Mage Knight - Distribution

Distribution

Mage Knight figures were sold in Starter Packs (which historically contained eight or nine figures along with rules and dice) and Booster Packs (four or five figures). Figures were sold in base sets, as well as expansion sets, and distributed with seven rarity levels. Levels 1 through 5 were assigned to the standard "infantry" figures, each of which was available in 3 power levels: Weak, Standard and Tough. Low power and cost figure were of 1-2-3 rarity, middle range figures were 2-3-4, and stronger army figures were 3-4-5. Level 6 figures were Uniques, which carried the stipulation that only one of any individual Unique could appear in a player's army. In addition, WizKids gave away limited edition, Unique versions of the non-Unique figures in the sets as prizes for tournaments in comic and game shops. These figures are not generally available for retail sale, and have different statistics and point costs than the regular figures. This novel prize policy was in part responsible for Mage Knight's success. Some expansions had ultra-rare "chase" figures, listed as rarity level 7, which were produced in limited quantities and found randomly in boosters, such as the Apocalypse Horsemen in Sinister or the glow-in-the-dark variants from Minions. Finally, Wiz Kids also sold larger figures individually. The figures, which included dragons, chariots, war machines and giants, had multiple combat dials that applied to each side of the figure to make them harder to kill and allow them multiple attacks. Some of these larger, individual figures cost so many points that they could be utilized only in large armies.

In 2002, the Dungeons expansion was released in starters and boosters, which featured a new type of gameplay more akin to traditional RPG "dungeon-crawl" adventures. Instead of players each amassing armies to go head-to-head, Dungeons had players select a team of Hero characters, and enter a dungeon map filled with wandering monsters and treasure chests. During each player's turn, the opponent controlled any monsters encountered, and the goal was to defeat the monsters and escape with the most gold from the treasure chests. Adventures could be played individually or as a collective campaign, with the Hero figures having 5 "levels" that were attained with experience from adventuring. All figures (Heroes and Mage Spawn monsters) were still fully compatible with regular Mage Knight rules. The Dungeons format featured two expansions of its own, Pyramid and Dragon's Gate, and two fixed 5-figure sets with special characters, maps and scenarios titled Heroic Quests. In addition, WizKids released 3-dimensional plastic floor tiles, walls, doors, and objects which could purchased to build a full scale dungeon.

In November 2003, WizKids released a new "base" set (their third, after Rebellion and Unlimited), colloquially referred to as "Mage Knight 2.0," with many rules overhauled or expanded, which introduced new strategic possibilities to the game, including capabilities to customize Unique warriors and battles via styrene cards called Items, Domains, and Constructed Terrain. Later expansions introduced more options via Spellbooks, Spells, and Adventuring Companies. The two "versions" can be distinguished by their logos; the original Mage Knight sets feature a straight short sword through the logo while "2.0" and its subsequent expansions have a curved scimitar.

Mage Knight saw a total of 14 expansions in booster packs, as well as prepackaged sets of figures in the Heroic Quests, Conquest, and Titans supplements, and special holiday-themed figures ("Santa Claus" and "Frosty the Snow-Minion") released in 2001 and 2003. The Conquest version had a number of large castle wall and fortification pieces, including 2 unique figures. Several Army Packs were released, with one random figure and 8 fixed figures from a specific faction. In addition, the Unlimited set released a special "Painter's Edition" which featured miniatures which were unpainted and removed from the bases for customizing purposes.