Spartan Games is pleased to announce two new spaceships that have been designed for the Halo: Fleet Battles tabletop game, bringing enhanced firepower to the current fleets. Sold in packs of four, the new ships bulk out the medium ship category, adding increased flexibility to players’ fleet building options.

A SOLID CORE
Built for war against rebellious human colonies in the dark years of the Insurrection, the UNSC Orion-class was conceived as a new type of carrier that could directly support sustained ground operations in addition to maintaining aerospace control over contested worlds. Considered state-of-the-art when it was introduced, the Orion-class incorporated the miniaturised and reconfigurable automated factories and chemical processors used in colony support ships, allowing it to produce fuel, spare parts, and – in some circumstances – complete combat vehicles without outside assistance. To this end each Orion carries a number of cargo lighters and resource gatherers to support its troops and support ships in austere expeditionary environments.

The appearance of an Orion task force at a troubled outer colony was as much a symbol of the UNSC’s military might as the marines and tanks they carried. As the Covenant War began these vessels often served as flagships fighting desperate rearguard actions above these once-rebellious outposts. Most Orions were lost with all hands in these bitter battles, buying time for civilians and troops to be evacuated to the inner colonies before they, in turn, were besieged. Those that remained formed the core of long-range battle groups that attempted to disrupt Covenant supply lines and staging areas, with limited success.

Working in conjunction with 343 Industries, the Orion-class is a brand new ship design for the UNSC.

THE ELDER STATESMAN
Sailing the stars when humanity was just making its first long-distance ocean voyages, the RCS-class Armored Cruiser served as the Covenant’s primary missionary and compliance warship for many centuries, until it was eventually supplanted by the more refined CCS-class Battlecruiser. Many were broken down into feedstock for the great Assembly Forges of High Charity, reformed and remade into new ships, vehicles, and armor to equip the Prophets’ armies; the rest were either placed into mothball storage near important colonies or transferred to distant reserve fleets to take on various utilitarian roles.

Developed when shielding technology was far more limited, the RCS-class ships lack the firepower or robustness of its younger cousins, but its reliability and simplicity of operation proved important in the years after the Great Schism. In particular, the loss of many important Covenant naval depots, skilled shipmasters, and Huragok technicians made other cruisers difficult to maintain and crew.  As Covenant warlords began to consolidate their splintered fleets the RCS served when others could not, their ancient hulls bathed once more in burning lances of light and sheets of plasma.

Spartan Games was lucky enough to be able to work some incredible 3D assets provided by 343 Industries, allowing us to realise in miniature an exciting ship design well known to Halo fans.

THE BOXED SETS
The Orion-Class Upgrade Box (HFUN07) contains 4x Orion-class Assault Carriers, 12x Paris-class Frigates, 1x Sprue of Formation Bases (4 Bases in total), 1x Sheet of Formation Base Overlays, 1x Statistic Sheet and 1x UNSC Token Sheet.

The RCS-class Armored Cruiser Upgrade Box (HFCV07) contains 4x RCS-class Armored Cruisers, 1x Sprue of 6 SDV-class Heavy Corvettes, 1x Sprue of Formation Bases (4 Bases in total), 1x Sheet of Formation Base Overlays, 1x Statistic Sheet and 1x Covenant Token Sheet.