Hi folks – Chris here. Our esteemed “US Correspondent” Andy May sent me a lovely e-mail the other day. He has had a couple of opportunities to play the new Dice Masters Infinity Gauntlet set in manner intended as a Rainbow Draft and shared a few thoughts about his own “Picks of Week” from the perspective of drafting them.
It’s a nice change of pace – I’m getting no opportunity to play face-to-face and, even if I could, we have no stock here in the UK (That hasn’t been ordered in from overseas) so all discussion has been Constructed in nature from us up until now, so (with his permission) I have decided to share Andy’s notes with y’all.
Over to Mr May – Enjoy!
Since it seems that drafting may be firing up once again elsewhere I thought that I would share some thoughts from the Infinity Gauntlet drafting that I’ve already been able to enjoy! Here in Minneapolis we have had 2 draft sessions with the new set. The first was a standard single draft pack draft with 8 of us. The second was a double draft pack “super draft!” with 12 attendees. I’ve also drafted several times at home with the kids so I feel uniquely qualified 🙂
Please find my list of what to watch for in your draft! Note that I’m skipping over the rares and super rares as you’ll only see a couple of them in a regular draft. Count on commons in the draft format!
Basic Action Cards
Most of these are reprints so we all know how to use them. But there are a couple to watch for that you may not know yet.
If you manage to draft some of the Awaken pieces, Focus is a solid 3 cost BAC option to be sure that you can spin that character up. The global is even there to allow you to spin down from level 3 to level 2 before you use Focus and it’s a generic energy global!
Keep an eye out for Retribution, the global (target opposing character cannot block unless your opponent pays 1 life) may give you an opportunity to win a game; of course your opponent may be looking at it the same way. True Believer can be a great grab with some of the Overcrush options on the table.
Character & Action Cards
I’m going to skip over anything that doesn’t seem worth it in draft. This is meant to be a quick draft focused list for you.
Angela – The UC is one of the solid control pieces in the set. It’s the same ability as the UC Madame Masque from GotG; Ignore all of your opponent’s when fielded abilities.
Black Dwarf – I love all of these. The Common is a great pair with the UC Black Swan, the UC Spider-Man or the UC She-Hulk and their Overcrush (When fielded double a target die’s printed attack). The UC is one of several Black Order cards that have a when fielded ability that will allow you to KO one of your characters in order to purchase your next die for discount of 2.
Black Swan – The UC has Overcrush on 2 of her 3 faces.
Black Widow – The UC was a piece from one of my teams. She has Overcrush and can only be blocked by sidekicks. With all of the pump global opportunities a 3 cost Overcrusher is an amazing piece. Also watch for the Inspiring BAC if you grab her. Especially if she’s on that 1A face.
Doctor Strange – I am a huge proponent of the force attack global and it has returned in its full glory on the common Dr. Strange! Control pieces will once again be taunted en masse! Oh, and he’s a 4 cost with a top side of 8A, 9D. The UC is also a blast (deal 1 damage to target player or character each time you spend a mask on fielding or on a BAC).
Drax – The Common is free to field when you have another Infiity Watch character active. Watch for Turk Barrett, Pip the Troll or Black Widow. You may be able to score 4 Drax dice and use the Groot global or the Counterstrike action to move more of him into your bag sooner as well.
Ebony Maw – Common! Not only do you get character removal or ramp on fielding (deal 2 damage to target character die) you get a purchase discount for using it and knocking out an opponent’s character!
Ghost Rider – I can’t say enough about the common Ghost Rider. Each time you field him he does damage. Direct damage in draft wins games. You’ll get at least 2 Ghost Rider dice. If you can pick up 4 keep a couple of them to block and just keep attacking with the others to cycle them and your games will be over in no time.
Groot – Don’t sleep on the global, especially if your team is cheap. You can start moving dice to your bag to pull them out faster.
Hulk – Common at a 5 cost with Regenerate. With his stats he is never going away. You’re going to want a big blocker with several Overcrush options out there waiting for you.
Iron Lad – Another character to consider for the global (when a source you control deals damage you may pay a bolt to prep a die). With the set being this attack heavy you can save a bolt here and there and use them like Villainous Pact or Resurrection. Keep in mind that the global is once per turn so you can prep on both your and your opponent’s turns.
Kang – Try for 4 dice on the 3 cost Common with Swarm. Those 4, 5 and 5 attack faces means he’s a good sized attacker that provides you with ramp. The mask global on the UC (reduce damage of 7 or more to 4) can be helpful in tandem with the Dr. Strange force attack.
Ms. Marvel – Remember Civil War when there was a vanilla Ms. Marvel at a 5 cost? This time she’s a 3 cost and her stats make her absolutely worth adding to your team at that price.
Nebula – The common forces your opponent to lose 2 life if they use Swarm or Rush.
Pip the Troll – The Uncommon is another quality control piece. When he’s active your opponent must pay 1 more energy to use each global.
Proxima Midnight – The Common is a 3 cost with the ability that I mentioned with Black Dwarf. When fielded you may KO one of your character dice and if you do the next die you purchase costs 2 less. If you can keep two of her going you can create a discount engine by fielding one and KO’ing the other over and over. The UC also has a quality ability; when she’s fielded give another Black Order character +2A and Overcrush.
Rocket Raccoon – The Common can be amazing board clear and at just a 3 cost! When he’s fielded you deal his attack value to an opposing character die.
She-Hulk – I really like all of the She-Hulks. The Common allows you to field a non-sidekick from your used pile on level one at the start of each of your turns! Note that this means before your clear and draw so when you always have a used pile. The UC has Overcrush and she is discounted by 1 for each non villain, non sidekick die in your field zone. She is an 8, but fielding characters and maybe using those Black Order discounts…
Spider-Man – The UC is like a mini-She Hulk; he has Overcrush and he’s discounted by 1 for each of your unique, active character dice. Unfortunately he has no affiliation so no Groot global or Counterstrike shenanigans when you get his cost down to 1.
The Collector – Every version has the sidekick maker global; he’s worth it just for that. The ability to thin your bag of sidekick dice means you can attack relentlessly with the knowledge that your characters will be back in no time. The 6 cost UC also lets you prep 2 dice each time The Collector blocks.
The Spot – The Common is a 2 cost Infiltrator. The UC has an energize ability that says that target opposing character die cannot block this turn.
Thor – Thor’s global is on all rarities – Pay bolt and discount an action die by 2. He has great stats and if your opponent targets the UC Thor (maybe with a taunt) he deals them 2 damage.
Tombstone – The Common has Intimidate and allows you to KO your entire field in order to field him for free.
Wong – You want Wong. He has the best stats on a 2 cost in the set. The Common gets +2A when Dr. Strange is active while the UC gets +2A if your opponent has a mask in their reserve pool.
In short there are plenty of low cost, high damage options. Ghost Rider, Wong, Black Widow and Rocket Raccoon are all great options. Watch for the Overcrushers and pay attention to the globals! Hit hard and fast.
Our thanks to Andy for sharing his “top pick” highlights from his recent Infinity Gauntlet drafting experiences. Cheers chief!
If you are interested in some more general Dice Masters Rainbow Drafting tips from the MoD then you might enjoy this video over on our YouTube channel: Tips for Drafting Dice Masters.
Have you had an opportunity to get some drafting played? If so – let us know your top picks in the comments below…
