Let's continue our series going over more of the D&D Dice Masters cards that were spoiled from Tom's review video posted just last week. I've already covered the Basic Action Cards and Adventurers in this post, so check it out if you want to catch up.
We've got some repeat cards in here again from what we've seen before from both the rules and the first screens we encountered, which Randy covered and Evan unveiled in earlier posts. So, without further ado, let's jump right in! I've listed the cards alphabetically so they're in no particular order.
Gear
What we know about gear is that they are action-type dice that various characters can equip. These cards are very interesting in that they don't have an energy type like previous "non-basic actions." They've got the generic "2" die facings where energy type would be.
In order to equip a piece of gear, a character must possess the "Equip" ability, which is denoted by an icon underneath the cost on their card. Gear dice are rolled and then fielded like other non-basic action dice we've seen in the previous sets. When gear dice are fielded, they can be immediately attached to an appropriate character die OR they can remain in the field and be attached at the beginning of each turn that they are active.
Whenever a character who has gear equipped leaves play, the gear is unattached and drops back into the field. In other words, gear could not be equipped, used and then re-equipped on the same turn (using the RAW - I'm sure there are cards out there that will break this). All of this info is found on page 17 of the DADDM rule book.
At this point, it's safe to assume that gear will have multiple rarities as we've seen before. We've only seen two from the video, and they're commons. But judging by the "Max" die number listed on the bottom right hand corner these are not basic actions. Let's give them a look.
Magic Helmet - Lesser Gear -COMMON. The standby for any martial D&D hero or villain who goes toe-to-toe in mortal combat, a good Magic Helmet can really save you a headache - pun INTENDED. For 2-cost you get to add the ability that our good friend She-Hulk most notably has (others do, too). Doesn't seem too bad. After all, it seems like it'd be nice for 2 energy to be able to make almost anyone have to draw two blockers or more when they swing, or to make one particularly good hitter go unblocked when your opponent only has 1 character fielded. Seems like a decent bargain to me. Of course, you have to churn it then roll it then get it on the right character who's fielded or will be fielded...ah yes, the problem with all action dice. They can be a little slow. But I think this has its uses.
Magic Sword - Lesser Gear - COMMON. If you've got an enchanted hat, you better have an enchanted blade. At least, that's why my fighter has always said...and the guy's not dead yet. For 3-cost you can have just that . Magic Sword is simple enough. When equipped, "This equipped character gets +1A and +1D." Ok, there it is. Now, I could be wrong here, but this appears to be a good companion for your low level adventurers. Some of those folks start climbing their die levels pretty low on A and D, but if you're hoping to level them up and make them into the powerhouses they have the potential to be, a little gear boost wouldn't hurt. +1A and +1D is nothing to write home about, but you can't snort at it either - it just might make the leap from, say 3D to 4D, and that becomes just a step harder to take down that character. Not too shabby.
Spells
Here we have one of my favorite parts of the DADDM set so far - spells! Besides being so thematic, it feels right for spells to have an action card slot. It just does. Like in the Marvel sets, where the theme of Dice Masters is that you (the player) plays the role of mastermind sending in heroes and villains and pawns into battle, in DADDM it feels like you are a master Archwizard or Lich or Mind Flayer or what have you. Spells are just a normal part of your repertoire.
Again, we see spells looking and acting like action dice. Like gear, spells have three generic energy sides, which is interesting to me. Is this potentially a new precedent for upcoming "non-basic action" dice? Will we see this in Justice League and Age of Ultron and further? I don't know, but I'm not sure I like or dislike the change. My judgment reserved, let's take a look at the two spells (but 4 cards) we got to see form the preview.
Limited Wish - Lesser Spell - COMMON. Limited wish is a D&D classic. I remember whenever our party would find a wish spell or something that granted a wish we'd get so excited. This was back in the old days of D&D 1 and even AD&D, so wishes were crazy exciting. I'm no as excited about this common form. It's a 6-cost and the card text reads, "Choose any unpurchased die (yours or from the basic actions cards) and roll it. If you roll a non-energy face, place the die in your used pile." Trust me - it sounds great and interesting! But I have two problems with it and only one really good use I could see. First, it costs 6. 6 energy. SIX. ENERGY. That's a lot. Granted, "you could get a free Phoenix Force!" Sure you could, and that's the good part, but it leads right into my second beef. It's a 50/50 shot that you have burned by rolling energy. Then what do you have to do? Churn it, reroll it and hope again. I'm not likely to invest 6 energy into something with that much to-do. Not with my rolling luck!
Limited Wish - Greater Spell - UNCOMMON. Hey, hey! A vastly improved purchase cost already throws this baby back into contention for an actual spot on a team, right? Maybe. Let's see what it does. "Name a non-NPC(read: Sidekick) die. Your opponent pulls a die from his bag. If it is the named die, return it to it's card (as if it had not been purchased). Otherwise, place it in the bag or its used pile." Interesting, yes. Risky? Sure. Useful? I dunno. Evan mentioned on the podcast that you'd need to be a psychic to really use this card and that's probably true. If you're playing a super efficient opponent, you might have a really good idea what's in their bag (especially if they're churning and prepping a ton) and that might even out your odds of being right. In that case, this card would be awesome. But if you can't keep up well with what they're buying or you don't want to, this one is a full on gamble. For 4-cost, it's not such a risk, but it's probably not one that I'm willing to take.
I will note that I think this card is the first card in the game that instructs you to move a purchased die back to a card, essentially "un-purchasing" it. That's cool. I love to see new angles represented.
Limited Wish - Paragon Spell - RARE. This is cool, a rare spell! I like it. It's a 5-Cost and here's what it does: "Search your bag for a character die and field it on its level 1 side. ** Also move a Tarrasque from the field to the prep area." Now this, I like! It reminds me of that same sort of Diabolic Tutor effect from MtG, and I loved that card. Control, control, control - if you like to have it, this might scratch that itch. I also like the fact that it does what Beast and Gambit essentially do but with surgical precision - you get exactly what you want. As a downside, Beast and Gambit push churn and actually do something - they're characters with stats and can attack and block. But you have to roll them and then pay to field them. With this version of Limited Wish, you pay 5 upfront and when you get that baby out there it's all yours. Still a bit high of a cost to be a meta-breaker, but I like where these abilities our headed.
Prismatic Spray - Lesser Spell - COMMON. Last but not least is Prismatic Spray. Most wizards I ever gamed with loved to bust this out on occasion. Who can blame 'em? Prismatic Spray comes in at a 4-cost and has an ability that reads: "All of your opponent's characters lose all their card text until the end of the turn." Say...what? For 4-cost all of my opponent's characters become just...their dice? Wow and WOW. I think this spell thus far has the most impressive potential and bang for the buck out of the ones we have on hand. Every pretty solid win con out there relies on nifty card text ability. Though we're not necessarily talking about mixing sets here, think of all the famous combos and why they work: special card text ability. Gone. Nada. Nein - for one whole turn. I like the possibilities.
One last note about spells. I've repeatedly griped about high card costs and that's specifically because I'm an Aggro player who likes to hit first. I don't often have the board command and game patience to see a control team through, and that's my own weakness, which leads me to gravitate towards 3-cost type combos that can act quickly. But let me remind you of our new adventuring friend from The Harpers, the Elf Wizard. Her common form is exactly what the doctor ordered to get spells out quickly and efficiently. She reduces the cost of spells to begin with and then allows you to prep them when she attacks FOR FREE. That's a game changer in the spell department, and that's just her common form. I'll be interested to see what her Uncommon and Rare(or Super Rare, we don't know) form might look like.
Next time we'll hit the final part of our preview: Monsters! We got a lot of them - something close to 40. I hope you've enjoyed our previews thus far and feel free to join in the discussion below.
Until next time.
- Chris
For those Dual Wield Fighters out there, I wonder if you can stack Equip cards. Assign 2 Magic Swords to an adventurer for +2A and +2D. Remember that Gear is considered an Action die, so the Elf Wizard's abilities work on those as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe there was another Magic Sword spoiled, perhaps on the Dice Tower Live Play for D&D Dice Masters. The Magic Sword Greater Gear gives +2A, no change to D.
If that sword actually exists, the Half-Orc fighter is going to wreck some people.
DeleteThe uncommon Limited Wish is a really interesting card, because it has the potential to be really excellent at controlling your opponent's bag. What's really interesting is that it can be paired up tactically with the Halfling Thief, which allows you to pull dice from your opponent's bag, potentially limiting his options. I think the synergy there might provide for some very interesting combos. I don't necessarily know how efficient it will be, but it's an interesting combo at the very least.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Wizard is going to become an invaluable resource when playing with Action decks, and I expect those to be coming.