Xilos-Aversary: Part 3

By Chief Antares Archivist David Horobin,
supported by Archivist-Aspirant Jon Harrington.

Special thanks to Rick Priestley, Tim Bancroft, Richard Carlisle and others that made this compilation of Antares history possible.

November 7 2025 marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of the “Beyond The Gates Of Antares: Strike Vector One – The Xilos Horizon” boxed set.
The Xilos-Aversary posts commemorate this momentous occasion.

We continue our delve into the the history of Antares with Part 3 – The release of the big box game through to the start of the development of V2.

I’ll not be highlighting EVERY SINGLE release.
Folks that wish to see all the releases can trawl through all the live articles on Warlord’s site that still exist if they wish.
Instead I will focus on the more interesting activities related to the game and its continued development.

Game Release (Nov 2015) to Version 2 (2020)

Strike Vector One: The Xilos Horizon

November 7th 2015 heralded the release of the first box game for Beyond The Gates Of Antares.

The box included a 260 page full colour hardback rulebook, 6 plastic Ghar (3 Battle & 3 Assault), 20 plastic Concord Strike Troopers, a metal Strike Leader Kai’Lek Atastrin and associated Concord drones, templates, dice, markers. Even a D3!

There were also a couple of launch events in the UK to mark the occasion. Wayland Games hosted one…

… while another took place at Sanctuary Gaming Centre in Sutton-In-Ashfield.

It was the at latter of these two that I got to meet one of the regular play-testers that had worked on the Antares project: Nick Simmerson. He was hosting the event (and poor Nick had to listen to me waffle on about Antares for most of the day – sorry Nick!).

This set heralded the first plastic models to the Antares range. The choice of factions in any starter set is always an important one, influencing the factions we are likely to see in the community for years to come. While the Concord could be considered the benchmark against which other factions are measured, the Ghar are the exception to many of the rules that other factions follow, making them a challenging choice for new players. But there is no doubt that such an iconic design is well placed to usher in the seventh age, and their inclusion was a great way to expose new players to the first plastics available for the game (everything else so far had been cast in metal).

With the release of the Xilos Horizon set, many people remember the pre-order bonus of Fartok and the “Run Fartok, Run” scenario. Fewer may remember another campaign being run at the time; one that saw the staff of Warlord Games getting to grips with the game.
T.O.R Seven Zero One allowed us to vicariously enjoy the Warlorders exploring the universe, rules, models and scenery. Indeed, one of the most iconic and endearing scenery items were the Space Onions (Spppaaaaaaaaaccccceeee Ooonnnniiiioooonnnnsssss!!) which first made their appearance in a TOR-701 update.

And speaking of scenery, another pre-order bonus was an Orbital Transmat Platform MDF kit from Sarissa Precision, who had also created a whole host of new kits specifically for Antares.

Further Event Releases Dec 2015

There were a few additional releases shortly after the Xilos Horizon box game: the Starter Army sets. These sets were great value and were the first place to get some of the new Ghar metals (Tectorists, Flitters, Outcasts & Disruptor Cannon).

This was also a time when the previously released “Skirmish Forces” for the Freeborn, Algoryn and Boromite metals were updated.

No Isorian models were released during this period.

First Year Of Antares – 2016

In January 2016 a very important article was released on the Warlord Games website. “Refurbished” was the first Antares fiction to be released outside of the rulebook. Written by Tim Bancroft (who had received the Xilos Horizon game for Christmas 2015), little did we know back then how important this kind gent would be to the future of Antares.

The second part of “Refurbished” was released shortly after the first, and began a plethora of engaging short stories written by Tim. These were released over the next few months (and indeed years!), and eager readers will be able to find them via the above links and elsewhere on this Nexus (and the Warlord Community pages).

March 2016, we finally saw the first release for the Isorian Senatex in the form of a skirmish force preorder. This was the sixth and final Panhuman faction to join the Antares universe, though it would be some time before the iconic Tsan-Ra would make an appearance.

What I found most interesting is that during the stages of development, the Isorian design concept changed the least. The left hand image being from the Dark Space Corp/kickstarter days; the right hand image being the resultant artwork accompanying the release.

Also in March 2016, the community were invited to participate in a short story competition ran by Winged Hussar Publishing, with the best stories being published in the first Antares Anthology “Open Signal”. On a personal note, this was quite an exciting competition to enter.

Open Signal was released around May 2017 (and I hear “Subversion” is really good, hehe).
Although slightly out of chronological order for this history-of-Antares, the second anthology “Dimensional Gates” was released later in November 2017.
A third publication, “Marcov’s Prize“, by Mark Barbour was released in June 2018.

The Freeborn Shard

Antares was not just enjoying its tabletop existence, or being consumed in book format; but also as pod-cast. The Freeborn Shard, hosted by Justin Shearer and Tim Bancroft, started in May 2016.

This was originally hosted on Soundcloud, and while I couldn’t find the original episodes, they look like they are still available on Spotify.

Even now, these are still a great listen when painting your Ghar (or other figures).

Battle For Xilos

In May 2016, a new faction were teased: the “Rebel Ghar“. And it wasn’t long until this was followed up with “The Battle For Xilos“, the first narrative supplement. This was also the backbone of the first online campaign (being hosted by Beasts-Of-War’s online campaign platform). Although not quite at the level of Dynamic Gaming Universe hoped for during the Kickstarter; it was good to see results of battles being accumulated online and driving the overall narrative of the Antares Universe.

It was also the dawn of a new and improved Fartok, the plucky outcast first seen in October 2015. Now at the head of a rebel Ghar army, Fartok arrived this time in a specially designed battlesuit to aid him in his quest to thwart his nemesis – Karg.

There were several other new characters released to mark the Battle For Xilos – CiC Josen, Amano Harran, Guildess Arran Gestalin and Xan Tu.

The online Battle For Xilos Campaign ran from 18 June to 30 July. Each week players were invited to submit their results for each of the scenarios in the Battle For Xilos book, with a new scenario taking place in each subsequent week. Players could gain “influence” within the campaign by painting, blogging and writing battle reports, and each player had their own little “widget” to track their progress.

Unfortunately “War Console” (the system used for managing the online campaign) has been removed from the internet; and not even the trusty Wayback Machine can return reasonable levels of information. But there are still some articles online for the Beasts Of War pages. Although Episode 3 of The Freeborn Shard was the Xilos special if you want to go listen to that again.

Xilos also saw the first real aliens added to the Antares range of models: the Tsan Ra.

Continuing the Xilos theme, later in October 2016, Warlord Games hosted their own “Battle for Xilos Day”.

The best documented archive that could be found for this was from a participant Andy Patrick:
Post 1.
Post 2.
Post 3.

And if I may indulge my own personal highlight of the day; it is captured in Andy’s comment relating to the sixth scenario with a dimensional rift destroying all that it encountered, and my Ghar were deployed right next to it…

The day was rounded off with a Q&A with Mr Priestley himself.

Antares Initiative

September 2016 saw the Antares Initiative arrive. The idea gave EIGHT different gaming groups the opportunity to get a head-start into the Antares game. One of the groups, The Noise Sector, even created their own Podcast for Antares.

There were several updates on the Warlord Article Archive and avid Archivists can browse those pages for themselves.

A New Box Approaches

The first anniversary of the Xilos Horizon box saw the Antares Dice Game hit the shelves, packed with the Togg Kin’Ru Mercenary Adventurer.

Boot Camp

December 2016 was also the first Antares Boot Camp. Twenty lucky individuals made their way to Warlord HQ in Nottingham, and it wouldn’t be the last time commanders in the seventh age gathered in honour of their favourite game.

Second Year of Antares – 2017

Straight out of the blocks for 2017, with barely a year going by since the release of Xilos Horizon, a new slimmer box game for Antares was released: Strike On Kar’a Nine.

This was an absolute bargain at its release price, containing an A5 rulebook, plastic Algoryn and Concord forces, and all the dice and templates required to dive into the game.

The composition of this set, using Algoryn and Concord factions, resulted in much more balanced games, and a great way for some folks to kickstart a second Algoryn faction…

Army list construction changed in March 2017, with FREE online army lists, bringing them in line with errata and updates. These were followed shortly after by some rules amendments, which would be used in The Chryseis Shard and the first Antares Games Day (see below). These rules have been dubbed by the community the 1.5 version, and would later form the basis of a V2 edition.

Gate Building

Following on from the Antares Initiative, The Gate Builder Programme was announced, where prospective players could contact Warlord or the official Antares Facebook page and be put in contact with a (player location permitting) local Antares player – a Gate Builder. An opportunity to learn the rules and tips of army building were on offer, along with the chance to play Antares at suitable locations.

The Chryseis Shard and First Antares Games Day

The second narrative supplement was released in May 2017, and introduced a dangerous new foe in the form of a rogue machine intelligence known as the Locus.

This supplement introduced the Freeborn Solar Command Skimmer, Algoryn Special Division Commander Ess Ma Rahq and the special miniature, Nurk-27. It also saw the introduction of Prince Batu Delhren, a character created by none other than Tim Bancroft, and featuring in his expanded narratives of Antares lore.

The book added new units to the existing factions, new equipment, rules for hazardous environments and alternative variant forces. It also included six new scenarios and a campaign, which could be modified to use any of the factions.

Coinciding with the release of The Chryseis Shard was the First Antares Games Day. I secured my ticket and it was a great day. Another one of the attendees, James Bowen, shared his thoughts about the day on the Warlord blog.

And not long after the The Chryseis Shard book and Games Day, it was announced that Antares stalwart and host of the Freeborn Shard, Tim Bancroft, would be joining Warlord to assist with all things Antares.

The Nexus

The original Antares Nexus was set up as a repository of articles and other content from the seventh age. That site has since closed and replaced by this “Antares Nexus” site you are on now.

Third Year of Antares – 2018

Numerous releases were made throughout 2018, including another plastic frame for the Algoryn and the first Freeborn plastic models. We also got to see the C3M25 & C3M50 heavy battle drones, a truly intimidating sight on any battlefield. And joining the starter armies available already, we saw the formal release of the Ghar Rebel Outcast Army Box.

Dronescourge

It wasn’t long into 2018 when the third (and final) narrative supplement was announced. On the planet of Taskarr, the Virai were the first truly alien enemy to join the established factions of Antares.

Similar to the previous supplements, this book contains 6 new narrative scenarios, new army lists for Virai Dronescourge, Ghar Exiles and Freeborn Privateers. Also within its pages were new environmental factors and hazardous fauna.

We also meet three new characters: the Concord NuHu Intelligence Mandarin, Jai Galeyous along with her Vyess bodyguards; Privateer ‘Admiral’ Taras Kalemon and his Boromite and Freeborn bodyguard; Ghar Exile Commander Shaltok.

The new mechanics of the Virai Dronescourge were also very new, reflecting the hive like nature of this new scourge. The Reprogram rule enabled Virai players to Overlock or Reset units, allowing them to use more than one order per turn.

Fourth Year of Antares – 2019

Another new range of aliens joined the fold in February 2019. The Askar Mercenary Warriors are able to be recruited by almost any faction, adding their strength and firepower to those willing to pay.

We also saw a fan made mini-campaign made by Adam Murton – The Raiders of Bronvar, along with another background supplement from Tim B – The Splintering Shard.

TableTop Warlords

March 2019 heralded the dawn of The Tabletop Warlords and their YouTube channel. Kevin and Sergey brought an immense energy and massive enthusiasm with their many, many battle reports in the Antares Universe.

They also did an interview with Rick & Tim about the second edition of the game, but more about that in Part 4. Their last upload was in April 2023 and we wish the guys well in all their endeavours.

Going Nowhere

A “Fantasy” set of rules that followed the Antares core was released in 2019. Warlords of Erehwon, also written by Rick Priestley, joined the shelves of many gamers. The title was a nod of the head to the intended use case for the ruleset: a great way to put to use fantasy models from almost any range.

Fifth Year of Antares – 2020

No one would have believed, in the early months of 2019, that Antarean affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. A second edition was being planned, starting in late 2019 and to be developed throughout 2020.

However, a global pandemic had other plans. The economic impact was felt throughout the world. In the UK, where Warlord Games is based, companies were able put employees on furlough – that is to enable their employees to be paid by the government; but those employees could not conduct economically productive activities (“work”). This resulted in the testing of Antares V2 to be delayed.

Abruptly, development ceased.

We’ll pick up the V2 development and changes from V1 (and V1.5) next time in Part 4, tracing the archives between 2020 and 2025.

Xilos-Aversary Part 4

Having now covered all the releases and content associated to “Version 1”; next time we’ll review all things “Version 2”.

Don’t forget about this time-bending conundrum mentioned in the Prologue:

“The IMTel is never wrong” is a common theme throughout the Antares Universe – BUT it has been significantly wrong once. What was the one time the IMTel was wrong? (Hint – there is a picture clue in the 1st Edition rule book about Josen).

Post your answers in the comments section below. Correct answers will get a +5 Regurge upgrade to your own personal shard, to help you to really savour the last meal you had.

The answer will be revealed in the final Xilos-Aversary post.

Until next time!!