Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man Product Reviews
The Amazing Spider-Man is one of the best Dice Masters expansions to date.
As 2015 comes to a close, WizKids pulled out all the stops by releasing what is arguably one of the best Dice Masters releases yet with The Amazing Spider-Man. While there are a few recycled characters here such as Daredevil, Hulk, and Spider-Man himself, the set has much to offer.
Right off the bat, gamers will notice there are a whopping six affiliations here that include The Avengers, Villains, Guardians of the Galaxy, Zombies, Spider-Friends, and, best of all, Sinister Six. To say this is a great expansion for villains is an understatement as gamers can pick from the likes of Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, Lizard, Kingpin, Vulture, Rhino and more. Of course, there are plenty of new good guys too such as Luke Cage, Iron Spidey, Cloak and Dagger, Mary Jane, and, yes, Aunt May. As has been the case with the past couple releases, there are non character dice/cards as well such as the Goblin Glider and Web Shooters.
Going back to the Spider-Friends affiliation, it proves to be an interesting new inclusion as it has the potential to do some serious damage to your opponent. Take the Spider-Man: Tangled Web card for example. It states “When Spider-Man attacks, he gets +2A until end of turn *Instead, all of your Spider-Friends get +2A While attacking. Global: Pay 1 bolt. Target character die gains the Spider-Friends affiliation this turn.” As you can see, that can prove to be deadly to an opponent if paired with the right cards.
As far as new components go, there are 2 new keywords you will want to pay attention to- Underdog and Aftershock. Underdog is an ability that activates when your opponent has more character dice in the field than you do. For example, the “Back for Seconds!” action card has an underdog ability that states “Field any character from your used pile at level 3.” It’s a good way to get back in the game (potentially) and it offers up plenty of strategic value too. Aftershock is an ability that activates when a character with Aftershock leaves the field. The Sandman: Sandy card has a perfect example that states “Aftershock- You may spend 1 energy to reroll Sandman. If he lands on an energy face, deal 3 damage to target non-villain character.”
Aside from picking up the 2 card/2 dice booster packs (which are still $.99), gamers can pick up a starter set which runs for $20 or less depending on where you shop. The set comes with the expected instruction booklet, 2 paper bags (both containing Spider-Man character imagery), 10 basic action cards, 12 action dice, 16 sidekick dice, and 16 character dice for White Tiger, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Silver Sable, Kingpin, Ghost Rider (Female version), Drax, and Carnage. While I love seeing 4 female characters in this starter set, the inclusion of Drax and Ghost Rider is a bit of a head scratcher. Personally, I would have included a Spider-Man hero/affiliate and a villain instead to keep with the theme. With that said, I think many folks (myself included) will be happy to finally have Drax in the game.
Lastly, if you don’t have a proper playmat for Dice Masters yet, there is a brand new Amazing Spider-Man themed one which contains web and spider imagery and characters on the background of the playing field. The mat (which is basically a giant mousepad) has places for everything needed for a full game. It’s a really cool and essential accessory to have and, at $15-20, an affordable one to boot.
Overall Thoughts: The Amazing Spider-Man is a strong expansion that allows Dice Masters players to build more potent villain decks, create a Spider-Friends deck, expand a GOTG deck, and make a deadly Sinister Six heavy villain deck.
Note: Other Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man products available include the team box, collectors box, and booster box.
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