An Introduction and A Rotation

Hello and welcome to my debut article on Dice Masters for the Gaming Vault. I’ve been playing Dice Masters for since around June of 2016. Since that time my wife and I have amassed a fairly sizable collection from every set except Avengers vs X-Men. I had first heard about the game a few months before through Board Game Geek and hoped that it would fill a void in my gaming life left by the cancellation of the VS. series of card games years earlier. That void being the pitting of various characters against from different comic franchises against each other. Personally I am biased towards DC, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the other sides involved in the Dice Masters game. So with that introduction out of the way, let’s get onto the topic at hand for today.

Starting June 1, 2017, Wizkids is bringing in a new format to the Dice Masters world. This format is called Modern Age, it will be replacing the current format, now known as the Golden Age. The primary difference between the two being the legality of sets allowed for play. The Modern Age will NOT include the following sets: Marvel Dice Masters (Avengers vs X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men, and The Age of Ultron), DC Dice Masters (Justice League), Yu-Gi-Oh Dice Masters (Series 1), and DnD Dice Masters (Battle for Faerun). This leaves the majority of sets legal in the Modern Age. However, the Golden Age will always include every set.

With this new format comes a new ban list, which includes only one card; Half-Elf Bard – Master Lords’ Alliance. This is a card that many people have been wanting to see banned since its introduction in the Dungeons & Dragons: Faerun Under Siege set. This card was just so powerful in creating fast, hard-hitting beat down that it being banned is completely justified.

The cards that are banned for Golden Age are: Relentless – Basic Action Card and Swords of Revealing Light – Basic Action Card. They won’t have any effect on Modern Age as their sets are being rotated out.

Some notable Marvel cards being cycled out with Modern Age are going to be Black Widow – Tsarina. At 2 cost with 2, 2, or 3 attack, her ability to force your opponent to take 2 damage or spin a character down a level caused many headaches around the world and saw her become a staple in many decks. Green Goblin – “Gobby” was a notable 3 cost character that saw decks being built entirely around his ability to deal 1 damage to your opponent for each sidekick on your field when he is fielded. Any of the Professor X’s from the Uncanny X-Men set that have the “Global: Pay M. Move up to 2 sidekicks from your used pile to your prep area.” ability are going to be sorely missed for many people as he was a fantastic way to ramp up the speed of your deck.

Shifting to the DC side of things we see Black Manta – Deep Sea Deviant being pushed out. His ability to do 1 damage to your opponent for each of your active villains whenever one of your villains is KO’d is a huge blow to villain decks. Constantine – Hellblazer also sees himself being removed from the scene, and with him, a great control ability. He could completely shut down a card (and dice) of your choice per turn by making that character unable to attack and completely ignoring their text.

As with most other games, the coming of the new, more limited format will bring with it an adaptation period. People will have to get used to working without some of their favourite tools and they’ll have to find new ways to produce the results they are looking for. They say that limitations breed creativity, and this is evident in the collectible gaming universe as well. Modern Age looks to help push players to develop new ideas/strategies, push new product for store owners, and make it easier for new players to join the game. This is all in all a good thing for the life of Dice Masters and I for one am excited for June.

For more information on the Dice Masters Rotation see:

Dice Masters Rotation FAQ

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