salamander list with my old models

[rendy]

This is an army for which I'm using a whole bunch of my old metal/plastic rogue trader models (cleaned and repainted) as a foundation. Here is what I have so far:



Vulkan He'Stan (have not purchased him yet)



Dreadnought with TL heavy flamer



10 man tactical squad with flamer and multimelta
10 man tactical squad with flamer and multimelta (sergeant has power fist)



Devastator squad (two with missile launchers, two with heavy bolters)



Total 810 pts



So, I see that salamander lists online seem to have everything in a drop pod. If someone can explain the pros and cons of this strategy and how my list should incorporate drop pods (and other stuff) to get up to 1000 pts that would be great. I'm confused when I see almost everything in a drop pod; does that mean most of the army comes in turn 2 out of reserve? Doesn't half the army need to be non-reserve?



Thanks!

[infornography]

Anything in a drop pod doesn't count against the half in reserve rule since it is required to be in reserve.

If you are bringing Vulkan, then I recommend a Multimelta/Heavy Flamer Dread instead as both weapons will benefit from his twin linking bonus.

Devastators in general are overpriced, but if you are going to run them, multimeltas would be better, again because of the bonus from Vulkan. Even if you are not in melta range, they are still better than missile launchers up to 24" away.

Pods are great because if you have a guy with a flamer and the sergeant with a combi flamer, the you can drop them right next to an enemy (with the deep strike protection the pod provides) and have two twin linked templates annihilate that unit.

Another thing to consider when fleshing out toward higher point values is that Vulkan makes Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminators even nastier by making their weapons master crafted. You can deploy them by putting teleporter beacons on the drop pods.

The drop pod assault rule means that half your pods round up come in automatically on turn 1 and the other half automatically come in turn 2. This is great as there are no reserve rolls involved and you will have teleporter beacons on the map starting the first turn.

Another unit that Vulkan makes amazing is land speeders. Load them up with double heavy flamers for a REALLY nasty anti infantry unit or double multimeltas for an unbeatable anti tank unit. I run 2 HF speeders in my current list and deep strike them in. It is somewhat risky to deep strike them next to an infantry mob, but when they work they annihilate far more than their points worth on turn 1. You can also consider mixing it up with a single multimelta strapped onto one of the speeders to increase the range at which those heavy flamer wounds will be applied. That way you will likely wipe out entire imperial guard gunlines with a single volley.


Salamander lists can be very nasty indeed. At higher point values you might want to look into getting some anti air, but at low point values, you have a good starting foundation there.

[rendy]

Thanks. I have a few more old metal multimelta models I can clean up and paint so could add them to the devastators.

Yes, I'll definitely get some drop pods and will look into thunder hammer guys.

Thanks again (particularly for the tactic advice!)

[NidsAndMarines]

infornography: "The drop pod assault rule means that half your pods round up come in automatically on turn 1 and the other half automatically come in turn 2." Actually 1/2 (rounded up) come in turn 1, the remainder are rolled for as normal. C:SM p69.

Also I would suggest taking the powerfist off the Sarge and giving him a combi weapon (flamer or melta) and meltabombs.

A nice Vulkan/Salamander tactic is to drop pod in 10 sternguard, 5 with combimeltas and 5 with combiflamers, and combat squad them as they leave the pod. With 5 TL melta shots that should be any nearby tank dead. If it's also a transport, the other 5 then get to fry the surviving contents with TL flamer shot. So dead again. That can easily be 3VP just there: transport, contents, first blood. Then get the guys into cover and pour out the hellfire rounds and watch your opponent disappear as the rest of your list closes in.

NidsAndMarines.

[barenone]

Hey man I thought I would let you know chapterhousestudios.com has some pretty good salamander convert stuff if you want it.

[infornography]

Feb 28, 2013 16:09:21 GMT NidsAndMarines said:

infornography: "The drop pod assault rule means that half your pods round up come in automatically on turn 1 and the other half automatically come in turn 2." Actually 1/2 (rounded up) come in turn 1, the remainder are rolled for as normal. C:SM p69.

You are right, my apologies, I misremembered. Still have the guarantee on the ones coming in turn 1 though, which is nothing to sneeze at.

[paxmiles]

Pros are above.

Pod Cons:

-Unable to get back into transports. Matters greatly if opponent can out shoot you.

-DS defenses can really mess you up. Examples are basic fortification turrets, GK warp quake, and a few others.

-Unable to assault after arrival. Means if you fail to cripple them on the drop, they can assault you or just move out of range.

-Reserves in general will force you to face the enemy with a partial force. Worse if the opponent can slow/limit your reserves further.

-Last big issue is that the pods themselves are mostly worthless, while using up points and giving the enemy easy first blood and kp targets.

-Pax

[infornography]

I don't recommend taking a drop pod for every unit, but you can greatly benefit from putting some flamers or meltas in a drop pod and then using it to get them close to their preferred target to wreak havoc. Dropping a pod with a tac squad packing a flamer and a combi flamer in a vulkan list can destroy a guard gunline. Same with a pod carrying a melta, multimelta, and combimelta. One vehicle all but guaranteed popped and in position to probably pop another one next turn.

For a long range gunline formation, pods aren't great, but for a few short range units, they can really ruin your opponent's day.