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So, judging by the diagram in the disembarking rules, I can't disembark on top of my rhino... right? I'd like to, mostly because its funny, offers a better field of fire and allows you to get into tighter spots. I guess the instant arguemant is that the vehicle is "impassable terrain." I dunno. I go a long way for humor sometimes.

A couple of thoughts after my last game...

If you use 2 rhinos nearby each other you can create some interesting barriers against assault. Its easier with tau devilfish, but with some creative positioning and disembarking on the opposite side of the rhino, you get cover and a barrier for a turn. I'm not saying I invented this, its just pleasing to me, especcially because I'm mostly pitted agains orks and eldar.

Its wierd to have such inexpensive mounts... The tau and eldar pay a lot for what seems like a little. In my small 660 point game they made the difference in getting around to the flank of a bunch of smaller point unit that would otherwise tie me up in assault.

Guess halfthis post should've been in the war room! my bad.

I win games with Rhinos. They rock. On a forum that loves pods I know I'm the minority. But the Rhino is king in 5th.

But to the matter of being on top of one. Well, I tried to land a jump packer on my own landraider and my store ruled I couldnt. It is in the book somewhere. Fruit pastel to the person that finds it.

Bummer! They look so cool up there! Show me a wwii movie or stock footage that there aren't soldiers all over apc and tanks and such!

I'm convinced Rhinos are the way for me to go. I look at drop pods as deployment for my dreads... just my personal taste.

Seems there is no access point...maybe a firepoint only situation for the rhino roof

Could go for page 66: ( put a model on top to remember the transported unit ) line.....

Personal wouldn't disallow to place models ontop of vehicles, free LOS for both players.

JP-infantry cannot land on models as per page 52. LR = model = no.

Couldn't see a vehicle with enough space to land safely as something deniying to jump there....would also make sense to
go there and place some bombs, open hatches and throw grenades inside and other nasty stuff.

Now wait to find a TFG to claim this building is a model too....

I begin to realize that Rhino are a superior dedicated Transports for Troops compared to Drop Pods.
For example, Tacticals can't use their heavy weapon disembarking from a DP.
And they make just a sitting duck when podding them.
You have just more tactical options with rhinos, block LOS or assaults.

I would only disagree for heavy specialized elite squad.

An AT specialized meltas Sterns is just too good in a DP. It's bye bye LRs and stuff.

One clever tactic I faced with Rhino is Dreadnoughts just behind them.
Their weapons load out are just higher than the rhino's hull, and thus they benefit from a 4+ cover !

Pods still very much have thir role. I too use the drop stern to quickly take out a threat. But then that unit is toast so the target is usually very important.

It is amusing that GW have created the DP assault, but then made th rhino tougher in the main rules.

I just love parking on objectives.

The thing is that you need several. One want win you the day. But two forms LOSblocking fun all day long. And we didnt even get to drive by heavy flamer sternguard...

Sucks I cant land on my LRC. Maybe if I painted landing lights?

haha i'd love to see that, maybe create a gunner on top with those table tennis bats they have to guide planes with

The only way a model can be possibly be put on top of the vehicle is via the emergency diembarkation rules on pg 67, and your vehicle has been wrecked etc and now counts as terrain.

haha im glad more people are realizing the usefulness of the rhino. I remember lev saying "All lists should have at least one" since the first day i joined the forum.

Theres a number of advantages you get with rhinos that pods simply cant give you.





1) Heavy weapon shot turn 1
2) immunity from small arms fire
3) 12" movement speed
4) smokes + obscured for tanks placed behind cleverly - you can rotate the use of your smokes + formation to keep your tank line obscured
5) Defensive LOS blocks (2 MM attack bikes can fit behind a sideways rhino nicely), deploy cleverly to use the rhinos as a shield from enemy fire while you rapid fire a target down. use them to give valuable cover to your assault marines.
6) Offensive LOS block - go park a rhino infront of a havoc/loota squad - hope they destroy it and roll a 5 on the table for a perma los block! Additionally, use rhinos aggressively to keep your ASMs safe if you think they'll be left out in the open after a combat. Place them between the melee location and any dangerous firebases or counter assault units.
7) Late game rhino rush to an objective - Rhinos left alive late game can really turn those shattered tac squads into an effective scoring unit by virtue of their holy armored shell . even just a lone tactical marine in a rhino in late game is a real threat.
the Corral. Use tanks to corral off nasty melee units and slow their movement speed. this is a great trick vs lists like nob bikers.

Rhino

Nob bike grp1 Rhino (sideways) Nob bike grp2 + Rest of your army

Rhino


As you can see here, even if the nob group assaults the closest rhino, they've still lost a turn, and you just delayed half of your opponents army for a turn. If they want to avoid it, they can try and back pedal out and around behind one of the rhinos, however, you can just move the rhinos to keep them boxed out. This works GREAT if you have a LR you can toss in as the center piece.

9) Castle - This is pretty obvious, you use your tanks as a defensive wall against superior numbers or threatening DS units, like flamers of tzeench.

10) TANK SHOCK! probably the most underused ability in 40k. You can tankshock your opponent off objectives completely if you hit him with 2 rhinos side by side. You can tank shock a unit to bunch them up nicely for a flamer template from a 2nd rhino. force massive amounts of morale checks, etc, etc.

11) LASH counter - the lowly rhino is one of the best defenses vs one of the most powerful builds in the game. going mech really helps you out against lash+oblits. Even if you loose a rhino, you can use your others to block LOS from the DP to the exposed unit, thus preventing lash.








The one thing pods DO give is a reliable, one trick fire and forget weapon. Between the size of the pod's base, 2" deployment radius and the bases of your models, you have to be pretty unlucky to actually miss your target completely. However, this works best with things like sternguard or MM dreads/ Clads - things that come out of the gate hard on the turn they land. Anything else tends to get lashed up, assaulted, or torn asunder by small arms fire.

Pods can still provide great blocks though, however, the fact that it counts as immobile makes it much easier to hit (compared to speeding a rhino 12" to plug a gap) and that it cant move to readjust. I think you can get more milage out of a rhino block, since if its not destroyed, you can tank shock your opponent back/move in front of him again.

A successful local rule of thumb is that if its a tactical squad, keep it in a rhino. Combi-toting sterns and Dreads should always go in a pod, and theres really not a whole lot more to it.

I used to be a strict follower of the Odd number rule with pods, but i've since seen great players bring units specifically for reserve functions with a pod. Still usually a dread or sternguard, but they happily let it stay in reserve as a counter unit/meta game choice. Combi-plas sternguard seem to work relatively well in this role. Obviously, this said player had enough AT in his list to not need the sterns as combi-melta carriers - and due to their ammo types, was able to have a versatile and hard hitting counter unit, able to clear out a squad sitting in cover or blast a threatening DP to bits once some time had passed to allow its separation from the rest of the army. Against lists that penalize units in reserve such as IG, the range of the sternguards weapons helped them contribute from turn 1, since they were deployed on the table rather than thrown to the luck of the dice.

This particular build was a 1500 point build with 2 semi cheap sternguard units as the podding forces, and attack bikes for the cheap and fast AT.

Very good point, Earthen. The Odd number is not always true.
In my last game vs Deep Striking Daemon army, I used two pods.

He won the roll and made me played first, so I deployed the first one on foot, and deliver an empty pod at turn one.
The second was a 10 man stern, that took out a DP late in the game.

Dropping two of them at first one would have been a waste, because he had nothing on the table.
I would'nt follow this rule above two pods, because with 4 four pods, you have still 2 that come at turn one, then 2 in reserves, which, with bad luck,
may arrive too late to be efficient.

So the rule could be : against classic army, odd number, if you feel that your opponents can put all in reserve (an IG classic, I find) or all Deep Strike = 2 pods max.
That, along with all of your tacticals in Rhinos and you're good.

Hey guys, I'm thinking, since I've not thought of a half dozen or more of these ideas on my own, maybe a mini razorback/rhino tactica?

Thanks for the stuff to think about.

I will glady contribute to a Rhino tactica. Say it with me people...

"All lists should have at least one, but i'm a winner so have 3"

BUT dont chuck your pods...planet strike! Just take rhinos to games you are serious about winning. Like ard boyz etc.

This may need only a few pods...
Using DP will prevent you from assault
So dreads or sterns should pod in.
Risky DS per JP/teleport could be the superior choice there for any infantry type model.

Or, again, Rhinos.
Maybe LR.

Or deathwind DP. Imagine them falling into this fortress cramped with surprised defenders....and then comes the shooting...

Man, I want to see a Rhino dropped by a Thunderhawk in mid-air to do a planet strike

Maybe with little bionic raven's wings attached ?

hey, so what is the fluff for how our armour gets on the field?

If a c130 can do it, can't a thunderhawk do aerial drops?

I'd hate to see the thunderhawks stall speed though. What a brick! Aerodynamically, I mean.

Coordinateing a planetfall reentry process with already land bound rhinos seems like it would be tough. Also, the element of surprise would be gone against high tech opponents as, wouldn't they sense the forces already on the ground?

More on topic, anyone have wargear they consistantly use on the rhino, or is everyone going with the bare bones model?

They would use the thunderhawk transporter which can carry two rhino based vehicles (Rhinos/Predators etc) or one land raider, although i would love to see a vehicle drop pod..... (cpt hacksaw part 2 maybe ) with multiple Transport Thunderhawks you could establish a substantial assualt force in little time.

I always take a storm bolter, even though it is purely so i have something to do in the shooting phase, most of the time it doesn't work out but its still a option. To be completely honest though a Rhino doesn't really need anything, its cheap and cheerfull and does exactly what you want.