Dice Throne (Tactician vs Huntress): Review

Dice Throne (Tactician vs Huntress): Review

Information:

Mechanics: Engine Builder, Head to Head, Yahtzee Mechanism, Variable Player Powers, Take That
Player Age: 8+ 

Player Count: 2 Players, Up to 6 Players by adding in any more of the characters

Time to Play: 20 - 40 Minutes 
Game Designer: Manny Trembley, Nate Chatellier
Game Artist:  Manny Trembley, Gavan Brown

Publisher: Roxley

Year Published: 2018

BGG Weight: 1.88
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Objective:

The aim is simple, you want your combatant to reign supreme and be able to sit upon the throne by eliminating all enemy threats. In this game you want yourself or your team to be the last player(s) standing with health.

Components:

Tokens:

Each token has different effects displayed by the character sheet with a stack limit showing how many of these tokens one player can have at any time. There are also persistent tokens that last until they are removed (via cards and effects) and consumables that are consumed when activating the effect.

Hero Boards:

Each hero board will have different actions and will show the dice set required to achieve the action. There is also a green action which is used to defend from oncoming attacks. All of these abilities can be improved through upgrades found in the character deck.

Character sheets:

The double-sided hero sheets are essential reading as they outline what each token for your character does, the symbols on your dice, frequently asked questions and the complexity of your character.

Companions:

Some characters have companions that can be used in multiple ways (depending on the character). The Huntress has Nyra, her trusty tiger, that will increase the damage of the Huntress' attacks as long as she survives. Nyra can also provide protection by receiving incoming attacks to protect the Huntress.

Card Anatomy:

There are two types of cards; upgrades and actions. Both types have a description and a combat point cost to use on the top left side.

Upgrades:
Within each individual character deck there are upgrade cards that improve the actions on their hero board. There can be up to two upgrades for each hero action. The attacks upgrades are outlined in a white border, where the defensive upgrades are outlined in a green border. These upgrades do not need to be played in chronological order (second and third), however if the player already has a second upgrade and goes to play the third then the cost is reduced by the amount already paid for the previous upgrade.

Actions:
There are three types of action cards; red, orange, and blue. The blue actions can only be played during the two main phases on your turn. The orange can be played during any players turn whenever dice are rolled, and the red cards can be played at any time.

Setup:

- Each player chooses a hero and should begin reading their character sheet to understand their character.

How to Play:

There are several phases on your turn that will be outlined below, players will continue having turns until there is one player or team left standing.

Upkeep Phase:

This phase is simply used to activate any tokens or passive abilities that activate during the upkeep.

Income Phase:

On the first turn of the game to keep the game fair the first player in a two player game will skip this step on their first turn. During this phase, the active player draws one card and increases their combat point by one. These combat points will be used throughout the game as currency to play cards.

Main Phase:

This is where the pre-emptive planning will be undertaken. In this phase you can sell any amount of cards (by discarding them) for one combat point each. Then by spending combat points, the player can play any hero upgrade cards overlapping the previous upgrade of this type. Any main phase action cards can also be played at this time for their effect. This main phase will occur again after the defensive roll phase.

Offensive Roll Phase:

This is where the combat begins. Like Yahtzee the player can perform up to three rolls of any number of dice (the first roll has to involve all five dice). During these rolls, any player can spend combat points to play any of the roll phase cards in their hand (shown by the orange border). Once the player is happy with their attack they will activate ONE offensive ability. Remember in this phase you are trying to complete the attacks on your board, such as getting the same dice, a sequence of dice or a set type of dice.

Targeting Roll Phase:

This will only apply in games with more than two players, like the other phase the dice can be modified by playing roll phase cards. This roll will determine what player you attack, for example in a three player game 1-3 will be an attack on the player on the left and 4-6 will attack the other player.

Defensive Roll Phase:

As long as the damage isn't undefendable, the defending player will get to choose one of their defensive abilities (green border) and roll the amount of dice allowed. These dice do not get a re-roll unless you have any roll phase cards you have been dying to play.
Then apply all the effects that happen from the corresponding numbers, this could be reducing damage, gaining tokens or inflicting undefendable retaliation damage.

Discard Phase:

Lastly, after the second main phase will be a discard phase. This phase will require you to sell cards until you reach the six card limit. Unlike other games, you can get combat points for the cards clogging up your hand.

Other Modes:

Besides one vs one there are other modes of play such as team mode where the health is shared, or king of the hill mode where if you attack the player with the most health you get to draw a card.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- Components are off the charts amazing
- Unique art on cards and the boards
- Very fun characters, the tactician has more decision making with his tokens and the Huntress has a companion that changes the dynamic
- Very enjoyable head to head game that looks daunting but extremely easy to teach
- This isn't just a one vs one game and the multiplayer modes are extremely fun

Cons:
- If this is your first delve into dice throne the complexity of the characters is 5 out of 6 so there could be a learning curve.

Let's first establish that if you are a returning player from season 1. The game has kept its core gameplay and added more unique characters such as Huntress who has a companion or the tactician that has the tactical advantage with numerous uses. The components have also improved vastly. The wonderful art from the first game is now spread across every card and the character boards instead of just the character sheet and the back of the cards. Also instead of the character being spread across the box in the traditional fashion. Each character has its own unique 'Game Tray' that holds everything for that character including a foldable board.

If you are new to dice throne, then what are you waiting for!! The game may appear daunting but is extremely easy to learn and very versatile. Each character has a unique deck, attacks, tokens and style of play. You may want to start with season 1 or an easier set of characters, to begin with. But if you are a returning player here are two more great characters and if you are a new player this games mechanism is great, but unless you are a quick study you may want to start with another duel pack such as the gunslinger and samurai or season 1. This will be going into my collection for multiple replays while I eagerly await future expansions.

Click...feed the addiction: 

Roxley
Dice Throne on BGG
Dice Throne Tactician vs Huntress on BGG
Buy Dice Throne at Mighty Ape
Buy Dice Throne Tactician vs Huntress at Mighty Ape
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