While yesterday most of my Halo Wars-loving attention was focused squarely on the all-new upcoming Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Cobra, I wanted to step back today and give some love to another Halo Wars vehicle being done justice as one of the Halo Mega Bloks Summer 2013 sets: the Covenant Vampire!

The Covenant Vampire Type-29 Close Support Fighter was an aircraft utilized by the Covenant early on in their war with humanity. As such, the vehicle only appears in the Halo Wars video game. The Covenant Vampire was unique in that its main weapon was a Heavy Needle Cannon, and it also used a Stasis Cannon that could demobilize and drain the energy from enemy forces. Personally, I consider the Covenant Vampire to be one of the coolest aircrafts in any Halo video game.

This 2013 Halo Mega Bloks Vampire is actually the second release of the Covenant Vampire in the Halo Mega Bloks line. The first Covenant Vampire was available as part of the Toys R Us store exclusive Halo Mega Bloks Covenant Invasion 96853 set a couple years ago. Unfortunately, that Vampire Mega Bloks model wasn’t entirely accurate, and the set itself has become ridiculously expensive and rare on the aftermarket. Thus, the new Covenant Vampire is welcomed with open arms by Halo Mega Bloks collectors.

Based on the Halo Mega Bloks figures being released with the Vampire, it seems that the Covenant Vampire may be being marketed as a Halo 4 Mega Bloks set, even though the Vampire only appears in the Halo Wars video game. This may be a wise move, as Halo 4 is fresh in everyone’s mind, whereas Halo Wars is sadly forgotten in comparison.

The Halo 4 Grunt Storm Mega Bloks figure will be debuting packed in with the Covenant Vampire, along with an awesome-looking silver Elite Zealot figure and another brown Elite. The pink Needler that the Storm Grunt figure comes with is also new (and a little bit odd-looking, to be honest).

The Halo Mega Bloks 2013 Covenant Vampire set is scheduled for release in Summer 2013, with a more exact date and pricing to follow.