Remember when I had first posted about Information from the Numbers? I had put up a list which was technically Illegal (three Venerable Dreadnoughts) and so I took it down.
Well I really, really liked that list as it had just about everything I could want (except for strong Infantry based Firepower). So I went back to the drawing board and tried a few adjustments. I tried putting in Terminators instead of Dreadnoughts, but I had less redundancy, less scoring, no 4+2, and it didn’t get as good of numbers.
But then I had a thought, what about Dreadnoughts in Drop Pods? So I tried it out to see if it would fit and after some fiddling this is what I came up with:
Emperor’s Champion: Vow (Accept), -140
Dreadnought: Multi-Melta, DCCW, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor; Drop Pod; -160
Dreadnought: Multi-Melta, DCCW, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor; Drop Pod; -160
Dreadnought: Multi-Melta, DCCW, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor; Drop Pod; -160
Crusader Squad (5): Bolters, Multi-Melta, Meltagun; Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke; -158
Crusader Squad (5): Bolters, Multi-Melta, Meltagun; Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke; -158
Crusader Squad (5): Bolters, Multi-Melta, Meltagun; Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke; -158
Crusader Squad (5): Bolters, Lascannon, Plasma Gun; Rhino: Smoke; -154
Crusader Squad (5): Bolters, Lascanonn, Plasma Gun; Rhino: Smoke, Searchlight; -155
Land Speeder: TML, Heavy Bolter; -70
Land Speeder: TML, Heavy Bolter; -70
Land Speeder: TML, Heavy Bolter; -70
Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Smoke, Searchlight; -129
Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Smoke, Searchlight; -129
Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Smoke, Searchlight; -129
EDIT: I decided that Meltaguns would be beneficial in the Multi-Melta Squads so that they can act as Suicide Melta (yet another list aspect I have gotten in), so I dropped a couple of Searchlights and changed two Lascannons to Missile Launchers. However I was too lazy to edit the post any further, so just keep these changes in mind as you read. I have also changed the Missile Launchers to Lascannons.
So we’ve got scoring, the 4+2 (actually, 3+2), the 1+1, MSU (both from general lack of expensive units as well as a nearly maxed FOC), Disruption, saturation, mobility, flexibility, enough reliable weapons for me to fear neither Rhino nor Land Raider, and Preferred Enemy.
Scoring means that we won’t suffer in Objective-Based Games. 3+2 means a good balance of what goes forward and what sits back in our troops. MSU means plenty of sacrificial units (all of them) as well as 19-22 Individual threats to my opponent (depending on if you count the Drop Pods which are generally more of a passive threat) and lots of special/heavy weapons. Disruption means that my opponent has something more to worry about than just what is across the table from him. Saturation means a very low chance that my opponent will be able to neutralize a significant portion of my army unless he outplays me (something which cannot be countered in a list). Mobility means that I have means of either chasing my opponent down or staying away from them (whichever is needed). Flexibility means few bad matchups and the ability to counter my opponent’s plans. Reliable weapons further reduce the chance of bad matchups. Preferred Enemy is there to give me some greater threat in Close Combat (especially for my Dreadnoughts) though I could exchange it for Abhor and the Psychic Defense without much loss (and hey, some Neophytes or make on of my Dreadnoughts Venerable + Tank Hunting).
One apparent flaw that struck me but quickly died is having Drop Pods in a mech list. Now, the question is obvious: “Why not forgo the Drop Pods in favor of a long-range setup and Rhinos for the Las/Plas Squads? You get more vehicle saturation from the outset (beginning at 14 fronts at AV 10-13) as well as the fire from the Dreadnoughts every turn without the risk of coming down late.” The thing about that is I would lose out on Disruption which, thanks to the Drop Pods and MM/HF Dreadnoughts, I have almost in excess (but not so much as to endanger my list).
Now, should the Drop Pods come down early (such as all of them by turn 3) then I get their firepower early to kill my opponent and block movement lanes/LoS. Should I get them all late (such as not until at least turn 4) then they make excellent units for clearing objectives or at least contesting them. Should I get them gradually as the game goes along then I get some of the benefit of early killing power, plus some of the advantages of getting them late game. Technically, the most likely outcome is that they all land in the first couple of turns which, while able to kill key units that my opponent has, is the least effective. I can already kill things pretty well (relatively speaking, of course) and my opponent no longer has to worry about things coming in to ruin any plans he has aside from what has already come down; so basically if they arrive early they become a focus for buying myself time early game and killing things as opposed to arriving later and having more of a psychological impact along with objective contesting/finishing off hiding, weakened units that are trying to deny me Kill Points. In short: no, I do not see how it is disadvantageous to have these units come in Drop Pods.
I don’t have absolute knowledge of how this list will perform on the table, but I can predict (from Nikephoros’s Metric System) that I can shoot Infantry pretty well and I can deal with Heavy Armor. I could use more ability to handle light Vehicles and not always being in Melta Range will hurt but I still have enough. Aside from that? I have a general idea of how it is supposed to go but that change depending on my opponent and his list. However, here’s what I suspect to happen 9/10 times. At first I drive forward and Pop Smoke with my MM Bunkers, spreading them out some so that they threaten a large portion of the board while still being able to cross fire (multiples shooting at one thing if needed). The Las/Plas Squads sit, disembarked, in a piece of terrain, preferably on an objective and with good firing lanes; the Predators similarly positioned as to see a good chunk of the board if possible. Land Speeders can move around but try to retain cover either from Rhinos or Terrain and act as Suppression fire more than anything. Dreadnoughts eventually come down as described above and either block movement/firing lanes, assassinate key vehicles/infantry groups, or land to support wherever they are needed (unless they come late, when they act as above). At the end of the game, if all goes well, I should be holding one-to-two objectives to my opponent’s zero-to-one, sometimes better, sometimes worse.
I hope that this has been informative/interesting to someone, particularly since if I were not running a Drop Pod list then this is more than likely what I would go for instead. For Dorn and the Emperor.
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