Storm Speeder

"I CANNOT HEAR YOU BROTHERS, I HAVE TINITUS!"

– [Brother Dantius]

"BRUVA! MY NECK IS PINNED HERE!"

– Diomedes after going on a joy ride with Cyrus and Thule in one of these things.

The Primaris Space Marines finally got their first flyer model which is basically a Land Speeder but all jacked up. According to recent fluff these flying METAL BOXES come courtesy of Belisarius Cawl who figured out how to boost the output of the anti-grav systems of the regular Land Speeder enough to allow more armor and weapons on the craft without slowing it down. Suffice to say, the design of this thing has been...interesting to say the least. With a half-dozen memes immediately spawning from its...odd placement of the gunner's seat. You see, rather than having a simple targeting computer, the main guns of the Storm Speeder is operated by a gunner, who just so happens to have his head exposed in-between the weapon system. Similarly to the Invader ATV, deaf jokes has been made at the gunner's expense, with many in /tg/ mocking the design by stating that the gunner gets immediate invuln save from Sonic Weapons. And that's not to mention that two of the three variants are exposing him to the backblast of their rockets once they're out of the tubes. It also looks like even more of a flying METHUL BAWKS than the normal Land Speeder, although this is the least of its design flaws. The Storm Speeder comes in three variant to serve the three food groups of armor, fliers, and hordes.

In terms of its hull and movement stats. With a move of 16” it’s slightly slower than a bare-bones Land Speeder. Although it has a decent WS and BS of 3+ and a solid Toughness of 6. It only has 10 Wounds with a pretty meh Ld of 7. So a dedicated anti-air platform or a sharpshooter can bring this thing down pretty quickly. Moreover, its Strength of 5 really hammers (Ha!) home that it should stay clear from Dreadnought-equivalents. At the very least it retains the pretty sweet 3+ Sv.

If you think the insane gunner spot is immersion breaking, shut it off and replace it with a hatch and pretend that the guy on the side of the driver is firing. Or pretend that a spare helmet is placed there as a sucker for enemy sharpshooters. Or that marine's helmet can filter out deafening gunner noise with Titan-grade earmuffs.

Variants

Hammerstrike

BRUVA! I THINK MY EARDRUMS JUST RECEIVED 3 MORTAL WOUNDS!

The first variant with proper rules.

The Hammerstrike is named after its weapon, the Hammerstrike Missile Launcher, which is a predominantly an anti-armour weapon system meant to hunt down enemy armour. In simple layman's term, it is an attack aircraft or a dedicated flying tank destroyer.

Its profile matches its description. The Hammerstrike Missile Launcher is a Heavy 2 anti-tank ordnance that hits with S8 and AP-3, dealing 3 Damage per shot. Its 36" range gives it enough distance to soften any tank in its way whilst its hull-mounted 24" range Melta Destroyer deals the finishing blow with S8, AP-4 and, with the new upgraded Melta rules of D6+2 at half-range (This means that it is dealing at minimum, 3 wounds per shot! Holy shit! Say goodbye to MEQs!). It also has a Krakstorm Grenade Launcher, but this should be reserved for TEQs and the like.

Tl;dr, this Vehicle moves more than half the distance and has almost more firepower than a Predator Annihilator. If you happen to want a Predator for that purpose but have filled your heavy slots already, you will certainly be well served taking this unit in its place. In a pinch it might even serve as a TEQ hunter.

Thunderstrike

BY THE EMPEROR! I HAVE TO ROTATE MY WHOLE BODY TO SHOOT THAT AIRCRAFT RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

Unlike the Hammerstrike, which goes for relatively close-ranged anti-tank purposes. The Thunderstrike is an air-superiority aircraft that is equipped with much longer-ranged weaponry.

In contrast to the Hammerstrike, the Thunderstrike is armed primarily with a anti-aircraft weapon (specifically, the Icarus Rocket Pods). Moreover, it replaces the hull-mounted Melta Destroyer with a Lascannon, allowing for pin-point shots at long-ranges against enemy aircraft. Aiming with the Lascannon and Missile Lancher is assisted with two targeting computers, which has largely replaced the Krakstorm Grenade Launcher.

Crunchwise, it is anti-aircraft variant but also does very well against terrestrial Infantry and Vehicles. Has a base BS of 2+ thanks to the targeting computers, unlike the other Storm Speeders. Stormfury missiles (48", heavy 1, S10, AP-3, Dd6), thunderstrike las-talon (36", heavy 2, S9, AP-3, Dd6), and a turreted twin icarus rocket pod (24", heavy 2d3, S7, AP-1, D2, blast and gains +1 to hit Aircraft units). Can multi-task at attacking mobs and tanks or focus down flyers.

Hailstrike

WHAT BROTHER! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER MY LEAKING BRAIN FLUID!

The anti-infantry variant of the Storm Speeder and the most Dakka of them all.

The Hailstrike replaces the Missile Launchers with a twin-linked Heavy Stubber (Which looks suspiciously like the Ironhail Skytalon Array). Moreover, instead of a hull-mounted Melta Destroyer, the Hailstrike instead, have a Onslaught Gatling Cannon to BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTT the enemies of men into a fine, pink mist. To further amp up its anti-horde role, it replaces the two Krakstorm Grenade Launcher with Fragstorms instead, so if you wanna do a mini-carpet bomb, there's your chance.

This model in particular gained instant mockery from the fa/tg/uys for its absurdly small ammo supply for the stubbers. Seriously, look at those fucking things, they carry maybe twenty shots.

In 9th Edition, the Hailstrike is heavily armed with anti-Infantry weaponry, likely to eliminate a platoon of Guardsmen or Tyranids that think they're safe behind obscuring terrain. Two fragstorm launchers (18", assault d6, S4, AP0, D1, blast), an onslaught gatling cannon (24", heavy 8, S5, AP-1, D1), and twin ironhail stubber (36", heavy 8, S4, AP-1, D1). The cheapest of the bunch, and competes with the Invader ATV. This vehicle has an edge in durability and firepower.

Gallery

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  Health insurance is for the weak!

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  Roll a 4+ to negate Sonic attacks.

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  Uncle Cawl is nothing but ambitious...