With the launch of the Antares Opponent Finder a few weeks ago, Warlorders Rich.C and Rich.D decided to throw-down in one of their first games…
Rich.C assumed command of the Algoryn scouting force, while Rich.D took control of the Freeborn – they would clash in a 500pt ‘Let Battle Begin’ matched scenario (taken from page 142 of the Beyond the Gates of Antares Rulebook.)
The overall objective of the game would be to familiarise not only ourselves, but also the viewers with the rules a little more… we were lucky to have the company and guidance of Ches from our Events Team – who was on-hand to talk us through some of the specifics and to assist, prompt, and guide us through this first game.
Rich.C’s Algoryn Skirmish Force
We wanted to keep things relatively simple for this first game – we didn’t want to go overboard with unit upgrades, or to delve too deep down the proverbial rabbit hole of extras and goodies which were at our disposal – the core Rulebook offers a vast amount of optional extras that you can use to really personalise and tailer our force however you want…
I opted for a fairly ‘Bread and Butter’ Algoryn force – lead by an AI Command Squad… with a core of two AI Squads – each with a couple of extra bodies…. and we then decided to excersize a little Force Selector leniency – and I took two AI Support Teams – one with a Mag Light Support, and one with an X-launcher – so that we could explore exactly what these two weapons do…
With the addition of Spotter Drones in all units, and an extra crewman in one of the Support Teams, the battle ready force came to exactly 500pts!
A.I Command Squad
- Basic unit (AI Commander and 2 AI Troopers) – 104pts
- include Spotter Drone in unit – 10pts
Unit total – 114pts
AI Squad
- Basic (AI Leader, 3 x AI Trooper with Mag Gun, 1 x AI Trooper with Micro-X Launcher)- 94pts
- Add 2 AI Troopers with Mag Guns – 34pts
- Exchange AI Trooper’s Micro-X Launcher for a Mag Gun – Free
- Include Spotter Drone in unit – 10pts
Unit total – 138pts
AI Squad
- Basic (AI Leader, 3 x AI Trooper with Mag Gun, 1 x AI Trooper with Micro-X Launcher)- 94pts
- Add 2 AI Troopers with Mag Guns – 34pts
- Exchange AI Trooper’s Micro-X Launcher for a Mag Gun – Free
- Include Spotter Drone in unit – 10pts
Unit total – 138pts
AI Support Team
- Basic Unit (2 x AI Trooper Crew with Mag Light Support) – 38pts
- Include Spotter Drone in unit – 10pts
- Add 1 AI Trooper Crew to unit – 14pts
Unit total – 62pts
AI Support Team
- Basic Unit (2 x AI Trooper Crew with Mag Light Support) – 38pts
- Include Spotter Drone in unit – 10pts
- Re-arm Support Team with X-launcher – Free
Unit total – 48pts
Force Total – 500pts
Rich.D’s Freeborn Skirmish Force
Army List Building isn’t my strongest suit – I like to keep things fairly simple. I started by taking a Command Squad, and tried to make it as survivable as possible – by adding 2 Bodyguards – and then (using the unit’s Special Options) adding two more – making a 7-man unit. Then – again trying to keep things simple, I gave my Captain a Plasma Carbine as well – meaning that all 7-men in the unit had them.
This gave me some impact – 7 men with Plasma Carbines is a unit not to be sniffed at!
I then took two Domari Squads – standard issue troopers for the Freeborn. Armed with Mag Guns, and clad in Reflex Armour, they’d give me a solid couple of units to take the fight to the Algoryn enemy!
I had around 70pts left to play with – so turned to probably my favourite unit in the Freeborn roster – the Ferals. A basic unit of 6 men nicely rounded-out my army list – coming-in at 501pts (we’re a friendly bunch here at Warlord, and we’re not the types to lose sleep over a few points discrepancy!)
Freeborn Command Squad
- Basic Unit (Freeborn Captain and 2 x Bodyguards) – 122pts
- Add 2 Bodyguards to unit – 52pts
- Add 2 further Bodyguards to unit – 52pts
- Give the Captain a Plasma Carbine – 8pts
Unit total – 234pts
Domari Squad (Household Troops)
- Basic Unit (Household Leader & 5 Household Troopers) – 97pts
Unit total – 97pts
Domari Squad (Household Troops)
- Basic Unit (Household Leader & 5 Household Troopers) – 97pts
Unit total – 97pts
Feral Squad (Mhagris)
- Basic Unit (Feral Leader & 5 Feral Fighters) – 73pts
Unit total – 73pts
Force Total – 501pts
Preparing for the game
To be frank – we were eager to roll some dice and get stuck-into the action as quickly and easily as possible… so we were a little fast-and-loose when it came to a scenario – we just wanted to kill each others’ forces and have a bit of a giggle whilst doing so!
For this initial game, we decided to play-out the first Matched Scenario from the Rulebook – our forces would line-up facing one another and proceed to beat, shoot, stab, and ridicule one another until only one remained…
We set-up a 4x4ft board (with the perimeter denoted by Pin Markers, for visual reference on camera) – and then adjusted to ensure that everything fit within camera shot – which would ensure a close-quarters, action-packed battle – and then scattered terrain pieces around. We were careful to ensure that both sides had an even amount of cover, so that neither of us would gain a tactical advantage over the other.
At the centre of the table, we put a Orbital Transmat Station – as something of a secondary objective…
Into the action!
Redux
The game ended with a victory for Rich.C and the Algoryn – who both had more models left on the table, and seemingly had the Orbital Transmat Station within their control at the end of the fourth turn… but how did our Freeborn player think it went?
Rich.D
Great fun! A cracking game was had by all – there were highs, there were lows, and there were a lot of tens!
The game certainly gave me a lot to think about going forward… I sunk a lot of points into my Command Squad, and – though I feel they did me proud (taking-out quite a few models, and surviving a few rounds of intense shooting) – I think that in future I’ll keep them a little more stripped-down, and instead invest those points in a couple of areas;
- More Feral squads – they’re cheap units which will give me more Order Dice in the bag – which proved to be an advantage…
- Support Weapons – the Algoryn Mag Light Support proved a deadly adversary, and created a real ‘Area of denial’ – which might be interesting to experiment with in future games.
Intrigued?
If we’ve whet your whistle, and you’re interesting in trying Beyond the Gates of Antares, then head over to this link and download the Quick Start rules… then head over to the Warlord webstore and start recruiting your force!
Article written by Richard Dando
Sam Phillips
