RE: Drop Pod Assault & the cheesiest thing I have ever heard...

[Koppenflak]

OK folks,

So I've been chatting to a mate who plays Orks and Nids, and he has a friend who is not exactly known for his sportsmanship.

Said friend plays marines.

Here's the tactic - Drop pod assault states that half the drop pods in the army must arrive on the first turn. His solution is therefore to take 2 or 3 *empty* drop pods, and land them on objectives to contest them with their AV12 hides in the first turn.

Turn 2 onwards he brings down the real drop pods filled with dreadnoughts, sternguard, forgefather, etc, and lays waste where he needs to.

My question then is - Is this even legal!? Is this simply him being a cheesy-arse git? Or was my mate being screwed royally in impolite places?

Would greatly appreciate any enlightenment on this issue.

[Sir Biscuit]

Totally legal, actually. Just because he buys the unit a transport doesn't mean he has to deploy in them. Though, he does still have to purchase them for squads, he can't just buy them on their own.

That being said: is this really that big of a deal? Drop pods are immobile AV12 open topped vehicles... hardly a hard target. And you have all game to shoot/assault them and get rid of them.

[Nabterayl]

Quite legal, yes. Drop pods contest because they are units, and they don't have a special rule saying they don't contest. On the other hand, there's only a 1/3 chance that a given drop pod will land squarely on the objective, and that's assuming that the objective is placed in such a way that a drop pod can land on it.

If your friend feels the need to fight fire with fire, objective placement is probably the place to start. Try to place objectives in a way that makes drop podding onto them directly or impossible. If possible, surround them with Difficult Terrain, so the pods have to take a Dangerous Terrain test (and risk becoming disarmed) when they land. Place objectives near the edge of the map, so there's a 1/3 chance that the pod simply scatters off the table and mishaps. And take advantage of the fact that the space marine player has forfeited his alpha strike, so his remaining pods can be overwhelmed piecemeal.

EDIT: And then, as Sir Biscuit says, just be ready to destroy the things. As he says, fortunately they're already open-topped and damaged.

[Unlighted]

I think I'd like to play someone using such a tactic.

The empty pods are a nuisance, but they are also points he could've used to buy far more dangerous things. If given the choice between Drop Pods cluttering objectives and say another Dread stomping around crushing my stuff I'll take annoying boxes any day.

Auto hit those boxes in CC with grenades or just get a monstrous creature to crush them. The units that lack the ability to hurt them can assault them to get an extra 6 inches.

[phoenix01]

What I like to do is take a drop pod or two with deathwind missile launchers. Drop them first turn near a tough enemy unit, vice an objective, and launch missiles. Real nuisance, and the missiles might take out tanks or infantry. Then, drop pod in dreadnoughts or sternguard starting second turn in reserve and have tactical squads in Rhinos for movement.

[pgarfunkle]

I'm hoping that the options for drop pods are expanded for the Blood Angels in the new codex to make their mass use a bit more practical

[Papa Nurgle]

I use this tactic to confuse and obfuscate. The BIG problem with this tactic is that the Drop Pod can't shoot the first turn it enters play, since it counts as moving at cruising speed. Since it's open topped and immobile, it blows up REALLY easily. It's annoying, to be sure. But it isn't the best use of my points and it is highly beatable.

[faolan]

You think THAT'S bad?

At least it's not taking 1 drop pod so it drops first turn exactly where he wants it into the middle, or in front of, your army. Or do that with 2 of 3 (half, rounding up!) pods, leaving a third empty one in reserve for that exact empty pod on an objective tactic.

[Papa Nurgle]

I actually run 7 drop pods. That way I drop 4 the first turn and 3 more in later turns. With the Master of the Forge, I can run 6 Dreads...so I put 4 Ironclads in the Opening Drop Pod Assault.

[david5th]

Quite legal, yes. Drop pods contest because they are units, and they don't have a special rule saying they don't contest. On the other hand, there's only a 1/3 chance that a given drop pod will land squarely on the objective, and that's assuming that the objective is placed in such a way that a drop pod can land on it.

If your friend feels the need to fight fire with fire, objective placement is probably the place to start. Try to place objectives in a way that makes drop podding onto them directly or impossible. If possible, surround them with Difficult Terrain, so the pods have to take a Dangerous Terrain test (and risk becoming disarmed) when they land. Place objectives near the edge of the map, so there's a 1/3 chance that the pod simply scatters off the table and mishaps. And take advantage of the fact that the space marine player has forfeited his alpha strike, so his remaining pods can be overwhelmed piecemeal.

EDIT: And then, as Sir Biscuit says, just be ready to destroy the things. As he says, fortunately they're already open-topped and damaged.

Drop pods are not scoring units -
SM Codex page 135 - drop pod = open topped Vehicle.
Rulebook Page 90 - Vehicles are not scoring units.