Welcome back Spartans!

In our second Rise of the Banished preview blog, we're focussing in on the intimidating leader of these conquering Brutes...

"Warmaster of the Banished and a Jiralhanae warrior of incredible prowess and experience, Atriox’s legendary reputation for returning as the sole survivor of a series of suicidal battles inflamed his contempt for the Covenant. When the Prophets attempted to have Atriox executed, his defiance gave rise to the Banished where all who seek to break their chains are welcome.

The power gauntlet worn by Atriox on his right hand augments his strength and is capable of exerting enough pressure to crush a Spartan’s helmet*. Atriox’s gravity mace, Chainbreaker, is enhanced with red plasma blades from the energy sword of the Covenant executioner who failed to eliminate him."

*In the limited edition version of his miniature (found in Rise of the Banished), he's doing exactly that. We heartily suggest painting that helmet in the chosen Spartan colour scheme of one of your gaming buddies - it'd be rude not to!

Warmaster of the Banished - Rules Committee Notes

Atriox is the deadliest melee combatant in Halo: Flashpoint and is extremely dangerous for anyone unfortunate enough to get into close combat with him. With high Tactician, Fearless, and Concussive, Atriox is a huge threat to your opponent, and has enough health points that he won’t go down without a fight.

He has two different weapons to fight with in close combat; prepared to either break shields and weaken an opponent, or finish them with a Lethal (2) blow. Atriox’s unique Special Order, Defiance, will greatly augment your Banished and make them a lot less susceptible to losing actions from being hit by Frag or Rapid Fire.

Atriox costs around the same level of points as Master Chief, and his stat line and abilities mean he doesn’t need much support from items to be able to perform well. A Grappleshot and Thruster always work to help get him into close combat, and health packs are also very useful to make the most of his health point pool. Active Camouflage is a harder one to use but can be extremely useful for Atriox, as he is unlikely to take serious damage from weapons that target you indirectly, such as with Frag or Implosion.

A cheap ranged weapon can be useful, although with Atriox you really want him to be in or near close combat as much as possible - so focussing on movement would likely be the better choice.

He's especially lethal on Slayer, Oddball, and King of the Hill as he's very competent at either killing the enemy or holding an area. This is particularly true on King of the Hill where your opponent will have to commit considerable resources to taking him down.

Thanks to Dylan from the Rules Committee for that quick preview! With huge Brute miniatures, deadly Elites and a legendary Warmaster leading the charge, the Banished are set to give the UNSC some serious opposition on the tabletop.

Start Collecting The Banished

So you're ready to follow the charismatic Warmaster into battle and bring The Banished into your games of Halo: Flashpoint. Where should you start?

Simple! You're going to want a copy of Rise of the Banished, which as well as being packed with faction miniatures and terrain includes the very cool limited edition version of Warmaster Atriox.

Even better, this box is also a significant money-saver compared to buying all of the contents separately later on. You'll find it over on the webstore right HERE.

Demand is very high for this box (as always with Halo: Flashpoint), so we thoroughly recommend pre-ordering to secure your own copy for when it ships in July!

Important Note for US Customers - How to Beat the Price Increase

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

You can secure your copy AND get the current lower price by locking in your pre-order before the 1st of June - which is approaching fast.

We don't like having to raise prices, so make sure you don't miss this window of opportunity to get it at the original MSRP - we genuinely want everyone who'd like a copy to lock theirs in ahead of that 1st of June increase!