I’ve returned to Dice Masters after a long break from the game. But some of the issues I have/had getting back into the game are the same as those wanting to get into the game for the first time.

So I thought I’d write this post sharing my thoughts and suggestions on getting into Dice Masters for new players.

In an ideal world some-one looking to get into Dice Masters will know some-one already into the game or can find some-one at their FLGS.

I’m assuming that the existing player would then teach the game and then set the new player up with some basics needed to play the game.

However we don’t live in an ideal world. If we did there would be no need for this post.

Getting the basics

So before we even start playing a game of Dice Masters a new player needs some basics that are required for every game.

Those are:

• 8 sidekick dice
• 2 different coloured basic action reminder cards and matching coloured basic action dice (3 per card). In an ideal world you’d have four.
• Play mat
• Dice bag

So how does a new player get these if there is not a generous existing player on hand to gift them these?

The easiest way is to pick up one of the two Secret Wars Origin packs.

The only thing that these Origin packs don’t give you is a dice bag. But any dice bag will do for this. If you have to buy one they can be picked up cheap enough off Amazon or from your FLGS. The nice thing is even if you end up not continuing with Dice Masters the dice bag can be used with other games.

Picking up both Origin packs will give you everything (except dice bags) to play a learning game or two with a friend.

Another option is to pick up one of the older Starter sets. These do give you everything for two players to start playing with. Well almost! They do include the dice bag. Ok it’s a waxy paper bag. But it’s good enough for learning with. You can always splash out for a better bag later on. However there are no play mats (except in the rule booklet). But you can print these off using the play mat pdf that Wizkids have on their website. The advantage of the older starter sets is they have enough cards for both players to play with the full 8 card teams.

A third more expensive option is to pick up one of the campaign boxes. These are the more complete experiences for two players.

Which Starter or Campaign box should a new player go with? Pick the theme that attracts you the most. Love DC go with one of them. Like Warhammer pick up one of those.

Ok I have the basics and learnt the game, now what?

Once you’ve played some learning games it’s time to start building your collection and building teams.

You could buy older set booster boxes(some of these can be picked up for under £50 a box) or individual packs. Crack them open and start building teams. Or you could go with the draft packs of more recent sets and do the same.

Which of the two options above you go with depends on if you want to play Modern Age (uses just recent sets) or Golden Age (uses all sets) games.

However instead of just cracking open boosters or draft packs, why not with your friends play a draft tournament and get some extra game play out of your purchases? It also has the side benefit of building your team building skills.

Another option is to just buy singles. By this I mean just buying the card and dice that you need to build a particular team with. This is usually the cheaper option when building a team. However my experience of the secondary market in Dice Masters using eBay is not great. It’s not as healthy as say the much more popular MtG.

Obviously all this assumes that you have a friend who wants to learn the game as well. However if you don’t then you are then going to have to find a local Dice Masters community to join. Or failing that look to play online using a webcam. I’ve not looked into which is the best online community yet for doing that. I’m assuming it will involve joining a Dice Masters Discord server or two. It might also be worth joining a Dice Masters Facebook group for whichever geographical area you reside.

I hope this has helped. If you are an experienced player what have I missed?