Coven of the Black Woods - Witch Troopers (x8)

The Coven's line infantry are the Witch Troopers, eight individual occult warriors who form the backbone of any dark warband operating in the eternal trenches of a world consumed by unholy war. Each trooper is a fully realised individual character rather than a rank-and-file soldier, combining battlefield-practical clothing and weapons with deeply personal occult iconography that marks their allegiance to forces beyond conventional military authority. Animal skull masks, horned headdresses, pentagram medallions, runic loin cloths and carved bone headwear distinguish each witch from her sisters while a shared palette of tattered coats, bound leg wrappings and worn boots grounds the entire coven squad in the grim reality of prolonged trench warfare. The weapon loadout across the eight Witch Troopers is impressively varied, covering every battlefield role a dark warband could require. Ranged specialists carry long rifles, drum-magazine shotguns and scoped marksman weapons, each held with the practiced ease of experienced front-line fighters. Close-quarters operatives wield war axes, swords, serrated cleavers, crescent-bladed scythes and hook-tipped ritual staves, their poses conveying aggressive forward momentum and absolute confidence in close combat. One trooper carries an occult pentagram-emblazoned round shield alongside her blade, while another raises a skull-topped ritual staff in what could be a battle cry or a curse being called down upon the enemy. The head designs across the squad are a particular highlight of this kit, ranging from gas masks with goat horn attachments and pentagram medallions, to bare skeletal death-face masks beneath wide skull-adorned headdresses, to animal skull visors with antler crests and blood-matted hair streaming behind. Each face covering tells a different story about the individual witch's role within the coven hierarchy, her personal practice and the specific dark forces she channels in battle. Two of the eight troopers carry a distinctly more ritualistic character, wearing the wide skull-crowned headdresses that identify them as practitioners rather than pure combatants, their weapons secondary to the supernatural authority they wield through ceremony and dark invocation. These figures make natural champion or leader candidates within the squad, their elevated status visible at a glance across any tabletop. Supplied as eight unpainted, unassembled resin miniatures, the Witch Troopers are an exceptional coven warband core that rewards painters who enjoy exploring individual characterful schemes across a coherent but varied unit. Painting Guide: Witch Troopers The Witch Troopers reward a unified squad palette with strong individual accent colours on each trooper's occult accessories, creating visual coherence across the unit while celebrating the unique character of every model. 1. Prime Prime grey across all eight models for a consistent neutral foundation that suits the mix of skin, cloth, leather and metal surfaces present on every trooper equally well. 2. Armour Base Establish a shared squad palette by basecoating all coats, trousers and major cloth surfaces in a unified tone such as Zandri Dust, Castellan Green or Mechanicus Standard Grey, then individualise each trooper through their mask, headdress and weapon accent colours. Highlight cloth surfaces up through a lighter tone of the chosen base colour on raised folds and edges, keeping the highlighting consistent across the squad for visual unity on the tabletop. 3. Trim and Details Paint all skull masks, bone headdresses and animal skull visors in Rakarth Flesh washed with Agrax Earthshade and highlighted up to Pallid Wych Flesh, keeping bone tones consistent across the squad as a unifying visual element among the varied mask designs. Apply Agrax Earthshade across all leather belts, boot wrappings and coat surfaces to unify and weather the cloth palette, and use Druchii Violet selectively in deep coat recesses for a subtle supernatural tint that reinforces the coven identity. 4. Weapons Paint all firearms in dark corroded iron using Leadbelcher washed with Nuln Oil, with Runefang Steel edge highlights on barrel rims and action components; paint all melee blades in the same palette with sharper highlights on cutting edges only. Add subtle OSL green glow from pentagram medallions and runic script surfaces using thinned Moot Green over a Warboss Green base to suggest active supernatural energy channelled through each trooper's personal ritual objects. 5. Weathering Sponge light battle damage across coats and leather using torn blister foam with Abaddon Black then the base coat colour, keeping damage subtle enough that the squad reads as disciplined operatives rather than desperate survivors. Apply pale dust pigment to boots and lower leg wrappings on all eight models consistently, as shared weathering placement across a squad is one of the most effective ways to create visual unit cohesion on the tabletop. 6. Bases Blighted trench ground bases unify the squad most effectively: dark brown texture paste drybrushed with Baneblade Brown and Karak Stone across all eight bases, with optional duckboard plank sections, scattered shell casings, pools of gloss varnish for standing water and sparse dead grass tufts applied consistently to tie the entire warband together as a cohesive force. Sculpted by Konstantin Veilikikh