Wells Expeditions is releasing a new game called Arcane Legions, and there has been quite a buzz about it. Here's some inside discussions:
We look forward to seeing everyone at GenCon in a few weeks. We'll be in booth 2005 and will have the following pre-release product for sale.
Note: Quantities are limited and your badge will be punched to reflect your purchase. Prices include local sales tax.
Arcane Legions Starter - $38.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Infantry Pack - $16.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Cavalry Pack - $16.00 (limit one)
Arcane Legions Booster Pack - $13.00 (limit four, one from each faction and one customer’s choice)
As is common in the industry, we offer Arcane Legions in both Starter Games and Booster Packs; however, unlike the others we’ve added a third SKU called Army Packs. It’s essential to remember that Arcane Legions is a mass action miniatures game that will have a player fielding several hundred figures in his army. But unlike many other mass games, his first 123 figures will cost him only $35 . . . not $350.
Arcane Legions features the three greatest armies of antiquity in its storyline: the Roman Empire, the Egyptian Imperium, and the Han Dynasty. The Starter Game is a two-player set that comes with 41 figures for each army. It also comes with rules, bases, unit cards, score card, movement tool, and 36 dice—all for only $35! We believe that each player will purchase a Starter in order to play the game right away with a friend. There is no need for each player to buy half a game. A case of Starters contains six two-player Starter Games.
One of the ways we were able to keep the price down was by removing all the “common” figures from the Booster Packs and moving them to the Army Packs. There is very little unwanted duplication of figures in Arcane Legions; because the commons are in the faction-specific Army Packs, a player need purchase only the faction he wants to play, thus eliminating the duplicate figures that plague other games. Think of the Army Packs as utility packs. There are two types of Army Packs for each faction. Infantry Packs provide an additional 40 faction-specific figures, eight formation bases, four sortie bases, and the appropriate amount of unit cards to field all 40 figures for an incredible price of $15! Cavalry Packs include 14 to 15 mounted figures, four formation bases, three sortie bases, and the appropriate unit cards. Cavalry Packs are also faction specific and $15.
By removing the commons from the Booster Packs (which are also faction specific), we made the chase much easier for the player; in fact, he can collect his entire faction with a single purchase of eight Booster Packs, called a “Legion Bundle.” The collectable Booster Packs are where players will find the key chase figures for their armies and the associated unit cards, both include three levels of rarity: Uncommon, Rare, and Unique. A Booster will include up to 11 prepainted figures and five unit cards. Boosters come 24 to a case and are $12 each. All three factions are represented as Legion Bundles within the case: eight Boosters shrink-wrapped together with their own SKU (retail $96). A Legion Bundle guarantees the player the entire collection of chase figures and unit cards for his specific faction.
Keeping today’s economic environment in mind and considering what a typical player would need to be competitive in Arcane Legions, Wells Expeditions created case counts that will assist in meeting both player and retailer needs. Assuming your store can easily attract six players to the game, you’ll want to purchase one case of Starters. We believe that the typical player (not the collector or alpha player) will purchase a Starter, an Infantry Pack, a Calvary Pack, and four Boosters for his army. This unit ratio of product (1:2:4) will allow the consumer to field a competitive army for his faction and provide a fun play experience. Wells Expeditions has simplified the Arcane Legions purchase for the retailer by matching the case packs to the 1:2:4 unit ratio.
In order to keep to the 1:2:4 unit ratio, you will need 12 Army Packs and 24 Boosters to match the six Starters in the case; thus, there are 12 Army Packs to a case (2 Infantry and 2 Cavalry for each of the three factions) and 24 Booster Packs to a case (three Legion Bundles of eight Boosters each). Both the Starters and Army Packs are fixed; only the Boosters are randomized. Here is where we find the 1:1:1 case ratio.
A typical “player” is one who will play a faction-specific army but doesn’t need to own every figure within his faction. A “collector,” on the other hand, might play a specific faction, but will want to own one of every item produced for his faction. If you have a strong collector community, you’ll want to offer Legion Bundles and increase your initial purchase to 1:1:2 so that you have the ability to offer both individual Boosters and Legion Bundles on your shelf.
To summarize, Arcane Legions is a mass action collectable miniatures game in which players do battle with hundreds of figures in less than two hours. Though collectable, Arcane Legions offers the most effective purchase model for both the retailer and consumer. Depending on the retailer’s player base, the recommended ratios for an initial purchase are 1:1:1 for a “player” community and 1:1:2 for a “collector” community. A typical player can build a competitive, faction-specific army for about $113, and a collector can have one of every figure and unit card for $146! Arcane Legions is fun and affordable, easy to stock, supported through Organized Play, and offers full margins to retailers. Be sure to order yours today! (More on Organized Play later.)
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