The Stormraven is king of the skies currently, with T7, W14 and a 3+Sv, on paper it is more durable than a Leman Russ. Throw in it’s hard to hit rule and it’s durability goes up considerably. It is however, expensive but Space Marines (and Grey Knights) have two other options in flyer support – the Stormhawk Interceptor and Stormtalon Gunship. The Interceptor is designed to be more effective against other Flyers with its Interceptor rule (+1 to hit against units with the Fly special rule) while the Stormtalon is more effective against ground targets with its Strafing run (+1 to hit against units without Fly special rule). Right off the bat if you’re going against multiple Fly units, the Interceptor seems like the clear winner but let’s dig through and see if there’s an actual difference.

The Comparison

Interceptors start at 85 points and have the following weapon options:

Two Assault Cannons (42)

Two Heavy Bolters (20) Skyhammer Missile Launcher (24) Typhoon Missile Launcher (50)

Icarus Stormcannon (22) Las-Talon (40)



Talons start at 110 points and have the following weapon options:

Twin Assault Cannon (35)

Two heavy Bolters (20) Two lascannons (50) Skyhammer Missile Launcher (24) Typhoon Missile Launcher (50)



Straight off, we see the Interceptor has more weapon options (three) than the Talon at two but the Talon also gets a point break on the twin Assault Cannon over the two Assault Cannons. At bare bones you are looking at 169 points for the Interceptor and 165 for the Talon. Seems pretty similar initially but the two key differences start to come into play now. Firstly, the Interceptor is T7 compared to T6, making it drastically more durable against anti-vehicle weapons that sit in that middle range (name S6 and S7). This is further exemplified by the fact that it can re-roll saves of 1. Nothing major but can be pretty important. Secondly, the impacts Interceptor or Strafing Run have on the weapons.

Interceptor means the Interceptor (gosh that will get confusing) will effectively always hit units with Fly on 2’s with it’s anti-flyer weapons (Skyhammer and Icarus) even when moving while Strafing Run means the Talon will basically get to ignore the negative effect of moving against ground targets. Let’s look at the raw math, Heavy Weapons are always assuming to be moving here.

There’s a lot of interactions here. Firstly, we can see the Typhoon Missile Launcher while good, is unsurprisingly outperformed by the Lascannons but can provide some decent anti-infantry flexibility. The Typhoon is still not as efficient as the Heavy Bolters or Assault Cannons though, with the Assault Cannons on the Talon shredding through GEQs quite reliably. Even the Assault Cannons on the Interceptor are reliably putting wounds through GEQ models though you start to notice a sharper decline as we hit more durable models. Given you have to take Assault Cannons on both models, this indicates leaving the Typhoon Missile Launcher at home, something we were all doing with the Stormraven anyway, is a good idea.

The Skyhammer on the Talon is a decent all-round weapon, but pales in efficiency to the Lascannon which thanks to the Strafing Run rule, effectively gives you two 3+ Lascannons. We know Lascannons are good against their targets thanks largely to S9. Being about double the cost of the Skyhammer still leaves it well ahead against its ideal targets from an efficiency perspective which leaves us with… two lascannons and a twin Assault Cannon loadout for the Talon. The Heavy Bolters are effective with the Strafing Run rule but the opportunity cost of losing two mobile lascannons is pretty big. Remember, the Talon can also Hover to get early game benefits from re-roll bubbles but it also makes it really easy to shoot down.

On the Interceptor, the Interceptor rule keeps the Skyhammer and Icarus shooting at 2’s (-1 for moving, +1 for Interceptor, +1 for weapon special rule) against units with Fly, making them very effective against these units (Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau and Flyers quake) but they take a double whammy against units without Fly (everything else cares not). This makes these weapons really hit or miss on the Interceptor but for four points for the Skyhammer over the Heavy Bolter, even against ground units it is just as effective against tougher targets. The Heavy Bolter wins out against the lighter infantry though by a decent amount. Either option is favourable here though the Skyhammer’s damage against tougher targets with Fly really jumps up compared to the Heavy Bolter. Conversely, the Las-Talon strongly outperforms the Icarus against ground targets and targets with Fly to nearly double the effectiveness and well over the extra 18 points.

Based upon these comparisons, we are left with the most efficient Talon running Assault Cannons and Lascannons (195 points) to be a tank hunter and infantry shredder and the Interceptor running with two Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missile Launcher and Las-Talon (191 points) which will shred anything with Fly but still be a decent damage dealer to things on the ground. Heavy Bolters over the Skyhammer are also a decent option to shave four points and increase the anti-infantry potency. They are effectively the same cost making this comparison that much easier.

Against the following targets, we get the following efficiency:

Interceptor Talon Guardsman 5.69 6.67 Marine 3.25 3.17 Terminator 2.81 3.26 Piranha 9.34 6.23 Rhino 3.72 4.29 Hammerhead 5.54 3.22

What we see here is that the Interceptor keeps relative pace with the Talon against ground targets. It certainly is lagging behind by about 14-15% but when we engage in against units with Fly, the difference becomes in excess of 30%. The increased durability of the Interceptor is also very important, just looking at the chart above, the difference in T6 and T7 columns are quite distinctive for all of the weapons bar the Lascannons. That means more dedicated anti-vehicle shots need to be aimed at the Interceptors which helps your other vehicles. The Talon does have Hover meaning it’s a lot easier to gain the benefit of buffs and bubbles and in a pinch, can ensure it remains out of opposing firepower more readily but the durability improvements of the Interceptor will generally outweigh this.

Both of these options are far less durable than the Stormraven, have no transport option but are nearly half the cost. If you’re looking for a more budget Flyer, the Interceptor is a great option and while the Talon is also good, its decreased durability and significantly less efficacy against units with Fly, leave it half a step behind.