The Rattlebone Vanguard – Skeleton Fighters Set

The rhythmic, scraping clatter of ancient bone echoes across the ruined courtyard as the Rattlebone Vanguard advances. Animated by an unyielding, centuries-old malice, these fallen soldiers raise their rusted blades and notched axes with terrifying, mechanical coordination. They do not falter, they do not feel pain, and they obey their dark directives until their frames are ground to dust. They form an unbreakable frontline of the damned, ready to impale or cleave any living trespassers who breach their eternal watch.

Highlight

For the Keeper, this multi-model Artifact set provides an essential, high-impact frontline for infantry encounters. The distinct, hyper-dynamic combat poses—featuring a charging spearman, a dual-axe berserker, an overhead great-axe executioner, and a patient greatsword sentry—create an immediate tactical threat on the table. Their detailed skeletal anatomy, layered tattered rags, and pitted armor plates provide a premium canvas for fine wash detailing and volumetric highlighting.

Encounter Insight

Deploy this set as a coordinated frontline wall designed to bog down the party’s heavy hitters while protecting your backline spellcasters. Use their varied weaponry to represent a adaptive threat: the spearman can strike from behind cover, the dual-axe fighter can unleash rapid flurry attacks, and the heavy axes can shatter player shield blocks. To maximize their premium table presence, apply a cold, moonlit glaze over the tattered tabards, contrasted against deeply washed, weathered iron textures on their ancient weapons.

Features

• The Charging Lancer: A hunched, aggressive skeleton thrusting a broad-headed spear forward, its spine coiled tightly with the kinetic momentum of a deadly sprint.
• The Dual-Axe Striker: A cowled warrior stepping forward with twin hand-axes raised, its jaw locked open in a silent, eternal battle cry.
• The Executioner Vanguard: A heavily armored skeletal knight raising a massive, two-handed battleaxe overhead, poised to deliver a crushing vertical blow.
• The Greatsword Sentry: A patient, low-profile swordsman leaning on a notched claymore, heavily detailed with a draped tattered cloak and segmented shoulder pauldrons.

Ideal For

• Populating ancient crypt entrances, forgotten castle ramparts, or nocturnal wilderness ambushes.
• Representing elite Skeleton Infantry, Undead Warlords, or cursed royal guards.
• Hobbyists looking to master bone-shading gradients, realistic battle damage, and weathered iron effects.

Size Category

Size: Occupies a 1×1 square per model (Medium Undead)

Tabletop Lore: The Eternal Garrison

The rusted iron of the blades carried by these hand-selected legionnaires has tasted the blood of empires long forgotten. Bound by a blood-oath to a sovereign whose name has turned to ash, the Vanguard continues their patrol entirely unbothered by the passage of centuries. Local folklore whispers that these warriors are entirely structurally independent of a living necromancer’s focus; their animating force is drawn directly from the desecrated stone paving beneath their feet, reassembling their shattered frames over and over unless their bones are completely cleansed by sacred fire.