Halo Flashpoint Judgment: Covenant Box, Johnson, and More

Anthony Salazar

HOLY CRAP, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

A full box release is finally here for the Covenant, titled “Judgment.” This isn’t just an expansion either, it’s a brand new player entry point! The box includes a hardboard terrain map, new buildings, all the base tokens you need to play the game, weapon tokens and cards, and an array of models ranging from a San’Shyuum (Prophet) to a bunch of new Sangheili (Elites), Lekgolo (Hunters), Kig-Yar (Jackals), and series favorite punching bags, the Unggoy (Grunts).

We at the Dispatch are absolutely shocked and thrilled to see this release seemingly launching in December. It looks like Mantic is going to come out strong in 2027, and it’s pretty clear they’re willing to answer player demand. But enough fluff, let’s get into everything coming in the new Great Journey Wave!

What’s in the Box

Mantic is coming out swinging with an array of Covenant species in this set (quick note, since this box contains everything needed to play, we’ll call it a set instead of an expansion). It also includes Mantic’s wonderful and easy to build cardboard terrain, with the game board and buildings split between UNSC and Forerunner themes (even though the board itself uses the blue UNSC Firebase artwork). Most notably, you’re getting two new bridges, a new 4x4 building, and new cover and barricades.

The Elites, You’ve Been Heard

The units themselves are stunning. Amazing work on the sculpts, Mantic, we applaud you! The new models are beautifully painted in the previews, and you can really see the level of detail and care that went into them.

We’re getting a fresh batch of Sangheili, including the Honor Guard (called it), new Ranger Elites (which should mean the Jump Pack keyword), another Enforcer model packing the Storm Rifle instead of the current Shock Rifle, and a batch of the classic Sangheili Mercenaries. We’re curious whether the Banished models being reused in this box will keep their names and stats, but either way, Elite fans, you’ve been heard. These guys look mean, and pissed off, and we love it!

My speculation is that the new Honor Guard will carry Tactician, to help boost the viability of running Sangheili, since the Enforcer is the only (current) non legend Sangheili model with it. We also know they’ll have the Honour Guard keyword, which was added in the 1.5 rules update. It gives a model a +1 modifier to any Survive test it makes while in the same cube as, or a cube adjacent to, one or more other friendly models with this keyword. So these guys are going to be tough to kill, on top of likely having increased armor compared to what we’re used to with the Sangheili.

The Prophets Need Protecting

Speaking of the Honor Guard, they’ll have their San’Shyuum to protect. We can’t exactly theorize what role or keywords the Prophets will have, but my guess is Tactician again, plus a new keyword that boosts and supports nearby allied models. They may not carry a weapon at all, or any way to pick one up, but they might be able to attack using their anti gravity thrones, or through a limited use ability or laser.

That speculation comes from the cult classic spin off Halo Wars, where you could command the Prophet of Regret and use his holy cleansing ability to hit units and buildings. It would be an amazing callback to see that included here. Then again, I could be entirely wrong (it wouldn’t be the first time). Very interested to see how Mantic handles these guys.

*“Halo Wars” Prophet of Regret Leader Ability, Source: Windows Central*

Hunters, and What to Bring Against Them

Next up are the Hunters, and just like in the games, they come as a pair. Armed with their standard Assault Cannon, these heavy hitters are going to be scary to deal with. Going off gameplay experience, my guess is no shields, high armor, and low to medium health. I’m expecting an armor value of 5 or 6 and health of 3 to 4 at most, with a low speed stat to match. Commanders, get your Spartan Lasers (Splasers) ready, because you’ll want that armor penetration.

*A Hunter in Halo: Reach, Source: Bungie/Microsoft*

They’ll probably carry some formidable keywords too. My speculation is Guarded, meaning an attacker doesn’t benefit from headshot bonuses against them, and Stoic, meaning they can’t crouch but also can’t be pinned. Likely also is the intimidating keyword, giving a bonus die on melee attacks and survival rolls. I speculate their shield will also serve as a melee weapon that will hit hard, just like the games. Only time will tell until they show up in the Index.

Canon Fodder

The Grunt and Jackal models look like they came straight out of the recent Banished Reinforcements expansion, so there isn’t much else to say there, other than our earlier curiosity about naming convention and faction status on their unit cards. It’s nice to see them in the box though, since they round out range and viability for anyone building a list straight from this set.

New Recruits Incoming

We at the Dispatch think this is going to be a MASSIVE boost to the Flashpoint player base, much like the ODST themed “Feet First Into Hell” set brought in a gigantic wave of new players. Some of our Harriers here in Albuquerque got into the game purely because of the ODSTs (shout out to you, Michael), and we expect the “Judgment” box to do the same thing. So if you run local events or organize play groups, now’s your chance to grab some promo fliers and start welcoming and teaching new players.

A Few Missed Opportunities

While excitement within the Black Harriers is at an all time high, I do feel there were a couple of missed opportunities in this box. The set is missing Brutes, which is 100% understandable, since we already have a wide range of them through the Banished and leaving them out keeps gameplay from getting stale (though we hope to see Tartarus down the line).

*Yanme’e (Drones) in Halo 3, Source: Halo Alpha*

Where I wish Mantic had gone further is alien diversity. The infamous and annoying buggy bastards, the Yanme’e (Drones), or the cute little bomb strapped supports, the Huragok (Engineers), would have been stellar additions, and they’d have helped separate the Covenant from the Banished even more. Hopefully Mantic already has plans to get these two flying units onto the tabletop in the future. If not, they’re welcome to take our suggestion, and we really do appreciate how much they’ve listened to the community since the game launched. Big appreciation to you, Mantic.

*A Hurogok (Engineer) from Halo: Reach, Source:* *Deviant Art*

Johnson Gets His Own (Tiny) Box

Moving on, my earlier prediction about Johnson releasing as a single model box was correct. Like Master Chief, Johnson can be purchased by himself and added straight to your lists.

We’re also hoping a Redditor on our previous announcement post turns out to be right. u/Super-Macaron-5851 made a stellar recommendation, that Johnson could and should have the ability to remove the Support keyword from Marines so they can operate without restriction. I absolutely love this idea, and I hope it helps make Marines a bit more viable in combat scenarios. Thanks for the suggestion, and let’s see what Mantic does with him (bonus points if they give him a special order titled “I Could Have Been Your Daddy”). Every legend released so far has come with a special order, so he’ll likely have one of his own at launch.

Finally Fixing the Token Problem

Moving away from the units, it’s great to see other releases dropping in December too, namely a solution to the War Games item problem, which has been plaguing the community for a while. The War Games expansion released a sleigh of item tokens in the now infamous red variation, so players could add gear to their units. The trouble is that those tokens are easy to lose, and they originally only came in the steep $50~ War Games box. That box also bundled a set of four Spartans, and it was required to play up to date at the time, so anyone who ran multiple copies of the same item, or simply lost tokens over time, had to buy the whole thing again at the same price just to get more. For Big Team Battle modes, where item counts per unit go up, there also aren’t enough tokens in one box to cover it.

I’ve felt this one personally. I bought War Games multiple times purely for the tokens inside, and between running events and demos, I am still losing them.

Mantic is now introducing a premium set of these red tokens in their acrylic option, the revamped deluxe one player acrylic token set. I’d have loved a cheaper cardboard option, but I’m a big fan of Mantic’s acrylic stuff. It looks nice, feels great, and has a distinguished look on the table. I’ll definitely be picking up two of these. Thank you, Mantic, for giving us a way to restock.

The Weapon Score Tracker Returns

Mantic is also bringing back the fan favorite “Weapon” score tracker. It was originally a pre order bonus for Wave 2 way back when, and it’s a decorative way to display the score in a game, featuring Joyeuse, the Weapon AI from Halo Infinite (the Cortana copy who becomes the Chief’s new partner). It’s great to have on the table, paints well, and adds some flair to your games.

I paired mine with a red and a blue D8 to represent each player’s score, plus a purple D8 to keep track of the round. We’re Halo fans after all, gotta sneak in the Red vs. Blue references where we can. I’m glad to see it coming back, because it sold for a high price on eBay (I paid $60 for mine, so I would know).

Mancannons Are Back

The Big Team Battle Mancannons from the Noble Team expansion are returning as a standalone purchase, so you can add them to your massive table engagements without dealing with the out of stock Noble Team box or its high price. No shade to Noble Team, we love the models and units, but the Mancannons are a must have for 8x16 games, so regular availability is a welcome change.

Campaign Evolved On The Tabletop

Next up is the new board game for Campaign Evolved, which is also cross compatible with Flashpoint.

Mantic showed off a new Master Chief model in their latest trailer, rocking the classic and ever dashing Mark V armor and the poster boy Assault Rifle, and he’s cross compatible with Flashpoint. Alongside him comes a new energy sword wielding Elite General, also released in the board game and also cross compatible.

I don’t want to gloss over this as “something to buy just to get the new models.” I think Flashpoint players should take a real look at it, mainly for the solo play option. The game supports up to 2 players with story and mission objectives reminiscent of Campaign Evolved, but you can also play it on your own. That matters, because a lot of Flashpoint players deal with schedule conflicts, canceled meetups, or a lack of interest in their specific area. This gives you a way to use your models and have a fun game even when you can’t get a group together.

The board game also uses acrylic standees for the Covenant models, which closely match the models released in Banished Reinforcements and Judgment, and Mantic has officially stated you can substitute your 3D Flashpoint models for them. The game also includes dice, and other game specific tokens and items, as well as double sided map board. Very cool! I hope Mantic keeps expanding on this and eventually launches campaign board games for Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and more. It feels like a great sister branch to Flashpoint, and I’m personally very excited.

Even if you only care about the minis, the price you pay covers the cost of the two models alone, so everything else in the box can be seen as an extra. I’ll definitely be playing this when it comes out (more Halo is always good).

Bringing It Home

That covers about all we know and all we think. December is going to be a gargantuan month for Flashpoint. A flood of new players will be entering the community, and plenty of Halo fans will likely be unwrapping this box set (and more) over the holidays. As always, let’s make sure we’re welcoming and supportive when they show up. We at the Dispatch are very excited for this drop, and so are many of our community members and players in the Black Harriers. The community seems really happy with Mantic and where things are heading.

So, to recap:

“Judgment” is a full Covenant box and a new player entry point, with terrain, tokens, cards, and models, launching in December
New Elites arrive in the form of the Honor Guard, Ranger Elites, a Storm Rifle Enforcer, and Sangheili Mercenaries, alongside a Prophet, a pair of Hunters, and Banished style Grunts and Jackals
Brutes, Drones, and Engineers are missing for now, but we’re hopeful they come later
Johnson is available as a single model box, and we’re hoping for a Marine boosting special order
A deluxe acrylic token set fixes the War Games token problem, while the Weapon score tracker and Mancannons both make a comeback
The Campaign Evolved board game adds solo play and cross compatible Master Chief and Elite General models

Here’s to a big December, and to every new commander about to join us on the table! You can pre-order the new wave on Mantics website, or your local LGS. If you’re in the New Mexico/Bernalilio County area, you can pre-order everything here at our locally owned Ettin Games in Albuquerque and recieve 20% off your entire order! So come on down.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our email list, and get signed up for our in house painting contest that is live RIGHT NOW! Click here to learn more about the Avant Garde Open.

-This is Anthony, singing off.

The Great Journey Wave Is Here: Breaking Down the Covenant “Judgment” Set, Johnson, and Everything Else Mantic Just Dropped