Good grief. The Embers of War Heroscape releases just arrived on my doorstep this week… and then the Renegade Game Studios team decided to open the veritable floodgates with information about the wild assortment of stuff coming in early 2026 (February, March, April, and May). It’s going to be a busy spring.

Yes, fellow Heroscapers (and other folks who just like reading my dulcet prose), we’ve reached the time of year when I recap the Heroscape-y parts of the fall RenegadeCon. I wasn’t kidding in the first paragraph – there is a LOT to cover, so let’s get right to it. (Seriously – Lee Houff noted that it’s the most stuff they’ve announced in one stream, adding “it’s nuts.” She’s not wrong – but in a good way.)

I’ll be covering both the reveals (thanks to Anais Morgan & Lee Houff) as well as the Heroscape Designer Roundtable (thanks to Rina Amaranthine, S. Rowan, Dyllan Fernandez, and Alex Davy) that were a part of the stream last Friday. (If you’d like to watch it for yourself – including a live playthrough, a paint clinic, and a short feature on Heroscape miniature design – head on over to the Renegade Game Studios YouTube channel.)

February 2026 Releases

They’re keeping it simple for February – with a nice terrain callback, a helpful accessory, and a set of miniature painters.

• The Caverns of Valhalla
  • Re-introducing the dungeon/cavern terrain originally released with the D&D-themed master set (Battle for the Underdark) back in 2010.
  • The set includes dungeon terrain, shadow terrain, and four rock outcroppings.
  • This $60 set will released in February 2026.

This is a terrain type we didn’t see nearly enough of prior to the “demise” of OG Heroscape – so it’s really nice to have it back. I’m thinking about trying to rebuild my epic six-sided dungeon board – only deeper! (I originally built this monstrous map for the grand opening celebration of the wonderful Crazy Squirrel Game Store in Fresno, California. Man, I miss that place – what a great FLGS.)

• Premium Wound Markers
  • Oversized wound markers that go underneath a figure to indicate their wounds.
  • A pack of 12 wound markers (9 one wound tokens and 3 two wound tokens) will release in February 2026 and cost $15.

My impression is that these will be especially helpful for common squad figures with 2 or 3 hit points. I do have a mild concern about raising the figure slightly changing the LOS (line of sight) issues, but I probably just have PTSD from last night’s Heroscape battle against the Longbow Hunters.

• Heroscape Army Painter Starter Set
  • 10 different paints and a paintbrush + Decker the Burrowbreaker unpainted mini (and army card)
  • This $45 set will be released in February 2026.

I’m not a painter, but if I was it would be great to have a set with the “standard” Heroscape colors to work with. Plus, Decker is a really cool Vorid hero. (Note: an unpainted version of him without paints is also available through the Renegade Game Studios site.)

“Yo, Joe!” – March 2026 Releases

Beware the Ides of March… and the approach of the third IP to get sucked into Valhalla: G.I. Joe. (The first two were Marvel – which sadly only got a single box – and Dungeons & Dragons, which received a Master Set and three waves of figures before Hasbro sunset OG Heroscape. Interestingly, the spring of 2026 marks the return of terrain from both of those sets!)

• G.I. Joe: Rumble at the Rift Battle Box
  • Like the previous Battle for the Wellspring Battle Box, this is designed to be great “jumping in” points for the game – containing everything a new player would need to get it to the table.
  • Eight iconic G.I. Joe characters
    • Four “Joes”
      • Duke
      • Scarlett
      • Roadblock
      • Snake Eyes
    • Four Cobra
      • Cobra Commander
      • Destro
      • Storm Shadow
      • Doctor Mindbender
  • Re-introducing the asphalt & concrete terrain types originally released with the Marvel-themed master set (The Conflict Begins) back in 2007… and adding in shadow tiles, glow-in-the-dark toxic tiles, and glow-in-the-dark toxic water tiles. There are also two fortified wall pieces (which look very cool).
  • This Battle Box will be released in March 2026 with both painted ($85) and unpainted ($65) versions

Look, I was too old to watch the original G.I. Joe cartoons back in the 80s – but I know enough about the IP to be excited about this particular group of heroes landing in Valhalla. Also exciting: Destro (one of the Cobra “baddies”) adds a new mechanic in the use of Tech Glyphs… and, of course, toxic tiles. (I’m not sure how I’m going to play Heroscape with the lights off thanks to the toxic “glow-in-the-dark” tiles – but I certainly will give it a try.)

• G.I. Joe Strike Forces Army Expansion
  • This box includes the Joe hero Lady Jaye (with her cool Zipline glyph) and the ninja duo (squad) of Jinx & Kamakura.
  • It also includes the Cobra hero Baroness (who can manipulate orders) and the Crimson Twins (squad) with their shared life pool.
  • This Army expansion will be released in March 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

I think it’s a really smart decision to have a mixed box to allow new G.I. Joe oriented players to expand their collection and possible army configurations. The interesting twists (especially with the squads) are appealing to me as a long-time ‘Scape player – even with my bare bones knowledge of G.I. Joe lore.

• G.I. Joe Greenshirts and Battle Copter Army Expansion
  • This “Joe only” box includes a common squad (the Greenshirts) who have bonding to Joe and/or Soldier heroes in your army and a common hero (the Battle Copter) with a nifty “flying” figure and the ability to strafe enemy formations.
  • “Common” means you can have more than one of these squads or heroes in an army. Owning multiple boxes of these means you can field larger groups and give orders to any of these type of figures. (In other words, you don’t have to track which squad they belong to.)
  • This Army expansion will be released in March 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

The ability of the Greenshirts to keep Joe heroes moving into combat-ready positions is solid – and positioning this squad on a high point to snipe at enemies could prove useful. And who doesn’t love a battle copter – particularly one that can use its ‘Battle Ready’ power to use the “X” order marker to move & fire in place of another order? (I’m fully aware that I’m likely to make chopper noises and “fly” this figure over the board when playing it – and I’m 61 years old. Don’t judge me.)

• G.I. Joe Cobra Troopers and Cobra Flight Pod Army Expansion
  • This “Cobra only” box includes a common squad (the Troopers) who bonds with Warlord & Profiteer heroes (and gets attack buffs for adjacent unique Cobra figures) and a common hero (the Flight Pod) who shares the Battle Ready power with the Copter as well as having an air-to-ground missile.
  • This Army expansion will be released in March 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

“Cobra wouldn’t be Cobra without dozens of nameless minions for the Joes to mow down.”

Lee Houff – Producer, Heroscape

My only concern here is that I’m going to want 2-3 boxes of “nameless minions”.

• The Urban Landscape of Valhalla
  • Previous to the G.I. Joe sets, the only place you could find asphalt and concrete terrain was in the Marvel-themed Master set… but since urban warfare works with Joe vs. Cobra, it’s back.
  • I didn’t use the Marvel terrain often – mostly as extra building terrain to make larger maps – but I can see myself creating urban settings for G.I. Joe battles.
    • You also could some neat things combining urban terrain with swamp – as if part of the “real world” was accidentally sucked into Valhalla.
  • I do like that there are more fortified walls to go with the walls in the Joe Battle Box.
  • This $45 set will released in March 2026.

The initial use case for this set will be for those who’ve bought the G.I. Joe Battle Box and want more room for their ’80s cartoon battles. However, I think there are some interesting things folks with a lot more terrain in their arsenal can do with this – and I can’t wait to see some of that creativity.

There is also a pre-order promo figure for the G.I. Joe releases – Serpentor. He’s a beefy unique hero with a double attack and an ability that reduces the defense of adjacent foes. Plus, he looks like he escaped from the set of Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy film. What’s not to like? (No surprise, this genetically enhanced snake/B-movie temple priest crossover is loyal to Cobra.)

Finally – there is more G.I. Joe content coming… “Now you know.”

Gathering Storm – April 2026 Releases

The new story arc (Gathering Storm) also seems to be gathering inspiration from old skool Heroscape with some cool new heroes and squads… as well as a couple of returning favorites.

• Gathering Storm: Elites of Ullar and Ranoc Vipers Common Army Expansion
  • Two new common squads for Ullar:
    • the Elites of Ullar
      • This is a loyal Kyrie squad who work well with both the recent unique Ullar Kyrie (Xiamara & Mielki) as well as Sayland from back in the day.
    • the Ranoc Vipers
      • Riffing on a long-time Jackson family favorite group, this Viper squad is the first to carry guns (which they evidently stole from Marro warriors).
      • They are fast, able to shoot at long-ish range, and pretty good at dodging ranging attacks… but their defense in melee is a goose-egg.
• This Army expansion will be released in April 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

There’s some really nice synergy here with the Kyrie warriors we already have for Ullar’s army… and while you may not want snakes on a plane or in the Well of Souls, it’s always good to have some extra vipers hanging around. (I want to know more about how they got those weapons!)

• Gathering Storm: Chain Gruts and Ramosaur Rider Common Army Expansion
  • The orcs are back!
    • Well, sort of – these look like orcs from a different era of orc history – they’ve got uniforms and chain axes.
  • The box contains a common squad (the Chain Gruts) who are bonded to Volarak or Orc Champions and a common hero (Ramosaur Rider) who can charge his enemies and, if the circumstances are right, the beast will actually headbutt the opposing figure.
  • This Army expansion will be released in April 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

For those of us with a passel of orcs from old skool Heroscape, this is a welcome box to thicken up our already hefty orc armies. For new players, these guys will work really well with the Vorid creatures that have been appearing in the last few waves.

I will note that the orc riding the pachycephalosaurus has a jaunty hat and epaulets. (Yes, I had to look up the both of the big words in the last sentence to make sure I was spelling them correctly.)

• The Forests of Valhalla
  • Six trees – including two large trees that cover 4 hexes.
  • This $40 set will released in April 2026.

We’ve used the trees from the Road to the Forgotten Forest to build all kinds of creative maps – with this release, that becomes possible for new players as well. (They will also complement the snow trees nicely when building maps that combine winter terrain with regular terrain.)

The April wave also has a pre-order promo… a new version of the classic elf archer, Svarris. (He’s truly old skool – he was in the original Rise of the Valkyrie master set.) He has a monstrous range (9!) and a higher attack value (4). His “Volley Unto Himself” power lets him take more shots by reducing his range. The OG version was a beast – particularly if you got him to high ground. My gut feeling is that he’s only become more dangerous over time.

Thormun’s Thunder – May 2026 Releases

A new story arc begins in May 2026 – and, yep, Renegade Game Studios is about to “release the Kraken”!

• Thormun’s Thunder: Thormun and the Kraken Army Expansion
  • Thormun is a swashbuckling pirate Valkyrie – and he’s not affiliated with any other Valkyrie general. His “Ragtag Armada” ability rewards leading an army with heroes from different affiliations – he can use markers on his card to activate his other heroes – but only if they possess a different affiliation than anyone else activated.
    • The box also includes a second army card for Thormun to use in a special “boss battle” scenario in the set.
  • The Kraken is actually made up of five different tentacle pieces that are summoned to the game by Unique or Unfathomable heroes. (It actually counts as a squad – a squad of tentacles.)
    • Like the Krakenling from the Embers of War wave (my review of that wave is coming next week!), the Kraken uses portals to shove its tentacles into Valhalla.
  • This Army expansion will be released in May 2026 with both painted ($75) and unpainted ($55) versions.

Note: nothing on his card confines the Kraken to water – thanks to his warp portal powers, his tentacles can cause havoc pretty much anywhere on the map once he’s fully manifested. And these are BIG pieces – he’s a Huge 11 figure. (It’s also an opportunity for many many board game nerds to channel their inner Liam Neeson.)

• Thormun’s Thunder: Revenants of Revna and Nuckelavee Common Army Expansion
  • The box contains a common squad (the Revenants) – a gathering of undead Kyries who once served other generals but now return to Valhalla to serve Revna. (Yes, it’s creepy. But not as much as the hero figure in this box.)
    • These undead Kryie bond with Warriors, Witches, and Scourge… and can use their “Blood for Blood” ability to wound a bonded hero to buff the attack for both that hero and the Revenants.
  • The box also contains a common “hero” – the demon Nuckelvee. (Now this thing is truly creepy.)
    • The demon can use a “Withering Breath” attack – and destroying another figure allows him/her/it/whatever to heal a wound.
  • This Army expansion will be released in May 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

This is the nightmare fuel Heroscape expansion for this RenegadeCon..,. the demon is giving off serious Bloody Mary vibes (see Unmatched: Battle of Legends Volume II). On the positive side, this is another box with Easter eggs for those of us who loved the original Heroscape stuff – each of the undead Kyrie is a callback to previous Kryie groups (the Einar Imperium, the Minions of Utgar, and the Sentinels of Jandar).

• Thormun’s Thunder: Upgraded Necrotech Reavers Common Army Expansion
  • There’s just a single type of figure in the box – but it’s got an interesting twist in addition to being bonded to other Eisenek heroes.
  • Each figure can be upgraded by adding another arm to their figure… and a new army card that turns them into a common hero!
    • Necrotech Ghastblade – now with spin attack thanks to his buzzsaw arm.
    • Necrotech Ghoulgrip – now with monster claw arm, making for better melee defense and the power to keep small & medium figures from moving.
    • Necrotech Geistfire – now with an unstable gun grafted into his arm.
  • There are six reaver bodies and nine interchangeable arms in the box – meaning you can field them as two squads or six common heroes or some mixture thereof.
  • This Army expansion will be released in May 2026 with both painted ($70) and unpainted ($50) versions.

Color me intrigued – both by the new customizable system for these guys, and for the fact that these Eisenek reavers are loyal to Vydar rather than Revna. That has me wondering – are we going to get more Vydar-friendly Eiseneks? (Similar to how Soulborgs are scattered through the various factions in old skool ‘Scape.)

• Thormun’s Thunder: Skordyre Soldiers Common Army Expansion
  • The box of Skordyre fighters contains one common squad and three common heroes that can fight as a coordinated horde.
  • The common squad (the Skordyre Infantry) has a swarm ability as well as bonding with Insect heroes (which includes the classic giant fly, Sujoah).
    • Their power lends itself to enlisting multiple groups of Skordyre Infantry – similar to the Morridan Zombies.
  • There are three common heroes:
    • The Spitting Hive Soldier not only has range – he’s got corrosive bile. (That’s what I get when I eat Fritos – but enough about me.)
    • The Lurking Hive Soldier moves quickly and can disengage freely.
    • The Bursting Hive Soldier has acid sacs that explode when he is killed, as well as an enhanced ability to attack those who try to escape from him.
  • This Army expansion will be released in May 2026 with both painted ($65) and unpainted ($45) versions.

All of the figures in this pack are Disciplined – meaning that they will integrate nicely in with Einar troops from OG ‘Scape. (Especially the Sacred Band.) The Bursting Hive Soldier could be an excellent way to freeze up squads before they can advance on the rest of your army.

• The Shores of Valhalla
  • No, it’s not sandy shores… it’s a shipwreck, complete with rope ladders, wooden hexes, and cannons.
    • Yes, you can build decking with the wood tiles to create an upper level.
    • Yes, you can fire the cannons. (I’m in love.)
    • This $85 set will released in May 2026.

I’m already dreaming up potential maps with this thing… particularly when you add in the Kraken, the Krakenlings, and some pirates. This was the kind of thing that really serious miniatures folks did with their Heroscape sets – but since I’m not that kind of guy, it never happened for me. But it will now!

• The Tome of Annihilation
  • Full character biographies and lore from the Age of Annihilation era of Heroscape – including more detailed information about Valkyrie generals, planets of origin, an extensive timeline, and the history of the Battle of All Time.
  • The hardcover volume also includes maps and scenarios.
  • Over 200 pages of content.
  • This $45 book will be released in May 2026.

I love that they’re doing this… I’m less likely to click through all this information on ‘Scape websites than I am to sit down and read it in a comfy armchair.

My only critique: we need an identical work for the original run of Heroscape (2004-2010). [Yes, I’m aware that doing a book like that would require special dispensation from both Marvel and the D&D folks – but I’d buy it in a heartbeat.]

The May wave also has a pre-order promo… another callback to Rise of the Valkyrie as Agent Carr (the guy my group used to call Blade or Neo) riding on Dund (a hunting dog from Nullondia) who we originally saw in the very first large figure set, Orm’s Return. Together they combine their powers to become a truly scary force on the battlefield – and a valentine from the Renegade Heroscape team to those of us who’ve been around the game since the beginning.

The nice folks at Renegade also published a shipping guide so you can group your pre-orders appropriately.

If you’re interested in more details about organized play, I recommend you do a deep dive into the RenegadeCon videos – there are some nifty prize figures and glyphs available if that’s the way you play.

Heroscape Game Designer Roundtable

Just some quick highlights from a great conversation with Heroscape design team:

• The Renegade team was given a bunch of notes on hero and squad designs by the Avalon Hill team… some of which have adapted into figures in the upcoming waves:
  • Revenants of Revna
  • Upgraded Necrotech Reavers
  • Elites of Ullar
• Other original designs were created to fill a niche in the previous designs:
  • The Chain Gruts help fill out some of the Vorid heroes, for example.
• Design is a collaborative process with a lot of voices involved – including some who originally worked on Age of Annihilation and OG Heroscape.
• On bringing back iconic species:
  • What happens if we take the orcs a few thousand years forward into their history?
  • And, by the way, we WILL see more gruts. (Excellent.)
• Special Powers We Love:
  • Dyllan: Headbutt
• Mix of genres is a key in Heroscape. Historical figures were noticeably absent in the Avalon Hill designs. Will they be coming back to Valhalla?
  • Yes, they are – we already have a few historical units “in the can” (that have gone through design, development, playtesting, sculpting & art). They are just waiting to be produced.
• New genres that would be fun to see added to the mix:
  • optimistic futurism (Star Trek, Lost in Space, etc.)
  • Afro-futurism
  • detective fiction (hard-boiled noir?!)
  • some more horror style elements
  • more stuff from the “present” in Heroscape
• G.I. Joe Heroscape – how did y’all decide which characters to bring to Valhalla?
  • first we asked the Valkyrie generals :-)
  • started with the iconic characters
  • pillars of the G.I. Joe story
  • left some room for some future sets
• How will G.I. Joe affect the meta of the game?
  • brings a lot of ranged capabilities to the table
  • synergies are their strength AND their potential downfall
• Iconic Heroscape characters returning (Svarris & Agent Carr) – tell us more!
  • Probably the two most iconic HS characters that hadn’t yet made a return to the game
  • both from the original master set
  • trying to honor what they did before while keeping them from feeling same-y
• Rina: “steampunk gruts” (I like the name)
  • interested in exploring the different futures and pasts of the various planets
• Rina, after listening to Dyllan hint at the timeline of Noxdorma: “Wait a minute! Are the Eisenek far future Vorids?”
  • The Eisenek Reavers have animal skulls… so, wow.
• Thormun & the Kraken
  • Thormun is the original Valkyrie… and he’s on a mission to end the Battle of All Time and send the off-worlders home.
  • He was designed to pull together ragtag heroes who weren’t necessarily “frontline” heroes prior to the this.
  • Intriguing character… with some cool backstory.
  • Strategy tip for facing the Kraken: kill the tentacles as they appear – or you’ll be facing a beefy five-figure squad to deal with.
• Boss fights are coming!
  • The Renegade era has been pushing for more narrative.
  • Part of the story leads to the boss fight scenario in the Thormun box.
    • The boss scenario allows us to see his full Valkyrie power.
  • Looking to do more of this kind of boss fight in the future.
• Closing thoughts/remarks
  • Dyllan: Can’t wait to see all of this on the table.
  • Alex: “Yo Joe!”
  • Rowan: “Knowing is half the battle.”

Tip o’the army helmet to Rowan for that excellent callback.

If That Wasn’t Enough…

There was a lot of other Heroscape related content on the RenegadeCon stream:

• Heroscape World Championship Strategy Recap
• Thormun & The Kraken Heroscape Gameplay Preview
• Ify Nwadiwe Heroscape New Releases
• Heroscape G.I. JOE Gameplay Preview
• Behind the Scenes: Cobra Commander Mini Sculpting

A reminder: I’ve received review copies of the new Heroscape material. Back in the day, I also received 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 61 year old Mark. But I still have it hanging in my closet.)