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If you have played Dice Throne before, then you will know how to play Marvel Dice Throne straight away. If you have not played any Dice Throne games before, like me, the basic idea is very simple; each player starts with 50 hit points, 2 action points and your aim is to reduce your opponent/s health dials down to zero before they can do it to you. You attack using your dice rolls, in a Yahtzee style system, where each hero has 5 unique dice and unique attacks on their player board.
Normally the required rolls are fairly similar, but the range of attacks and the upgrade cards available to each character are different. Each character also has an "Ultimate" attack that does some serious damage and sometimes cool other effects too. These are hard to roll in naturally requiring five 6's but, some of the cards you can get sometimes help you to achieve this.
There are 8 Marvel characters in the battle box; Thor, Loke, Scarlett Witch, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Black Widow. To me the choice of characters screams "future expansions incoming" and I say this because some fan favourites are not in here. No Hulk, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Captain America, Ironman, etc... There are many other fantastic characters that could be used for another and personally I hope there is one!
Components
The components in Marvel Dice Throne are phenomenal; each hero comes in their own individual tray and takes 20/30 seconds to get out and set up on the table. Each tray contains the hero player board, their 5 dice, their deck of cards, their HP dial, their action point counter and any unique played chips/pieces. With having the Kickstarter set, my favourite component it the metal hammer that Thor has but, sadly for most this is a Kickstarter exclusive.
Art
The same goes for the art. The art in Marvel Dice Throne is phenomenal and is done in the classic Manny Trembley style that you will have seen on the original Dice Throne games. Luckily Marvel gave permission to Roxley Games for their amazing artist to do his own take on these iconic characters and his style here is absolutely breathtaking. Each character looks fresh and vibrant and if you got the premium sleeves then they look even better on there as well. Their has also been art in this game by Damien Mammoliti and throughout the whole game the graphic design and art is flawless. Some of the best you will see in any game. This art really adds a lot to the theme and feeling of the game for me.
The other Kickstarter extras that you cannot get at retail, as well as the metal hammer for Thor, are limited edition numbering on the back of the battle chest, Synthetic Illusion cards for Loki and custom coloured vac trays to match each heroes dice colour. So, nothing game changing or overly annoying to miss out on but, nice to have if you did back the Kickstarter campaign. It also seems that you cannot get all 8 heroes in one box if you did not back the Kickstarter Campaign either; at retail they seem to be split into three boxes of 4 heroes, 2 heroes and 2 heroes. Maybe in the future the full battle box will become available.
Gameplay
Marvel Dice Throne is fun and very easy to follow; on your turn you get to gain an action point, play some cards if you wish and have 2 attempts at rolling your dice to attack your opponent. Even if you pick up a new character you have never played it is fairly easy to just play them without having to look up special rules or requirements and each characters player aid really helps here. I think some people new to gaming may find it a little tough to switch and change characters often but, most board gamers will not find this to be an issue. The game also plays from 2 to 4 players which is nice, although I prefer it at 2 players.
The game can be fun at 3 to 4 players but, I think the wait between turns is a little long and it can be easy to switch off. So, for me I will mainly be playing at 2 players. I will not turn down a game at the 3 or 4 player count but, I would prefer it at 2.
If you enjoy this type of game I also recommend the "....Rising" series by The OP Games, especially The Batman Who Laughs Rising (which I love) or one of the other themes depending on your tastes; Star Wars Dark Side Rising, Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War, Harry Potter Death Eaters Rising or even the Spongebob Plankton Rising.
Final Thoughts
This is one of the best Marvel games around and it has made me start looking to buy other Dice Throne sets. Other than Marvel Champions which is my favourite game ever, this is the best Marvel game. It is an absolute blast, the characters feel like themselves and the feeling you get when you manage to pull off an Ultimate attack is unmatched elsewhere. This game is a blast, easy to set up and full of fantastic well-loved characters. Highly recommended, especially if you love Marvel and want a fun easy to set up game. Loving this and still trying out all the possible match-ups. Fingers crossed my man Hulk makes it into a future expansion/new battle chest. COME ON ROXLEY, PLEASEEEE!!!