Air Drop a M6-B Fireball Heavy Walker OMG

By Mel Westbrook, in Dust Warfare Rules Discussion

Last game I played one of our players used the Air Drop platoon upgrade to air drop a heavy walker onto the game table with a squad inside it.....a bit beardy I thought so I did some reading. The Air Drop rule states one UNIT in the platoon gains the Air Drop special ability (page 87) but upon further reading regarding the definition of UNITS (page 23) it states;

"When the rules make reference to a "unit," they mean all miniatures that are part of the unit. In the text the distinction between "unit" and "miniature" is used deliberately. A miniature is an individual combatant while a unit is the tactical element that miniatures create . In Dust Warfare, the terms are not interchangeable, even when the rules refer to a unit with a single miniature (such as a vehicle)."

It seems to me this implies only infantry units of 2 or more men (not walkers) can use the air drop rule, correct?

This also raised the second question, Heros using Air Drop. It mentions under both Allies and Axis headings (page 82 Allies & page 109 Axis) that;

"Heros often operate outside the platoon structure and are not considered to be a section of the platoon unless they are acting as a command section through the leader special ability"

To me this means that unless they are acting as the platoon command section or attached to a platoon they cannot receive platoon upgrades as they are technically not part of the platoon. In short, a Hero could only Air Drop in by attaching himself to a platoon at the start of the game?

Last Question, Blitzkrieg special order. It allows a unit to take a move action even with suppression and reaction markers on it and not gain a reaction marker. Does this still count as one of the two actions the unit can take per game turn or is it a free move like the "fast" or "agility" abilities?

Thank you

You can apply Air Drop to any unit in the platoon. I do not think this includes a solo Hero, given what you said. However, it does include walkers, as Fireball Drop is basically one of the first "netlists" that cropped up for Warfare back in its infancy.

Blitzkrieg is a free move taken in the Command Phase.