The moment I saw the Deathrattle Tomb Host Spearhead, I couldn’t help grinning at the plastic pile of curses, bone, and baroque menace staring back at me. This set contains 40 multipart plastic miniatures—including a Wight King, five Barrow Knights, ten Barrow Guard, and twenty Deathrattle Skeletons with four tombstones. It’s the kind of army that makes your tabletop feel genuinely haunted. But here’s the real magic: these sculpts aren’t just stunning for Age of Sigmar. They’re perfect for building a skeletal warband in Gangfight’s Chronicle setting—and honestly, the conversion and customization potential will make your friends ask what sorcery you’ve unleashed.
TL;DR: The Undead Rise
40 beautiful plastic minis ready to paint and convert into a Chronicle skirmish force.
Six fully-playable Gangfight warbands hidden in one set—tomb guardians, cursed knights, grave-risen zealots, and skeletal champions.
Painting opportunities range from dusty earth washes to eerie basing techniques that’ll make every skeleton look freshly exhumed.
Perfect for painters, collectors, and skirmish gamers who want gothic gravitas without breaking the bank.
Who Is This For?
Gangfight painters and kitbashers who crave a faction with personality and presence. If you love painting skeletal armor, layering bone with nuance, and building dioramas around a cursed theme, this set is your jam. Skirmish players who want a Chronicle warband with genuine character—think undead nobility commanding shambling retainers. Collectors seeking high-quality resin-grade sculpts in plastic, with enough spare parts to populate a whole graveyard. And conversion enthusiasts: every sprue here is loaded with weapon swaps, shoulder pads, and decorative elements that’ll make your other fantasy armies jealous.
What’s in the Box? A Closer Look
You’re getting 287 plastic components split across five Citadel 60mm × 35mm oval bases, one 32mm round base, ten 28.5mm round bases, and twenty-four 25mm round bases. Translation: elite heavies, mounted champions, and ranked soldiers all in one go.
Here’s the real treasure: assembly flexibility. The Wight King can be built as a foot champion or a Wight Lord variant. The Barrow Guard sprue offers sword-and-shield or two-handed weapon builds. The Barrow Knights are pure cavalry thunder. And the Deathrattle Skeletons? They’re designed to look simultaneously fragile and ominous—perfect for a Chronicle warband with genuine thematic conflict.
This box delivers roughly 40% extra value compared to its $145 price point, which means you’re getting premium plastic without the premium pain.
How Do These Models Fit Into Gangfight?
This is where things get really fun. In Gangfight’s Chronicle setting, the Deathrattle Tomb Host maps directly to undead nobility and their grave-servants. Here’s how I’d build six distinct warbands from one box:
Adaptation Table: From Bones to Warbands
| Model / Unit | Setting | Role | Loadout | Traits | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wight King | Chronicle | Captain | Great Weapon + Bone Armor | Fearless, Grit | High |
| Barrow Knights (5) | Chronicle | Heavy / Operative | Spear, Hand Weapon + Plate | Mounted, Fearless | High |
| Barrow Guard (10) | Chronicle | Operative / Heavy | Hand Weapon, Spear, Shield | Grit, Fearless | Medium |
| Deathrattle Skeletons (20) | Chronicle | Scout / Operative | Hand Weapon, Bow (half unit) | Swift, Fearless | Low |
| Tombstone Markers | Chronicle | Terrain / Scenario Props | — | Diorama Asset | Low |
| Wight Lord Alt-Build | Chronicle | Champion | Hand Weapon + Tomb Blade | Fearless, Leadership | High |
Sample Warband 1: The Tomb Guard (6–8 models)
- 1× Wight King (Captain, Great Weapon, Fearless)
- 3× Barrow Guard (Operatives, Hand Weapons, Shields)
- 2–4× Deathrattle Skeletons (Scouts, Bows)
Perfect for: Graveyard ambushes, defending cursed ground, or defending a necromancer’s lair.
Sample Warband 2: The Barrow Knights’ Charge (7 models)
- 1× Wight Lord on foot (Captain, Spear)
- 5× Barrow Knights (Heavies, mounted spears)
- 1× Deathrattle Skeleton (Scout, bow)
Perfect for: Open-field skirmishes, cavalry-focused scenarios, noble duels.
Sample Warband 3: The Grave-Risen Zealots (8 models)
- 2× Wight Kings / Lords (Co-leaders, Great Weapons)
- 4× Barrow Guard (Operatives, Two-Handed Weapons)
- 2× Deathrattle Skeletons (Scouts, Bows)
Perfect for: Multi-faction tournaments, co-op campaigns, “cursed nobility” themed scenarios.
Scenario Hooks: Two Ideas to Start
Scenario 1: The Tomb’s Vigil
Engagement: The undead garrison defends their barrow from grave-robbers and cultists. Complication: Every casualty to the Wight King triggers a morale check for both sides—death begets more death in this cursed ground. Conclusion: Whoever controls the central barrow for three full rounds claims victory and an ancient artifact.
Scenario 2: The Skeletal Escort
Engagement: Barrow Knights must escort the Wight King to a ritual ground while mercenary bands attempt to intercept. Complication: The Deathrattle Skeletons animate as reinforcements if the Wight King reaches a waystone (but they arrive slowly, as they shamble from the earth). Conclusion: First side to complete their objective wins.
Why These Models Are Brilliant for Conversions & Dioramas
The Barrow Guard frames are endlessly kitbashable. Swap their weapons onto other frames, combine them with Gangfight-adjacent kits (historical, fantasy, even some sci-fi elements), and you’ve got a hybrid undead force. The skeletal anatomy is modular—you can magnetize limbs, repose them mid-stride, or use them as custom objective markers.
The tombstones are gorgeous scatter terrain. Glue them to rocks, add undergrowth, paint them with lichen and weathering, and suddenly your board has narrative weight. I’ve seen hobbyists use them as ritual altars, grave-markers, or even blown-apart rubble in fantasy post-apocalyptic settings.
The Wight King’s level of detail—baroque armor, cursed runes, skeletal nobility—begs for weathering and storytelling. Dry brushing bone onto the armor joints, adding patina washes to metal areas, and using dark inks in the recesses transforms a monocolor plastic figure into a character with presence.
How to Paint Them for Maximum Impact
Here’s my no-nonsense approach to making these skeletal terrors pop:
Base Coat & Priming
Prime in bone or off-white spray if you want a head start. Black primer works too if you love layering—it just adds more contrast work. Let it cure fully.
Bone & Bone
This is the star show. Start with a cream or ivory base (like Citadel Corax White or equivalent). Wash with diluted sepia or brown ink in all the recesses—seriously, don’t skip this. The shadows give the bones depth.
Dry-brush a highlight of ivory or pale yellow onto the raised areas of skulls, limbs, and ribcages. Use a stiff brush, load it light, and drag it across the top surfaces. This makes every bone feel three-dimensional and eerie.
Armor & Metal
Use metallic grays or silvers for the main armor plates. Wash with diluted black ink, then dry-brush highlights using the same metallic mixed with a touch of white. For cursed, “necromantic” armor, try adding a very thin glaze of dark purple or green ink over the metals—it suggests fell magic without overwhelming the sculpt.
Basing & Earth
Here’s the cinematic bit: texture the base with real sand, fine gravel, and occasional small bones (plastic or real). Prime it dark brown. Dry-brush layers of lighter browns and ochres across the top. Add tufts of dead grass or pale moss. This makes the skeleton look like it literally crawled from the soil.
Final Touches
Gloss varnish the eyes (if you paint them) or use a super-fine black liner to define eye sockets. A tiny dab of sepia ink in the teeth gives them a rotted quality. Consider adding weathering dust (pigment or pastels) to the lower legs and armor joints—skeletons that wade through crypts don’t stay pristine.
Pro tip: Paint the Wight King with more care. Give him richer metals, brighter bone highlights, and ornate armor details. He’s the star. The Skeletons can be faster—a base coat, two washes, and a dry-brush is totally enough for ranked soldiers.
Is This Good Value for Collectors & Gamers?
Short answer: absolutely.
With roughly $59 in savings off retail value, you’re looking at a discount in line with other Spearhead releases. More importantly, the Deathrattle Tomb Host delivers about 40% extra value—$204 in models for $145—making it one of GW’s better bundles for painters and skirmish enthusiasts.
For Gangfight players specifically: you get six fully-playable warbands from one box, which is incredible. That’s multiple campaign options, army variants, and swap-able rosters without buying multiple sets.
For painters: the sculpt quality is genuinely high. Baroque detail, dynamic poses, and the kind of anatomy that makes layering and highlighting a joy rather than a chore. The bones have so much visual surface to work with.
For collectors: this is a no-brainer. Undead armies are evergreen. These sculpts will age beautifully, and you’ll never feel “outdated” displaying them.
Optional Mini-Guide: Converting Barrow Guard into Custom Champions
Homebrew Suggestion: Want to build a “Cursed Knight” variant using spare Barrow Guard parts?
- Head swap: Use a spare Wight King or noble head on a Barrow Guard body.
- Weapon kitbash: Combine a spear shaft with a Great Weapon blade (file and pin them together).
- Shoulder detail: Glue spare armor pauldrons or cloaks from the Wight King sprue onto the shoulders.
- Base elevation: Use a tall, rocky base or a piece of scenery to make them feel more imposing.
- Paint distinction: Use brighter metals or unique color accents (purple glows, gold trim) to mark them as champions.
Result: A unique, one-of-a-kind character that feels earned and personal.
FAQs
Q: Can I use Deathrattle Skeletons as ranked archer units in Gangfight Chronicle? A: Absolutely. Frame them as Scouts with Bows. Their smaller stature on the 25mm bases makes them feel appropriately “light” compared to the heavy Barrow Guard.
Q: What’s the “easiest” unit to paint first from this set? A: The Deathrattle Skeletons. Bone base coat, dark wash, light dry-brush highlight, and you’re done. They’re forgiving and teach you the recipe you’ll use on everything else.
Q: Can I magnetize the Wight King’s weapon? A: Yes. Drill into the hand and weapon socket, glue in tiny rare-earth magnets, and you can swap between Great Weapon and dual hand weapons. Highly recommended for scenario variety.
Q: How long does this set take to paint? A: For a tabletop-ready standard (base coat, wash, highlight, basing), expect 20–30 hours for the whole set. For exhibition-quality painting, double or triple that.
Q: Are the Barrow Knights hard to assemble? A: Not really. They’re mounted models, so there’s armor, steed, and rider to glue together. Take your time with alignment (especially the rider to steed). Use superglue, not plastic cement, for the most adjustability.
Q: Can these models work in other fantasy skirmish games besides Gangfight? A: Definitely. The scale and basing are flexible enough for Necromunda, Stargrave, Aos Skirmish, and lots of homebrew rulesets. Gangfight just happens to be a perfect mechanical fit.
Q: What glue do you recommend? A: Plastic cement (like Citadel Plastic Glue) for plastic-to-plastic joints. Superglue for metal-to-plastic conversions or emergency re-fixes. Two-part epoxy for pinning larger models.
Q: Do I need to prime them before painting? A: Yes. Primer creates a surface for paint to grip. Without it, paint beads up and flakes. Spray primer is fastest and cheapest.
Q: Is there a “quick-paint” guide for tabletop tournament readiness? A: Sure. Prime in bone. Single-layer base coat. Wash everything dark. Dry-brush bones and metal. Paint eyes. Done. Four hours for the whole army, realistic.
Glossary
Barrow – A grave mound or burial chamber, especially one housing noble or cursed dead.
Dry-brush – A painting technique where you use minimal paint on a stiff brush to highlight raised surfaces, creating texture and depth.
Kitbash – Combining parts from multiple kits to create a unique model. Often used for conversion work or to save money.
SquID Armor – In Gangfight Aeon setting, a small-scale powered suit that grants +5 Armor and upgrade slots. Not applicable here, but useful to know for sci-fi skirmish gaming.
Fearless – A Gangfight trait representing immunity to morale effects. Perfect for undead.
Grit – A Gangfight trait representing toughness and damage resilience. Skeletal champions often have this.
Great Weapon – A two-handed melee weapon in Gangfight Chronicle, dealing bonus damage but at a movement penalty.
Operative – A Gangfight role representing mid-tier fighters: better than scouts, less specialized than leaders.
Wash – A diluted ink or paint applied to recesses and shadows to create depth and definition. Essential for bringing out detail in bone and metal.
Final Thoughts
The Deathrattle Tomb Host Spearhead is more than just a pretty box of undead. It’s a complete painting project, a conversion goldmine, and six potential Gangfight warbands rolled into one. Whether you’re drawn to the gothic aesthetic, the narrative weight of skeletal armies, or the sheer fun of layering bone and weathering armor, this set delivers.
Build them. Paint them. Play them. Most importantly—make them yours. That’s what miniature gaming is really about.
Now go forth and raise some hell. The barrows are calling.
About the Author
Tim Kline is the founder of SkirmishGames.com and creator of the Gangfight Skirmish Game System. A lifelong painter, kitbasher, and tabletop warrior, Tim has been working with miniatures for over two decades. When not writing or designing rules, he’s usually elbow-deep in plastic sprues or experimenting with new painting techniques.
Last Updated: October 18, 2025
Changelog:
- Initial publication with full Adaptation Table and painting guide.
- Added six distinct warband builds and two scenario hooks.