pod list from C:SM with Pedro Cantor and I was wondering if this style of play still works? Specifically what goes into creating a good drop pod list and would I be better off trying this theme with a different character or book?

[Gooball]

Well i don't see why this kind of army wouldn't work :P
IF you want an army completely in a drop pod army go with the new BA codex (jump marines as troops, swapping jump packs for free drop pod, scattering 1d6)
The major flaw with it would be dropping into the midst of a nyd/wolf/Ba/ork horde of close combaty goodness
Its not that a dedicated SM force wouldn't be able to punch em to the ground.. but if they are a dedicated CC force aswell then :s
(i was drooling over the spear of sicarious earlier.. something like 5000 points of SM all of which can deepstrike)

[Lerra]

Drop pod marines work really well sometimes and really poorly sometimes. It's easy to counter drop pod marines with certain tactics - expect to lose nearly every game of Dawn of War where you are forced to go first. You'll either drop on the table only to have your opponent walk on the table and shoot you to bits, or you'll end up footslogging and shot to bits. Inquisitors with mystics will also make your day pretty bad, too.

I played all-drop-pods for about 6 months. I switched to a mixed drop pod/rhino/razorback list which works much better and is more difficult to shut down. I run 3 drop pods, 3 rhinos, and 2 razorbacks. The razorbacks are basically just shooting platforms (they are purchased for squads that don't ride in them), but if the drop pods are ineffective due to the opponent or scenario, I put two of the drop pod squads into the razorbacks and drop their pods down empty. You do have to limit the squad size to 6 for this to work, though - otherwise you can buy rhinos.

If you want to run all drop pods or heavy drop pods, make sure you have a backup plan if you can't deepstrike.

[DarkLink]

Funnily enough, the Drop Pod Assault rule hurts the drop pods far more than it helps them most of the time.

[papa smurf]

i run a mixed drop pod C:SM army with 3 pods and then usually 1 or 2 other vehicles, usually just a single rhino or razorback, and in higher points games a land raider redeemer. i'd say go for it, because like lerra said if you feel like you're going to get chewed up by drop podding first turn in dawn of war (or any other nasty predicament for that matter) you can deploy your troops out of the drop pods on the board and the pods come in empty. i haven't ever done this personally, but i can tell you from experience drop pod heaviness is a high risk/high reward type of thing, especially against dedicated CC stuff.
It definitely is super fun though, i have a blast with my drop pods. I recommend lots of pods, but whether or not you do all drop pods or a mix (favoring pods of course) is really up to you and your personal taste. :D

[Darkwynn]

they don't work with people being able to reserve there army off the board.

[sonsoftaurus]

Is it an uber-list? No.

Can it work? Yes.

Can it be fun? Definitely.

Against opponents/armies unprepared for it, it can be devastating. Against those prepared for it, it can struggle.

The drop pod only lists that get crippled by enemies reserving are those that typically rely heavily on the alpha strike when they land. Fun fact: You don't HAVE to land your pods as close to the enemy as possible. You can even take long ranged units and land them in good firing spots away from the enemy! If you mix things up a little, if you think the enemy will reserve a lot, you can land the support elements first, then the up-close guys can hit them as they move to engage your support guys.

You have fantastic initial mobility (able to land wherever you want) but poor mobility afterwards. Think about the end game when you place the pods, support yourself, don't forget to fire the pods themselves, use the pods for cover and to block enemy movement.

[eagleboy7259]

Well I guess I should have started by saying - I play demons so deep striking and funny reserves games don't frighten me as much as I feel like they've made the game a lot more fun for me. Before I quit during 4th ed and sold off my armies I played Black Templars primarily, so using Crimson Fists, Imperial Fists, or Salamanders is what I'm hoping for.

So from the feedback so far I can tell that you need a plan B for when the game plan hits a snag. Believing that mixed pods and mech work the best, do you believe that a pod force could work if it had the ability to set up alternatively through outflanking with a leader as using Sicarus, Shrike or Khan? or would it be best to take Predo or Vulkan and try to rely on an Alpha strike with scouts or something to still outflank and support?

My rough first thoughts about a list was something along these lines:

Predo Kantor
2x Ironclad Dreadnoughts
Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers & Storm Shields
3x Sternguard Vets w/ Meltas & Combi-Meltas

All podded of course. I was also thinking about Legion of the Damned, Scouts, or Vanguard Vets as they rank up there in terms of my favorite models and I've always wanted a reason to get some but I haven't seen anyone running Vanguard Vets anymore so I'm assuming they turned out to be a great dud in the vanilla 'dex?

[AbusePuppy]

You might want to try adding some troops to that list.

[eagleboy7259]

Pedro lets you take Sternguard as troops?

[vutall]

Since he is running Pedro, doesn't that make his Sternguard troops? Or just make them count as scoring?

I do feel that drop podding Sternguard is a waste though, as they are tooled up for shooting. They get into assault and while yes, they are decent, they are not doing what they excel at.

[Sir Biscuit]

They only count as scoring, they don't become troops, so yes, you need two troops choices in there.

[Hairy Piggy]

Scouts would probably be your best bet for troops, seeing as you said you like the models

[ragnarcissist]

drop pod armies only work if you play space wolves

[Cryl]

I know he's expensive and I know you said that you like Pedro Cantor for the Crimson Fists theme but a pod heavy army can really benefit from Tigurius. The ability to control your reserves (rerolling any reserves roll, even successful ones) is golden and can reduce the impact of some of the sneaky anti reserves tactics that people use.

Also the ability to use three psychic powers a turn, null zone, force dome and GoI spring to mind means you can have a sternguard squad bouncing around the board with a 5++ save that forces your opponent to reroll invulnerable saves. Pop a couple of locator beacons on your pods for more fun :)

[ggg]

Pedro lets you take Sternguard as troops?

I wish. No, he makes sternies into scoring units so you still need 2 x tactical squads or a scout sqad or two (or mix thereof!)

[ggg]

drop pod armies only work if you play space wolves


Wolves do enjoy the drop pod BUUUUTTTT once you've landed in a drop pod marines lack mobility - and the prime drop pod wolves units lack ranged heavy weapons which on tac squads extends the range of their effect after podding (say onto a mid board objective) nicely.

Also worthy of note in a Csm list:-

sternguard rock.

Having more than 10 guys in a pod rocks.

Ironclads rock.

Combat tactics really rocks v orks and tyranids on a deep strike (round of shooting - receive a round of shooting and fall back out of assault range etc) rocks.

Alternatively Pedro with 12" of fun rule and stubborn rocks.

Complementary homing beacons, scout bikers and beacons on pods with vanguard vets also rocks


Combination of several of the above really rocks.

Oh, and not getting your plaits / beard trapped in the drop pod doors when they shut is also priceless.

[DarkLink]

Yeah, there are two problems with drop pod armies:

1. Drop Pod assault allows your opponent to simply reserve their entire army, then steamroller over the now stranded drop pod units.

2. Once you land, you're stuck footslogging. You're slow and exposed. The enemy will probably be able to drive right up and blow you away, unless you get to use the Drop Pod's alpha strike to hurt the enemy first. But, of course, then you have to refer back to problem number 1.


You can negate problem 1 by only taking a few drop pods, but it's tough to get around number 2.

[eagleboy7259]

How does the enemy reserving everything = auto win for them? For the most part most armies don't have access or don't include units which alter their reserves rolls, so rather than facing an enemy that is trying to alpha strike me back I'm facing a trickle of reserves that can sometimes can completely screw them. Not to mention I can hide my units behind my drop pods or go to ground to pick up cover saves, I feel like if I cram enough in or around his deployment zone I can control the game, getting in to melta range and getting dreads into good assault match ups. I have tried this kind of tactic before - people often play games against us demons players, all deep strike does not equal an automatic loss.

It's not really specific in the C:SM FAQ and GW's website, but isn't the wording for Pedro the same as Logan, Belial, and Sammy? I'll trust you guys tho...

[Melissia]

I've always wanted to try a list using an Imperial Guard Company Command Squad with an Officer of the Fleet retinue and an allied DH Inqusitior with two Msytics near a pair of LRBTs to counter an all drop pod list.


Regardless, I actually would NOT put my Sisters in reserve when fighting against a drop podding list. IMO it'd hurt me more than it'd help me...

[eagleboy7259]

Would it be better to take scouts outflanking or tactical marines in pods as my troop choice? and is it worthwhile to take a heavy weapon in a deep striking squad?

[therealjohnny5]

I know he's expensive and I know you said that you like Pedro Cantor for the Crimson Fists theme but a pod heavy army can really benefit from Tigurius. The ability to control your reserves (rerolling any reserves roll, even successful ones) is golden and can reduce the impact of some of the sneaky anti reserves tactics that people use.

Also the ability to use three psychic powers a turn, null zone, force dome and GoI spring to mind means you can have a sternguard squad bouncing around the board with a 5++ save that forces your opponent to reroll invulnerable saves. Pop a couple of locator beacons on your pods for more fun :)

agreed in my DPod lists i always mount all of them except with Locator Beacons. or have scouts\scout bikers in place for first turn. then the ability to use all of those beacons with any libby and Stern or Legion of the Damned just bouncing around and shooting the crap out of stuff is fantastic. while you shouldn't rely on just the libby\ tigurius to win the game with this tactic, it makes a great fire support, especially with legion as they have S&P and can fire hvy weapons every time they DS. and the 3+ invulnerable.


Would it be better to take scouts outflanking or tactical marines in pods as my troop choice? and is it worthwhile to take a heavy weapon in a deep striking squad?

personally i never take hvy weapons in a Dpod squad, bc i'm usually using it to place a unit in Rapid Fire range\ close to assault range. so i would not want to lose the extra Bolter or cc weapons for a non assault weapon. And as for Dpoding a say Devastator squad in it's a waste for me as you loose 2 rounds at least of firing and thats wasted points, as you try and get them into position.

and as for scouts or tacs, i would look at that as situational or what you like the most. CC tooled scouts can do as much damage on the attack as an assault squad essentially in number of attacks. and are great at bogging a unit down. for instance a good tactic is to infiltrate 2 scout cc squads and dpod first turn your sternguard or tacs into rapid fire range. let the tacs\stern open up on a unit and send the scouts in to finish.

When taking pods it's always a good idea to make sure you take odd numbers. in a Pod heavy army (not pod only) i usually try and take 5, that way i get 3 units down and\or 3 LB's down first turn.

[daddy troll]

I've tried Lysander in a pod with sternguard. His bolter drill special rule makes the sternguard special ammo twice as effective and he often deters the enemy from assaulting them in return. Mid to late game he can detach and go hunting on his own if necessary.

[Sir Biscuit]

Actually, there is a heavy weapon I take in drop pod squads, as well as any forward assault squad: a multi-melta.

I mean, I'm never going to stand still and fire it, I want to be moving. But it's free, and it's invaluable when you really, REALLY need to not run from a tank shock. (Very common when you're all dropping in.) I have killed an absurd number of tanks this way, I guess people just don't expect that I could fire it?

[therealjohnny5]

ok sorry, i have to agree with you on that. I failed to think about the Multi-meltas. i will take those when i'm not using the above mentioned technique and combat squad the tac squad when they deploy so the MM can usually get a shot off. i have however found equivalent success of melta bombs and krak grenades.