Arcane Legions- I was amazed at the price and play of game..

I bought into the Arcane Legions few months back and have a 10 thousand point army of han and roman.


Its no way as labor intensive as 40k- Which is a plus if your just looking to wargame without the worry of cheeze splatz meaning having to hit the rule set every turn at times...

Then again I hit the rule set for 40k prolly cause I am new at it...

I am painting mine atm and me and my Brother play it alot. Its not 40k mind you but its not to bad. I like it and thought I would share my thoughts...

It feels like risk from back in the day but alot better

I saw it demo'ed last year and the mechanic seems quite solid
and the game played out very well

however
Good art will not carry a bad story in comics
Too many bad elements will crash a good game

it strikes almost intentionally on 3 of the top 5 things games HATE

(in no particular order)
League Play Designs with no League "Support"
the company has Frequently missed shipping & Release projections on expansions and store support items

Collectable marketing-
while it's not exactly a CMG; you still have to buy more than is required to play the game and the core box sets are not at all a "Value" to get started For the same amount of money I can start a 40K army and get better models and be in a solid community of gamers

Pre Painted/Unpainted figs
choose one NOT BOTH!
Table top players like to assemble and custom paint their stuff- all of it
CMG players want a game ready to go out of the box- if it's "Too much work"... PPbPbtbhbththththh FORGET IT!

Other issues
Price just doesn't "Jive"/money for materials doesn't add up
agin for the same amount of money I can get into HeroClix, 40K, Pulp City, Firestorm Armada/Uncharted Seas or Wings Of War.....

Scale
its too small to be classed in the "Heroic"
it's too big to be classed into the "Historicals"

Madman I have to disagree with two of your points.

I have always thought that a game that had some some p[re-painted and some unpainted would be a good idea. Glad to see somebody finally did it.

As to the scale - it looks like they went for true 25mm. So its not that its 'too small' its just that went back to what was originally meant by 25mm or 'gaming scale', while all the other game companmies have drifted their scale to 28mm and larger .

Also, having a few pre-painteds means they can be 'borrowed' into 25mm RPG combat encounters play pretty quickly. There is a batch of people that think that way.

Have to admit - I have been tempted to buy into it - but I didn't know anybody that was actively playing it and I'd want to play at the store. (Sci Fi City)

- Ed C.

Well all points given are good ones except for the price one and maybe I failed to proprely explain myself...

I feel 40k is probably the best one out there in all catagories given.Thats why I started playing it.

However the arcane legions is fun to play because of the gameplay with family and a few close friends for me...

At the house during cook outs and with friends who never war gamed before. It is easier to draw friends into the fury of war gaming .With this game I can get people involved because of rule set. (simple)

I would never replace 40k with Arcane Legions its like night and day.
But it is a good baby step for others who are traumatized by how hardcore and indepth games like 40k are, crafting and the actual playing of game...

The money thing is I have dropped about 130 dollars into my Han Army and it is done.

I don't even want to reveal what I got in my blood angel Army for fear of the wife finding out

I am only starting out in the game. But hey its only money and I enjoy what 40k has to offer on all levels...

I paint the arcane only cause I like to paint you dont have to if you are trying really hard to bring a friend into the world of 40k .

Hey this tactic worked on my brother I brought him into Arcane Legions with the intent in mind, to push Him into 40k later...

Well at the end of the day , it is summed up like this for me...

There is a world of difference between watching a demo and playing the actual game for several months...

Is it 40k or any other high end war game -no...

But on its own I have had alot of fun playing it and don't really see me or anyone else stopping around me for quite some time for the reasons given.

If anyone is looking for a easier and fun mini game to play non gamers with as well as the seasoned pros. out there-he he !

This is a good choice...

I say go for it ...
It stands on its own for reasons listed-just my opinion thats all.

Qoltar wrote:

Madman I have to disagree with two of your points.

As to the scale - it looks like they went for true 25mm. So its not that its 'too small' its just that went back to what was originally meant by 25mm or 'gaming scale', while all the other game companmies have drifted their scale to 28mm and larger .

This really just claraifies my point... the way the ENTIRE industry produces figs/mini's/ Soldiers... is polerized
either it's "historical scale @ 15mm or it's 28mm/"Heroic"
heck, even Reaper and the Ral Partha remnants have succumed to the "Scale Creep"

Quote :

Also, having a few pre-painteds means they can be 'borrowed' into 25mm RPG combat encounters play pretty quickly. There is a batch of people that think that way.

I appriciate your view on this, but again, it's just solidifing my point
about "value" even more...
WHY would a person buy this only to pull out the Hero figs?
there are WAY better resources out there

It's as if the company only had resource to make a limited run of painted figs, so to keep the scope of the game they intended stick with the Hero/Uniques and run the 'troops' in lowe grade plastics and let the consumer putthem together...

Qoltar wrote:

Have to admit - I have been tempted to buy into it - but I didn't know anybody that was actively playing it and I'd want to play at the store. (Sci Fi City)

- Ed C.

And that is whyYQ cancled their orders, and it's sitting on shelves from Krystal Keep to Comic Book World (KY)

As I said previously, I don't deny it's a "Fun" game and indeed a promising Gateway game to something more advanced as DawnPatrol pointed out
but the fact remains... it's sitting on shelves taking it's 2nd or 3rd markdown...
FAIL

Yeah, I bought a bit and I don't want it. Willing to trade it for pennies on the dollar.

Gee, sorry I brought it up....

I guess it is what you like and dislike dont really know about all the company stuff and dropping the ball...

I will give you pennies on the dollar no problem PM me-LOL

Dawnpatrol wrote:

Gee, sorry I brought it up....

I guess it is what you like and dislike dont really know about all the company stuff and dropping the ball...

DO NOT be sorry!
I'm very glad you brought it up
it's why we're here

these forums are about table top war games
discussion and critiques are the soul of why this is such a great place to come and hash it out!

No way.. other games are garbage... 40K is the best... rrraaaaggh.

JK.

Arcane (and most Prepaints) isn't up my alley. But I'm kinda a game whore and willing to try about anything.

I'm really enjoy skirmish style games, not for simplicity but for figure count. I like each of my figs having an "impact".

There are several good entries into TT gaming. The PP route is one, with simplified rules.

Or you can get folks interested in the hobby end then they pick up the game (my path to wargaming).

Some games "scale" up quite nicely. So they play well at a small model count and can be more complex as you move forward. AT43 does a nice job of scaling complexity. I've taught it to 8 to 10 year olds (or adults) with no gaming experience and they enjoyed the game and concept. As they grow in the game they can layer in more complex rules and units.

I don't find 40K has this same scalability as you need certain units to work synergistically to be successful and have a fulfilling game. At small point values (under 750) it can quickly be rock paper scissors. If you didn't bring the rock to your opponents scissors, your paper units can get shredded.

A very fun and relatively cheap entry to TT gaming is Uncharted Seas. It isn't a unit based game but it is easy to pick up and a blast to play. 2 players can invest for 2 starters (~$40) and a rulebook. Total in for 2 is ~$100. Or you can buy the 2 forces and have your family and buddies play with you.

You haven't had a good time until you've given your opponent a "hard pounding in the aft"

I got the arcane legions when they came out, I didnt think it was horrible but it didnt capture my intrest.

My biggest issue was the story. I was stoked to see a historical game that was cheap... then got screwed up by adding the whole magic thing and strange mist/fog what ever it was.

I was a little confused why they did the some painted some unpainted but I didnt mind it.

The online videos on how to play the game are nice and funny!

Speaking of cheap games to this day I still love the Pirates card game taht you punch out the ships and play!!! I still have 2 boxes worth of unpunched ships and well over 100 ships assembled. The kids love playing that alot too! I modified the rules a little though for them!

But of course I'm a GW addict so nothing can be better than warhammer lol

John Gemrich wrote:

You haven't had a good time until you've given your opponent a "hard pounding in the aft"

Or in my case, role just perfect with your dwarf fleet and blow your entire army out of the water.....LOL

Godd times.....good times......"I've been censored so now i'm going to the dam shop&qu Humans...

Right on ,
its not sorry to bring it up totally I guess but it is hard to find a group of gamers who love to play the game one reason would be the fluff concerning the mist or fog...

A true historical wargame that doesnt blast your wallet would be like a priceless find indeed...

I guess the arcane legions is like based loosely on twisted mythology or something...

If it shot for true mythology that would of been a plus.
But I am sure that would of came at a price due to research of it...

@ Makari -

Do you remember a board game -Now this might be a little past your time growing up but got to ask just the same...

...called Dungeon it was like a spoof or take off I think it was by tsr (dont remember) of tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons.

It sort of played like clue and a shoots and ladders. or something me and my brother played that for years...

Well my brother found the mini's to it -He kept them due to the fact he painted them up.

He is building Orcs atm-On the road driving truck ...

Thought I would throw that at you in passing...

Probably the only thing I find that is a turn off is the unpainted figures are "soft plastic" and with all the handling of the figures in the game if you did paint them it would flake off in short order.

Otherwise, I got no problems with it.