Warhammer Armies – Tomb Kings

After having revived my Tomb Kings back in 2016, I just completed the first 1,000 points under Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition rules. The core troops of the Tomb Kings offer a range of tactical options, from archers to spearmen and cavalry, so the army should be entertaining to field.

The Tomb Kings call to war

The Tomb King was the final model I completed, while the Liche Priest is a second hand model that fits well into my paint scheme and only needed re-basing.

Once I had all troops lined up, I found the archers and spearmen to look a bit flat, so I went back over them, adding highlights to shields, weapons and bones. This ties them in better with the cavalry models as well, which were individually highlighted rather than drybrushed.

Martial might and the necromantic arts combine to lead the army

A squadron of chariots takes the lead

The royal cavalry gallops to battle

Spearmen form the backbone of the force

Two units of archers rain death down on their enemies

There are still a lot more regiments and constructs buried in the sand, waiting to be resurrected to march forth and conquer an eternal empire for my Tomb Kings. Some horse archers and Ushabti might be next, though for now I am going to direct my gaze towards the living. Or maybe the daemonic…

The infantry wing of the army

The cavalry wing of the force

Chariot Charge

Obviously a Tomb Kings army needs to feature some of their signature models, the skeleton chariots. This provided me with the perfect opportunity to finally put the classic plastic kits to good use, combining them with some later skeleton and Tomb Kings parts.

The chariot squadron leads the charge

Painting all the bones by hand is a somewhat tedious but not overly taxing process. I’m planning a second rank already, but for the core army of 1,000 points these three should strike fear into the hearts of their enemies already.

Even in death, the charioteers revel in the rush of battle

Bones, hooves and spears smash into their enemies

Chariots are perfect for the desolate battlefields of Nehekhara

The ancient horn calls the legions to war

While I had all forces arrayed on the battlefield, I also observed that the old archer regiments, which were based on some haphazardly drybrushed figures of yore, looked a bit flat and didn’t tie in very well with the style of bone I have been recently painting. In order to improve on that, I added an additional highlight of pure white while also doing a bit of extra work on the metals.

Their arrows find their targets with unnatural accuracy

Monstrous Hunger

I’ve added some more big beasts to my army of the Ghoul Kings in the form of three Crypt Horrors. As with the Ghouls, I wasn’t keen on the sculpts originally, but by choosing the parts I liked and painting them in my chosen pale colours I am now very happy with the result. Or whatever the equivalent of happiness is for a cold hearted necromancer like myself.

The Crypt Horrors turn the town into a charnel house

Mad hunger fuels these beasts

Crypt Horrors tower over other Ghouls

I still have the Terrorgheist to add to the force as well, but for now I’ll probably move on to other vampiric houses and practitioners of the necromantic arts. I do like the idea of adding a unit of human followers in the form of the Strigany to the Ghoul Kings though, eventually.

Searching for their next meal

Warhammer Armies – Ghoul Kings

The second of my armies for the undead in Warhammer Fantasy Battle is themed around the Ghoul Kings. It’s another force that has been decades in the making and is utilising figures of various ages.

As their name implies, the Ghoul Kings are followed by a court of ravenous carrion eaters, and other monstrous creatures of darkness flock to their unholy aura. Zombies rise in their wake, recent victims of their raids into the lands of the living.

Reaping the lands of the living

This army makes for 1,000 points under 8th Edition rules, ready to be combined or mixed with my existing Vampire Counts army should the opportunity arise. The Strigoi Ghoul King is a metal sculpt from the time of an earlier edition, when this type of vampire was first introduced as a distinct faction. The lowlier vampire in his thrall I just painted now, using the plastic rider from the Terrorgheist kit.

The Strigoi Ghoul King commands his minions

A vampire leads the ghouls on the hunt

Shambling dead follow the necromantic will of their master

I had finished the Varghulf some time back, but took the opportunity to highlight its wing membranes and claws further while also scattering a couple of bones on its base for decoration.

The Varghulf knows only hunger

Gratuitous bat shot for Mark

It’s a compact little infantry force, well suited for a battle even on a 4×4 gaming table. However, plans are obviously afoot to expand the army to 2,000 points. While using some existing models like more bats and Dire Wolves, the main new addition will be a Terrorgheist and some Crypt Horrors I have yet to build.

The undead horde sweeps across the field

Zombie Tide

It turned into a bit of a slog towards the end, but I managed to complete my horde of 30 zombies in thrall to the Ghoul Kings for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

The war dead march again

A dozen of the figures are metals from The Assault Group that I ordered with their Kickstarter in 2017. Five of the sculpts are now available from their store, while the sixth was an exclusive. They will tie in nicely with my fledgling Empire army, hence I painted some of the zombies up in the state colours of Ostermark and Ostland.

Once proud warriors of the Empire

Former soldiers of Ostermark

To complete the regiment I dug through my bits box and combined  Citadel plastic zombie heads and arms with bodies from the archers and militia sets. One is using the legs and torso of a Perry Miniatures mercenary, while two do not use any legs since I modelled them to be emerging from the cursed soil of Sylvania.

Dark magic stirs the dead to life

Altogether I have a horde of 60 zombies now for my masters of the necromantic arts to call upon. The upcoming Fireforge zombies are looking pretty nice as well, so I might add another unit of them in future. Maybe something for my Salute 2020 shopping list.

A horde of the walking dead

Mindless serfs of the Vampire Counts