This is part 3 of my recap of the Renegade Games virtual “convention” (RenegadeCon) and the new information they revealed about the next wave of armies and terrain (due to be released in the first half of 2027). I will work to suppress my absolute giddy delight at the announcement of one of these upcoming army boxes. (Not really.)
Want to read Part One or Part Two? Use the links!
We’ve got a lot more to cover, so let’s keep going!
May 2027
The late spring wave is entitled Bleakwoode’s Bane… and there are some really intriguing boxes on the way!
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Scientists of the Umbral Covenant
I’m having some difficulty avoiding references to Thomas Dolby, Buster Pointdexter, and Elton John in writing up this box… sorry, that’s what happens when you put a guy who graduated high school, college, and seminary in the 80s in charge.
Dr. Valentina Lockhart
- Dr. Lockhart hails from a Mars colony in Earth’s far future – which means she’s got some slick science-y moves up her spacesuit sleeves to go with those “electric boots” that let her fly. Her powers include d20 modifiers for unique Revna and Vydar figures in her army, as well as the ability to do a Coordinated Deployment with two other Scout or Scientist figures.
- More importantly, she can call in an Orbital Strike special attack from Vydar’s Heimdall space station once per game that is particularly vicious (Explosion 2 + extra skulls!).
- Her regular stats are middle of the road… but those special abilities mean opposing armies have to be careful about massing for an attack.
- Yes, it is possible that she “blinded me with science.”
Dr. Harlan Eisen
- And here’s the… well, skunk?! – who created the technology that eventually led to the Eiseneks. Yes, the Hellforge Mandukor and the Iron Lich Viscerot – those guys.
- He has prototype injections (cyaline) that can bump the Move, Attack, and Defense values of himself or any fellow Scientist, Vorid, or Eisenek figure.
- Once per game, he can activate More Machine Than Vorid, which clears all of his Wound Markers and replenishes his cyaline supply. However, while it bumps up his attack value, it lowers his defense value.
- It’s obvious to see how he will be a great support character for a variety of army builds…
Orangunators
- These high tech robot suits are driven by orangutans… and, yes, my old skool Heroscape friends, these guys are the same species (Primadon) as the Gorillanators!
- They have bonding with an Agent or Scientist Hero… and one of their gun emplacements is a flamethrower (attack 4) in a line of 4 spaces. (“Hot hot hot” indeed.)
- Additionally, they have a Force Field Power that potentially protects them from non-adjacent attacks. (Since it’s a d20 roll, it pairs nicely with Dr. Lockhart.)
The box also includes two new Treasure Glyphs – the Hastening Coil that adds 8 to your initiative roll and The Button which has 20 random effects. (No surprise – some of those effects are primo; others are not.)
This set will be $45 for unpainted and $55 for pre-painted. All of the heroes and squads in this pack are unique.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Awakened Ancient of the Umbral Covenant
If you weren’t weirded out enough by some of the earlier Revna heroes and squads, have I got a box for you.
Hands of Hrungnir
- Yeah, it’s a squad of resurrected mummified giant hands. These undead Relics can Toss small or medium figures on a high enough roll… and their special attack is a Deathclap that affects every figure between the two hands in a straight line. (Note: While it can’t be more than 6 spaces, the Deathclap is an attack value of 5. Yikes.)
- Their base stats are pretty good as well – each hand has 3 life points and a defense of 5.
Heart of Hrungnir
- Sealed in a canopic jar, the heart of the long-dead giant is carried around by a Revna acolyte.
- It is able to fire off a Thunderous Heartbeat attack that affects all enemy figures that are adjacent to Relics you control in 7 spaces.
- It can also soak wounds for other relics within 7 spaces because it is Bound By the Old Magic. It has 6 life points, which makes this workable if not always a great idea.
- The special powers of the Heart are not dependent on LOS – so finding a good hiding place for it near the action is an excellent idea.
Head of Hrungnir
- This huge double-space figure is – you guessed it – the mummified head being carried by two Revna acolytes.
- The United Body power allows it to bond with two Relic army cards within 7 spaces – and makes this group of figures a scary addition to any battlefield.
- He/it/whatever also has a Giant Evil Eye, which allows him to counterstrike any attack by a non-adjacent figure with 7 spaces.
- He’s also a King – so he’s got some interesting bonding opportunities.
Two glyphs are included in this spooky box – the Glyph of Andvari (+2 to d20 rolls) and the Cursed Amulet of Restoration, which both heals and wounds.
This set will be $45 for unpainted and $60 for pre-painted. All of the heroes and squads in this pack are unique.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Associates of Volarak
The Umbral Covenant isn’t the only alliance that gets more goodies – the Clockwork Combine has some new friends as well.
Associates of Volarak (x2)
- This common squad are Kyrie that are loyal to Volarak – and to good business. They can bond with a Profiteer hero – and if that hero attacks an adjacent figure or destructible object, the Associates get a +1 to their attack value.
- Profiteer heroes include Destro & Major Bludd (from the G.I. Joe sets)… and a new friend we’ll get to in just a minute!
- They look like angels in mobster suits carrying swords – but they also have Pepperbox Pistols they can use after they make a normal attack.
- And, being Kyrie, they can fly.
- Thanks again to Renegade Game Studios for creating the common army boxes with two copies of each common squad in the box.
This set will be $35 for unpainted and $55 for pre-painted.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Remastered Ashigaru
This (along with the next box) is what I’ve been searching after for 15+ years… more Ashigaru. When the original blister packs landed, I was short on cash and only got one set of each – but the optimal way to field an army of these figures is with multiple squads.
And now I can. (Imagine me doing a happy dance… cuz I am.)
Ashigaru Yari (x2)
- Their incredibly low point cost (30!) coupled with their ability to make an Encircle special attack mean that they can potentially overwhelm heroes with their numbers.
- Additionally, these common squads can be commanded and easily added to Disciplined armies.
- These are remastered figures who have been OOP for way too long. And there are two squads in the box!
This set will be $35 for unpainted and $55 for pre-painted.
Ashigaru Harquebus (x2)
- The Harquebus wield long guns – and have the same Wait & Fire power as the other mass battle cards like the 10th Regiment of Foot or the 4th Massachusets Line.
- Not a big attack – but the range of 6 does not hurt.
- Once again, these common squads can be commanded and easily added to Disciplined armies.
- These are remastered figures who have been OOP for way too long. And there are two squads in the box!
- I’m still doing my dance over here. Seriously.
This set will be $35 for unpainted and $55 for pre-painted.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Remastered Einar High Command
Once again, the wonderful team at Renegade is bringing back not only the cool common squads but also the excellent leader heroes who can maximize their effectiveness. And one of them is a Flagbearer remaster!
Hatamoto Taro
- Let’s start with that flagbearer… he’s got a new sculpt with the same great power set.
- His Stalwart Defense Aura allows Einar defenders within 8 clear site spaces to count Einar symbols rolled as an additional shield. This is actually slightly more powerful than the original card which restricted the aura to Samurai & Ashigaru.
- He’s also bolstered by have other Einar figures nearby – his admittedly weak defense (2) is bumped by one if he’s standing next to another Einar figure.
- And, yes, the box includes an Einar dice set and dice bag!
Kato Katsuro
- Not only is Kato a powerful samurai in his own right (5 life points, attack and defense 4), he also can forego his order to order Samurai or Ashigaru into battle.
- Much like Hatamoto, there are two versions of his card with slightly different power structures and costs – and both will be “street legal” for competitive play in contemporary and ‘all-time’ formats.
- In his contemporary card, he also gets counter-strike. (Awesome!)
- He’s a long-time favorite of mine, particularly when leading bands of samurai to honorably destroy their enemies.
As noted earlier, this box also includes a dice bag and set of Einar dice.
This set will be $35 for unpainted and $55 for pre-painted.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Remastered Zelrig
The return of the dragon emporer!
Zelrig
- They’ve slightly reduced his cost – by 5 points – but the power level of this imperious dragon is impressive.
- The biggest issue is his Majestic Fires special attack which has a range of 7, an attack value of 3, and an explosion value of 1. Common squad figures roll 2 less defense dice against this wall of flame.
- Yes, that makes him absolutely scary if you’re fielding a squad-heavy army against him.
- The wings means he can fly as well. I mean, he’s a dragon, right?!
- Best suggestion of the stream: Lee noted that you can use Guilty McCreech to deputize Zelrig and make him a cowboy dragon. Yee-haw!
This set will be $20 for unpainted and $30 for pre-painted.
Bleakwoode’s Bane: Promos
Taega the Kyrie Warrior
- Here’s the Profiteer hero you need to hang out with the Associates of Volarak.
- He’s a Kyrie warrior with a Double Gunblade Assault that gives him the power to make two attacks per turn with the first attack getting a +1 boost.
- With five life points and a defense of 4, he’s a pretty durable figure as well.
- And, since he’s a Kyrie, he flies.
More To Come
All right… that’s all the non-organized play announcements from RenegadeCon… but there’s more coverage on the way as I recap the Designer’s Roundtable and the Dev Diary next week. For this week, I’ll just show myself out and let y’all enjoy the wall-to-wall Essen coverage here on the OG. (For a great non-Opinionated Gamers source, check out the excellent coverage of Kulkmann’s G@mebox – I’ve been reading his stuff since before Heroscape even existed!)
