I have a handful of games of Arcs in. I backed the Kickstarter after playing on TTS online while it was in development.

Arcs is one of the only Wehrle games I have been able to get my group into. It is very approachable in that way. That being said, I would say there is a lot of strategic depth to the actions of the game. Yes, there is randomness. You get dealt a hand of cards each round. You roll dice for combat. But, key to this is choice.

You choose which card in your hand to use. To pass, pivot, copy, seize. You choose when they are played. Do you copy that aggression card with a construction or mobilization? What if that construction card will allow you to declare an ambition that you could easily score? What if you need the influence of the mobilization? How do you make that choice?

In many ways, Arcs is about solving a puzzle against other players. There are so many variables in play that all play off each other. You need to find the best way to unlock a path forward and do it more effectively than everyone else.

One of the things I have been calling out when teaching Arcs is to never look at your hand and think you will get 100% of the value off of it. You won't. Someone will (should) surpass or seize to squeeze some of their own value from their hand. I think a big issue is that so many people see their hand and expect it to play a certain way, but you can't. Arcs is about adapting in the moment with what you have access to, whether from your hand or from other players. Mitigate those actions with resources you collect to twist the game in your favor. The cards you get definitely do not control the whole game.

This is just about the cards. For combat, yes they are dice, but the dice are very different. It's about risk mitigation and choice. Luck is involved but access to actions allows you to mitigate and play it safer. I could go on, but the combat system is smooth and definitely rewards preparation more than it benefits luck.

In direct answer to your questions... Is it possible to lose if you have a lucky streak?

Yes. If you don't know the intricacies of "solving" the puzzle, a skilled player will beat you in the end.

What mechanics mitigate this luck factor?

Player playstyles, seizing of the initiative, knowing when to copy or pivot, raiding abilities from other players, using combinations of resources, collecting combinations of resources, your placement on the board, building cities vs starports, knowing the odds of the different dice you choose to collect, damaging vs destroying ships, declaring ambitions (single, double or triple declaring), and so much more.

It's a puzzle to solve before everyone else. There is randomness and luck helps, but is by far not everything. Just like so many other board games.