Arcane Legions: A Harbinger of a Brighter 1/72 Fantasy Tomorrow?

* click the pictures for a bigger copy

Apparently, the peeps from Wells Expedition believe so. The company is the new baby of the same people who created classic games like HeroClix, MechWarrior: Dark Age and Pirates of the Spanish Main. Their new game is entitled Arcane Legions and is billed as a ( hold your groans please...) "collectible mass action miniatures game."

"The greatest armies of antiquity battle for control of a magically altered world. The year is 37 BCE. The Roman Empire, Egyptian Imperium, and Han Dynasty converge in epic battles across the Middle East. Their legions are full of men and monsters, warriors and sorceresses, undead and gods—this is epic war like none seen before."

Personally, I wasn't fond of the clickies like Mageknight and Heroclix. I usually bought these just for the figures -- which of course I repaint and rebase. But Arcane Legions may have something going for them.

Arcane Legions is an epic-scale strategic combat simulation in which players can easily put hundreds of miniatures on the table at a time. It is designed for two to six players ages 14 and up. The game begins in the year 37BC, in an alternate history where mystical energies have been unleashed by a mysterious force, leaving the Roman Empire (under Octavian and his sorcerous mother Atia), the Egyptian Imperium (under the remarkably youthful sorceress Cleopatra VII and her Roman consort Mark Antony) and the Han Dynasty (under Emperor Wu and his Japanese sorceress Himiko) to compete for domination of the Known World.

Their press releases reveal a few reasons why this game could revitalize 1/72 plastic production and repopularize 1/72 fantasy gaming.

1. Fast & easy: "uses an intuitive and flexible formation-base system to command hordes of troops. Arrange and rearrange figures within a unit to change the unit's capabilities. Movement and combat is fast and deadly, using an abstracted movement system and a simple dice-off combat mechanic"
2. Hassle-free: "eliminates the need for cumbersome tape measurements and record-keeping"
3. Cost-effective collectibility: "With three distinct factions that can be purchased separately, players can collect exactly the figures they want... making figures available by faction and offering a two-player Starter Game with more than 110 figures, plus rules, dice, bases and unit cards. Common figures have been removed from randomized Booster Packs and placed into fixed Cavalry and Infantry Army Packs, and sets have been made intentionally small to make collecting even easier...Keeping a player's investment low and their enjoyment level high makes Arcane Legions the ideal miniatures game."
4. Innovative Community Support:" an extensive in-store play program and a website that not only connects players but also allows players to do the unthinkable: design their own tournament-legal game elements — a first in the collectible game genre."

So will it fly? Here's hoping it does. At the very least, it'll bring to the market a new line of 1/72 plastic fantasy models. I for one, am already waiting for September to roll in.