WizKids, the creators of Mage Knight, the pioneering 'collectible miniatures game' (CMG -- see 'December Product of the Month'),  announced an agreement with Marvel that will result in the creation of a Marvel CMG that will bow in the summer of 2002.  Just a few weeks ago at the San Diego ComicCon, WizKids announced an agreement with DC Comics that will result in a DC Comics CMG slated to debut in the spring of 2002 (see 'WizKids To Do DC CMG').  WizKids is also preparing a Battletech CMG (see 'WizKids Announces Battletech CMG') as well as Dungeons, a stand-alone expansion for the Mage Knight game (see 'Mage Knight Dungeons').  Obviously 2002 is going to be a very busy year for WizKids as the company expands its collectible miniatures franchise from medieval fantasy into compatible genres.

 

Monte Cook, who helped design the revised D&D for WOTC, is writing the rules for the Marvel CMG.  Though all the WizKids CMGs, regardless of genre, feature miniatures with 'combat' dials on their bases for ease of game play, the DC and Marvel CMGs will not be compatible with the Mage Knight game (or with Battletech).  But the good news is that enterprising players should be able to create their own crossover action by mixing and matching heroes and villains from the two superhero games.

 

The Marvel CMG will appear in the normal CMG format of starter sets and booster packs, seeded with rare figures and variants.  The high quality of the pre-painted figures for the new Mage Knight Dungeons expansion can only have fans drooling over the prospects of miniatures fashioned after their favorite costumed crusaders.   The Marvel and DC CMGs represent a major opportunity for pop culture retailers for next year.  The stores that do best with Mage Knight are typically those that organize 'game nights' and leagues, so dealers who want to get the most out of the superhero CMGs should start considering how to accommodate a possible major increase in the number of gamers with the advent of the Marvel and DC CMGs.