Welcome to Double Burst’s Dice Masters Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Here you will find the most common questions asked about Dice Masters. We are constantly updating this list, if there is something not listed below feel free to contact us (doubleburst@ktdata.net)!
You can also download a printer friendly version of the FAQ here.
Last Updated: September 14, 2016
Turn Order
One way we at Double Burst determine who goes first is to roll an action die. One player names either “action” or “energy” and the other player rolls an action die. If they called it right, then that player gets to decide if they would like to go first or not. Flipping a coin or a high roll on a numeric die are also commonly used options. The important thing is both players agree on the method and the result is random.
There are certain steps in the game where certain things can only be done. The game’s second step is the Roll and Reroll step. Only in this step can you roll and reroll your dice (unless an ability allows otherwise). Once you field a character, you have moved to your “Main Step”, so you are not allowed to reroll the dice anymore.
The rulebook states:
“Now you can do any or all of the following, in any order you want, as many times as you like:
Purchase Dice
Field Characters
Play Actions
Use Global Abilities”
The order in which you do these things is very important as they can affect the gameplay to your benefit or detriment, but the order is not dictated by any rules.
Priority
The Rulebook states:
“In tournament play, the active player takes as many sequential actions as desired (from zero to all possible actions) before pausing and indicating that the inactive player can take an action. The inactive player can then either perform an action or decline the opportunity. Then the active player can take more actions. If the inactive player passes, and then the active player passes, no more actions can be taken during that step (except for reactions to damage, as usual).”
What that means is the active player can use as many global abilities (in addition to purchasing dice, fielding characters, and using action dice) as they want during the Main Step, but the inactive player must be passed priority before they can use a global ability. When the inactive player is passed priority they can perform 1 action, then they must pass priority back to the active player who can again do as many actions as they want. When the inactive player uses no actions and passes priority back to the active player and the active player also takes no actions the step will end. Priority must be passed at the end of the Main Step and during the Attack step after blockers are declared, but before combat damage is assigned.
Duration and Card Effects
Capture:
When you capture a die, move the captured die to your Field Zone and place your capturing die on top of it. A captured die no longer exists for game purposes. Once the capturing ends, place the die wherever it came from (the text on the capturing die’s card will tell you where you captured it from). Unless otherwise noted, capturing ends at the end of the turn, or when the capturing die is KO’d.
For example:
Gelatinous Cube – Apprentice Ooze card text reads, “Whenever a character is knocked out during the attack step, you may pay [SHIELD] to have Gelatinous Cube capture it. This capture lasts until it is used again.”
Control:
When you take control of a die, it becomes yours for game purposes. Move it into your field and place it on top of the die controlling it. Your controlling die cannot attack, but you can send the controlled die to attack.
For example:
Scarecrow – Hallucinogenic Vapors card text reads, “If Scarecrow is KO’d, take control of target opposing character die until end of turn. Spin this die to an energy face and place it underneath the controlled die. Move it to the Prep Area when you return the controlled die.”
Cost Reduction
Character and Action Effects
The active player has priority and all effects must resolve fully before another effect can be triggered, when priority is passed to the inactive player they may use 1 effect and pass priority back to the active player. Remembering this rule solves most timing issues. In the event of a truly simultaneous effect (such as one triggered by dealing damage and one triggered by receiving damage happening when combat damage is assigned) the active player gets to resolve their effects first. Simultaneous effects controlled by one player are resolved in the order of that player’s choice.
From the rulebook:
“To pay energy during your turn, move dice showing that much energy from your Reserve Pool to Out of Play. Those dice will go to your Used Pile during Cleanup. You can also pay energy during your opponent’s turn, but that energy goes directly into your Used Pile. You can’t choose to spend energy for no reason.”
When played on your turn Action Dice also go to “out of Play” when used.
This means that, on your turn, once you have spent an energy or used an action die it cannot be accessed for game purposes (filling your bag, for example) until the end of the turn.
Note: there is not an “Out of Play” or “In Transit” zone on any official playmat.
Yes, but it has not always been consistent, so it will sometimes depend on the card in reference. If a card refers to a “Character” then it is referring to all instances of dice of that character. If you are counting active characters, then you would count how many unique character dice are in the field (e.g. Half-Elf Bard).
If it refers to a “Character Die” then it would refer to a single die of that character. If you are counting Character dice, then you would count all active dice.
If it says “target character” then you will be targeting a specific character die.
Finally, if it states “Name a character”, it is referring to a character card (so all corresponding character dice would be impacted). Note: you cannot name “Sidekick” since it does not have a card.
From the rulebook:
“Some cards will have you check how many of a certain type of character are active. If an effect gave +1A for each active character, and you had 5 Character Dice in the Field Zone (3 different characters) and your opponent has 1 character die in the Field Zone, the effect would grant +4A (even if your opponent’s character was the same name as one of yours). If it doesn’t specify your characters, it checks yours and your opponent’s active characters or dice.”
Timing
- Main step on your turn.
- Main step on your opponent’s turn, after they pass you “priority”.
- After attackers and blockers have both been assigned, starting with the active player who must pass priority before moving on to the Assign Damage part of the attack step.
- Players are allowed to use Global Abilities that react to events at the appropriate time (for example, a Global Ability that allows you to redirect damage when one of your characters takes damage).
Choosing a Team
From the rulebook:
“While you can use heroes and villains together, or characters from different teams, you can’t use two cards with the same name (even if they have different subtitles)”
Also, even though some character dice may have the same image and stats between different sets, it is generally not acceptable to use dice that do not match the card/set in a tournament setting. This is determined by comparing the die to the images at the bottom of the card to make sure all colors, symbols, and stats match. If you are playing casually and your opponent is comfortable with you using a mismatched die (generally a different color with the same stats) you may use a substitute die.
Yes. All sets are made to work together. You are free to use Batman, Spider-man, and Red Dragon on the same team, for example. Some sets, however, have used different terminology or symbols that correlate that you will want to make sure you know:
Each set is unique and works best within its own set, however, there are many cards that work very well with other cards from other sets. As a general rule a set works best within itself, the affiliations in a set work best within its universe (Marvel, DC, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.), and an individual card from a set has the best potential to find synergy outside its set or universe.
Other
From the Wizkids ruling:
“When In Doubt, Choose the ‘Weaker’ Option”
Sometimes there will be card text or interactions that could reasonably be interpreted in one or two ways. A random sample of players asked might get split down the middle on how it plays out. We’d encourage judges to rule that the weaker interpretation is the correct one. For example, if an effect might reroll a single character die, or every copy of that character die, but is unclear, a judge using this guidance would rule that only a single die is rerolled.”
While the rules are pretty clear here, a good habit when asking for a ruling from a judge is to simply ask about an interaction without the influence of context. This allows the judge to remain unbiased when determining which effect is weaker.
We would first recommend your local gaming store. It’s a great place to meet other players and support the local community. It’s also your best bet for finding Organized Play events. Also, some local Wal-Marts, Targets, and Walgreens stock Dice Masters Products
If there is nothing local, or they do not have what you are looking for here are a few online retailers:
Sandy Game Haven: http://Sandygamehaven.crystalcommerce.com
Cool Stuff Inc: http://coolstuffinc.com
Troll and Toad: http://trollandtoad.com
Arrow Star Games: http://arrowstargames.com
Amazon: Amazon.com
eBay: http://ebay.com
These are also great places to find the going rates if you are looking to value your collection.
Dice Towers:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/market/dice_tower
You may also get custom mats printed here:
Inked Gaming: http://www.inkedgaming.com/
This forum thread has a lot of suggestions: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1147576/storage-solutions
A lot of people use Plano Fishing Tackle boxes.
There are also custom boxes from craft stores.
http://www.michaels.com/bead-organizer-carrying-case/10468277.html#q=bead&start=22
Zen Bins are a storage option for cards and dice that was designed specifically for Dice Masters.
Wizkids Team and Collector boxes are also available.
You can track everything with most of these sites/apps.
You can also create teams, and preview cards that you may not have yet.
Dice Masters Decks: http://dicemastersdecks.com/
Dice Masters Retrobox: http://dm.retrobox.eu/
Transition Zone (Android mobile app)
Sidekick for Dice Masters (iOS mobile app)
There is a rules forum where Wizkids have answered many questions:
http://win.wizkids.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=8dcc8dc43ffd1634e130ca8d0839b123
You can listen to podcasts, and read articles at:
Double Burst: http://www.doubleburst.com
The Reserve Pool: http://www.thereservepool.com/
Dice Masters Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/dicemasters/
Dice Anon (past articles): http://www.diceanon.com/
RetroMaticGamer (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/user/RetroMaticGamer/
Dice Dice Kitty: https://thegeekkitty.wordpress.com
DMDiceMasters (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5jS0o15ylmDsH–3pCX8jQ
Abbreviations
WizKids Open, this is a series of tournaments for all WizKids games that takes place at venues around the world. There are exclusive prizes to be won in Regional Championships and side events. Victory in a Regional Championship also qualifies a player to compete in the National Championship.
Terminology
Short for aggressive, is a playstyle based on the strategy of attacking early and repeatedly to quickly take your opponent’s life total to zero. The idea behind the aggro playstyle is to win before your opponent can get their own strategy in place. Some commonly used staples of aggro teams are Black Widow – Tsarina, Guy Gardner – Blinding Rage, and Half-Elf Bard – Master Lords’ Alliance.
Another term for direct damage, or damage that is done outside of combat. A burn team uses the strategy of dealing direct damage rather than combat damage to win the game. Some commonly used burn cards are Human Torch – Johnny Storm, Cheetah – Cursed Archaeologist, and Manticore – Paragon Beast.
An element of bag control that keeps the player emptying and refilling their bag as often as possible. Churn strategies can be based on removing dice from your bag cycle (by fielding them or keeping them from the Used Pile when you refill your bag) or by drawing more than the regular 4 dice per turn (generally done by using a global, character ability, or action die) and rolling them in either the Roll and Reroll Step or the Main Step.
Control is a playstyle that focuses on controlling the pace of the game and manipulating the areas of the board to keep your opponent from using their original gameplan. A control player will generally keep their opponent at bay until they can make their move to assure victory. Some commonly used staples of control teams are Constantine – Hellblazer, Hulk – Green Goliath, and Elf Thief – Lesser Harper.
By definition:
“Metagaming is a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself.
In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one’s in-game decisions.”
It is also defined in Dice Masters as the most current and top played cards in the game at any given point.
Sidekicks are a special type of dice and are defined, to some degree by their location. They are always Sidekick Dice for all effects.
They are also characters while in the Field Zone or the Reserve Pool on their character face (the pawn with A & D values of 1), but are not considered characters in any other area of play. While in the Field Zone they are valid targets for effects that target an active die or active dice.
For effects that require a player to name a character Sidekicks are ineligible because Sidekicks have no card, thus no name (a character’s name is found on its card). Examples of effects that name characters are: Constantine – Hellblazer, and Catwoman – Nine Lives.
Sidekick is a type of die, and can be named with effects that name types of dice. Examples of effects that name types of dice are: Relaxing – Basic Action, and Deck of Many Things – Epic Magical Object.
Characters with the “Ally” keyword are considered Sidekicks once they are in the field.