Hello everyone! There are a few things I'm known for. The first, that I'm a dirty Black Templars player because I use shooty units in a traditionally choppy chapter. Second, that I run an exceptionally tricky, but effective drop pod army with the Black Templars. I don't play them in the typical fashion and most players don't understand the finesse. I'm okay with the first, because that is simply what the Black Templars did best in 5th Edition. Unfortunately, the stigma has stuck with me all the way into 7th Edition. There isn't much I can do about that. However, the second thing is something I'm rather proud of.
I dubbed my drop pod style the "defensive" drop pod list, or the DDP. Its premise is that you use the drop pods to manipulate the board, and control the movements of your opponent, feeding them into kill zones or sacrificial units while you complete the game's mission objectives. The army uses small, redundant units in large numbers to accomplish this goal. Some of these units are entirely to distract your opponent, while others are there to complete and secure objectives. With that being said, we still have to field a well-balanced army to succeed against a good amount of opponents.
The mainstays of my previous DDP list in 7th Edition included a lot of short-ranged weaponry, dreadnoughts, and stormtalons. That was effective. But with the new armies that are roaming around nowadays, its time to break the mold. It doesn't mean we are moving away from what the list does well, but we will freshen the build a bit. So here it is. :)
HQ:
* Master of the Forge w/ Primarch's Wrath and Power Axe. [125]
ELITES:
* Legion of the Damned Squad (1x Sergeant, 4x Legionnaires) w/ 1 Plasmagun, 1 Multi-Melta, and 1 Power Sword. [165]
* Legion of the Damned Squad (1x Sergeant, 4x Legionnaires) w/ 1 Plasmagun, 1 Multi-Melta, and 1 Power Sword. [165]
* Legion of the Damned Squad (1x Sergeant, 4x Legionnaires) w/ 1 Plasmagun, 1 Multi-Melta, and 1 Power Sword. [165]
TROOPS:
* Crusader Squad (5x Initiates) w/ 1 Plasmagun and 1 Missile Launcher (Flakk Missiles). Mounted in Drop Pod. [145]
* Crusader Squad (5x Initiates) w/ 1 Plasmagun and 1 Missile Launcher (Flakk Missiles). Mounted in Drop Pod. [145]
* Crusader Squad (5x Initiates) w/ 1 Plasmagun and 1 Missile Launcher (Flakk Missiles). Mounted in Drop Pod. [145]
* Crusader Squad (5x Initiates) w/ 1 Plasmagun and 1 Missile Launcher (Flakk Missiles). Mounted in Drop Pod. [145]
* Crusader Squad (1x Sword Brethren, 4x Initiates) w/ 1 Plasmagun and 1 Combi-Melta. Mounted in Drop Pod w/ Deathwind Missile Launcher. [155]
HEAVY SUPPORT:
* Dreadnought w/ 1 Assault Cannon and 1 Heavy Flamer. Mounted in a Drop Pod. [165]
* Dreadnought w/ 1 Assault Cannon and 1 Heavy Flamer. Mounted in a Drop Pod. [165]
* Dreadnought w/ 1 Assault Cannon and 1 Heavy Flamer. Mounted in a Drop Pod. [165]
Total: [1850]
So what do we have here? To start, instead of the 31 MEQ, 3 Dreadnoughts, 3 Stormtalons, and 9 Drop Pods...we have 41 MEQ, 3 Dreadnoughts, and 8 Drop Pods. Is the loss of 3 vehicles and a drop pod worth the addition of 10 more MEQ? I believe so. We changed quite a bit in the list and now we'll dig deeper into the choices.
The first, and most important, are the distraction units. Without these, your opponent doesn't have to make any hard decisions. They can ignore your units and simply move on. We do not want that. Our distraction units were dreadnoughts and the Captain-led command squad in the previous list. Now? We have those same 3 Dreadnoughts and newly added 3 Legion of the Damned squads.
The LotD squads are strictly better than the dreadnoughts at range, at the same point cost. Both have duality, but now you have increased durability and additional bodies with the LotD. Plus, they are passingly decent in close combat. The downside with the LotD is that they don't come down on turn 1. However, they do have similar accuracy when deep striking onto the board. So these will be taking over the Elites slot. Then because we have the Master of the Forge as our HQ unit, we open up the Heavy Support slot for dreadnoughts. Guess what? We're taking 3 of them in this slot and they will fulfill the same role as they did previously. We just need to ensure they are armed to be able to deal with those pesky Eldar that just got released. So Assault Cannons and Heavy Flamers. Perfect units to drop in your opponent's face. Gives them something to think about...which is the point! Distraction!
But the meat of the list is the troops unit. Previously, it was filled with 5 tactical squads with plasmaguns and combi-meltas. Well, that didn't really cut it for me because it was too short ranged. So that means there is a switch in units. No more tactical squads and crusader squads are back in! Why? Because the crusader squads give us heavy weapons. We are giving up the combi-melta and taking the missile launcher with flakk missiles. This will give us our long range duality, as well as giving us some defense against flyers. We will also be taking a close-range crusader squad for the MotF to ride with. This will mesh better with his weaponry and give us some emergency melta if needed.
So there it is. We're looking at something "new", for an old archetype. I'm excited to test it out. :)
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