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What’s happening with the people and products of Wizkids?
According to ICv2, several former WizKids employees will be releasing a miniature line called Arcane Legions under the imprint Wells Expeditions, a child of Compound Fun. Compound Fun will also re-release former WizKids product Tsuro under the imprint Calliope Games.
I can’t find any web information for a game company called “Wells Expeditions”, nor “Calliope Games”, nor “Compound Fun”. The name “Arcane Legions” is heavily associated with a planned RPG/RTS video game from Slitherine Software UK which was never released, as near I as can tell. Also, I can find no corroborating sources for this news. ICv2 has pics (source). I’m envious; where do they get their info from? (source)
Catalyst Game Labs, makers of Classic Battletech and Shadowrun minis that were sold via WizKids, had teamed up with (the not yet existant) Pinata Games in order to buy back the rights to these lines in order to market them on their own (or relicense them), but Topps, despite closing Wizkids, kept the Shadowrun license for itself. Catalyst announced that they were changing the name of “Classic Battletech” to “Battletech”, but it is unclear to me if they have yet gained the license back. And the status of Heroclix, another Wizkids property, is also still up in the air.
In the meantime, as long as they are talking business, Catalyst and Pinata are going forward with plans for new games, produced by Catalyst and marketed by Pinata. (source)
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Found a webpage for it at:
http://www.arcanelegions.com/
Not a whole lot there, but at least a place to watch.
Bill
Armydillo978@gmail.com
Thanks, Bill.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact
Tiffany O’Brien
tiffany@wells-expeditions.com
COLLECTING ANOTHER VICTORY
Innovative Mass Action Miniatures Game to Revolutionize Tabletop Gaming
May 15, 2009 (SEATTLE) — Wells Expeditions™, a new company started by the founding members of WizKids Inc., announces the upcoming release of the Arcane Legions™ collectable mass action miniatures game.
A tableful of miniature soldiers involved in epic combat that can take two to six players through a full military engagement in less than two hours was once unthinkable. The team of veteran game-makers at Wells Expeditions, who created classic games like HeroClix®, MechWarrior® and Pirates of the Spanish Main™, are thrilled to turn that pipe dream into yet another brilliant idea: Arcane Legions.
With experience and a close relationship with retailers and consumers in the marketplace, Wells Expeditions has carefully designed an affordable game that removes all of the entry-obstacles of traditional miniatures games. Arcane Legions features straightforward rules, quick setup and an affordable collectable model. The game is set in a mysterious alternative history where the Roman Empire, Egyptian Imperium and Han Dynasty are all drawing upon mythical creatures and powerful armies to dominate a world in chaos.
The engaging Arcane Legions platform 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. With three distinct factions that can be purchased separately, players can collect exactly the figures they want. Arcane Legions eliminates the need for cumbersome tape measurements and record-keeping.
In this economy, it’s difficult to entice new customers into stores — never mind into a new collectable game. Arcane Legions was designed to keep the number of products that need to be stocked and purchased to a minimum by 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. In fact, a player can buy a “Legion Bundle,” eight faction-specific Boosters, and get every collectable figure in that faction — guaranteed! Keeping a player’s investment low and their enjoyment level high makes Arcane Legions the ideal miniatures game.
Wells Expeditions knows that a community of players is key to growing a game, and so is supporting Arcane Legions with 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 collectable game genre.
Arcane Legions releases in September, but you can get an earlier look by visiting http://www.ArcaneLegions.com. Wells Expeditions will be demonstrating the game at Origins Game Fair June 24 – 28, and prerelease product will be on hand at Gen Con Indy August 13 – 16.
©2009 Wells Expeditions. All rights reserved. Arcane Legions and Wells Expeditions are trademarks of Wells Expeditions, a Compound Fun, LLC company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Wells Expeditions has received confirmation that their distributors have received the 2 player demo games. These are available for free to all retailers.
If you are a player who would like to try out the game, get into your LGS and let them know! If you are a retailer, call your distribution rep today and get your free copy while they last!
Origins was a huge success for us. We demo’ed the game all weekend long and got a lot of great feedback:
http://www.robotviking.com/2009/06/arcane-legions-could-be-a-game-changer/
I have posted the demo rules at:
http://www.arcanelegions.com/news1.html
We are now getting ready for GenCon, where we will debut the finished product and have a limited quantity for sale. The actual release date is September 30th.
For more info on Arcane Legions become a fan of our Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arcane-Legions/97069005457
or check out our temporary website:
http://www.ArcaneLegions.com
Thanks for lookin!
Mark