Review: Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstrom & Lords of the Maelstrom Battleforce

Huron Blackheart’s reign of terror expands with not one but two new boxed sets. We’re reviewing Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstrom, featuring the Tyrant of Badab himself alongside his sinister inner circle, as well as the Lords of the Maelstrom battleforce, which introduces the new Red Corsairs Raiders and Reave-Captain. In this comprehensive review, we unbox both sets in 4K, share high-res sprue images, and examine all the build options.

Huron Blackheart and the Red Corsairs battleforce be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 14 February 2026. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 28 February 2026. Please note that there will be only one production run, so the box is available only until stocks last, and might sell out fast with independent retailers.

Huron Blackheart and the new Red Corsairs unboxed

Huron Blackheart’s campaign of terror begins with the new campaign book The Maelstrom, the next narrative entry heralding the end of 10th edition Warhammer 40,000. Alongside a box with Huron and his inner circle, we’re also getting a new Battleforce that brings a new unit and character as well as upgrades for the Red Corsairs.

Here I go through all of the box contents of both Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstorm and the Lords of the Maelstrom Battleforce, inc. a page-by-page flip-through the assembly guides:

Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstrom reviewed

Huron Blackheart and the Masters of the Maelstrom is essentially the dark counterpart to Captain Titus and the Wardens of Ultramar (see my review here). This is reflected in the price, which at £57 / €74 / $94 is identical. However, the box contains one small sprue more, as Huron comes on a separate sprue, whilst his entourage is on two medium-sized sprue segments.

Here you can see the sprue of the new Huron Blackheart, now in plastic and on a 40mm base. There are no build options. I find the pose very expressive thanks to the striking silhouette. Only the face sculpt is a matter of taste. I’ve heard online that some find it too cartoonish.

Blackheart’s Inner Circle can be found on the two other sprue segments. These are also extremely detailed and characterfully designed. From top left to bottom right: Garlon Souleater, a sorcerer-librarian from the Mantis Warriors; Garreon the Corpsemaster, Lord-Apothecary and former Astral Claw (32mm); Katar Garrix, formerly of the Executioners (32mm); Huron himself; The Enforcer, a Tarellian Bounty Hunter and her enthralled Barghesi (both on 28mm); and Captain Sargotta on her floating navigation platform (32mm base).

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

All models are monopose with no build options and come with scenic bases.

Lords of the Maelstrom unboxing

The Lords of the Maelstrom battleforce contains a mix of old and new models, 36 models in total. The RRP is £160 / €206 / $255.

Included are:

• 1 new Red Corsairs Reave-Captain
• 10 new Red Corsairs Raiders
• 10 Chaos Legionaries
• 5 Chaos Terminators
• 1 new Red Corsairs upgrade sprue with sculpted shoulder pads for the Legionaries and Terminators
• 10 Traitor Guardsmen
• 2 small Red Corsairs transfer sheets

Red Corsairs Reave-Captain reviewed

The Reave-Captain comes on a small sprue and 40mm base. You begin by building the body, then you have various arm and head options that can alter the model’s pose depending on your choices.

The build options:

• 2 different chest harnesses (parts 17 and 23)
• Left forearm with plasma pistol (11) or with clenched fist (18)
• Right arm with power maul (1) and shoulder pad with fur trim (20), or right arm with power sword (12) and shoulder pad with Red Corsairs symbol (13)
• 1 helmeted head (15), 1 helmeted head with topknot (22), 1 bare head with eyepatch (16)
• Trophy rack for the backpack (21), or plain backpack exhausts (14)

A scenic base is also obligatory. The Reave-Captain stands on the remains of an Imperial Aquila. Parts of the feet are connected to the base, making it difficult to omit.

Red Corsairs Raiders reviewed

The Red Corsairs Raiders are a new plastic kit. Renegades untouched by the dark gods, who wear a mix of old armour marks and weapon patterns, whilst displaying grisly trophies and loot like Drukhari blades, soulstones, and Aeldari runes.

10 models on 32mm bases are in the box. 5 models are spread across a sprue with two medium-sized segments, which are included twice. So you get each body/pose twice, however the kit is very modular, so each Raider can be unique.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

The build options:

• Pose 1 can be a Champion or regular Raider. The Champion has a cloak (part 15), an empty holster (7), shoulder pads with fur trim (16 and 17), a right arm (9) with hand flamer (10) or bolt pistol (11), a chest harness (12), a left arm with power sword (13 and 14), a helmet with topknot (5), or head with wild mane (6), as well as a special power pack (8). The regular Raider can choose from the interchangeable arms, shoulder pads, and heads, and has a normal power pack (20).
• Raider 2 can have a right arm with bolt pistol (35) and left arm with power fist (33 and 34), and/or choose from the interchangeable arms, shoulder pads, and heads.
• Raider 3 can have a right arm throwing a grenade (66 and 67), a holster (65), and hold a bolter in the left arm (68 and 69), and/or choose from the interchangeable arms, shoulder pads, and heads.
• Raider 4 can choose from the interchangeable arms, shoulder pads, and heads.
• Raider 5 can have an outstretched right arm with bolt pistol (97), plus a chest harness (96), a sheathed sword (98), a left arm on the sword pommel (99), and an optional cape (100) (making this build also suitable as an alternative Champion). Alternatively, it can choose from the interchangeable arms, shoulder pads, and heads, and instead of the chest harness receive a small Red Corsairs symbol (109) on the chest plate.

Certain arm pairs are designated for certain poses according to the instructions, but all arms have flat contact points and are theoretically interchangeable. You can see more about this in the video above, where I flip through the Raiders instructions. Additionally, there are extra arm pairs as well as many heads and shoulder pads that you can distribute freely.

The freely interchangeable parts:

• 14 heads: 9 bare heads, 4 Mk7 helmets, 1 Mk6 helmet (plus the two Champion heads, which are also interchangeable)
• 16 shoulder pads (10 plain, 6 with Red Corsairs symbol)
• 2 right arms with chainswords, 1 right arm with chainfist, 3 left arms with bolt pistols
• 3 arm pairs with bolters, 1 arm pair that can be built with either bolter or meltagun

A very cool kit with loads of options and combination possibilities. Since there are enough plain shoulder pads to build all models without Red Corsairs iconography, we’ll certainly see these models in many other Chaos Space Marines collections too.

The designers couldn’t resist dipping into the “but can I make them bigger” honey pot once again. The Red Corsairs Raiders are larger than the regular Chaos Space Marine Legionaries also included in the box. It’s somewhat difficult to judge because the poses are quite dynamic and some of the Raiders also have one leg on tactical rocks. But the proportions correspond more to the recently released Tormentors of the Emperor’s Children and are thus (almost) at Primaris eye level.

Red Corsairs upgrade sprue and transfer sheets

With the Red Corsairs upgrade sprue, you also get two small Red Corsairs transfer sheets. When the sprue is also released separately, it will presumably be packed together with the transfer sheets in a small clampack.

With one sprue you can equip 10 Legionaries and 5 Terminators with shoulder pads. Exactly the number you get in the Lords of the Maelstrom battleforce.

The sprue contains:

• 10 power armour shoulder pads with Red Corsairs iconography
• 5 Terminator armour shoulder pads with Red Corsairs iconography
• 5 bare heads
• 2 right arms with chainswords
• 3 ammunition belts with trophies
• 2 pieces of loot on hooks (these are intended for the Terminators)

Legionaries, Chaos Terminators & Traitor Guard unboxed

The remaining contents of the Lords of the Maelstrom battleforce consist of existing models. You get 10 Chaos Space Marines Legionaries (without the Kill Team upgrade sprue), 5 Chaos Space Marines Terminators, and 10 Traitor Guard (also without the upgrade sprue).

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

You can find the sprues here. In the video I also flip through the assembly instructions so you can see the various options.

Where to get

You can find the latest GW releases at our 🇬🇧/🇪🇺 partner stores Wayland Games, Element Games, and Firestorm Games, at 🇩🇪 Taschengelddieb and PK-Pro, and at 🇺🇸 Noble Knight Games with a welcome discount of up to 20% over RRP. Using our links helps to support Tale of Painters at no additional cost to you, so thank you very much for using them!

I hope you found this review helpful, feel free to leave a reaction or comment below, or post your questions here or discuss on our Discord channel.