Welcome back Spartans!

With the Banished joining your games of Halo: Flashpoint from this Summer, Dylan from the Rules Committee has put together a preview of what you'll soon be able to deploy onto the tabletop battlefields of the Halo Universe.

Get in the know about what you'll be fielding and facing very soon!

Overview

What are the first things you need to know?

1. The Banished are durable and hard-hitting, easily fielding teams of up to five in games of 200pts.
2. They are intimidating in close combat and can both kill and survive effectively.
3. However they have shorter movement than Spartans and therefore benefit heavily from movement-based items like the Thruster or Grappleshot.
4. Jiralhanae in particular have higher health points (but don't have shields on every unit). They will often stick around on the tabletop, especially if they’re in close combat...

Got that? Great! Today, we're going to talk all about those HUGE new Jiralhanae units....

Jiralhanae Warriors

Warriors are all-rounders and the most straightforward of the Jiralhanae, they come with a VK78 Commando Rifle and a Spike Grenade, as well as having Knockback in close combat just like the other Jiralhanae. This means they are equipped for both range and close combat, so they are a versatile and cheap unit for scenario play. Warriors have average stats and an enhanced Fight stat as well as extra close combat help from Imposing.

Warriors do especially well with Explosive/Grenade weapons as it can help them put out more damage from range. The VK78 is very useful for long-range Rapid Fire and the Spike Grenade is useful for scenarios such as Strongholds or Oddball, as it can displace an enemy easily. As they are on the less pricey side of the Banished, costing less than the cheapest Spartan, they free up points to either buy larger teams or better equipped units.

Chosen Warriors

Chosen Warriors are upgraded Warriors with better armour and weaponry and more keywords, as well as Tactician, one of the most coveted keywords! It shares the standard Knockback/Imposing combo on all Jiralhanae, as well as high health points. A Chosen Warrior is well-rounded; the Sentinel Beam is useful for picking off weakened models or burning away shields ready for a charge into close combat.

Chosen Warriors benefit a lot from Health Packs and movement-based items, as they are already durable it’s easy to make them a beast to get rid off quickly. Weapons like the M41 SPNKR or Plasma Launcher can upgrade the Chosen Warrior to a main long-range threat - as it will generally survive long enough for a deadly counterattack.

Jiralhanae Snipers

Jiralhanae Snipers are long-range killers for the Banished, starting with either the Mangler and Skewer, or Shock Rifle and Disruptor. Snipers can either deal with threats close-up with the Disruptor or Mangler, or pick them off with the Skewer or Shock Rifle.

The Skewer has enough armour penetration to punch through even a CQB Spartan easily, making it an excellent weapon to finish off after shields are down. For dealing with shields, the Shock Rifle has ESD and Blast to quickly get through them. To make the most out of both of these you’ll want to use Shoot Command Dice to get into position or use the Mangler/Disruptor to start first.

Threat Sensors are useful on Snipers as it can help get the hard part of getting into position out of the way and leave more time to using the heavy weapons. As Snipers have shields they will last a while, Knockback in combat should help force an enemy model out of their cube in case your opponent tries to trap the Sniper in combat.

Jiralhanae Berserkers

Jiralhanae Berserkers are the cheapest of the Jiralhanae, they specialise in movement and close combat. There’s either the Dynamo or the shielded Berserker with a Spike Grenade to choose from here, they are the same apart from that. Berserkers are formidable in close combat, getting a minimum of five dice each time they fight due to their abilities.

Berserkers are great for Slayer and on King of the Hill/Strongholds, as they can easily force an enemy off a key objective or kill them outright. They are durable but susceptible to being limited by Pin, so items like the Grappleshot or saving Advance Command Dice is key to getting the most out of Berserkers.

Jiralhanae Captains

The best-equipped of the Jiralhanae are Captains - they have improved movement, close combat, and Ranged as well as better armour, shields, and health points. They cost more points than the Snipers, Berserkers or the Warriors but start with a lot more in stats and keywords.

Jump Pack allows them to move quickly across dense terrain and Tactician provides flexibility with Command Dice. Starting with either the Hydra or Ravager, Captains have versatile range and are capable at mid-range and in close combat. The Ravager has 2 different firing modes available - one for long-range and the other to immolate a cube. It also has a profile in close combat, similar to the Paegaas Spike Rifle.

Captains don’t need much in the form of upgrades as they have the stats and abilities already; high armour and high shields, as well as skill in close combat and at range means they are a large threat to your opponent.

Thrusters can be useful to synergise with Jump Pack, and Hardlight Shields will make Captains extremely difficult to get rid of. The Hydra performs well in objective-based missions such as Strongholds and King of the Hill, while the Ravager provides all-round utility in combat, long-range, and area denial.

Thanks to the Rules Committee for their tactical insights into just what's coming to Halo: Flashpoint. It's enough to get us all thinking about new strike team builds, and has us itching to get those Brutes on the table! There'll be more in future exploring more units from the set...

Rise. Defy. Pre-Order.

Have you ordered your copy of Rise of the Banished yet (including that very cool limited edition version of Warmaster Atriox)?

If not make sure to check it out over on the webstore right HERE!

Note for US Customers: as mentioned in a previous blog, due to the newly increased cost of bringing goods into the US, there is an MSRP price change coming on the 1st June 2025, when  Rise of the Banished will increase from $125 to $139.

If you order Rise of the Banished before then you'll get it both at the lower original price, AND shipped from within the US with your import tariff already sorted (which we'll also be doing in future for the US on Halo: Flashpoint's new releases and future restocks).

So if you're looking forward to seeing Brutes and Elites going to war with UNSC Spartans on your tabletop - (and let's face it, who isn't?) - then it's time to lock in your pre-order and beat that 1st June price rise!