Well, we’re barreling toward the one year mark of the new era of Heroscape – it was GenCon 2024 in early August that marked the official release of the first new figures & terrain since 2010 – and like clockwork, the Renegade Games Studio team is releasing information about how they’ll empty our wallets expand our armies this summer whilst celebrating 365 days of ‘Scape.

Yesterday was the virtual RenegadeCon event – and the first stream of the day was the wave 4 Heroscape reveal. After a technical glitch, the good folks at Renegade kicked off the con with previews of the next wave of Heroscape – Boiling Tension. (Yes, some of the jokes in the chat while they worked on the sound issues took full advantage of the “boiling tension” title.)

I’m going to take this opportunity to give a rundown on the next 6 months of releases – with special attention paid to the information that just dropped in the last 24 hours.

Releasing Next Week

I’ve had the privilege of playing with the new stuff (the Rising Tide story arc) that shows up on your local game store shelf next week – and I even wrote about it on Valentines Day. (Short version: loving the ability to field a heavily armored force of polar bears, jazzed to see Sonlen back with a much bigger dragon, and the Hellforge is both creepy & incredibly cool. Also, more terrain!)

Releasing In April

Coming soon will be the second half of the Rising Tide wave – including a bunch of very evil bug-like creatures and Wing Commander Tuck Harrigan and his Vorid Glide Strikers (flying animals with weaponry – what’s not to love?) I wrote a preview about the Rising Tide releases – and I’ll be reviewing the new figures when they land (or crawl with horrific chittering noises) into view.

And now we get to the new stuff!

Releasing in June

The first figure from the Boiling Tension wave is Air Marshall Zed Nesbitt… one of the odder figures previewed in the original Hasbro attempt to reboot Heroscape. For lack of a better description, it’s a small woodland creature (chipmunk?!) with some kind of rifle – in a blimp.

And not just any blimp, mind you – it’s the largest mobile figure released for Heroscape to date. Heroscape figures are rated in size – and the Air Marshall is Huge 15. For comparison, the dragons (both new and old) have ranged between Huge 11 and Huge 13. (The single larger figure is the static Marro Hive at Huge 17.)

Zed can use his Skyhook power to assist other Vorid (cute animals with weaponry species) in moving across the map… and he can crash land the blimp with his special attack to serious area effect damage. Interestingly, this is the first (but not the last) set of figures allied to a new Valkyrie General: Volarak.

I have plans for the Air Marshall – along with my beloved Ursine friends (Ordo Borealis & the Frostclaw Paladins!!), the homeworld of Noxdorma is ripe with figures to make up an Everdell/Mouse Guard-themed army.

Zed Nesbitt releases in June with an unpainted version ($30) and a painted version ($40).

Releasing in August

Once August (and GenCon) rolls around, there’s a plethora of new things coming for Heroscape.

The only terrain pack releasing in the new few months is The Lava Fields of Valhalla. As I’ve shared elsewhere, my gaming group actually was part of the playtests for the original Volcarren Wasteland terrain box – so of course I’m stoked to see this new version twenty years later.

I like that they’ve added 24 hex pieces of lava field, plus 3 hex molten lava tiles – and I’m very glad that there are four outcrops in the box as well. (Outcrop pieces add so much to the board visually as well as helping block line of sight – LOS – from those pesky ranged units.)

The terrain box will cost $60 and release in August.

I’ve been begging in earlier reviews for more Eisenek figures – and right on time, the Heroscape development team sends us Scavorith, Lord of Ruin. This creepy techno-worm with guns for “arms” has a pretty serious regular attack in addition to his Double Burst special attack… and the ability to Battle Surge if you’ve set your order markers correctly.

Due to his high point cost (185!), it’s will now be possible to field an Eisenek army that clocks in at 555 points and does some major damage on behalf of Revna.

• Iron Lich Viscerot – 150 points
• Necrotech Wraithriders – 90 points
• Hellforge Mandukor – 130 points
• Scavorith, Lord of Ruin – 185 points

This might be a good time to note that Eisenek also hail from the homeworld of Noxdorma – so evidently the Everdell faction has been battling these technological monstrosities for a long time.

Scavorith, Lord of Ruin releases in August with an unpainted version ($25) and a painted version ($35).

Another follower of Volarak is coming – the clever inventor, Imperator Kayne. With his mechanical creation (that looks like a steampunk version of an AT-ST), Kayne can stomp his way across the battlefield – and hopefully put a few bullets into something Eisenek.

I love the steampunk vibe here – I’d be happy to see more of that from our Vorid friends. (And I wouldn’t mind a steampunk golem, if any one at Renegade wants to dream that up.) Honestly, I’d like to have as much Vorid in my collection as I have Marro – and since I’m an old skool Heroscape player, that’s a lot.

Imperator Kayne releases in August with an unpainted version ($25) and a painted version ($35).

Those of us who’ve played/collected Heroscape for a long time have wondered when Renegade would begin releasing Common Squards. Well, that day is coming with the release of two boxes of commons – the first is the Revnan Acolytes & Grave Grim.

For the uninitiated, all of the new Heroscape figures released up to this point are Unique Squads and Heroes – meaning you can only field one of them in your army. With Common Squads, you can have multiples of the same group in your army.

The Revnan Acolytes are relatively weak as an attacking force – but their powers of Hero Worship help other tougher Revna figures get rerolls and they can be Risen by Revna to keep reappearing on the battlefield. (There’s also something to be said for using these guys to act as blockers for your bigger Revna figures – or simply feed them to the Hellforge Mandukor to hopefully reduce his damage.)

The Grave Grim is a Common Hero – meaning, just like with common squads – you can have multiple Grims as a part of your army. That means you can enjoy their ability to guide Eisenek and Undead figures around board as well as use their Harrowing Presence to screw up special attack die rolls of your opponent… all with multiple rams-horned razor-backed evil doggies with fiery green eyes. What’s not to love?

Interesting side note: both common boxes are the first sets of figures completely designed by the Renegade team. (All of the other figures were adapted from the failed Hasbro attempt to launch the Age of Annihilation.)

The Revnan Acolytes & Grave Grim releases in August with an unpainted version ($25) and a painted version ($35) – and you can use multiples of these in your army/collection.

The Molten Crustaceans & Tanuki Tricksters box also contains two common squads… and is probably the box I’m most likely to want multiple copies of. Just look at the Molten crabs, with their tiny arms waving weapons – how can I resist?

It doesn’t hurt that these are Lava Resistant creatures – and that they are loyal to my favorite general, Aquilla. Their Volcanic Carapace power – only activated on their death – is icing on the proverbial lava cake. (When they die, they spawn lava field tiles… or, if you roll well, molten lava tiles!)

We haven’t had enough Lava Resistant creatures in the game. From the new material, these are the first… and from the older stuff, you’ve only got Brunak, the Fire Elementals, the Iron Golem, Moltenclaw, the Obsidian Guards, and Shurrak. Just a hint to the Renegade team: more, please.

The other squad in this pack is [sound of Mark cheering wildly] more Vorid (aka Everdell/Mouse Guard) creatures – except this time they’re ninjas. Their special powers include Phantom Walk (kind of a ninja standard power) as well the ability to “force push” opponents via Nage-Waza and the Tanuki Aruki power which allows them to direct the movement of other Vorid and ninjas of any species.

They’re fast-moving and have a decent defense – played correctly, these could be very powerful squads for their measly 45 point cost.

The Molten Crustaceans & Tanuki Tricksters releases in August with an unpainted version ($25) and a painted version ($35) – and you can use multiples of these in your army/collection.

It’s not an army or terrain box – but Renegade will also publish at set of glyphs to add to your battles – my quick perusal of this collection seems to show all of the glyphs from the original run of Heroscape plus a few new ones. (Honestly, I like the art on these better than the block-y glyph art from Age of Annihilation) and hope that they’ll release those to the general public as well – there are fancy versions of those as part of the World Championship prize offerings.)

For those who are new to Heroscape, this is a great chance to get these glyphs without having to chase down the original boxes & packs they came in.

The glyph set will cost $25 and release in August.

Finally, there’s a pre-order bonus of a Revna dice pack when you order directly from Renegade… they’re pretty cool-looking, too. As they note in the tiny picture next to this paragraph, they contain a full set of 6-sided Heroscape dice as well as a matching 20-sided die. (So far, this is the closest we’ve got to the old skool flagbearers… I actually don’t care if we get more fancy dice – but I really want a flag bear – yep, an Ursine (polar bear) with heavy armor and a flag.)

Available Promotional Figures

The first three promotional figures are now available for order from Renegade.

• Sgt. Drake
• Shiori
• Cornelius Breech

This is one of the classy things Renegade has done – making promo figures available to those who weren’t able to go to events. They are not inexpensive – $20 each – but it beats the heck out of the old system of begging folks on BGG and/or paying inflated prices for repaints.

Organized Play

I’m really the wrong person to ask about Organized Play – let’s be clear, I’d call how I deal with Heroscape more of a disorganized play anyway. But as an outside observer to all of the work Renegade Game Studios is doing, there’s an impressive level of support for those who want that kind of play environment.

Renegade is starting a Wardens of Valhalla program to increase play events and teaching, there are store championships coming later this spring and Valkyrie Trials in early summer… and all of that will culminate with the World Championship at GenCon in early August. If you want to know more about those things, I highly recommend the Organized Play portion of the Heroscape site (including the excellent Battle Network portal) as well as the release video linked below.

I will say that the prizes and giveaways – including a new Raelin figure and Decker the Burrowbreaker – are pretty tempting, even to this disorganized guy.

Looking WAY Ahead

In early 2026, the Renegade team is teasing the release of Heroscape: G.I. Joe (go, Joe!). This isn’t the first time that an intellectual property (IP) crossed over into Valhalla – that honor belongs to the much-maligned Marvel box back in 2007. And it isn’t the second time, since the Dungeons & Dragons world jumped through a portal in 2010 with Battle for the Underdark (yes, there were Drow) and three sets of army & hero packs. (I’m still wondering what happened to Valkrill as a Valkyrie General – all he got to command were a few B-team baddies from the D&D universe.)

There wasn’t a lot of detail in the announcement – but there was a lot of glee on the part of Renegade’s president… and even a not-so-subtle hint that more IP crossovers might happen. (Rank speculation: since Renegade has the rights to Transformers and Power Rangers, it’s not impossible that those might make the jump as well.)

While I’m not particularly a G.I. Joe fan (I was too old to get in on the classic 80s Joe vs Cobra run), I don’t have any issues with doing this. Marvel didn’t work well because the figures were – for the most part – overpowered and weirdly costed. The D&D crossover was far more successful. So far, the Renegade team has done a great job with balancing powers and costs, so I look forward to seeing what they can do with more good guys & bad guys. (And my Microcorp Agents need some new buddies to hang out with.)

Final Thoughts

If you’d like to watch the reveal for yourself (including a kinda cool stop-motion ‘Scape battle from the Tales of Valhalla folks), you can find it on Renegade’s YouTube channel. The screenshots throughout this post come directly from the reveal video.

An apology of sorts is needed: over the years, I’ve told many folks that I’m not really a miniatures kind of gamer – mostly because I didn’t play games with tape measures and laser pointers and careful painting of vast armies. As Jason Matthew (designer of Twilight Struggle) pointed out to me some years ago, playing and collecting Heroscape and Memoir ’44, as well as more recent games like Unmatched: Battle of Legends and Wildlands, means I need to pipe down about the miniatures thing. He’s not wrong.

If you’re going to pre-order, don’t put Air Marshall Zed into your August order unless you’re willing to wait for him. Everything else can be bundled for an August 2025 delivery.

Last but not least, I received review copies of the new Heroscape material. Back in the day, I did receive some promo figures, a couple of Volcarren Wasteland boxes, and a wave of figures as a “thank you” for my work as a playtester. (I also received a very cool Heroscape T-shirt which fit 42 year old Mark but isn’t as kind to 60 year old Mark. But I still have it hanging in my closet.)