Mantic’s Halo Flashpoint Zeta Halo wave adds new UNSC Marines, Banished Grunts and Jackals, three Spartan Killers, plus the new 1.5 rules this September.
Honestly, this is the drop Halo: Flashpoint has been missing since the box hit shelves. Mantic put Spartans and Banished elites on the table back in November 2024 at launch, and the actual line troops on both sides have been a roadmap promise ever since. Now the 2026 roadmap that Mantic shared back in March finally has its price tags attached.
So here is what is actually in this release. Two plastic expansion boxes covering UNSC Marines and Banished reinforcements, a MasterCraft Resin trio of Spartan Killer characters, four value bundles, plus a long-tested Halo: Flashpoint 1.5 rules update with free update cards included in the first print run. Pre-orders are live now, and all the new releases ship in September 2026.
The best part is that this is the first Halo: Flashpoint wave to arrive alongside a real rules pass. Because while the original ruleset worked well for the most part, 18 months of community games have taught Mantic where the rough edges were. So the new 1.5 update is the result of that feedback loop, and best of all, there are free versions of all the changes.
Mantic Finally Gives Halo Flashpoint Its Line Troops
- Wave: Battle for Zeta Halo new releases, pre-orders live now
- Status: Pre-Order, ships September 2026
- Retailer: Mantic Games
- Featured this drop: Banished Reinforcements (£50.00), UNSC Marines (£50.00), Banished Spartan Killers (£59.00, MasterCraft Resin, limited 2026), plus four bundles
- Price range: £50.00 to £209.00
- Why it’s good: The Grunts, Jackals, and Marines players have been asking for since launch, plus the 1.5 rules update arrives in the same box for free.
Look, the Spartans were always going to anchor the Flaspoint line, and the Banished character releases carried the early waves. What was missing was the rest of the forces. Now, though, both factions get a real expansion box of rank-and-file infantry, and the Spartan Killers add three of the deadliest named Banished characters from Halo Infinite to Flashpoint as well.
If you ask us, that’s as complete a wave as you can get, and not just a model or two dropped to keep the current quarter revenue bean counters happy.
Halo: Flashpoint Banished Reinforcements (£50.00)
This is the box that finally puts Unggoy Grunts and Kig-Yar Jackals on the table in Halo: Flashpoint. A Sangheili Enforcer leads the unit with a Shock Rifle, then you get a pair of Kig-Yar Freebooters with Needlers and Energy Shields, a pair of Kig-Yar Snipers with Stalker Rifles, and a stack of Unggoy in two flavors of Conscript and two flavors of Assault. Thirteen unit stat cards, a Special Order card, and the Zeta Halo Expansion booklet all come in the box, and Mantic says these models ship pre-assembled.
What makes this box work is that it gives the Banished a real conscript layer to throw at the Spartans. The Sangheili Enforcer is the discipline model (sergeant equivalent), holding the mixed-species fireteam in line, and the Unggoy screen while the Kig-Yar do the precision work. That’s the Halo battlefield like we all remember it.
Halo: Flashpoint UNSC Marines (£50.00)
Spartan Tomas Horvath leads the UNSC Marines box as a named character pulled straight from Halo Infinite, and he is joined by a full fireteam of regular humans too. A UNSC Corporal with the M45K Avenger Carbine, a Medic with an M6C SOCOM, a Marine with the M41 SPNKr rocket launcher, a Marine with the S7 Sniper Rifle, plus pairs of BR55 Battle Rifle, VK78 Commando, Pulse Carbine, and MA5D Assault Rifle Marines fill out the squad.
The UNSC has always felt thin in Halo: Flashpoint because every Spartan box is a small-count fireteam, and this expansion finally adds the volume and weapon range the faction needs. The SPNKr Marine alone changes what UNSC lists can credibly threaten, and the inclusion of a Medic is huge on the battlefield. So if you already grabbed the ODST drop pod box, this is the natural next buy.
Halo: Flashpoint Banished Spartan Killers (£59.00)
Jega ‘Rdomnai with the Bloodblade and Ghostpierce, Hyperius with the Ravager and S7 Sniper Rifle, and Tovarus with the Scrap Cannon. These three MasterCraft Resin character models are all the named threats from Halo Infinite, and Mantic is only making limited numbers for 2026. Each box also comes with three unit stat cards, a Special Order card, and an Assembly Guide for the resin.
Now, here is the thing about MasterCraft Resin in Halo: Flashpoint; Mantic started with character models in that material because it lets them create high-detail sculpts that make these named hunters feel distinct from the pre-assembled plastic.
Big Hyperius and Tovarus are Jiralhanae pack brothers, and getting them sculpted right was important for Banished players. Plus, if you came into the game through the Noble Team expansion, you know exactly what this material does at the painting bench.
Four Bundles Bring the Value
Mantic also put together four bundles for this wave, each solving a different buying problem. The all-in version saves you the most if you want both factions plus the characters, the reinforcements bundle skips the older Spartan boxes and just hands you the new line troops plus the rules pass, and the faction bundles cover players starting a new army from a stack of older releases.
- Zeta Halo All-In New Releases Bundle (£209.00). UNSC Marines, Banished Reinforcements, Banished Spartan Killers, Zeta Halo Deluxe Gaming Mat, plus a free Game Rulebook Pack and a free Unit Card Update Pack. Everything new in one click.
- Zeta Halo Reinforcements Bundle (£150.00). UNSC Marines, Banished Reinforcements, Zeta Halo Deluxe Gaming Mat, plus the Halo: Flashpoint 1.5 Game Rulebook Pack with a free Update Card deck on the first print run.
- UNSC Faction Bundle (£207.50). Master Chief, the ODST Feet First Into Hell box with Buck and Dare, Fireteam Grizzly Spartans, UNSC Marines, plus a free 1.5 Rulebook and Cards Pack. Built for a new UNSC player just starting out.
- Banished Faction Bundle (£170.00). Rise of the Banished with Sangheili Mercenaries, Jiralhanae, and Warmaster Atriox, plus Banished Reinforcements, plus a free 1.5 Rulebook and Cards Pack. The Atriox-led starting army in two boxes.
Frankly, the All-In bundle math is definitely in your favor if you were planning to grab the rules update and the gaming mat anyway. The reinforcements bundle is the better pick if you already own Master Chief and a starter set and just want the line troops plus the rules.
The 1.5 Rules Update Ships Free to Existing Players
Eighteen months of community games shaped the 1.5 update. Mantic says the changes draw on organized-play data, written player suggestions, and the actual game-state telemetry Mantic has been collecting through the Halo: Flashpoint Index Web App, which handles list-building and tournament management.
We think this is the kind of rules update that makes sense because the input is real games and not a marketing window.
The result is a new Rulebook and Tokens Pack that provides new players with an easier starting point and existing players with a smoother rules reference overall. Best of all, the Index Web App will auto-update on the cutover date, the new release bundles in September also include a free update pack, and the first print run of the new rulebook comes with the updated cards in the box as well.
Mantic calls it a frictionless transition for existing players, and we agree. Best of all, unlike another company out there, nobody is being asked to pay twice for a ruleset they already bought.
Either way, “1.5” is doing some heavy lifting, and the community will quickly sort out whether this is a balance pass with quality-of-life fixes or whether anything moved structurally that was important. We’ll know within a few weeks of the September release, once the new cards land in tournament hands.
Final Thoughts on the New Flashpoint Zeta Halo Wave
The Battle for Zeta Halo wave looks to be the point where Halo: Flashpoint stops being a Spartans-versus-Elites skirmish game and starts being the Halo battlefield players have been mentally drafting since launch. Grunts and Jackals on one side, real Marines with rocket launchers and a medic on the other, and a 1.5 rules pass arriving in the same calendar window. Which, pretty much tells you that Mantic is treating this as a real edition checkpoint rather than a quarterly content drop.
What we are watching for next is how the community plays through the 1.5 update once the cards land, and which of the four bundles ends up being the most-clicked at checkout. If the All-In bundle is a big seller, Mantic has pretty big indicator that the Zeta Halo arc has the audience to keep going all ahead full.
Click Here to Pre-Order the New Flashpoint Zeta Halo Wave!
🔗 Related Reads:
- Halo: Flashpoint 2026 Releases Roadmap and Preview Teasers
- Halo: Flashpoint First Look Review and Game Editions Guide
- Mantic Locks In Halo Flashpoint Release Date: Pre-Order Breakdown
- Halo Flashpoint Noble Team Expansion: Everything In The Box
- Halo Flashpoint Gets New ODST Expansion Set
- Halo Flashpoint Goes Digital With New App
- More Mantic Games News, Releases, and Hobby Coverage
What do you think about the Halo: Flashpoint Zeta Halo wave and the 1.5 rules update?
