Logan bomb. It's only funny because no one got hurt.
"As I understand the new FAQ - Even with Logan the Long Fangs can not fire their Multi-melta's on the drop. So are you not just painting a massive target on their head? Is the idea to drop them into cover near the enemy and then snipe away?"
Your understanding is incorrect.
But don't worry, you have company in that.
I have heard this around the shop so many times since the FAQ... can we please just squelch this bad info now? This is what happens when people read "for the gist of it" and key in on specific words instead of reading carefully.
Here's what the FAQ that I'm assuming you are referring to now says about Drop Pods:
"Q: Can permanently immobile vehicles, such as a Space
Marine Drop Pod, shoot on the turn they arrive by deep
strike? (p95)
A: They, along with all other vehicles, count as having
moved at cruising speed after arriving by deep strike and
as such will not be able to shot that turn. The table, on
page 73, tells you what how many weapons different types
of vehicles moving at cruising speed can fire."
Now, aside for the glaring typos and grammar errors (seriously GW, I think I have less typos in my no-I-don't-proofread-my-posts blog than you guys do in your published materials. It's called professionalism. Show some. Anyways...) this FAQ is really not that confusing.
It addresses the differences between the way people wish Drop Pods worked and the way they actually work.
The thematic version of the Drop Pod (and the way they used to work as I understood it) is that the Drop Pod comes rocketing down from space and slams into the ground in the midst of the enemy. The hatches blow off and the Deathwind Launcher/Storm Bolter/whatever unleashes a withering hail of firepower all around it along with the embarked Space Marines who then storm into close combat guns blazing.
"We are the Emperor's Angels of Death," and all that jazz, yadda yadda.
The way that Drop Pods ACTUALLY work is that on the turn they deep strike they count as moving at cruising speed (Page 95 of the main rule book says this).
Looking at page 73 of the rulebook, to which the above FAQ refers, tells us that vehicles that do not have the Fast rule and move at cruising speed cannot shoot their weapons.
Now, how does that affect passengers? Well, we probably need to look at those rules too.
Page 66 of the main rulebook says (talking about embarked passengers shooting out of firepoints):
"Models firing from a vehicle count as moving if the vehicle moves, and may not fire at all if the vehicle moved at cruising speed this turn."
Oh noes! I can't shoot my guns from a Rhino's hatch if it moved 12!" Again, nothing new here, we're just laying the groundwork.
And the grande finale, on page 67, Passengers Disembarking:
"If the vehicle has already moved (including pivoting on the spot), the passengers may disembark but not move any further in the movement phase. Once the Models have disembarked, the vehicle may not move any further (including pivoting on the spot). After disembarking, these models may shoot (counting as moving), but may not Assault."
Ok, so if you move at cruising speed passengers can't shoot. But if they disembark and are no longer passengers, then they CAN shoot. This is what allows you to do the fancy 12 inch Rhino move, disembark, melta maneuver that Space Marines are so fond of.
And finally, just to be thorough, let's see if there's anything in the Space Wolf FAQ that we might need to know:
"Q. Can Logan Grimnar benefit from his The High King
special rule the turn he arrives from reserves? And can
Logan use The High King special rule at the beginning of
the opponents turn? (p56)
A. Yes and yes."
Neato (the High King rule is what Logan uses to grant his unit Relentless at the beginning of the turn).
Ok, let's put this all together.
-The Drop Pod counts as a transport.
-It deep strikes in, counting as moving at cruising speed.
-The Drop Pod may not fire because it is not a Fast vehicle and it counts as moving at cruising speed. -Any passengers that remained aboard would be unable to fire as well.
-However, all passengers MUST disembark from the Drop Pod, and passengers that disembark from their ride MAY shoot, though they count as moving.
-Logan, granting his squad Relentless (and thus allowing them to shoot while moving) allows the Multimeltas to disembark from their Pod and blow something up (or hopefully two somethings if your opponent is dumb enough).
ALL the FAQ says is that the DROP POD cannot shoot when it Deep Strikes in.
"But wait," you might ask, "what was the point of the FAQ? Weren't the rules already clear on this issue?"
Yes, they were. But a lot of people wished Drop Pods could shoot on the Deep Strike (and indeed, Deathwing Launchers are such a waste of points as it currently stands that some might have thought it only "made sense" that they could) but they never could, according to the rules.
But they aren't called "Questions you could have answered yourself with some reading," they are called "Frequently ASKED Questions."
And I guess this question was frequently asked.
Ok, did I cover everything? Anything I missed? I have seen this misunderstanding so widely spread that I hope anyone could read this and finally get it right.
