How WizKids' hottest new game changed my views on rolling dice.
I have rolled probably well over 10,000 dice in my short tenure of gaming. It's become the gaming equivalent of a mouse click; a needed step to smash an ogre or move across a giant ravine. Marvel Dice Masters shows players that dice aren't just a tool for gaming, but can be the crux of an entire system. Marvel Dicemasters puts two players in control of their favorite Marvel heroes, as they battle it out of supremacy or whatever caped crusaders battle over.
So there are cards and dice? Yes, and that's the beauty of the Dice Master system-- which is an adopted, revised version of the Quarriors system. It plays a lot like a standard deck building game. Both players receive eight generic dice to place into their respective dice bags. Each player also picks a certain number of hero cards and places their respective dice onto those cards. One his/her turn a player will grab four dice and roll them, getting any number of faces. Each face--save for the pawn side--is considered an energy and can be used to buy hero dice or generic upgrades from the center of the play space. For example, Spider man costs five energy, one of which needs to be a punch energy. Any energy you use, or dice that you buy, go into your used pile. A player's used pile is returned to their dice-bag once they can no longer draw dice from it. So purchasing hero dice or upgrades are long term investments.
Once a player has pulled a character dice--be it hero or pawn--the player has the option of fielding that die. Pawns are freebie characters that represent ordinary people that stand alongside heroes in battle(Here's looking at you Shield Agents). A hero dice has three sides that will be energy and three sides that will be character sides--a character's card shows the complete list of their dice faces. In the case of the Spiderman die show above, it would take one energy to field Spiderman. Once a hero is fielded, players have access to their heroes' powers and have the option to attack or block attacks with their characters. Hero dice have stat lines that look similar to Magic the Gathering cards, with each hero having a fraction representing attack and defense respectively . So the above 4/4 Spiderman is able to deal 4 damage and receive 4 damage. An unblocked character deals damage directly to the player, and is sent to the used pile. A blocked character battles the blocker. For example, the 5/6 Thor die shown above, blocks an attack from the Spiderman die. Spiderman takes 4 damage, is killed in the process, and doesn't deal lethal damage to Thor. Players are forced to consider combat carefully, as landing successful hits removes potential blockers from play. There is also the potential to have crazy combat tricks with the hero's printed abilities and the neutral upgrades that can be purchased. Players only have 20 health, so making the slightest mistakes can have huge impacts on the outcome of the game.
Marvel Dice Masters is crazy addictive and fast enough to play as an after dinner game. It also has the potential for competitive play, with the synergy of cards to form cohesive teams. WizKids also has plays for organized play story-lines, which seem similar to the way they currently run their HeroClix OP. If you can find the starters in your local brick-and-mortar store--their practically sold out across the nation-- snatch that bad boy up. If not, wait for the roll out of Wave 2 which is an Uncanny X-Men themed set!
Let me know about your Dice Masters experiences, or any questions you may have in the comments below!
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| A few examples of Dice Master Character Cards |
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| A Pawn, Spiderman, and Thor dice pose pretty for my Iphone! |
Once a player has pulled a character dice--be it hero or pawn--the player has the option of fielding that die. Pawns are freebie characters that represent ordinary people that stand alongside heroes in battle(Here's looking at you Shield Agents). A hero dice has three sides that will be energy and three sides that will be character sides--a character's card shows the complete list of their dice faces. In the case of the Spiderman die show above, it would take one energy to field Spiderman. Once a hero is fielded, players have access to their heroes' powers and have the option to attack or block attacks with their characters. Hero dice have stat lines that look similar to Magic the Gathering cards, with each hero having a fraction representing attack and defense respectively . So the above 4/4 Spiderman is able to deal 4 damage and receive 4 damage. An unblocked character deals damage directly to the player, and is sent to the used pile. A blocked character battles the blocker. For example, the 5/6 Thor die shown above, blocks an attack from the Spiderman die. Spiderman takes 4 damage, is killed in the process, and doesn't deal lethal damage to Thor. Players are forced to consider combat carefully, as landing successful hits removes potential blockers from play. There is also the potential to have crazy combat tricks with the hero's printed abilities and the neutral upgrades that can be purchased. Players only have 20 health, so making the slightest mistakes can have huge impacts on the outcome of the game.
Marvel Dice Masters is crazy addictive and fast enough to play as an after dinner game. It also has the potential for competitive play, with the synergy of cards to form cohesive teams. WizKids also has plays for organized play story-lines, which seem similar to the way they currently run their HeroClix OP. If you can find the starters in your local brick-and-mortar store--their practically sold out across the nation-- snatch that bad boy up. If not, wait for the roll out of Wave 2 which is an Uncanny X-Men themed set!
Let me know about your Dice Masters experiences, or any questions you may have in the comments below!
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