5/30/12: Food for Thought: Storm Talons for Everyone?

Hey guys,

So I know there’s been a lot of mixed thoughts with the new Storm Talon kit that’s come out recently, particularly with the model. The biggest point, though, is that the model is intended for Codex: Space Marines, as opposed to all Power Armour codices, including Chaos Marines.



Now, my first argument against everyone getting the Storm Talon is the Land Speeder Storm, Thunderfire Cannon, and the Storm Raven. Armies like Blood Angels and Space Wolves would do well with a Land Speeder Storm (though the Wolves don’t really need it!), Forge World allows most Marines to get a Thunderfire Cannon, and on a Land Raider chassis, no less. As for the Storm Raven, there’s plenty of players out there that have done one in their chapter colors, from Ultramarines to Alpha Legion. 



My intentions here, though, are to play around with some rules ideas to allow everyone playing Marines to play the new Storm Talons. Now, there are armies that really wouldn’t really benefit from it, while others that would really take a boost from it. Lets recap the rules first, which you can get out the latest White Dwarf.

• 130 Points, stock with Assault Cannon and Heavy Bolter.
• Options for Lascannon, Cyclone Missile Launcher, and a third weapon at S7 Ap4 Heavy 3.
• Supersonic, Escort Craft, and Hover Mode on a Rhino equivalent chassis.

Now, lets work down the Marine codex list. Note we’ll be looking at each option via their latest codex, FAQ, etc.

Black Templars
Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything special with the vehicles in the Black Templars army besides Blessed Hull, which only works with the Land Raider Crusader. The Templars would have no problem running a Storm Talon stock.

Blood Angels
The big thing with the Blood Angels is they have a mean outflanking tank in the form of the Baal Predator. The ability to escort a Storm Raven is pretty nice too, although it means you have to leave it in Reserves. Again, like the Black Templars, though, the Blood Angels wouldn’t really have any problems running the Storm Talon, and would compliment the Baal Predator nicely.



Chaos Space Marines
An interesting idea would be to allow Chaos Marines to run the new Storm Talon. Here we find the first real changes that would need to be done to tie it into the CSM book. First off, goodbye Assault Cannon, Cyclone Missile Launcher, and Skyhammer Missiles. Instead, we replace the Assault Cannon with a Reaper Autocannon. Less shots and no rending, but higher strength. There’s no other weapons that really fit the Chaos theme, but the wargear, rather.

Daemonic Possession for 20 points, like the rest of the codex, would fit well. If we want to take a page from Forge World and the old Chaos book, Chaos Marks could work as well.

• Khorne: 25 points: Flails of the Blood God: Any unit the Storm Talon flies over takes D6 S4 Ap- hits as chains and hooks flay the enemy.
• Nurgle: 25 points: Nurglite Carapce: Reduce rolls on the Damage Table by 1 as the vehicle is propelled by a daemon, rather than its rusted workings.
• Slaanesh: 20 points: Infernal Ruckus: The Storm Talon’s weapons are accompanied by a cacophony of songs, chants, and noises praising the Prince of Excess. Units hit by its weapons must take a pinning check at –1 Ld.
• Tzeentch: 20 points: Inferno Discharge: Any model assaulting the Storm Talon takes a S4 Ap- hit as warning runes discharge warpfire at their enemies.

Just an idea, the Slaaneshi one still seems a little weak for 20 points, while the Tzeentchian one might be too much for 20. I stayed away from FW’s new Chaos weapons for things like the Contemptor, as I’d be worried things like the Butcher Cannon would be too much on this guy. Anyways, a pimped out Storm Talon would become at least 150 points, if not more, and would make you think about running one in the already expensive CSM book.

Dark Angels
Backup for Ravenwing? Yes please! A Storm Talon would go nicely with the Dark Angels theme, especially with the large amounts of bikes and speeders. Ruleswise, I’m thinking we go the route of “Dark Angels love their Plasma!” and ditch the Twin-Linked Lascannon for a Twin-Linked Plasma Cannon. The other interesting idea would be a Teleport Homer to back up the Deathwing or more Ravenwing. I know there’s plenty of Homers in a Ravenwing army, but with Sammael, you’d be able to run your Bikes and Land Speeders along with the Storm Talon too.

Grey Knights
Here’s an interesting one. First off, it gets the option for Psybolt Ammunition for 20 points, just like its older brother the Storm Raven. Give it Fortitude and ‘The Aegis’ and add 15 points onto the base points. Nothing really major to change there, it works just like all the other Grey Knights vehicles. So 145 points base, option for Psybolt Ammunition. I feel like I’m missing something…

Space Wolves
Alrighty, this one’s a touchy one thanks to our favorite unit, the Wolf Scouts. The Storm Talon would allow for a Cyclone Missile Launcher, Skyhammer Missiles, even a Lascannon, to come on in your opponent’s table edge, which doesn’t seem right. So, there’s a couple of options:
One: Increase the price for the ability to arrive with Wolf Scouts. 20-30 points would probably help balance that out, as you’d have to decide whether or not its worth it to bring in 300+ points on the back edge.
Two: Just don’t allow it to come on via the Wolf Scouts outflank ability.
Apart from that little tidbit, the Wolves Storm Talon would work just like the DA, BA, BT, and SM ones.



Granted its kind of a squat, silly looking model, but its rules are nice and most Marine players will want to play around with it a little bit. These are just ideas for rules. Obviously they’re not play-tested, but just flipping through the rules with some knowledge of the game. So if you do get a chance to test them out though, leave a comment and let everyone know how they worked for you!

Alrighty, enough talk, back to painting Zhufor….

Granesh