This February sees the newest release for WizKids‘ Dice Masters, Marvel Dice Masters: Iron Man and War Machine Starter Set. The first starter set has an Iron Man focus introducing new mechanics.

I’ll be reviewing a group of cards a day until the whole set is completed and then general thoughts on the whole set. But, beyond discussing the cards and how they fit into the Dice Masters game, I’ll also focus on the characters themselves and if the card reflects their comic history.

Up today is some of the set’s Basic Action Dice!

Armor Wars

Art: Brandon Peterson, Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #3

Card playability: A Basic Action that’s very specific to this set it allows you to KO a target character die with “Suit Up.” Each player then loses 1 life.

Unless you’re playing a team with “Suit Up” or know you’re facing one, it just doesn’t feel like you’d really need this.

The situations are limited, but to KO your own character and deal damage then be able to role that character next round could be handy.

 

Cone of Cold

Art: Adi Granov, Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #1 variant

Card playability: That’s a lot of damage to deal for a 3 cost Basic Action Die. To potentially knock out three different character dice in a turn is impressive.

There is a limitation in that you can only use this if there’s three different character dice, so you may need to do some damage to your own to really get a lot of use out of it.

But, to be able to do damage to a whole bunch of character dice and then also boost an attack for a blocked character is solid. This is all about offense and at a pretty decent price.

Hypervelocity

Art: Francesco Mattina, War Machine Vol. 2 #8

Card playability: New ways to do damage and get players to lose life is good by me. I like the idea of forcing players to attack and know that this being out could have greatly changed how things would have played out. Even forcing a Sidekick to die can really change a game, and if you were to wipe out their character dice, you’re guaranteeing two life gone each turn.

I have a feeling this card will get some clarification, but the way I read it, if you don’t role a star, this die is staying on the board and becoming a thorn in your opponent’s side (and yours potentially).

 

One Against Many

Art: Juan Doe, Iron Man: Legacy Vol. 1 #3

Card playability: Expensive by cool is what I think about this Basic Action Card.

To be able to do lots of damage easily, that’s a good thing. If this was a 4 cost die I’d be super excited about it, but the 5 reflects at potentially how big a deal this could be.

Though lots of games tend to go quickly now, to be able to do a lot of damage quickly and combo this with other dice that allow you to duplicate it, make this a Basic Action Die I expect to see in some builds.

 

Smash!

Art: Doug Braithwaite, Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #74

Card playability: Similar to “Power Word Kill” but this one is just level 1 character with a possibility of a level 2 character. It’s two less to purchase so you take a chance on the level 2, but it’s cheaper to buy.

The global is interesting in that you can prevent a blocked character die from dealing damage. I like that and we see these Basic Action cards focused on that sort of function a bit. It’s a simple Global, but the simplicity will force your opponents to really think about attacking and blocking.

 

Final Thoughts: All five cards are pretty solid and for the most part introduce some new Basic Action Cards to the game. None are too specific to this set, and all could have their uses depending on one’s build.

 

WizKids provided Graphic Policy with FREE product for review.