I'm full of Smace MArine questions....

[40kGamer]

I usually go one of two ways with pods. 1 or 3 to supplement the army or full pods with 7,9 or 11. (I like the full pod option a lot as being able to null deploy in 6th and now 7th is wonderful.) Scout bikes are a great addition if you are working the 1-3 angle. The thing I love about the marine codex is that it has so many viable builds.

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Given that I tend to put sternguard in them...

The bees knees of pod armies.

[John Bower]

I do think pods are a glass cannon though, sure they can work; but if you haven't killed anything on your turn they arrive; your opponent has an easy first blood with a pod.

[ksoh75]

I do think pods are a glass cannon though, sure they can work; but if you haven't killed anything on your turn they arrive; your opponent has an easy first blood with a pod.

We play a ton with the cards.....so thus why I'm going pure Drop pod. Granted, I may switch tactics to tourny play when it comes to it.

Someone has be thinking of mixing Salamanders with Scorpions......hmmmmm....

[40kGamer]

I do think pods are a glass cannon though, sure they can work; but if you haven't killed anything on your turn they arrive; your opponent has an easy first blood with a pod.

If you haven't managed to hand out some serious damage on turn 1 your opponent is going to be giggling with glee!

[DCompanyChris]

Scout bikes with a beacon make sure your first pod wave hits where you want. A second beacon on one of the first wave pods brings everything in together.

It is a bold attack, and you can land a mighty force right in someones face, but if you go this route, you need to make sure you're playing for points and not just "line up and kill"

First wave pods need some melta. If you're doing Salamanders (I do) that's rarely a problem, but dread with multi-meltas in a pod are cheap. 5 man sternguard crews with combimeltas pretty much get the job done, and still offer a unit that can be useful after the alpha strike. If you're careful, with the new line of sight rules, you can use the pod 's doors for cover for a small crew.

The devastator suggestion is one I also like, especially in a larger game. Running salamanders (with Vulkan) I put a combi-melta on the sgt, and 4 multi-meltas. Twin linked shot for a 2 and twin-linked snap shots give you a reasonable chance to pop something big.