Arcane Legions

[Woohoo Cthulhu]

Arcane Legions is a semi-collectable, large model count fantasy wargame. The 3 factions (Rome, Han and Egyptian) each have infantry and cavalry boxes that contain 40+ figures and have known quantities. The rarer and more powerful models can be found in pre-painted, randomized booster packs.

Unlike Warhammer or Warmachine/Hordes, the individual models can be used to create different units based on which unit cards you have at your disposal (the unit cards are also marginally collectible). These cards will have the units stats printed on them as well as a points cost and which models you need to build the unit.

Putting the units together is one of the slickest parts of the game. Their are 2 sizes of unit – sortie and formation. When putting an army together, player’s will select a unit card which will act as an overlay on top of the appropriately sized base. The card has several holes punched in it corresponding to where a figure will stand and each figure has 1 or more pegs on it’s base. After laying the unit card on top of the base, all you have to do is pop your figures into their starting positions and you’re ready to go.

While playing the game, each player gets a certain amount of order points (Usually 8, but more if you’re playing bigger games). These points are “spent” to give units different commands – move, attack, perform special actions, etc. Since you have this finite pool of actions, you have to be very careful not to do what I did – spend all your points on a few units to get them to do a lot as opposed to slowly and carefully haveing your army work in concert.

The game’s a blast and a half. You get a ton of models for dirt cheap (I think I’ve spent about $60 and I easily have about 10,000 points of Egyptians – equivalent to about two 1,000 point Warhammer armies) and the system is very tactical without being too complex.

www.arcanelegions.com

I've got a mighty Egyptian army and a few games (and a few losses ) under my belt. I know a few people who've picked up the game and a few more who've given it a glance or two at UG&G. What are people's thoughts?

[Wild_Bill]

I picked up the game as well. It intrigued me because despite being a table top game the models are simple. Just clip from the sprue. Some may have an arm or shield that needs to be stuck on, but it's pin & hole. I'll be adding a dab of glue just for security sake but for the most part that's not even needed. Also no painting is required. If you want to, go ahead and knock yourself out. But for the most part it's play right out of the box. Which is nice because you can tote them around in a tackle box without worry of the paint getting banging up or models breaking.

The instruction book is 32 pages long and can be downloaded from the site for free. Whats really cool is that they have videos showing you the rules and explaining the game as well ! So if you don't like to read just watch, and believe it or not the videos are entertaining.

Arcane Legions Video Instructions

[Wild_Bill]

Played a quick 3000pt game with my 12 year old daughter last night. We each had 3 units. And the game went pretty smoothly. Quick to learn. Combat is simple. And like any dice game the tables can turn at any moment. She liked it as well and I'm looking forward to getting more models.

[Woohoo Cthulhu]

I've got a few more games under my belt now and I have to admit that a bit of my enthusiasm for the game has diminished. There are a few areas where it feels unpolished. Reading the official AL forums can give you a few better ideas of where this comes from (ranged combat, army construction, unit balance, etc), but overall I'm still digging it. I hope Wells Expedition will publish some errata and/or another FAQ soon.

Who's free this weekend for a round or two against my Egyptians? I've got a Death Touch list that I'm dying to try out.

(pun intended)

[NobleHero]

Okay, I got my first 7000pt game in this weekend. And while terrain was definitely an issue for my opponent, archery won the day. I would really like to get some more games in to see if this is always the case. With how quickly, he was able to get Egyptian cavalry down the field to decimate my melee troops, I do not think that my list was unbeatable by any means.

Overall, the game is fun, easy to pick up, and fast. I think we finished the 7000pt game in 45 minutes or less.