Choosing the Correct Dice for Your Game
For most casual gamers, choosing gaming dice might be as simple as picking up a pack of six-sided dice at your local discount or mass-market chain. And if you only play HeroClix, this is correct--you only need 2 six-sided dice to play. But what about all these other kinds of dice you see packaged in what look like "designer gaming dice" collections? Are they all really necessary for your gaming?
Common Types of Gaming Dice
- d4 - Looks like a 3-sided pyramid, has numbers 1-4 on it. Not used in Magic, Clix, or SWMinis.
- d6 - A typical cubical die with numbers 1-6 on it. Necessary for Clix, can be used in Magic, but not used in SWMinis.
- d8 - Faceted eight-sided diamond shape, with numbers 1-8 on it. Not often used except for keeping track of counters in Magic, Clix, or SWMinis.
- d10 - Faceted ten-sided diamond shape, with numbers 0-9 on it (the 0 usually counts as a 10 for a dice roll). Useful for keeping life totals and counters in Magic, but not used for any specific purpose in either Clix or SWMinis.
- d12 - Faceted spherical shape, with numbers 1-12 on it. Not often used in Magic, Clix, or SWMinis for any special purpose.
- d20 - Faceted spherical shape, with numbers 1-20 on it (the 20 can be a symbol instead of the actual number). Often used in Magic to keep track of life totals, and used in SWMinis for all dice rolls; not used in Clix.
The preceding list shows the most common types of dice that gamers will come into contact with. What are the most useful, however?
- d10s are great for keeping track of Magic life totals that change upwards, like a life-gain deck.
- Spin-down d20s (like the ones you get out of M:TG Fat Packs, with the numbers aligned consecutively in a spiral pattern) are also good for keeping track of Magic life totals.
- Non-spin-down d20s are great for SWMinis because the numbers are more randomized.
- d6s are good for Magic counters, SWMinis force points, and absolutely necessary for Clix.
Generally, all dice are good for at least keeping track of counters, whether it's counters on a feat card in Clix, Force Points on a SWMinis figure card, or +1/+1 counters on a creature in Magic. d10s, d20s, and d6s are the most useful in the above games, but hang on to any others you've gotten--you might end up playing a game where you need them, too!
Where to Buy Dice
Chessex.com
MiniatureMarket.com
CrystalCaste.com
WizardsCupboard.com
DeiGames.com
WonderTrail.com
ThinkGeek.com
MTGFanatic.com
RPGShop.com (also has funny dice and bags!)
TheWarStore.com Crystal Caste Dice Sets
CoolStuffInc.com
TheWarStore.com Chessex Dice
