Dice Masters Confusing Card of the Week #136 – Silver Sable: Outlaw

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Silver Sable: Outlaw  from the Marvel Amazing Spider-Man set.

Ruling – Ability

“When Silver Sable attacks, add a die from your bag to your Prep Area. If it is a Sidekick, Silver Sable is unblockable.“

Silver Sable’s ability is a When Attacks ability. When Attacks abilities trigger simultaneously when all attackers have been assigned. If there are multiple When Attacks abilities on the active player’s side, the active player resolves them in the order they choose.

When a Silver Sable die attacks, you take a die from your bag and place it in your Prep Area. This is not the same as drawing a die, so you do not get to refill an empty bag when using this ability. Only abilities that instruct you to draw a die will trigger a bag refill.

If the die you add to your Prep Area is a Sidekick die, the Silver Sable die that triggered that ability will be unblockable. Ally dice are only considered to be Sidekick dice while they are on a character face and in the Field Zone. If you add a die with Ally to your Prep Area with this ability, Silver Sable will not be unblockable.

Silver Sable’s ability is not optional. When each of your Silver Sable dice attack, you must add a die from your bag to your Prep Area. If you can’t, this ability does nothing. You will not take damage if you can’t add a die to your Prep Area because Bag Burn only happens during your Clear and Draw step while drawing your four dice for the turn.

Each of your Silver Sable dice that attack will trigger this ability. Each trigger of the ability will only apply to the Silver Sable die that triggered it. For example: I have two Silver Sable dice in the Field Zone. I decide to attack with both, so I assign both as attackers. Both abilities trigger simultaneously, but I resolve them individually. I add a die to my Prep Area from my bag for the first Silver Sable die. The die I added to my Prep Area is not a Sidekick, so the first Silver Sable die is still able to be blocked. I add a die to my Prep Area from my bag for the second Silver Sable die and it’s a Sidekick, so my second Silver Sable die is unblockable. My first Silver Sable die is still able to be blocked because she didn’t add a Sidekick to my Prep Area – only the second one did.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Silver Sable is a Mask type character card.
~ She has the Spider-Friends affiliation.
~ She has a Max Dice of four.
~ This card is a Common from the Starter and is #15 of 142.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)

There are no rulings for this specific card.

You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Opinion

I know a lot of folks don’t care for the Amazing Spider-Man set, but I have loads of fun playing with cards from this set. This is one of those cards. I love using Silver Sable with The Front Line: Basic Action Card, and keeping my bag full of Sidekicks. This is a great concept to build around for casual play because it’s not super serious broken, and it’s not super difficult to set up. She’s got a little bit of higher purchase cost than I like, but with a few well placed Front Line dice with a bag loaded with Sidekicks, you could be punching someone in the face for a quite a bit of damage. She’s a 0/1/1 to field, so she’s not too high on fielding costs, and her attack is 3/4/4. When you drop two Front Line dice on her, she becomes a 9/10/10, that’s also potentially unblockable.

I recently had someone ask about attacking with multiples of her dice, and I realized that I hadn’t featured her for an article yet. I also thought that now would be a good time to feature her, because I’ve had lots of inquiries about cultivating casual-competitive scenes. This is the perfect card for that type of scene!

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
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Roll on, Dice Masters!

Dice Masters Confusing Card of the Week #118 – Basilisk: Greater Monstrosity

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

I’m back! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and started the new year off in good spirits! Now, it’s back to work and back to my regularly scheduled Confusing Card of the Week articles. I want to start the year off with a monster that will hopefully keep the bad spirits away for the entire year!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Basilisk: Greater Monstrosity from the Dungeons and Dragons Tomb of Annihilation set.

Ruling – Deadly Ability

WizKids Keywords page:
“Deadly: Character dice that are engaged with a character die that has Deadly are KO’d at the end of the turn (even if the character with Deadly has been KO’d or leaves the Field Zone).“

Supplemental Definition:
“Engaged: A character blocking or being blocked is engaged with the opposing character.”

Any character die that blocks or is blocked by a character die with the Deadly keyword, will be KO’d at the end of the turn, during the Clean Up Step. This applies to all character dice that are engaged with a Deadly character die.

If the blocked/blocking character die with Deadly is KO’d or removed, the character dice that were engaged with it are still KO’d at the end of turn.

For Example:
I have a single level one Basilisk die in my Field Zone. If I attack with that die and it’s blocked by three character dice, all three of those dice will be KO’d at the end of turn. Even if my Basilisk die is KO’d, all three of those blocking character dice are still KO’d at the end of turn.

Ruling – Ability

Basilisk has an additional ability on its card that says:
“When Basilisk attacks, target opposing character die must block this turn (if able).”

This ability triggers for each individual Basilisk die that attacks, but only when they attack. When a Basilisk die attacks, it will target one opposing character die and that die must block the Basilisk die.

If an ability would prevent a character die from being able to block, then it does not block the Basilisk. This falls under the general game rule of “can’t beats can”, which means any ability that prevents something from happening will overrule an ability that tries to force it to happen.

The Basilisk’s ability does not prevent the opponent from choosing additional blockers. The opponent can choose other blockers to block the Basilisk aside from the forced blocker, but all the blockers will be KO’d at the end of turn because of the Deadly keyword on the Basilisk’s card.

This ability is not optional. If there are legal targets to choose from, the Basilisk must choose a target.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Basilisk is a Bolt type character card.
~ It has the Monster affiliation and Evil alignment.
~ It has a max dice of four.
~ This card is an Uncommon and is #58 of 136.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
There isn’t a ruling for this specific card.

You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Opinion and Strategy

The Basilisk is a nasty dude. If you pull him in a draft or use him in a limited type event, he could be very problematic for your opponent. He can take out the biggest threat in your opponent’s field, thanks to the Deadly keyword. One downside to this guy is that your opponent will get the chance to reroll the guys you just KO’d on their next turn. When using the Basilisk to clear dice from the field, you want to be sure you’ll benefit from it without helping your opponent – if possible. Letting them reroll a Shriek or DWiz might not be a good idea, depending on what their targets were to begin with.

Basilisk is not expensive to buy, which makes him great for drafts. He’s also got decent defense overall, but that fielding cost is not the best for a character that’s likely going to need to be fielded a few different times in a game. I still think he’s a great draft pick, and possibly even decent for a limited format that uses only D&D sets. His fielding cost is what will likely keep him from seeing a lot of major meta play, but seeing him across from you is not out of the realm of possibility!

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Need to look up a card? Be sure to check out DM RetroBox! It’s the best searchable card database I’ve found for when I’m at the computer.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Dice Masters Confusing Card of the Week #109 – Wonder Woman: Reflections

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Wonder Woman: Reflections from the DC Superman Wonder Woman set.

 

Ruling – Ability

“While Wonder Woman is active, “When fielded” and “When attacks” abilities are ignored.”

Wonder Woman’s ability is a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

While there is at least one Wonder Woman die in the Field Zone, all When Fielded and When Attacks abilities will be ignored. This ability will apply to both your opponent’s characters and your own characters and this ability is not optional.

Wonder Woman’s ability will not affect keyword abilities that have a When Fielded or When Attacks effect. For example, Wonder Woman’s ability will not affect Intimidate or Call Out.

Wonder Woman’s ability does not blank the text from the card. Her ability ignores the effects of the ability without blanking the text.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Wonder Woman is a Mask type character card.
~ She has the Justice League affiliation.
~ She has a max dice of four.
~ This card is an Common and is #24 of 34.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
You can find a ruling for this card, here and here.

You can find the cross IP compatibility wording, here.
You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Strategy and Opinion

I fell in love with this card the moment I saw it. I knew she was the answer to many of the more troublesome cards, like Half-Elf Bard: Master Lords’ Alliance and Green Goblin: “Gobby”. She’s an absolute treasure in Golden Age events and very likely in future Modern Age events as well. with the release of Norman Osborn: Don’t Call Me “Gobby”! from the Guardians of the Galaxy set, she’s already a card that should be considered for your teams. She’s not too difficult to purchase even for a five cost and her stats are very good for a character that needs to stay in the Field Zone. Most folks worry about Shriek hitting her card before they can buy and field her, but a well placed Captain Cold’s Cold Gun (uncommon or rare) will dispose of Shriek dice and then she won’t be able to blank Wonder Woman again without help. I think she’s worth heavy consideration for any team, and she could be a very valuable asset.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Need to look up a card? Be sure to check out DM RetroBox! It’s the best searchable card database I’ve found for when I’m at the computer.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Confusing Card of the Week #102 – Colossus: Armored Up

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Colossus: Armored Up from the Marvel Deadpool set.

Ruling – Ability

Colossus has a When Attacks ability. This type of ability will trigger only when the character’s die is assigned as an attacker and will also trigger from each of that character’s attacking dice. For example: I attack with two Colossus dice. Each die trigger’s the When Attacks ability.

Colossus’s ability says that when his die attacks, any character that would be assigned to block, must first take two damage.

This ability has a very odd timing window in regards to how the Attack Step works. In the Attack Step, you assign your attackers first and after each attacker has been assigned, any When Attacks abilities will trigger. This is where Colossus’s ability will trigger. However, the damage will not be dealt at this time.

After assigning attackers, blockers are assigned. Because of Colossus’s ability, before a character die can be assigned to block, it must first take two damage. The defending player will choose a character die that they want to assign as a blocker, but before assigning that die, it’s dealt two damage. If the die survives the two damage, the defending player can then assign it to an attacking character die as a blocker.

Damage accumulates on character dice and when they have accumulated damage equal to or greater than their defense, the die is KO’d. Damage does not reduce the character die’s defense value.

Colossus’s ability does not target and it does not deal damage to all dice in the Field Zone. It only affects a die that would be assigned as a blocker – not dice that could be assigned as blockers.

Colossus’s ability is not optional. It automatically triggers when he attacks and will automatically affect any die that would later be assigned as a blocker.

Colossus’s damage will happen before the blocker can be assigned. When Blocks abilities will not trigger until the character that’s being assigned to block has survived the damage from Colossus and is then assigned as a blocker.

Character dice that are being assigned as blockers do not need to block Colossus specifically. His ability says it affects any character die that would be assigned to block – meaning his ability would affect a die that is being assigned to block any attacking character die.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Colossus is a Fist type character card.
~ He has the X-Men affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Rare and is #89 of 124.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Attacking with two Colossus dice.

Game State
~ I have two level one Colossus dice (5A/5D) in the Field Zone.
~ My opponent has a Sidekick and a level two character with 1A/6D in the Field Zone.
~ I am entering into my Attack Step.
(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign my two Colossus dice to attack, moving them into the Attack Zone.
~ Colossus’ When Attacks ability is triggered. Damage is not done to any dice yet.
(Attack Step – Assign Blockers)
~ My opponent chooses to block with their Sidekick and their other character die, but before they can be assigned as blockers, they must each take two damage from each Colossus die.
~ The Sidekick takes four damage and is KO’d. My opponent places the die in their Prep Area.
~ Their other character die (1A/6D) will also take four damage, two from each Colossus die. Their character is not KO’d and can now be assigned as a blocker.
~ My opponent assigns their remaining character to block one of my Colossus dice. They move their blocker to the Attack Zone and place it in front of the attacking Colossus they want to block.
(Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage)
~ My blocked Colossus die will assign five damage to the character die blocking it. That character has previously accumulated four damage and it will be KO’d.
~ The blocking character assigns one damage to the Colossus it’s blocking. This is not enough to KO my Colossus die.
~ My unblocked Colossus die will deal five damage to my opponent’s life total and then move Out of Play.
(Clean Up)
~ Character dice that were KO’d by combat damage during the Attack Step are now placed in the Prep Area. My opponent’s blocker will be moved to their Prep Area.
~ Characters blocked, but not KO’d are removed from the Attack Zone, but stay in the Field Zone. The Attack Zone is part of the Field Zone, but only attacking and blocking characters can be in the Attack Zone. My Colossus die will be removed from the Attack Zone and placed back into the area labeled as the Field Zone.
~ All effects end unless otherwise specified (like a While Active or ‘End of Turn’ ability).
~ All damage is cleared.
~ End of turn abilities will resolve.
~ My turn is now over and my opponent’s turn will begin.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
WORF doesn’t have an official ruling on this card yet.

Basic Information

You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Opinion and Strategy

Mr. DDK brought this card up to me in a conversation a week or so ago. I thought is was a very interesting card and I realized just how weird and confusing his ability could be. While I like this ability, it could be a problem against certain characters that have abilities that trigger from them being damaged, like Babs, Hulk, or cards with the Vengeance Keyword. This is definitely not my type of card, but Mr. DDK thought it was kinda neat. It practically shuts down the Sidekick blocker walls.

I don’t think this card has a place in the major metas, mainly because of his cost, but also largely because his ability could backfire on you if your opponent has a card like Babs (which is very popular!). I would love to see someone come up with an interesting use for this card and if you do or you already have, please feel free to share!

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Need to look up a card? Be sure to check out DM RetroBox! It’s the best searchable card database I’ve found for when I’m at the computer.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Confusing Card of the Week #98 – Jervis Tetch: Malice in Wonderland

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Jervis Tetch: Malice in Wonderland from the DC Batman set.

Ruling – Ability

Jervis’s ability is a When Attacks ability. His ability will trigger for each of his dice that attack.

When Jervis attacks, you gain control of a target opposing character die with a purchase cost of four or less. That character die is required to attack, if they’re able, on this same turn.

When a Jervis die attacks, you can target any character die with a purchase cost of four or less, which includes basic Sidekick dice. Basic Sidekick dice are considered level one characters with a purchase cost of zero while they are in the Field Zone.

The targeted die is then moved into the Attack Zone with Jervis to show that both of the dice are attacking.

When the control of the die ends at the end of turn or when the controlling die is KO’d, you must return the controlled die to the area you took it from. You can use an ability like the Global on Blink – Transmutation (during the Attack Step) to move a Jervis die back to your Field Zone and the controlled die will still be attacking.

If the controlled die would be placed in your Used Pile or Prep Area, it goes to your opponent’s Prep Area instead.

If you control a die that is the same die of a character on your team, the controlled die will reference your opponent’s character card.

Normally, a controlling die cannot attack but because Jervis is required to attack in order to control a die, he is an exception.

Jervis’s ability is not optional. You must take control of a character die with a purchase cost of four or less when you attack with Jervis (if there is a legal target). That die is also assigned to attack, which is not optional.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Jervis Tetch is a Shield type character card.
~ He has the Villain affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Rare and is #99 of 124.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Attacking with multiple Jervis dice.

Game State
~ I have two level two Jervis Tetch (2A/1D) dice in the Field Zone.
~ My opponent has a level three Red Hood: Jason Todd (5A/5D) die and a Sidekick die in the Field Zone.
~ The turn is moving into the Attack Step.
(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign both of my Jervis dice to attack, moving both of them into the Attack Zone.
~ Both of their abilities are triggered simultaneously when they attack.
~ The first Jervis die will gain control over my opponent’s Sidekick die, moving it to the Attack Zone on my side.
~ The second Jervis die will gain control over my opponent’s Red Hood die, moving it to the Attack Zone on my side.
(Attack Step – Assign Blockers)
~ My opponent does not have any characters to assign as blockers.
(Attack Step – Actions and Globals)
~ I choose not to use any Actions or Globals. (This would be the moment that I could use the Global on Blink – Transmutation to push my Jervis back to my Field Zone and not lose control over the controlled dice.)
~ My opponent does not use any Globals.
(Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage)
~ Since none of the characters were blocked, they will all deal their attack value in combat damage to my opponent’s life total. Red Hood is going to deal 5, each Jervis will deal 2 each, and the Sidekick will deal 1 – for a total of 10 damage.
~ As soon as the character dice damage my opponent, they move Out of Play.
(Clean Up Step)
~ Character dice that were KO’d by combat damage during the Attack Step are now placed in the Prep Area.
~ Characters blocked, but not KO’d are removed from the Attack Zone, but stay in the Field Zone. The Attack Zone is part of the Field Zone, but only attacking and blocking characters can be in the Attack Zone.
~ Dice that are Out of Play will move into the Used Pile. My opponent’s Red Hood and Sidekick die will go to my opponent’s Prep Area instead of the Used Pile.
~ All effects end unless otherwise specified (like a While Active or ‘End of Turn’ ability).
~ All damage is cleared.
~ End of turn abilities will resolve.
~ My turn is now over and my opponent’s turn will begin.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
I have a pending question with WORF in regards to the Jervis Tetch cards. There are no official rulings at the time this article was written. I will update with red text when I see an official ruling.

Basic Information

You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Opinion and Strategy

I really don’t like the wording on any of the Jervis cards. And until there is an official ruling, my ruling is how we will be playing it locally. I wanted to wait for the official ruling before doing a CCW on any Jervis, but I’ve been getting several requests and questions about him. This prompted me to sit down and really pour over rulebooks and WORF posts in an effort to decipher how this obscenely confusing card is supposed to work.

If/when WORF gives us a ruling, I will most definitely update this article, or post a corrected article if need be. I’ve never claimed to be an expert and if you have a different way you think he should be handled, I’m totally up for discussion!

As far as the ability, it can devastating, for sure. He can easily remove parts of that wall to allow for some damage to get through, or take all their characters from the field and smack them with them. I would not use Blink or Distraction Globals because that could hinder your overall goal if your opponent uses those Globals to push their stolen characters back so they get them back.

I think this guy has potential in drafts for sure, but because there isn’t a solid ruling from WORF on him, I’m not planning on testing him in Modern Age or Golden Age.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Special thanks to The Reserve Pool and WizKids for the use of their sites.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Confusing Card of the Week #93 – Hawkgirl: Princess of Thanagar

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Hawkgirl: Princess of Thanagar from the DC Batman set.

Ruling – Ability

Hawkgirl has multiple parts to her ability. The first part of Hawkgirl’s ability is a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

The second part of Hawkgirl’s ability will only apply to characters that are not Villains, and only when they attack. While Hawkgirl is active, when a non-Villain character die attacks (yours or your opponent’s), you may to spin that character die up one level.

This is an optional ability because it says may. This means you do not have to spin your opponent’s non-Villain character die up a level, but you could if you wanted to.

Hawkgirl does not have to attack for you to use her ability on other characters. So long as she’s active, and the attacking character is not a Villain, you can spin that die up one level. You can spin Hawkgirl dice up one level when they attack because her ability says non-Villain character dice, and she’s not a Villain.

If you can remove the Villain affiliation (Ra’s al Ghul Global), you must do so before you attack. Once the character is already assigned to attack, the window to use Hawkgirl’s ability has passed.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Hawkgirl is a Mask type character card.
~ She has the Justice League affiliation.
~ She has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Rare and is #96 of 124.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
How Hawkgirl’s ability triggers.

Game State
~ I have one level two Hawkgirl die, one level two Conner Kent: Project Cadmus (3A/3D) dice, and one level one Krypto: Super Dog (2A/2D) die in the Field Zone.
~ It’s the beginning of my Attack Step.
(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign Conner Kent and Krypto to attack, moving them into the Attack Zone.
~ Hawgirl’s ability will trigger and check both dice for the Villain affiliation. Since neither of them are Villains, I may spin each die up one level. Conner Kent spins to level three (5A/5D) and Krypto spins to level two (3A/3D).
~ The rest of the turn proceeds as normal.

Example Two:
Removing the Villain affiliation before attacking.

Game State
~ I have one level two Hawkgirl die, one level two Conner Kent: Project Cadmus (3A/3D) dice, and one level one The Riddler: Prince of Puzzles (1A/5D) die in the Field Zone.
~ I also have one Mask energy in my Reserve Pool and Ra’s al Ghul: Mystery and Power is on my team, but he is not active.
~ It’s during my Main Step.
(Main Step)
~ I spend the Mask, moving it Out of Play, to pay for Ra’s al Ghul’s Global and target my Riddler die. His Villain affiliation is now gone until the end of turn.
~ I pass priority to my opponent and they do not use any Globals. They pass priority back and we move into the Attack Step.
(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign Conner Kent and The Riddler to attack, moving them into the Attack Zone.
~ Hawgirl’s ability will trigger and check both dice for the Villain affiliation. Since neither of them are Villains, they will each get to spin up one level. Conner Kent spins to level three (5A/5D) and The Riddler spins to level two (2A/6D).
~ The Riddler’s ability will also trigger and his attack and defense values are now swapped, making him a 6A and 2D.
~ The rest of the turn proceeds as normal.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
You can find a relevant ruling that applies to the wording of Hawkgirl’s ability, here.

Basic Information

You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Opinion and Strategy

What I wouldn’t have given to have this card with my Colossus during the WKO this year in Owensboro! Using her and Blink – Transmutation with Colossus is like a dream team, and that also makes room for a different BAC in place of Polymorph/Mutation. I love Mutation, but there were other BACs I could have used for that particular event.

In a draft, this card is a beast! Using her with Batgirl + Ace, Conner Kent, The Riddler or any other beefy attacker is great, but she is a rare. The chances of getting her are not high, but if you open her, take her and build around her!

For Modern Age, I think she has some potential, especially with the aggressive teams that are shaping the current meta. She’s definitely affordable at a cost of three, and she’s a Mask character which she should fit nicely on some of those more aggressive Mask Ring teams. Her TFC of two isn’t bad at all, and her attack and defense stats are about what you’d expect. She’s a really good card to consider for a competitive team.

I really like her for casual play too. She’s not too overpowered and she’s got stats that are appropriate. She also has the Justice League affiliation which means she can beef up those Golden Age JL teams!

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Special thanks to The Reserve Pool for the use of their site.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Confusing Card of the Week #77 – Donatello: Intellectually Inclined

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Donatello: Intellectually Inclined  from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Half Shell box set.

I’ve now included an updated Rating System that covers all the competitive formats – Golden Age, Modern Age, and Prime. While Golden Age is not going to be a highly supported format in the official WizKids scenes, I imagine many areas will continue using it as their competitive format. Casual will remain different because casual players usually look at cards differently and I rate them on their ease of use more than playability.

Ruling – Ability

Donatello has a When Attacks ability. These type of abilities trigger for each of those character’s dice that attack. Donatello’s ability has a cost associated with it. You must pay this cost at the time his dice are assigned to attack. You must also pay for each die that attacks that you want to use the ability on. You may only pay for each attacking die’s ability one time.

When Donatello attacks, you may pay a Bolt energy to deal two damage directly to your opponent or a target character die. This ability targets and can be redirected, reduced, or negated with other abilities or effects that affect damage.

Using this ability is optional. If you do not pay for the ability when the die is assigned to attack, you cannot go back to pay for it later. For example, if you attack and don’t pay the Bolt energy to use his ability and you move into the Assign Blockers portion of the Attack Step, you cannot pay the Bolt energy for his ability.

If Donatello is KO’d or removed from the Field Zone during the Action and Global portion of the Attack Step, it will not affect the damage that was done with his ability because it’s already resolved.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Donatello is a Bolt Character.
~ He has the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of three.
~ This card is a Common and is #7 of 58.

If you purchase either of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Box Sets, you will have one copy of each card in the entire set, as well as the maximum number of dice for each card.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Attacking with one Donatello die.

~ I have one level one Donatello die and two Bolt energy in my Reserve Pool.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Attackers) I assign my Donatello die to attack by moving it into the Attack Zone. I choose to use his ability by paying a Bolt energy (placing it Out of Play). I choose to target my opponent because they do not have any characters in the Field Zone. My opponent takes two damage.
~ The rest of the Attack Step continues as normal.

Example Two:
Attacking with multiple Donatello dice.

~ I have three level one Donatello die and three Bolt energy in my Reserve Pool.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Attackers) I tell my opponent that I  am going to assign each of my Donatello dice to attack, but I do it one at a time so that I can resolve each of their abilities as they are assigned to attack.
– I assign the first die to attack, pay a Bolt energy (placing it Out of Play), and deal two damage to my opponent.
– I assign the second die to attack, pay a Bolt energy (placing it Out of Play), and deal two damage to my opponent.
– I assign the third die to attack, pay a Bolt energy (placing it Out of Play), and deal two damage to my opponent. The total amount of damage done to my opponent is six.
~ The rest of the Attack Step continues as normal.

Example Three:
Attacking with Donatello that gets KO’d after attacking.

~ I have one level three Donatello die and two Bolt energy in my Reserve Pool. My opponent has a Captain Cold’s Cold Gun: Frozen “Firearm” on a burst side in the Field Zone.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Attackers) I assign my Donatello die to attack by moving it into the Attack Zone. I choose to use his ability by paying a Bolt energy (placing it Out of Play). I choose to target my opponent because they do not have any characters in the Field Zone. My opponent takes two damage.
~  (Attack Step – Assign Blockers) My opponent doesn’t assign any blockers.
~ (Attack Step – Actions and Globals) I do not use any Actions or Globals and pass priority to my opponent. My opponent decides to activate their Cold Gun die. They target my Donatello die, dealing him three damage and it blanks the text from the die until the end of turn.
~ (Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage) I assign Donatello’s five damage to my opponent.
~ The rest of the turn continues as normal.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF) does not have a ruling for this specific card.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Golden Age Rating

The only reason I think this card might have a use is because of Iceman: Too Cool for Words. You could use all three Donatello dice to attack with and with Iceman, almost always have the right energy for his abilities. But that’s only if someone didn’t want to use Cheetah: Cursed Archaeologist for some reason or another. I unfortunately don’t think Donnie is gonna see any kind of competitive Golden Age play.

Donatello: Intellectually Inclined gets a rating of one out of five stars.

Modern Age Rating

Without Cheetah in the format, Donnie should be the dude, right? I don’t think so. It pains me to say it, but I think a five cost character with a When Attacks ability that you have to pay for is too much even for Modern. While Modern is a slower format, there are still brighter stars in the sky.

Donatello: Intellectually Inclined gets a rating of one out of five stars.

Prime Rating

I think Prime is the place that Donnie has the best chance to make an appearance, as far as competitive scenes go. I still don’t think anyone is going to try to do too much with him though. His cost is still high for his ability, but he’s not completely bad. There could be a rogue team that surfaces with him on it, but I don’t think it’s likely.

Donatello: Intellectually Inclined gets a rating of two out of five stars.

Casual Play Rating

The major issue with Donnie is that some players aren’t sure about how many times they can pay to activate his ability. Once it’s explained that you can only pay for it once for each of his dice, it’s a little more easy to understand and use. I really like this card for casual play because it is very easy to explain to new players and not difficult to use. Donnie’s ability isn’t too shabby either for a beginner or casual player. I could easily recommend this card for any player of any skill level.

Donatello: Intellectually Inclined gets a rating of four out of five stars.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!

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Special thanks to The Reserve Pool for the use of their site.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Review! TMNT: Heroes in a Half Shell Dice Building Game Box Set

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

WizKids has released another complete box set for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! This set is called, Heroes in a Half Shell. If you purchase this box set, you will get the entire set, max dice for each character, and a bunch of other goodies!

This box can be played as a stand alone product, added with the previous TMNT Box Set, or mixed in with the vast library of Dice Masters cards to enhance any team for various formats. This box set is great for casual players and seasoned players alike. If you’d like to take a look at the previous TMNT Box Set, you can find my review here.

You can find my review video on YouTube, here.

Dice Building Game Box Set

Box Contents

~ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rulebook
~ 4 Color Coordinated Paper Playmats
~ 4 Color Coordinated Dice Bags
~ 12 Basic Action Dice
~ 32 Sidekick Dice
~ 48 Character Dice
~ 48 Character Cards
~ 10 Basic Action Cards
~ 4 Action Reminder Cards
~ Collection Tray with Clear Cover

Rulebook

Both this rulebook and the one from the first box have the doubles start up rules in the back. The rulebook feels durable and looks really nice. It’s one I’d like to keep on me as my reference rulebook.

Keywords

There are several returning keywords in this set, but you won’t find any new ones.

Ally
Overcrush
Swarm
Turtle Power

WizKids has a comprehensive list of Keywords on their site. You can also find expanded descriptions for all the keywords on The Reserve Pool‘s site.

Affiliations

We don’t see any new affiliations, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle affiliation returns in this box set. The other affiliation you’ll find is one that crosses over almost all other IPs, Villain.

Characters

If you haven’t seen any or most of the 2012 animated series, but plan to watch it later – you may want to skip reading some of this. I discuss lots of things from that series which could be seen as spoilers.

April makes her second appearance in Dice Masters. This time, she looks a little different. We now have the 80s animated version and the 2012 animated series version of April. She’s a Shield character and all of her versions have a cost of two. She has the Ally keyword on all three cards and each card does something directly related to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle affiliation. Please take note – she does not carry the TMNT affiliation herself! No Mere Damsel is absolutely my favorite of all three because she’s easy to purchase and helps reduce the cost of your other TMNT characters. A cheap character with Turtle Power seems really good for any team built around the TMNT affiliation. I don’t think any version of this April will make it into the unlimited scene, and it’s not likely she’ll see Prime play either unless someone finds a super awesome TMNT team build.

Casey Jones is back again as a Fist character with a purchase cost of two and three. Penalty Box is pretty handy for gaining life, but life gain is not all that prevalent in unlimited or Prime. I think he may be a nice tech piece for someone that can’t decide what their eighth character should be and it’s great that he has a Global already built in that helps his ability. I don’t like either of his other cards in this box. Penalty Box is not a bad choice for playing in casual or limited type event. Casey Jones would be an easy addition to any team that needs a cheap character. Although he’s not a Villain affiliated character, he could still be added to a Villain team and wouldn’t necessarily break theme because he was a vigilante that wasn’t always a friend of the Turtles.

Donatello is my dude! All of Donnie’s versions cost five energy, and we see the return of Turtle Power to the Turtle cards on Notice Me!. I don’t think Turtle Power is especially useful on characters that cost more than three or four. Something I like about all four Turtles is that they all have a version that does something similar to Intellectually Inclined. When they attack, they can each deal two damage to target character die or opponent if you pay an energy that corresponds to their energy type. Donatello is a Bolt character, so when he attacks, you can pay a Bolt energy to deal the two damage. I like that they all have a similar ability like that. Intellectually Inclined is my favorite of the three. Technologic would only be useful in a limited format where you’re only using the TMNT box sets. I don’t think that any version of Donnie will make it into unlimited play, but it’s possible that Intellectually Inclined might find a rogue home in Prime.

Foot Ninjas are back! They are Bolt characters that all have the Ally keyword and all cost three energy. Shinobijutsu has the Swarm keyword as well, but it has the same issue as the other Swarm Foot Ninja from the first box set – max of three dice. I find Swarm to be much more effective when you have four or more dice for the card. Shinobijutsu also works with Shredder, so if you’re playing this guy in a limited setting, he may be fun. But then I saw Stick to the Shadows and fell in love with this card. I’m the type of player that loves Overcrush or direct damage, like the type of ability damage on Stick to the Shadows. The only trouble you might have is getting two or three of them active at the same time to attack with. I can see this version possibly making a splash in the Prime format, but not likely in unlimited. I don’t much care for the ability on Glass Jawed.

First newcomer card – Hamato Yoshi. Hamato Yoshi suffers from an identity crisis over the various canons for TMNT. In one canon, he was the man that owned Splinter. Splinter watched and mimicked his movements while he was practicing martial arts. Splinter mastered the martial arts from his cage. Splinter went on to become the mutated rat we all know and love. In another canon, Hamato Yoshi was the adversary of Oroko Saki (Shredder) and was followed by Saki to the US. Yoshi was later exposed to mutagen causing him to mutate into a rat-man because he was mostly in contact with rats since he was living in the sewer with them.

Now, as for card abilities, I don’t like any of them. None of these type of cards fit how I play. All of the versions are expensive Shield type characters, and even the Global on Shidoshi isn’t good enough to justify adding him to a team. If you’re looking at him for limited or casual play, I’d probably go with Shidoshi. He would help your other attackers get through and with his huge defense, he might just survive!

Karai is another new character to Dice Masters. She’s no stranger to fans of the comic and the 2012 animated series. Her card art comes from the 2012 series. She’s a four cost Fist character without an affiliation, and all of her versions do something in relation to Sidekicks. I really like Dark Lineage, because she could help slow the damage coming from Front Line teams. You have to keep her in the Field Zone though, which is not easy to do since Front Line typically runs Imprisoned (in unlimited) and they would snatch up any Karai threat. I could see her being really useful in Prime, casual, and limited. I’m not excited about Torn Between Two Worlds, but she could potentially eliminate a threatening Ally. I like anything that’s cheap to purchase and buffs my Sidekicks, like Uneasy Alliance. My favorite is definitely Dark Lineage, even though I like Uneasy Alliance a lot.

Leatherhead – the Cajun Gator that’s typically a villain in the TMNT universe, but becomes an anti-hero of sorts in the 2012 series canon. All the fun, conversational characters seem to cost the most… He’s also a new character to Dice Masters. He’s a five and six cost Shield character that does something with TMNT characters on all his versions. Of all of them, I like I Guarantee! the best, but none of them seem good for unlimited or even for Prime. In a limited format where you’re only playing with the TMNT boxes, I Guarantee! would definitely be my pick for a Villain team. He’s got some really beefy stats too and his fielding cost isn’t bad.

Leonardo is our next Turtle in the box. All of his versions are five cost Fist characters. Fearless Leader has Turtle Power, which like I mentioned before, I don’t like on a five cost character – even in limited. Multifolded Steel is kind of interesting, if you somehow found a way to use the TMNT affiliation effectively. Plight of the Eldest is by far the best of the three. He has that cool ‘burn’ type ability that you can pay a Fist energy to use when he attacks. Just like with Donnie, I don’t think Leo is gonna see any unlimited play, and possibly only a rogue status in Prime. As for casual and limited, I could totally see someone finding a use for one the Leo cards.

Metalhead makes his debut in the Dice Masters world. This character has a majorly distorted backstory. And like his backstory, his abilities are all over the place. Rogue Robot, purchase cost of five, gets an attack and defense buff for each other non-Metalhead TMNT affiliated character die – not character, but character die. This could potentially make him a monster of an attacker or defender. I’d say he’s probably my favorite of the three, but he’s not going to see any unlimited play and most likely not any Prime play either. His place to shine is limited and casual. Dissociative Identity works with other non-Metalhead TMNT character dice, making that die unblockable when he attacks. I don’t see him making it into unlimited or Prime either. Upgrading the Arsenal is probably the best candidate for Prime, but I doubt he’ll even make it to a rogue status. When he’s fielded, you can deal damage to a Villain die equal to his attack. It’s good, but not great. I still prefer Rogue Robot for fun stuff.

Here’s the party dude, Michelangelo! His five cost Turtle Power version on Booyakasha! is at the bottom of my list. Insatiable Appetite is the direct damage ability version, and since Mikey is a Mask character, this makes him very useful. Chuck and Chuck II: The Sequel has a very situational ability. There are ways to manipulate blockers and attackers to help ensure that situation happens, but it takes a lot to set up and use. Insatiable Appetite is my favorite and it looks like all those similar burn ability Turtles are going to my preferred versions. I don’t think any of Mikey’s cards will see any unlimited play and maybe only a rogue status in Prime, just like his brothers. For casual and limited, Insatiable Appetite is the way to go!

Rude dude Raphael is a five cost Shield character with the awesome ‘burn’ ability on Nightwatcher. He also has Turtle Power on Controlling His Temper, which is not exciting. Second Son could be useful in limited because he keeps your TMNT affiliated characters safe from being targeted by opposing action dice and Globals. I like Second Son a little more than Nightwatcher because his ability could be somewhat useful in a Prime format, depending on what TMNT affiliated character you can effectively use. As far as unlimited goes, there isn’t much that can break into the current meta unless it’s cheap and fast. I would love to give Second Son a try in casual and limited.

Speaking of cheap, Renet Tilley is only a three cost Bolt character with decent abilities for all her cards. This is her first appearance in the universe of Dice Masters. Now, Renet has been around for a long time, but most folks don’t have a clue who she is. She has a lot to do with time traveling, which already scores her some negative marks in my book (as a character outside of Dice Masters). I don’t like needless time travel and she was a careless Time Master in the 2012 series. She is a friend of the Turtles, but she does not have the TMNT affiliation on her cards. As far as her card abilities go, 79th Dimension of Null-Time is definitely my favorite. Being able to spin that Cold Gun over to a burst face is HUGE! She’s likely going to see play in both unlimited and Prime. Impeccable Timing has an interesting ability that I need to play around with before saying I like it. Apprentice Timestress is a lesser version of Kang: The Conqueror or Scarlet Witch: Controls Probability. I can see all of her versions finding homes in limited and casual play, but 79th Dimension will most likely make it into unlimited and almost certainly into Prime. As a side note, the t on the end of her first name is not silent.

Shredder is a huge iconic Villain in the TMNT universe, so his cards deserve to be huge in purchase cost and have outrageous abilities that you’ll probably never get to go off. Surprisingly, Shredder has two versions that only cost six to buy. I know, it’s still a six cost character, but I expected him to be seven and eight costs. Scarred is interesting, but most likely not as useful as he could be since he costs six and then you need to Field him. His monstrous eight cost version, False Bushido, is not worth the effort it takes to get that ability to go off. Dining on Turtle Soup! is easily my favorite of the three. There are Globals that can force a character to attack, or better yet, force multiple characters to block and only attack with Shredder. That seems so silly and fun – I really want to build around that for our next event. Getting him into the Field could be difficult, but that’s when Polymorph Mutation comes in handy. He seems like a fun casual character, but I don’t see him making any team in unlimited or Prime.

Slash is another of those Villains turned anti-hero later in the 2012 series. I kinda wish we had a version that wasn’t a Villain for that reason since they used the 2012 series art for the card. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m super excited to have Slash in our Dice Masters world. He’s a Bolt character with a purchase cost of five on all cards and each version has an ability that has something to do with ‘burn’ type ability damage. Specimen 6 deals damage equal to his attack to target opposing character die that isn’t blocking him. I like it, but I don’t love it. He won’t see unlimited play and I doubt he’d make a rogue status in Prime. Portal from Dimension X deals damage equal to his level to an opponent when he’s KO’d. You can pair that with Blue-Eyes or a Fabricate keyword to get some direct damage in to your opponent. It’s a relatively expensive way of burning your opponent and I don’t see it being used in unlimited or even Prime. Never Liked the Name “Spike” has a when KO’d ability as well. He deals damage to your opponent equal to the total amount energy in their Reserve Pool. I could see this being used in unlimited, if he didn’t cost five to purchase. I’m not sure how much Prime play he’ll see since there aren’t many effective or useful ways to KO your characters to get the most out of his ability. I like this version the best though, because I can easily use him in a casual setting and have fun with him.

Tiger Claw is a new character to the TMNT universe, as far as I can tell. This is also his Dice Masters debut. There are several other tiger/cat mutant like characters, but I think this specific character didn’t come around until the 2012 series. Tiger Claw is another one of those expensive Villain characters, but one of the abilities and the stats almost make me want to attempt to play this card. I feel like Lost Humanity is too expensive for his ability, and Kraang Experiment just doesn’t seem good to me. I don’t like KO’ing my opponent’s character dice like that because it gives them more dice to roll on their next turn. I don’t see either of those two versions making it into unlimited or Prime. Seeking Vengeance is the version that I like the best and I’m a sucker for pricey characters that I can’t play in unlimited. I love Cheetah: Cursed Archaeologist, and Seeking Vengeance’s ability and attack stats are double that of Cheetah’s. Unfortunately, his cost is double too. I don’t think this card has a place in the current unlimited meta and I’m not sure he’ll make it in Prime either. As for the casual scene, this guy looks like loads of fun for a Villain team!

Triceratons are a race of alien creatures that look like a triceratops-man thing. In almost all the TMNT universe canon, they’re strictly villains, which makes them Villains in Dice Masters! I welcome Triceraton to the Dice Masters universe! Triceraton is a Fist character with purchase costs of four and five. Cretaceous Crusher is the only four cost and he has no ability text. There are definitely cheaper Villains with better abilities for unlimited, and probably Prime too. But if you really need a four cost Villain with no ability, here he is! For limited play, he’s a great addition to a Villain team since he’s one of the cheapest. Orders from Captain Zorax gets a bonus of three to his attack, but only when he attacks. That would make his level one attack a total of six, and his level three attack a total of eight. That’s not too shabby. Loyal to a Fault has one of my favorite words as his keyword – Overcrush. I’d like to be able to buff his attack stat if I were to use this version, and there are definitely ways to do that. I think I like this dude better than the other two versions. For unlimited and Prime, I can’t see any Triceratons making the cut. For casual and limited, I think these guys are a great addition to Villains.

Character Thoughts

Renet Tilley is by far the most useful of all the characters in the box. Foot Ninjas and Karai are also good. Is the box worth purchasing for just those three characters? Maybe, depending on how bad you want or need those abilities. If you’re not excited yet, wait until you see the Basic Action Cards.

Basic Action Cards

The biggest selling point for this box set is probably the vast assortment of Basic Action Cards. Sure the characters fun and some are possible meta dudes, but with revamps of some major meta BACs in this box, I can’t think of a better argument to buy a box or two – that’s right, I said two.

Hello Anger Issues! I can’t tell you how happy I am to see a revamp of Anger Issues that will be legal for Prime. I have an attack buff and Overcrush all in one Action with Haymaker. This card is really high on my list of favorites for the BACs in this box. It’s a great card for all different formats from unlimited and Prime to casual and limited.

I did a quick search on DM RetroBox for a card that did something similar to this and I couldn’t find one. This ability seems really familiar to me but I can’t find where I’ve seen it. Ingenious Tactics is an interesting card. Using this action die will prevent all combat damage to each of your attacking character dice. I really like this BAC, but I’m not sure how I’m going to use it yet. It’s handy for keeping your dudes in the Field when your opponent’s blockers will likely get KO’d. I’ll be playing around with this to see if I can find a use for it, but the one major deterrent is the cost. If I’m paying five for an action, it better be AMAZING.

Everyone is going crazy over this BAC. I don’t think folks are going to realize how much of a risk it is to use it until they try it on a team. Everyone went crazy over Pizza! until they realized how much is clunked up their bag and wasn’t as useful as they thought. I don’t think this die is gonna clunk up your bag or slow you down, but the risk you run by using this on your team is that your opponent can nab all of them before you even have a turn. I really love the ability on this BAC, but if my opponent brings this and I go first, I’m stealing all the Momentum.

Welcome to Prime, Polymorph. This revamp made me happier than Haymaker. I’m a big  Poly-Player so it’s safe to say that Poly is getting replaced with Mutation. I love Turtles, so if I can replace a card with a TMNT version, I’m so going to. I don’t think this card needs much of a review since it’s a major unlimited meta card. Now it gets a shot in Prime, which I imagine it will be on many teams out there.

Okay, several folks aren’t excited about this BAC, but I am. When a character is sacrificed, it doesn’t get KO’d, therefore it doesn’t gain the advantage of a When this character is KO’d ability. Mysterious Shredder Transport only costs three to purchase and has a great benefit. It’s a form of removal, which is not something we have a lot of in Prime. In an unlimited format, sacrificing characters could gum up someone’s bag or ruin someone’s plan. I really like this card and I’m totally gonna test it.

Nefarious Broadcast is another BAC that I think could be highly useful. It can clear buffs or other active effects that come from Global Abilities and stop Globals from being used for the rest of the turn. This hurts you too, but if you’re not relying on active Global effects or planning to use any Globals, then you have nothing to worry about. It only cost two to purchase, so it’s an easy turn one purchase on a bad roll. I imagine someone will find a way to work this onto a team in unlimited and I can see it being used in Prime – especially since there are buff Globals available in Prime. For casual and limited play, it could be useful but completely depends on the local meta.

Escape Incarceration, minus the Resistance, has found its way into Prime… wait – it’s already Prime-Legal. Reclaim does cost one less than Escape Incarceration, which could be what makes someone choose Reclaim over Escape Incarceration. Escape Incarceration didn’t take off in unlimited, and I don’t see Reclaim finding a foothold either. As far as the Prime format goes, it’s possible we could see Reclaim over Escape Incarceration. A really bad roll on turn one could leave you with only two energy instead of three – and the wrong energy type too. This wouldn’t be a bad backup option and may be more useful to you than Nefarious Broadcast. In a casual and limited atmosphere, this BAC is definitely one I’d recommend over Escape Incarceration. It’s simpler to use and cost one less to buy.

This is a revamp of Enrage from Uncanny X-Men. I can’t say that I’ve ever found a use for Enrage in an unlimited format where Invulnerability was available to me. There are plenty of taunt Globals out there, so the best thing about this BAC is the Global. This gives us a Bolt energy buff Global for Prime, which I don’t think we had. There are times where I’d rather have a Bolt buff than a Fist buff Global. It’s not a BAC that I’d toss to the side and forget about, but it’s not one that’s high on my list of BAC’s.

This BAC is a revamp of Transfer Power from Uncanny X-Men, and a combination of Monster Reborn‘s ability and the Global on Mystic Box from the Yu-Gi-Oh! set. Transfer Power is a very useful card in unlimited, and now we have a revamp of it for Prime. I imagine that Splinter’s Teachings will see lots of play in Prime. For casual and limited, this is an awesome card, and not just for it’s Global. Like its predecessor, it only cost three to purchase, making it a good buy on your first turn if you don’t get the right energy for your characters. I would definitely recommend this BAC for both the competitive formats as well as casual and limited play.

Here is my second favorite BAC in this box set, the Magic Missile revamp. I love Mutation, but Unstable Canister is a close second. The major difference between Unstable Canister and Magic Missile’s abilities are that Canister references a TMNT affiliated character and Magic Missile references an adventurer. This BAC will allow Batman Family Bat-Bomb to go off easier with a more reliable way to KO Alfred dice in the Prime format. It’s also great for Storm: Extra Lightning on a Prime team. For a casual or limited format, this is a great card. BACs that cost three or less are ones that I prefer.

BAC Overview

Wow! Talk about a loaded box! This box has all the major BAC abilities that anyoen could want! Oh, except for Big Entrance… I love that card almost as much as Polymorph. I would love to be able to use it in Prime. Here’s hoping it’ll see a revamp in the Superman/Wonder Woman starter. But really, you couldn’t ask for a better comprehensive assortment of BACs. Not only does this help new players that can’t afford all those different starters, but it helps other players that didn’t want to purchase D&D products. Good call, WizKids.

Action Reminder Cards

The four Action Reminder Cards are color coordinated with the four Turtles, which is a nice touch. It makes it easy for players to use their favorite color of the four, or play with their favorite Turtle’s color.

Paper Playmats

Just like the previous box set, the paper playmats’ artwork and color coordinate with the four Turtles. There are lots of reminders and tips on the playmats to help new players.

Dice Bags

The four dice bags are the normal paper bags that we’ve seen in the previous box set and other starters. The dice bags have artwork and colors that coordinate with the Turtles, just like the first box set. I love that they do that, making it easy for anyone to pick their favorite Turtle and represent them. #TeamDonnie Purple for me please!

Action Dice and Sidekick Dice

You’ll get enough Sidekick dice for four players as well as four different colors of Basic Action Dice. The Actions are color coordinated with the four Turtles, just like the bags and playmats.

As with the first box set, each of the Turtles have their very own dice designs. These are the dice for each of the four Turtles from the first box set.

These are the dice for the four Turtles from the new Heroes in a Half Shell box set.

I think I like the first set’s dice best, but images on the second set’s dice are cool too. They used silhouettes of the Turtles from the 2012 animated series.

Storage Box

The picture on the right shows the box with both sets of dice and cards, including both sets of Sidekicks and Basic Action Dice.

The first box set didn’t have the clear tray cover which caused lots of transporting issues. Dice would slide and bounce all over the box, and even jam themselves in such a way that the box lid would lift up and possibly spill the contents everywhere. I’m so happy that WizKids added the clear cover to this box. I can put all of my TMNT dice in this second box and not worry about the box lid coming off just because the box tilted or slid onto its side in the car.

Final Thoughts

There were major improvements from the first box set. I loved the first box, but I’m in love with this one. When a new player joins our group, this is going to be the very first product that I recommend for them to purchase – not just because I love TMNT so much, but because you can’t find a better assortment of vital and useful card abilities in any other Dice Masters starter or box set. If you’re new to Dice Masters or you’re trying to help a new player with recommendations, this is the product to look at. Many of these cards are great for casual and limited play, but also highly useful in the new PDC Prime format and even unlimited.

Aside from the obvious usefulness of many of the cards for unlimited and Prime, I love how the cards work so well together within the box too. A new player can combine both box sets for even more Turtle fun! These two boxes make for a great purchase for any Turtle fan that wants to play a game using their favorite TMNT characters but doesn’t want to jump all in to the larger world of Dice Masters.

WizKids has done some amazing things with the additions of the Box Sets, the yearly Starters, and the Team Packs. It makes the game more affordable for folks that also play other collectible games, therefore keeping those folks in the community. It also allows players like myself to expand into the other games that WizKids produces, like HeroClix, where I wasn’t able to before. I really feel like WizKids is on the right track, so long as they can better balance their release dates. That’s another growing pain that younger games experience and the balancing act will come with time. They’re just now introducing the yearly starters, so once they find the best form of product releases, the release date balancing should improve. I’m excited for what the future holds for Dice Masters. I hope that WizKids decides to branch out into other IPs and release them as all inclusive Box Sets.

What are your favorite cards?
What do you think of the Dice Building Game box?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Special thanks to WizKids and The Reserve Pool for the use of their sites.

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Tournament Report! January 28, 2017 – Unlimited Format

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

With the WKO quickly approaching, I decided to give one of my team considerations a test run in our tournament. If you watch the tournament videos on my YouTube channel, I have to apologize for the excessive amount of background noise. The store is very busy on Saturday nights and it’s really hard for me to play and mitigate the excessive noise at the same time. Hopefully, the regulars will get used to me filming and be a little more aware of their volume and conversation content. My irritation shows a little in the videos and I apologize for that as well. It’s very frustrating when you can’t hear what the person sitting across from you is saying.

You may hear me reference someone named Donatella, but that’s just my life tracker.

My Team

You can find my team here, on DM Retrobox.

I want Lady Bullseye to work – really bad. But I think she’s too difficult to maneuver in such a fast meta. I do love Overcrush though and it’s almost as if Gorilla Grodd was made for me. Mr. DDK suggested using Tsarina and Guy Gardner with Grodd, which I thought was a good idea so I did it. This has been one of the team ideas I’ve been throwing around for the WKO, so I figured that this would be a perfect chance to test it. I added Elf Thief for Mask energy and little bit of control, which I never used – not in a single game. Cold Gun is there to help me get around nasty characters like Dwarf Wizard or Ronin. Rip, PXG, and Blue-Eyes are all utility cards. I chose Slander as one of my Basic Actions because it works like Cold Gun but doesn’t damage – just in case I need to blank a character without damaging it. It’s also one cheaper and doesn’t require specific energy, but it’s not Continuous like Cold Gun. I chose Invulnerability for it’s Global, and because I might be able to use its ability if I bought the die.

Round One

You can watch my first round match on my YouTube channel, here. I was up against North and the Unlimited version of his Satchel team. My first purchase was probably wrong in this game. I couldn’t decide between Guy and Tsarina and I Ripped a Guy instead of Tsarina. I think I would have been better off with Tsarina instead of Guy because when I rolled him on my next turn, I got stuck with him on a character face. I would rather have had a Tsarina since she doesn’t have to attack each turn. I also got a little purchase happy when I bought Grodd early game and I didn’t reroll any Sidekicks in an attempt to get a Shield to Rip him. I was left with a Bolt and I didn’t really have anything to use it for. I hate when that happens because I feel like I’m wasting resources. I ended up purchasing one of North’s Imprisoned dice to help me get around Ronin and any potential blockers, as well as removing characters he could spin down in order to prevent Tsarina’s ability damage. We did make an error in the game where I had Imprisoned his Ronin, but he didn’t return his Ronin after Tsarina damaged him with her ability. He should have gotten Ronin back and been able to use him as a blocker, since Imprisoned would have left before the Assign Blockers portion of the Attack Step. It happened again later when I was attacking for lethal damage. I didn’t realize that until watching the video and writing this report that we both overlooked that. If I had been paying closer attention to the card abilities, Tsarina would not have been part of the final attack and I would still have been able to claim a victory. I unfortunately won the first round with two unintentional game play errors, but without the video, I wouldn’t have noticed it.

Record after Round One: 1-0-0

Round Two

You can watch my second round match on my YouTube channel, here. I was facing off against Hannah’s Action Burn team in round two. This match was relatively short, and a bit of a revenge match from last week. The tables were turned this week and I didn’t roll as well as I would have liked, much like the trouble Hannah faced last week when her team wanted to give her issues. We both had a rough start, but Hannah’s team bounced back quickly and there wasn’t much I could do. I probably should have purchased as many of her Magic Missile dice as I could, just to slow down her damage output. I shouldn’t have Ripped my second Grodd, even though it didn’t matter much in this particular game, but I should have purchased more Guy and Tsarina dice instead. Sometimes games just don’t go the way you’d like them to and this was my moment for the bad rolls. Hannah did well with her comeback, and she made the right choice in clearing my field with her Magic Missile Global so that she could attack and secure her victory.

Record after Round Two: 1-1-0

Round Three

I got to face off against one of my own teams in round three. Olivia wanted to use a variation on my Girl Power team, so I let her borrow it. She fielded lots of Sidekicks early in the match and even purchased a she-Hulk early game. Black Cat was a troublesome character as she made me reroll some of the characters I needed to keep in the Field. Luckily, they all came back up on character faces, but the threat of them leaving the Field scared me a little. I Ripped and purchased a Grodd around mid-game, but I needed to get my Guys back in the Field. They were proving to be very difficult to work with since they are required to attack each turn. When it came time to start attacking, Guy came through for me. She blocked my first big attack of Grodd and Guys, which returned most of them to the Field Zone. I drew what was left of my Guy dice and some Tsarina dice and was attacking for lethal damage on the turn after my first major attack. She had mostly Sidekicks as blockers and no way to avoid the massive amount of Overcrush damage from my Guys.

Record after Round Three: 2-1-0
Final Standing: 3rd

Final Thoughts

I hope that everyone takes something away from this report – especially from my mistakes. We are not defined by our mistakes, but by how we learn from them. I’m so glad that error was caught on video because this gives everyone a chance to review it and make mental notes about it so that they don’t make that mistake later, or have it made against them like North did.

Now, about the team itself. I really love this team. It’s definitely a top contender for what I’ll be playing at the WKO. I do not like Elf Thief though, and I’m probably going to replace him for either Constantine: Hellblazer or Antihero. While I like Cold Gun, I almost feel I don’t need it if I’m using Slander. Sure, it does damage and it possibly blanks a dude, but Slander blanks too. I definitely  don’t think I need both, and I’m probably swapping one of them for something else. I just have to decide which one to take off the team and what to put in its place. I like Tsarina, Grodd, and Guy as the main core of the team, so that won’t be changing. It’s nice to know that I don’t necessarily have to have all of the pieces to win as they’re all great on their own. They’re just really silly together and I love it!

What are some changes you’d make without changing the spirit of the team?
Have a build you like better?
Leave me a comment here or on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Roll on, Dice Masters!

Confusing Card of the Week #69 – Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

 

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School from the Marvel Deadpool set.

I’m also adding a new Prime Rating to each of my Confusing Card of the Week articles. They will follow the same rating system as the Unlimited Competitive Rating, since Prime is also a competitive format. You can find a breakdown of how I choose my ratings on my sticky article, Helpful Sites and About this Blog.

Ruling – Ability

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has the Underdog keyword. Most of the Underdog abilities do different things or have different effects depending on the character. The one thing that all Underdog abilities have in common is that they require you to have less characters in the Field Zone than your opponent. If you have the same number of characters in the Field Zone as your opponent, you do not meet the Underdog requirements. Characters that have a when fielded Underdog ability will count themselves because they see themselves in Field Zone when they are fielded.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s Underdog ability says that when she attacks, you spin her up to level three and she gains the Fast keyword. She does not spin back down after your attack is complete. She will lose her Fast keyword at the end of turn since it was an effect of a when attacks ability and all effects end at the end of turn.

Fast allows that character to deal their combat damage before other characters.

Miscellaneous Card Information

Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School is a Bolt Character and has the X-Men affiliation. This card also has a Max Dice of four.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Meeting Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s Underdog requirements.

~ I have one Negasonic Teenage Warhead die and my opponent has two Sidekick dice in the Field Zone.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Attackers) I assign my Negasonic Teenage Warhead die to attack. Her Underdog ability checks and sees that there are more characters in my opponent’s field. Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s die will spin up to level three and she gains the Fast keyword.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Blockers) My opponent assign a Sidekick to block.
~ (Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage) Negasonic Teenage Warhead deals six damage to the Sidekick and it’s immediately KO’d because of her Fast ability. The Sidekick will not assign any damage to Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
~ (Clean Up Step) Negasonic Teenage Warhead returns to the Field Zone because she was blocked and not KO’d. She loses her Fast keyword because all effects clear at this time.

Example Two:
Not meeting Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s Underdog requirements.

~ I have one level two Negasonic Teenage Warhead die in the Field Zone. My opponent doesn’t have any characters.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Attackers) I assign my Negasonic Teenage Warhead die to attack. Her Underdog ability checks and sees that I have more characters in the field than my opponent does. She does not gain any benefits of her Underdog ability.
~ (Attack Step – Assign Blockers) My opponent does not have any characters to block with.
~ (Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage) Negasonic Teenage Warhead is unblocked and deals her attack value of three to my opponent’s life total. Her die will go Out of Play until the Clean Up Step.
~ (Clean Up Step) My Negasonic Teenage Warhead, along with any other dice that are Out of Play, will go into the Used Pile.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF), does not have an official ruling for this specific card.

You can also find an additional ruling about Underdog, here.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Unlimited Competitive Play Rating

I think this is a very unique card for a format like unlimited. With the right team build, I think this card could possibly sneak in a top somewhere, but I don’t think she’s quite on the rogue level yet. You would probably need a specific team build that was more focused around this card as a win condition for her to be of great value. She’s got a good ability, her purchase cost is great, and her fielding costs are really good. Her only downside is her defense and that she requires Underdog to trigger her ability. In a format dominated by Bard variants, not having blockers is a bad idea unless you’re running a team that can race Bard to the final blow. This character is worth looking at and playing around with because someone could find a way to make her work.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School gets a rating of two out of five stars.

Prime Play Rating

I believe this card is great for Prime. The biggest challenge will be the Underdog part because without Fabricate or Blue-Eyes, you’re limited on abilities that can KO your own characters. All of her pros that I listed in her unlimited rating also apply here. Her purchase cost is cheap, her fielding costs are great, and her ability isn’t too shabby. She’s not a card to be overlooked in the Prime format.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School gets a Prime rating of three out of five stars.

Casual Play Rating

Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s ability is not too confusing for new players, once it’s been explained thoroughly. I could recommend her for a player of any skill level to try out in any casual setting. She’s a great teaching tool for field management and abilities, like Fabricate. Underdog abilities can help players feel more comfortable with KO’ing their own characters for the sake of the ability. I also feel like this Underdog ability is probably the most useful one in the game. This character can easily work as an add-on to a team or on a team built around her. This makes her exceptionally good for casual play.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead: Bored in School gets a casual play rating of four out of five stars.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on?
Is there a combo that seems too good to be true?
Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Special thanks to The Reserve Pool for the use of their site.

Roll on, Dice Masters!