Marvel Board Games: dice game

Marvel Dice Throne: Rules, Heroes and Missions

By Updated

Marvel Dice Throne is a card-and-dice combat game for 2 to 6 players. Built on the Dice Throne system, it first released in 2022. It’s a good fit for groups who like rolling dice to battle with Marvel heroes in short duels, team games or free-for-alls.

  • 2022
  • 2-6 players
  • 20-40 minutes
  • Ages 8+
  • dice game
  • The Op Games and Roxley

Designers: Gavan Brown, Nate Chatellier, Manny Trembley

Roll five dice, chase a combo and deal some damage. Here’s how a turn works.

Marvel Dice Throne ratings

Difficulty2 out of 5
Time to explain2 out of 5about 10 min
Player experience2 out of 5
Geek Level5 / 10Quotes the best lines
How we rate

Geek Level 5 (quotes the best lines): The dice rules are simple, and knowing each hero’s signature moves helps the decks click.

A Marvel Dice Throne turn has eight phases, though most of the action happens in the middle: roll five dice, try for a combo, then see if your opponent can defend. The bullets below walk through a full turn in order. For a cooperative card game with heroes, compare it with Marvel Champions.

Start by filtering for player count, then check each game's play time.

Marvel Dice Throne: one turn, explained

Your turn has eight phases, from upkeep through discard.

Most Marvel games feature the comics cast. Check each card's film connection line.

  1. Step 1:

    Upkeep: Resolve effects from status effects or passives. Total damage and healing, then apply them at the end of the phase.

  2. Step 2:

    Income: Gain 1 combat point (CP) and draw 1 card. The start player skips their first income.

  3. Step 3:

    Main Phase 1: Spend CP in any order. Sell a card for 1 CP, play a main phase action card or play a hero upgrade card.

  4. Step 4:

    Offensive Roll: Roll all 5 dice, then reroll any of them up to two more times. Announce an offensive ability that matches your final dice.

  5. Step 5:

    Targeting: Skip this phase in a 1v1 game. In team and multiplayer games, choose who to attack.

  6. Step 6:

    Defensive Roll: The defender may choose one defensive ability before rolling its dice once. Apply damage and healing together.

  7. 7Step 7:

    Main Phase 2: Spend CP again, just as in Main Phase 1.

  8. 8Step 8:

    Discard: Sell cards for 1 CP each until you have 6 or fewer.

The turn summary leaves out details that can decide a close game: what each card color does, how damage types differ, and how team and multiplayer modes change setup. The next section covers those details, along with the dice rules. For something lighter and quicker to learn, try Marvel United.

How to play Marvel Dice Throne: the full rules

Setup

  1. Each player takes a hero board, hero leaflet, hero deck, five dice, health dial and CP dial, plus any extra items listed in the leaflet’s setup.

  2. In a 1v1 game, set your health to 50 and your CP to 2.

  3. Shuffle your deck and draw 4 cards.

  4. Everyone rolls one die. High roll goes first.

  5. Leave status effect and companion tokens on your leaflet until they’re needed.

Turn by turn

  • The five dice

    Each hero rolls their own five custom dice. Check the Dice Key on the hero leaflet to see what each face means. Combos include a small straight (four in sequence), a large straight (five), or two to five of a kind by number. An effect that says “on a symbol” triggers once, no matter how many of that symbol appear.

  • Offensive roll

    Roll all five dice, then reroll any of them up to two more times, for three attempts total. Announce one offensive ability that matches your final dice, or choose none. Your opponent can ask you to change dice before you commit. You can activate only one offensive ability per turn.

  • Defensive roll

    After an attack, you may choose one defensive ability before rolling its dice once. Resolve non-damage effects, then give everyone a chance to spend status effects or play cards. Defensive abilities cannot stop undefendable, pure, collateral or ultimate damage.

  • Passive and ultimate abilities

    Passive abilities are always available. Your ultimate is your strongest attack. Once it activates, opponents cannot respond to it, reduce it or interrupt it. They can stop it only by changing a die before it activates. It can be enhanced, but not reduced.

  • Hero board and upgrades

    Your hero board shows spaces for offensive and defensive abilities, passive abilities and your ultimate. Play hero upgrade cards in a main phase to level up the matching space. You can jump straight to level III by paying only the difference. Once played, upgrades cannot be sold.

  • Combat points and cards

    Gain 1 CP in each income phase. Any CP over 15 is lost. Pay a card’s CP cost, resolve it, then discard it. At the end of your turn, sell cards down to 6. Each card sold is worth 1 CP.

End of the game and scoring

Bring every opponent’s health down to 0 to win. A player at 0 health is defeated. If all remaining players hit 0 at the same time, it’s a draw. You can heal up to 10 above your starting health, so 60 in a 1v1 game. The last player or team standing wins.

Key rules

  • Card colors

    Play blue main phase actions on your turn. Orange roll phase actions can be played during offensive, targeting or defensive rolls on any turn. Red instant actions can be played anytime and interrupt most things.

  • Status effects

    Tokens on a hero’s board can be spendable, persistent or unique. Each token has a stack limit. Companions are separate from status effects, and normal effects cannot remove them.

  • Damage types

    Normal damage can be defended. Undefendable damage skips defense but can still be modified. Pure damage cannot be defended or modified. Collateral damage is not an attack. Ultimate damage cannot be defended or avoided, and can only be increased.

  • Two against two

    Teammates share one 50-health dial but keep their own CP. Teams take turns. A targeting roll picks the target: 1 or 2 means the left opponent, 3 or 4 the right, 5 lets the opponents choose, and 6 lets you choose.

  • Three players

    Each player starts with 35 health. Turns go clockwise, and you can attack anyone. Attack the leader, meaning the player with the most health, including ties, and draw 1 bonus card. If there’s a sole leader, there’s no bonus.

  • Bigger games

    The publisher lists 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2 and free-for-all formats for up to 6 players. Our sources provide full rules only for 1v1, 2v2 and the three-player mode, so use the official variants rules for the others.

Tips for your first game

  • For your first game, try a hero rated 2 for complexity, such as Black Panther, Captain Marvel or Miles Morales Spider-Man.
  • Check your leaflet’s Dice Key before rolling. Each hero’s dice faces mean different things.
  • Pick the ability you’re aiming for before your second reroll. You can activate only one.
  • Sell spare cards for CP during the discard phase instead of keeping more than 6.
  • Your opponent may ask you to change your dice before your ability resolves, so keep that in mind.

Want miniatures without the painting chore? HeroClix figures come pre-assembled on dial bases.

Each hero has a different deck, five unique dice and its own status effects, so they all play differently. The list below gives each hero’s box, complexity rating from the Dice Throne hero list and a quick description of its play style. Start with a low number, then try higher ones once the system feels familiar. For a different kind of hero game, see Marvel Villainous, where you play the villains.

Marvel Dice Throne characters: every hero so far

Classic editions list specs only when a source confirmed them.

Showing all 17

  • Thor

    • 4-Hero Box (launch)
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 3 of 6

    Throws Mjolnir, then retrieves it to deal undefendable damage or gain Electrokinesis.

  • Loki

    • 4-Hero Box (launch)
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    Uses Illusion to keep opponents guessing.

  • Scarlet Witch

    • 4-Hero Box (launch)
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    Probability Manipulation changes dice values. Reality Warp swaps one of an opponent's dice for one of yours.

  • Miles Morales Spider-Man

    • 4-Hero Box (launch)
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 2 of 6

    Turns invisible to dodge undefendable attacks. One combo leads into another turn, and two abilities provide defense.

  • Black Panther

    • Captain Marvel and Black Panther 2-Hero Box
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 2 of 6

    Builds Kinetic Energy to boost attack damage or work toward undefendable damage.

  • Captain Marvel

    • Captain Marvel and Black Panther 2-Hero Box
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 2 of 6

    Rolls two dice and adds one to the damage. Cosmic Ray tokens power big bursts and hits on multiple targets.

  • Black Widow

    • Black Widow and Doctor Strange 2-Hero Box
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    This spy spends her Covert Ops token to upgrade abilities faster or bring specific cards into play.

  • Doctor Strange

    • Black Widow and Doctor Strange 2-Hero Box
    • 2022
    ComplexityComplexity 5 of 6

    Casts spells like Vapors of Valtorr (healing) and Flames of Faltine (undefendable damage), and can disrupt turns.

  • Wolverine

    • X-Men Box 1
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 2 of 6

    Attacks and heals. Stacking Rage boosts his attacks, while his alpha makes another player lose income.

  • Storm

    • X-Men Box 1
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    Builds lightning charges for undefendable damage. Tornadoes steal dice, while Wind Shear redirects damage.

  • Psylocke

    • X-Men Box 1
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 3 of 6

    Uses psychic knife attacks, a Manifest die, and paralysis and infiltration debuffs. Agility can halve incoming damage.

  • Iceman

    • X-Men Box 1
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    Freezes and controls the board. His Dice Cube blocks rerolls, and stored Ice Shards power up attacks.

  • Cyclops

    • X-Men Box 2
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 4 of 6

    Uses punches and optic blasts, much of it unblockable. Most of his resources heal or buff allies.

  • Gambit

    • X-Men Box 2
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 6 of 6

    Attacks with a bo staff, charging Ace cards that deliver most of his damage once fully charged.

  • Rogue

    • X-Men Box 2
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 3 of 6

    Built around big hits and energy use, with a few ways to dodge damage. Her Influence ability leans on charisma.

  • Jean Grey

    • X-Men Box 2
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 6 of 6

    Works mostly off the board with Force Fields, Acuity, a flame blast, and Phoenix Burn. Dark Phoenix boosts damage but skips income.

  • Deadpool

    • Deadpool Deluxe expansion
    • 2025
    ComplexityComplexity 3 of 6

    A gimmick-packed playkit that comes with a painted sculpt. You need one other Dice Throne hero to play.

The base game is competitive, but Marvel Dice Throne Missions brings the same heroes together to fight henchmen and bosses. It’s a separate expansion, and each player needs a Dice Throne hero. The section below explains how missions work and what the expansion adds and includes. Another co-op option is Marvel Zombies.

Start by filtering for player count, then check each game's play time.

Marvel Dice Throne Missions: its co-op mode

Marvel Dice Throne: Missions is a cooperative expansion for 1 to 4 players. Heroes take on henchmen and Marvel villains together on mission maps, rather than fighting each other.

  • What you need

    This is not a standalone game. Each player needs one Dice Throne hero. Games support 1 to 4 players, and credits list Gavan Brown and Nate Chatellier as the designers.

  • Two sides to each mission

    Finish the main objective on side 1, the mission run, then tackle the main objective on side 2, usually a boss fight. Heroes carry their health, cards and momentum over to side 2.

  • Setup

    Starting health is 45 for one hero, 30 for two, 25 for three and 20 for four. The enemy dice pool has 2 red dice plus one black die per hero. Deal 3 allies face up, roll for the crisis clock and place boost tiles.

  • A round

    Pass the start player token, move, and play hero phase part 1 at the same time. Resolve targeting, play hero phase part 2, then handle enemy upkeep and roll once. The crisis clock advances last.

  • Momentum and range

    Momentum is the mission's currency, capped at 15. Gain it by defeating henchmen, collecting boost tiles and completing objectives. Spend it on range or recruiting allies. Attacks start at melee range.

  • Crisis clock

    The hand moves one segment per hero each round. Every segment it passes or lands on triggers a crisis ability. Add up damage from those abilities and apply it all at the end.

  • Difficulty and perks

    Difficulty runs from level 1 to 6: Intro, Moderate, Hard, Brutal, Ruthless and Insane. There are no level 6 missions yet. Completing sides earns perk points for permanent bonuses, and a New Game+ track leads to mythic abilities.

  • Villains and losing

    Previews list Magneto, Ultron, Thanos, Doc Ock and Sebastian Shaw as villains. A hero at 0 health loses at the end of the round phase, unless side 2 is completed first.

  • In the box

    The publisher lists 25 ally cards, 4 player aids, 12 momentum cards, 4 mythic cards, 20 mission maps, 51 acrylic tiles, 11 premium acrylic swirl dice, a crisis clock, boss and momentum dials, and a rulebook.

Marvel Dice Throne builds on an existing system that grew from a small Kickstarter. The Marvel version arrived in shops in 2022. This section looks at that history, the Marvel partnership and the mix of comic and film-inspired art. For more licensed games, see the Marvel board games overview.

Background: Dice Throne, the Marvel license and its heroes

Most Marvel games feature the comics cast. Check each card's film connection line.

The game

  • Dice Throne origins

    Nate Chatellier and Manny Trembley created Dice Throne, first released through Mind Bottling Games. Its February 2017 Kickstarter raised $181,162 from 3,650 backers. Roxley Games later partnered with them for the trade release. Season Two raised about $705,640 from more than 7,700 backers.

  • The Marvel deal

    Roxley Games and The Op announced the Marvel version on Kickstarter in October 2021, with a Battle Chest of all eight launch heroes in a direct-to-consumer tier. Marvel.com posted its own announcement in December 2021. The Op's retail boxes reached shops in September 2022.

  • Growth since launch

    X-Men Dice Throne’s Kickstarter was announced for October 2023, bringing in the Missions co-op mode. Retail X-Men boxes and a Deadpool expansion followed in 2025. The Dice Throne Wikipedia list counts 9 Marvel heroes plus 8 X-Men heroes.

  • Credits

    The Op’s launch page credits art and graphic design to Manny Trembley, Damian Mammoliti, Nick Malara, Gavan Brown and Gui Landraf. The launch pages we found don’t name the Marvel version’s game designers.

The film or series it covers

Marvel Comics characters drawn from the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The game doesn’t adapt one specific film or comic story.

Reviewers describe an art style that mixes MCU and comics looks, though sources don’t say which heroes follow which style. Abilities draw on named powers and items, including Mjolnir, Cosmic Rays, Reality Warp and Doctor Strange’s spells.

Scenes and story beats in the game

  • 1

    Thor throws Mjolnir and calls it back, dealing undefendable damage.

  • 2

    Captain Marvel builds up Cosmic Ray tokens, then unleashes bursts of damage.

  • 3

    Doctor Strange uses Vapors of Valtorr to heal and Flames of Faltine for undefendable damage.

  • 4

    Miles Morales Spider-Man has a venom shockwave ultimate and can turn invisible.

  • 5

    Scarlet Witch bends probability by changing dice values.

What’s in a Marvel Dice Throne box

  • For each hero: a hero board, hero leaflet, 5 custom dice, health dial, combat point dial and hero deck
  • Status effect and companion tokens, stored on each hero leaflet
  • 4-Hero Box: 4 heroes, 132 hero cards in total and a rulebook
  • 2-Hero Box: 2 heroes, 64 hero cards in total and a rulebook
  • X-Men boxes: 4 heroes each, 20 premium acrylic swirl dice and a rulebook
  • Deadpool Deluxe: 1 hero with a foil mythic card, promo card, randomizer card, painted hero sculpt, 50 card sleeves and a curmudgeon coin

Boxes come in several sizes, from a 4-hero set to single-hero expansions, and they all share the same system. The list below shows which heroes sit in which box, with the year each arrived. If you collect Marvel games more widely, Marvel Dice Masters is another dice-driven line.

Marvel Dice Throne boxes and expansions

  • Battle Chest (direct to consumer) 2022

    All eight launch heroes in one box, sold direct to consumers by Dice Throne. It came with the October 2021 Kickstarter.

  • 4-Hero Box 2022

    Scarlet Witch, Thor, Loki and Miles Morales Spider-Man. It supports 2 to 4 players from the box alone.

  • Captain Marvel and Black Panther 2022

    A 2-hero box. Captain Marvel uses a Cosmic Ray token.

  • Black Widow and Doctor Strange 2022

    A 2-hero box. Black Widow uses a Covert Ops token.

  • X-Men Box 1 2025

    Iceman, Psylocke, Storm and Wolverine.

  • X-Men Box 2 2025

    Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue and Jean Grey.

  • Deadpool Deluxe 2025

    A single-hero expansion that needs another Dice Throne hero or co-op expansion to play.

  • Missions

    A co-op expansion for 1 to 4 heroes. Early backer copies were slated for as early as August 2024.

Marvel Dice Throne: questions and answers

Who are the Marvel Dice Throne characters?

The eight launch heroes are Thor, Loki, Scarlet Witch, Miles Morales Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow and Doctor Strange. X-Men adds Iceman, Psylocke, Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue and Jean Grey. Deadpool comes in a separate expansion.

How do you play Marvel Dice Throne?

On each turn, gain income, play cards, roll five dice up to three times and activate one ability. The defender may roll to defend. Reduce opponents’ health to 0 to win.

What is Marvel Dice Throne Missions?

A cooperative expansion for 1 to 4 players, where Dice Throne heroes team up against henchmen and bosses on mission maps. You need one hero per player, and it isn’t standalone.

How many players can play Marvel Dice Throne?

2 to 6 players with enough heroes. Formats include 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2 and free-for-all. In the three-player mode, each player starts at 35 health.

Can I mix heroes from different Marvel Dice Throne boxes?

Yes. The Op says all eight launch heroes work with the wider Dice Throne line, and reviewers say X-Men heroes are fully interchangeable with other releases.

Do I need the original Dice Throne to play Marvel Dice Throne?

No. Each box has everything its heroes need, and the Marvel line uses the original Dice Throne system.

How old do you have to be to play Marvel Dice Throne?

The Op recommends the game for ages 8 and up.

Is Marvel Dice Throne based on the comics or the movies?

Both. It features Marvel characters, and reviewers say their looks draw from both the comics and the MCU. It doesn’t adapt one specific story.

How complex are the Marvel Dice Throne heroes?

The Dice Throne hero list rates each hero from 1 to 6. Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Miles Morales Spider-Man and Wolverine rate 2, while Gambit and Jean Grey rate 6.

Want miniatures without the painting chore? HeroClix figures come pre-assembled on dial bases.

Classic editions list specs only when a source confirmed them.

Sources

  1. The Op: Marvel Dice Throne available now theop.games
  2. The Op: Dice Throne teams up with Marvel theop.games
  3. ComicBook.com: Marvel Dice Throne launches on Kickstarter comicbook.com
  4. Marvel.com: Marvel Dice Throne announcement marvel.com
  5. Dice Throne Missions product page shop.dicethrone.com
  6. Wikipedia: Dice Throne en.wikipedia.org