You may not have realized it – but the Heroscape team has not simply been adding figures & terrain to the world of Valhalla. They have also been adding tons of lore. We are now leaving the Age of Annhilation (what with the Wellspring storm unleashed by Valkyrie General Thormun) and entering a new age: the Secrets of the Citadel.

This means that Valkyrie generals have been forced into difficult partnerships:

• The New Alliance – Jandar & Utgar
• The Umbral Covenant – Vydar & Revna
• The Clockwork Combine – Einar & Volarak
• The Verdant Pact – Ullar & Aquilla

At RenegadeCon last Friday, the team shared the upcoming summer releases for this new era in the history of Valhalla. All of the new boxes feature these unfamiliar alliances. Additionally, we are getting to see the first glimpses of heroes with multiple classes. All of the heroes and squads in this wave are unique – meaning you’ll only need a single box of each to “complete” your set.

Secrets of the Citadel: Battle for Blackscar

As in the previous Battle Box (Battle for the Wellspring), there are six figures as well as new terrain included. The Battle Boxes are built to be a solid introduction to the world of Heroscape without the expense of the bigger Master Sets. They contain all of the components necessary to play Heroscape – dice, order markers, etc.

This time around, the heroes are headed into the wilds of Blackscar… which includes familiar terrain for those of us who collected the D&D-based boxes back in 2009-2010 (Shadow tiles and Dungeon terrain) as well as new elements like the Ancient terrain and the Young Shroudshroom “trees”.

The Young Shroudshrooms are the first destructible objects to appear in this wave – and they block LOS (line of sight) for small & medium figures both to and from adjacent spaces.

There are two “teams” packed in with all the terrain:

• The Clockwork Combine
  • Nishi Souta – Nishi is an Einar lawman AND a samurai… with bonding powers with both of those classes. He also has the Counterstrike power against adjacent attacks.
  • “Blink” Dawson – “Blink” is a fellow lawman… but he is loyal to Volarak. I love this Vorid’s ability to get the drop on his enemies thanks to his Quickdraw ability.
  • Cainak, Private Eye – This female orc detective is able to Pick Up the Trail and rearrange order markers of destroyed figures… in addition to being a solid fighter up close or with a gun.
• The Umbral Covenant
  • Sudema – Sudema is a new version of a classic Vydar figure… and her Petrifying Glare is still incredibly dangerous. With the Umbral Covenant in place, she’s able to command Eisenek and Undead heroes & squads as the Queen of the Crypt. (Her new sculpt with even more serious mummy mojo is downright spooky.)
  • Corvynn the Rotbeak – This undead bird (yes, that’s as creepy as it sounds) has an Eyes in the Sky power that allows Undead and Wizards to use her as a forward spotter to gain LOS on figures they can’t see. (Also creepy. And nifty – if she’s on your side.)
  • Agent SI-4X – Agent SI-4X is a Vydar Soulborg legend – and his Obfuscation Matrix lets him create shadow spaces around him. His other shadow-based powers let him deal devastating attacks on heroes in the shadows and make the movement of his alliance mates easier when they use the shadows to hide.

I’m really curious to see the scenarios in this box – and I’m aware that all of these heroes will slot nicely into previous army designs. All of the heroes are unique.

The Battle Box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $65 for unpainted and $80 for painted heroes.

Secrets of the Citadel: Clockwork Combine Research Expedition

The Clockwork Combine has two boxes of new heroes – this is the first. (And it’s a doozy.)

Both the unique hero and the unique squad in the box are followers of Volarak – a dragonling driving a huge (size 12!) steampunk dragon and a trio of adventuring Vorid creatures with a decidedly British air to them.

• Gimbel – This steampunk monstrosity comes with three treasure glyphs equipped: B.R.E.A.T.H., W.I.N.G.S., and C.L.A.W.S. They give the beastly machine power – and can be used as ablative plating to soak up damage. Of course, if he does that, he loses the glyph to the ground.
• The Eisen Expedition – The three member squad has bonding with Vorid or Scientist heroes. As well, they can use their knowledge as explorers to avoid most terrain penalties and Line Up a Shot (as long as the individual figure does not move).

I didn’t have “massive steampunk dragon” on my Heroscape bingo card – but I’m mighty glad to see it coming down the pike. (I did have more Vorid on my wishlist, so this box makes me very happy.)

The Research Expedition box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $45 for unpainted and $55 for painted heroes.

Secrets of the Citadel: Crooked Crew of the Clockwork Combine

The second Clockwork Combine box contains three unique heroes along with a very powerful treasure glyph.

• Takanawa Kaiga – This mounted samurai begins each battle armed with the Bloodcursed Blade treasure glyph… which is both a blessing (add one skull to each attack of an adjacent figure) and a curse (if no figure is wounded at the end of his turn, he takes a wound). Moreover, one cannot drop the Blade – it is yours until you win… or die. Takanawa also has Counterstrike and a possible second attack attempt (at the cost of one wound).
• Guilty McCreech – Another returning old skool figure, this former outlaw is now a lawman who can Deputize another hero and make them a lawman as well. He’s also picked up a Doc Ock-like arm attached to a backpack, which he can use to grab glyphs without triggering them and make extra attacks.
• Durnipia – Durnipia is a healer/scientist who can splice species traits onto herself and perform tricky surgical techniques to heal other heroes (while potentially hurting herself).

All three of these heroes are loyal to Einar as well as the Clockwork Combine… and I think this box in particular will blend well with the heroes in the Battle for Blackscar.

The Crooked Crew box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $40 for unpainted and $50 for painted heroes.

Secrets of the Citadel: Paragons of the New Alliance

Just as there are two boxes for the Clockwork Combine, there are two boxes for the New Alliance. This first box contains three unique Jandar heroes.

• Jeanne D’Arc – Jeanne has her Shield of Faith that can protect her and those around her… and even after she departs the mortal coil, that Shield can be used by one of her compatriots. Also, notice her axe, which allows her to Reach out and clobber her enemies.
• Concan the Kyrie Warrior – Yet another returning hero, Concan is old and grizzled now… and his skills at diplomacy allow him to buff Utgar allies in their attacks and Jandar allies in their defense.
• Frizzt Galagan – Frizzt is a Gelryie… but one armed with a honkin’ huge RA-1A Guided Cannon. In order to fire this beast, he needs a spotter (a friendly figure adjacent to the target).

The box also contains two semi-classic treasure glyphs:

• the Sword of Guether (once carried by Finn the Viking Champion) – which offers +1 attack to all adjacent friendly heroes
• the Spear of Gerda (once wielded by Raelin the Kyrie Warrior) – which offers +1 defense to all friendly figures in 3 clear sight spaces

The Pargons box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $35 for unpainted and $45 for painted heroes.

Secrets of the Citadel: Might of the New Alliance

The second New Alliance box gives us two new Utgar loyalists – a Marro Hivelord and some well-armed bears.

• Kha-Re-Ga – In addition to being a large and potentially dangerous adversary, Kha-Re-Ga has the ability to tunnel and potentially wound those adjacent to where she bursts from the soil of Valhalla. Plus, this is possibly the most disturbing Marro sculpt since Tor-Kul-Na. (Yes, I’m aware that many of the Marro sculpts are nightmare fuel.)
• Gnarlfur Raiders – In summary, angry Utgar bears who get stronger as they lose fellow ursine warriors… and who also bond with Valiant or Relentless heroes that are part of the New Alliance. I’m guessing these guys are not good friends with the smaller Vorid creatures.

The box also has two more glyphs:

• the Gullox Wing-Render (treasure glyph) – which gives the wielder a single die reroll for a normal adjacent attack
• the Glyph of Zigvald (permanent glyph) – which gives your army +1 movement

The Might of the New Alliance box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $40 for unpainted and $50 for painted heroes.

The Ancient Lands of Valhalla

This new terrain box is filled with the things found under the surface of Valhalla – including 24 pieces of Ancient terrain (a new terrain type – though so far not one that has any specific rules associated with it).

There are also four “trees” – well, they are treated like trees for synergy with powers, but they are actually Shroudshrooms. Shroudshrooms are destructible… but that isn’t the limit of their effect on the battle maps.

• 2 Young Shroudshrooms – They can take two hits before being destroyed… but while they stand, their Young Spore Cloud keeps small & medium figures adjacent to them from having a clear sight line to or from that figure.
• 1 Mature Shroudshroom – This ‘shroom can take three hits – and its larger Spore Cloud affects small, medium, and large figures. Additionally, Rapid Propagation means that when a Mature Shroudshroom is destroyed, a Young Shroudshroom appears (if available) within three spaces.
• 1 Ancient Shroudshroom – This 3 hex “tree” can take four hits – and its Spore Cloud affects small, medium, large, and huge figures. Additionally, Surging Propagation means that when a Mature Shroudshroom is destroyed, a Mature Shroudshroom appears (if available) within three spaces.

I’m really happy to see destructible terrain with a new visual aesthetic – part of the fun of Heroscape is building really cool battle maps to play on!

The Ancient Lands box will be released in July 2026 and will cost $70.

Promo Figures

Isamu is back – and continues to be a great way to spend the final 10 draft points you have to build an army. This new version of Isamu is still pretty easy to kill (one hit point) but his Eternal Servitude power means he doesn’t die until the end of the round… allowing him to dive into the midst of a fray and sacrifice himself for your objective. He’s the pre-order promo figure for the July/August Secrets of the Citadel release.

The new version of Taelord the Kyrie Warrior is giving serious “Fat Elvis” vibes (see the picture) but I do like his flaming sword. He’s less expensive than the original “Slim Elvis” version from old skool Heroscape and pairs really nicely with the Gladiator class, which means he could be an odd but excellent addition to an Einar gladiator team. He’s the Day One participation prize for the World Championships at GenCon this summer… and will evidently be available for purchase later. (Signups for events open on May 17.)

Eel & F’Fuoh are an interesting pair – a pirate riding an aquatic monster who seems to have significant anger issues, what with the Out of Control power lurking on their army card. OTOH, they do have a Mobile Gunner Special Attack to wield against their foes. Their Unfathomable personality trait means they’ll work well with Gelyries and other fish-y things that are coming out later this spring. Eel & F’Fuoh will be available for purchase only at GenCon Heroscape booth or through the Renegade webstore on GenCon weekend.

Final Thoughts

If you want to see more details about the upcoming (July 2026) releases, you should check out the video and/or dig around on the excellent Heroscape website. And if you want a primer on the grand arc of Heroscape lore, the good folks at Renegade just added a great overview.

I’ll be back next week with more coverage of the Heroscape Designer Roundtable from RenegadeCon!

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.)