DICE THRONE: ICEMAN VERSUS SPIDER-MAN

While they may have been amazing friends at one point in time, Iceman and Spider-Man don't hold back when it comes to the brutal battles of the DICE THRONE gladiatorial arena. The OP Games has made matches between some of your favorite Marvel superheroes possible in their Dice Throne character packs. Iceman is available in Marvel X-Men Dice Throne Box 1 which also includes Psylocke, Storm and Wolverine. Spider-Man is included in the Marvel 4-Hero Box that also includes Loki, Thor and the Scarlet Witch. Fight Avengers versus X-Men or compete against any of the heroes in the standard edition of Roxley Games' Dice Throne tabletop game which range from a samurai warrior to Santa Claus.

A mutant who can create snow balls out of thin air may not seem intimidating to opponents at first glance, but don't take Ice Man for granted. He can be a dangerous foe! Bobby Drake likes to keep it cool as he glides through combat freezing opponents in their tracks. Don't let his chill demeanor fool you as he can freeze you in your track with his dice attacks. Plus, his Defense Roll often can both dull the damage of opponents' attacks as well as give a punch back that can sting.

Iceman has a complexity level of 4 out of 6 scale. Skillfully handling his status effects of Dice Cube, Ice Shard, and Glide can make Bobby Drake a formidable adversary against any Dice Throne character. Inflicting a Dice Cube negative status effect on an opponent forces that player to use the lowest value die from their first Roll Attempt during an Offensive Roll Phase handicapping an attack against him. On the other hand, utilizing his Ice Shard positive status effect can boost Drake's abilities, increase damage in his attacks or lets him glide while on the offense.

If Iceman's Offensive Roll Phase results in an attack that has a Glide Path, triggering Ice Man's glide status effect allows this character to get a second attack after the other player's Defensive Roll Phase. Arrows displayed on the player dashboard show which Offensive Ability is activated by Iceman's Glide Path.

Dice Throne's Spider-Man is the Millennial adaption of the character, Miles Morales. After being bit by a radioactive spider, Miles decided to follow in the footsteps of his hero, the original Spider-Man (aka Peter Parker). He has similar powers plus the ability to turn invisible. Miles patrols the streets of Brooklyn while still trying to graduate high school.

Spider-Man has a complexity level of 2 out of 6 scale. He has a pretty simplistic set of offensive abilities but can still pack a punch. He has TWO Defensive Dice rolls whenever attacked. The first is a 3 die roll that provides a counterpunch to his opponent. The second roll lets him roll 2 die to try and block damage when he is attacked. Additionally, he has three status effects that when used strategically can give his adversaries a real headache. Spider-Man is all about constantly dodging and web slinging around an opponent wearing them down while trying to get a knock out. 

Spider-Man's Combo is a positive status effect that provides him with an additional Offensive Roll Phase after an opponent's Defensive Roll Phase. He keeps rolling with the punches! His Webbed negative status effect is inflicted during one turn and in the next turn any damage caused by Spider-Man becomes undefendable. Miles also has a unique status effect that when triggered allows him to become invisible. When Spider-Man is invisible if his opponent launches an undefendable attack, Miles can then utilize his Spider-Sense defensive ability to try and prevent damage. 

So the die was cast for these two friends to combat one another in the Grandmaster's Dice Throne competition. Iceman threw the highest number in a toss of the dice to see who would go first. Let the battle commence!

Iceman spins four of a kind in ice symbols to hit Spidey with Frostbite causing 6 points of damage. Spider-Man's defensive dice roll provides a counterpunch that hits Iceman with 1 point of damage. Miles can also do a second spin to use his Spider-Sense to avoid damage but doesn't get a successful roll of the dice to allow him to avoid any damage from Iceman's frostbite. Score: Iceman (49) Spider-Man (44)

Spider-Man's Offensive Roll Phase activates his C-C-C-COMBO which deals out 5 points of damage to Iceman and gains Miles a Combo special effect token. Iceman's Rime allows him to deflect 2 pts of damage from Spidey's attack and hits back giving Miles 3 points of damage. Score: Iceman (46) Spider-Man (41)

Spider-Man uses the combo token he just earned to hit Iceman again. He rolls a four die punch worth 5 pts of damage. Iceman's defensive roll hits Miles back causing 3 pts of damage. Score: Iceman (41) Spider-Man (39)

Iceman lands another four die Frost Bite attack on Spidey worth 6 points of damage. Miles can't deflect any damage from the attack but is able to counterpunch for 1 point of damage against Iceman (40) Spider-Man (33)

Spidey pulls a card from his hand that heals 3 points of damage. Then he scores a punch worth 4 pts of damage. But Iceman's defensive dice roll allows him to block all the damage. Score Iceman (40) Spider-Man (36)

Iceman's Offensive Roll Phase activates a THAWSOME attack which inflicts a Dice Cube on Spider-Man and 6 pts of damage. Spidey isn't able to block any damage but lands a counterpunch worth 1 pt of damage. Score: Iceman (39) Spider-Man (30)

Miles plays a BOOYAH! card from his hand which gives him a Combo token. Because of the Dice Cube negative status effect on him, Spider-Man has to use the lowest dice rolled this turn for his attack and can't reroll them. Players are allowed to reroll up to three times to determine which offensive ability they want to use, but this move by Iceman limits the dice that Spidey can reroll. Miles' dice roll activates Spider-Reflexes attack which causes 4 points of damage and gives Miles another combo attack. Iceman hits back causing 3 pts of damage on Spider-Man. Score: Iceman (35) Spider-Man (27)

Spider-Man's combo token lets him continue his attack with another round of die rolling for him. Miles inflicts 5 more points of damage on Drake; but Iceman hits back subtracting 4 more from Spidey's hit points. Score: Iceman (30) Spider-Man (23)

Spider-Man has yet another combo token to play and he keeps pressing the attack. He subtracts another 5 pts of damage from Iceman but once again the X-Man hits back causing 2 pts of damage as well on Spider-Man. Score: Iceman (25) Spider-Man (21)

Iceman has a THAWSOME attack on Spidey worth 6 pts of damage. Miles is able to block 1 pt of damage and counterpunch back subtracting 2 pts from Drake. Score: Iceman (23) Spider-Man (16)

Spider-Man lands a Super Reflexes attack. Iceman is able to block 2 pts of damage and cause 2 pts of his own against Spidey. Score: Iceman (20) Spider-Man (14)

Wow! Iceman's defensive roll not only absorbs all the damage from Spider-Man's attack this turn but also inflicts 1 pt of damage on the Web Slinger. That hurts! Iceman (20) Spider-Man (13)

Spider-Man uses a combo token and gets another attack! He lands a punch that should be worth 5 pts of damage; but Drake is able to block 4 pts of damage and hit back with 1 pt against Miles. Iceman's defensive rolls have been killing Spidey throughout this game! Score: Iceman (19) Spider-Man (12)

Drake hits Miles with a 7 pt Frostbite attack. Spidey can't block any damage! He does hit back with a counterpunch but it is starting to look like too little too late. Score: Iceman (18) Spider-Man (5)

Iceman goes for the death blow! He plays a Glide token! It activates EVERYBODY CHILL worth 6 pts of damage. The Web Slinger's defense rolls hit back with 3 pts of damage but can't block damage from the Iceman's attack. Miles is knocked out! Bobby Drake wins! Score: Iceman (15) Spider-Man (0)

Spider-Man took a beating! Have to say I didn't see that coming! Iceman moves on in the Dice Throne Tournament. Next up Deadpool versus Wolverine!

This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

MARVEL UNITED X-MEN EXPANSION

Excelsior! The MARVEL UNITED games is such a blast to play and I am so geeked that now you can expand upon the gameplay by adding mutant heroes and villains into the action. Up to now the focus has been on Avengers-based characters but with new expansion packs Alpha Flight, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, X-Men and more can join in the action.

I arrived home to find my dog guarding a crate of MARVEL UNITED expansion packs I ordered through a pledge in a Kickstarter campaign for the game. The artwork on these game box covers is super! I need to figure out a nice way to display this amazing art as part of storing these games when they aren't being played. If you have some suggestions tweet them out to me at @Geekdad248!

The elements of these expansion packs to MARVEL UNITED are similar to its original gameplay. A cooperative game where players team up to defeat a villain's master plan. Players must manage their own deck of action cards while moving around a gameboard to complete missions and combat evildoers. It is essential to work together to achieve victory because when players unite in combining actions it can result in some spectacular outcomes.

While a lot has stayed the same, these X-Men themed expansions also have some upgrades to the game. Now you can have a player control the villain in manipulating their master plan rather than just have everyone in the role of heroes. Also, some of the included miniature figures included for gameplay, anti-heroes, can be utilized as heroes or villains. Additionally, heroes now have more special effect cards available to add more comic book style action to the game and each hero has a trigger that when a certain scenario occurs unlocks a unique ability. These changes should make the game more exciting to play!

CORE X-MEN BOX

There is a core X-Men themed game box that is required to play the game unless you have the original Avengers themed core box for MARVEL UNITED. You need to have one or the other or both to play the game or utilize any of the expansion packs that are available for the game. The X-Men core box includes deck building cards, board locations, gameplay dashboards, and miniatures of heroes Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Beast, and Professor X; anti-heroes Magneto and Mystique; and villains Sabretooth and Juggernaut. MARVEL UNITED: X-MEN is available on Amazon.com.

In addition to the core X-Men MARVEL UNITED box, through pledging on Kickstarter I received a huge box filled with additional bonus characters from Alpha Flight, Excalibur, New Mutants and more. 

Plus, Oldman Login and '80s era Storm were bonus characters that I received for going all in and purchasing all of the available expansion packs through the CMON MARVEL UNITED Kickstarter campaign for the game's X-Men focused adventures.

FIRST CLASS

One of the new expansion modes available through the Kickstarter campaign allows you to play as the original X-Men. Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Iceman team up against Magneto's twin children, from the 1960s comic book stories not more recent Marvel Cinematic Universe tv shows and movies, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. In addition to adding playable characters this expansion also  includes four more locations to add to your game board.

GOLD VS BLUE EXPANSIONS

Two other expansion packs add future generations of X-men characters that followed the First Class. My goal was to be able to put together the X-Men team from the mid-1980s when I was a diehard reader of the comic books for several years in elementary and middle school. Yes, I'm an '80s kid! With these two expansion packs I was able to add Colossus and Rogue to go along with Cyclops and Wolverine from the X-Men core box as well as Nightcrawler, Storm, Kitty Pryde and Lockheed in my Kickstarter bonus box. Now I have the team back together time for some nostalgic fun!

THE HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE 

How will my '80s X-Men fare against Famine, War, Pestilence and Death? The Horseman of the Apocalypse lets you battle against the world's oldest and one of the mightiest mutants along with his four henchmen in a multi-stage scenario that provides for challenging and intense gameplay. If they can't beat Apocalypse and stop his master plan than there are numerous other characters from these new MARVEL UNITED expansions to incorporate into the game. How do you think Alpha Flight, New Mutants or X-Force would do? Or how about the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy from the first MARVEL UNITED release would stand up against Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen?

SENTINALS 

When it comes to X-men battles you really need to be able to have a fight against Sentinals. And MARVEL UNITED: X-MEN doesn't let us down! The Days of Future Past expansion provides a number of these gigantic mutant hunter robots for players to engage with. Players are really going to have to work together and give it their all to defeat these techno terrors!

DEADPOOL

The Merc with a Mouth makes an appearance in the X-Men MARVEL UNITED expansions too. Deadpool has his own expansion pack. It really is a zany scenario that fits in with the madcap exploits of this character known for breaking the fourth wall of media and being a goofy smart aleck. This expansion will provide a zany time!

FANTASTIC FOUR

Now that the movie rights for the Fantastic Four have returned to Marvel the first family of comic books is once again in the publisher's good graces which means we are starting to see more of them including inclusion in MARVEL UNITED. This expansion pack lets you try to spoil the plot of my favorite Marvel comic books villains ... Doctor Doom! A master of both the mystic arts and mechanical technology, it will be no easy task to defeat Doctor Doom.

THOR

I didn't get the THOR expansion in the original MARVEL UNITED Kickstarter and regretted it. With the new Thor movie coming out this summer, I wanted to add the character to my Avengers roster for MARVEL UNITED games. So, was glad to get a second chance to get my hands on it though this X-Men MARVEL UNITED Kickstarter campaign.

I'll be sharing more information about these and other MARVEL UNITED expansions as have the opportunity to dig into all these boxes and enjoy playing game sessions. Stay tuned to ageekdaddy.com for more updates as I get the chance to play MARVEL UNITED with family and friends. Note the game pieces come unpainted so keep an eye on my Instagram and Twitter feeds for occasional pictures of this amateur painter adding some color to them.

This post has MARVEL UNITED affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

MARVEL UNITED X MEN KICKSTARTER

My family has been having some good times enjoying game nights playing the Avengers themed MARVEL UNITED tabletop game produced through a collaboration between CMON and Spin Master Games. This game allows players to roleplay as some of their favorite superheroes trying to prevent the master plans of some of the most dangerous and dastardly villains from a mashup of the Marvel cinematic and comic book universes. Marvel United doesn't have complicated rules yet has challenging scenarios making it an exciting and entertaining experience that all ages of a family can enjoy playing together. This has been a great game for this dad to enjoy playing with his tween aged kids for family game nights.

Based upon all the fun we have been having with Marvel United, I am GEEKED that an addition to the game is being released that brings in the X-Men into the game. In time for this year's Christmas shopping season an X-Men themed Marvel United core game that can be played alone or is compatible with the original Avengers themed core box will be available at retailers such as Amazon, Target and Walmart. But if you want the full X-Men experience there is a Kickstarter campaign going on right now for a limited time that offers exclusive game perks as well as add-on purchasable expansions which won't be available later on from traditional retailers. 

The money raised through this crowd funding platform creates stretch goals that provide extra bonus content and characters for people who participate in the Kickstarter game. Don't miss out on the chance to get these exclusive Kickstarter opportunities as later on the only way to typically get your hands on them is through e-Bay style outlets for outlandish amounts of money. The more money raised the more fun stuff Kickstarter pledgers receive in an extra box of goodies that come along with the game. I've personally pledged $100 for a package that includes the main X-Men game, a Horsemen of Apocalypse gameplay expansion, a 1980s era Storm game piece and any stretch goals that are made available through this Kickstarter campaign. If you are interested in this game, join in now so we can all get the most out of this Marvel United X Men Kickstarter.

Simple rules, deep strategy, easy setup, quick playtime, variable difficulty, eye-catching unique chibi style artwork, and amazing character pieces, all unite to bring you a marvelous play experience! Compatible with the original game, this new addition adds some new elements to enhance Marvel United. There is now a super villain mode where instead of the bad guys moves and actions being determined by the random draw of cards, a player controls enacting the master plan and combatting the heroes. Also anti-hero characters are introduced that can be played as either heroes or villains in the game. Plus the rules have been tweaked a bit so that X-Men characters are guaranteed to start with special ability cards in their hand instead of just randomly drawn cards from their hero deck. Lots of fun changes to the game that don't drastically change the overall original style of play in Marvel United.

You can just go with one of the two base pledges for the X Men Marvel United Kickstarter ($65 or $100) but there are also some awesome add-on purchases available as well.  These include a box set with the original First Class of X-Men, a Deadpool inspired add-on and one with some fantastic Sentinels to battle your heroes. Get the game mat too! We love using the game mat during our family game nights.

If you missed out on the original Marvel United Kickstarter there is all an add-on which allows people to purchase the exclusive stretch goals from that campaign. If you want them this is the most affordable and easy ways to add these chibi style characters to your Marvel United game. This is only available for a few days so if it has peeked your interest don't wait because what is available now in the original Avengers themed game and in the upcoming X-Men addition to Marvel United is much more limited at retail.

Note the character game pieces in Marvel United come unpainted. You will see publicity from CMON and Spin Master Games showing painted figures. These are done by very experienced and talented artists and for most people who pain the figures themselves yours won't turn out anywhere as nice. That being said I've taken up painting mine while they don't look as remarkable even an amateur effort done with some care can make your gameplay extra fun. Just don't be frustrated if your figures don't look like works of art. Plus the game can be fun to play with leaving the figures just the way they come though have to admit while they have nice details the plain plastic is just too blah in my opinion.

Marvel United by CMON and Spin Master Games absolutely gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval. My family has been getting lots of repeat gameplay from Marvel United and has really enjoyed our experiences with it. I've invested my own money into the original Avengers game as well as this new X-Men addition rather than getting review copies and while I always provide honest reviews you know this one is extra special. I'm really looking forward to putting together a superhero team from the time period when I read these comic books (1982 - 1986) with Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Shadowcat, Colossus, Rogue and Nightcrawler to battle the Hellfire Club, Sentinels or Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants in Marvel United: X-Men

LEGO MARVEL COLLECTION

When it comes to having family fun with video games the LEGO themed ones produced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games are some of this dad's favorites. They've created a number of games based upon entertainment franchises ranging from Jurassic Park and Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit as well as Star Wars that my family loves to play together.  Filled with the whimsical backgrounds and zany situations that the LEGO brand has become known for these video games are filled with adventurous challenges and thought provoking puzzles.

There are also LEGO video games that transport players to a world made of building bricks and populated with min-figures of characters from the Marvel super hero universe. What is great about these games is that elements from both Marvel's comic books along with the movies made by various studios are all combined together in a way you currently see on the silver screen. Unite members of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men to save the day in these LEGO video games!

While my kids and I have played a number of these LEGO Marvel video games, we don't currently own any of them. That may be changing though now that it has been announced that three of these top-selling videogames, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 and LEGO Marvel’s Avengers are being bundled together in one package called the LEGO MARVEL COLLECTION. The three-game compilation will be available March 12, 2019 for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and the Xbox One family of devices.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes

In LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, players take on the role of their favorite Marvel characters Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk, as they assemble in a completely original story. Players will battle against some of the most menacing Marvel Super Villains, including dastardly Doctor Octopus, the ghastly Green Goblin, the ruthless Red Skull, the vicious Venom, Thor’s vexing brother, Loki, as well as the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 picks up directly where LEGO Marvel Super Heroes left off featuring a completely original branching storyline co-written by award-winning comic writer Kurt Busiek. This story brings together a diverse roster of iconic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains from different time periods and realities including Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Cosmo the Spacedog, Cowboy Captain America, Doctor Octopus, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Green Goblin, Groot, Gwenpool, Hawkeye, Howard the Duck, Hulk, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Rocket Raccoon, She-Hulk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Thor, and many more. Players can roam and explore 18 different Marvel locations within the incredible Open Hub World of Chronopolis, from the vibrant jungle of Wakanda to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, along with Asgard, Attilan, Knowhere, the Coliseum, Hala, Hydra Empire, Kang’s Citadel, K'un-Lun, Lemuria, Manhattan, Medieval England, Noir New York, 2099 Nueva York, Old West, The Swamp, and Xandar.

LEGO Marvel's Avengers

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers features storylines from the critically-acclaimed film Marvel’s The Avengers and its sequel Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and players can unlock more than 200 characters, including Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Thor and Iron Man. The game features a unique take on open world gameplay, with eight different environments to explore within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the expansive streets of Marvel’s New York, as well as Asgard, Barton’s Farm, Malibu, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base Exterior, Sokovia, South Africa and Washington, D.C. Players can freely roam around these open world locations in any way they’d like, such as super jumping off skyscrapers with Hulk, speed running over water with Quicksilver or even play as giant characters, like the menacing Fing Fang Foom, who can grow to the size of tall buildings.

DLC Content

This super-sized collection in addition to original content also includes the DLC packs for each of the three game. The updated content to these games includes Black Panther and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War character and level packs for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 inspired by Marvel Studios’ hit films. So you will have all the season pass content that was released for these three video games in the LEGO MARVEL COLLECTION.



With all the hype that will be taking place this Spring about the Captain Marvel and Avengers Endgame movies, it will be a great time to immerse yourself in having some video game fun playing the LEGO MARVEL COLLECTION.  I appreciate that these video games produced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group have content that is appropriate for kids ranging from elementary school aged to teens to play but also has the action and excitement of the Marvel cinematic universe so that adults will enjoy playing too. Toss in some witty LEGO humor and parodies that are sure to make you smile. Now you are all set to participate in the type of amusing adventures that have earned LEGO style video games A Geek Daddy nod of approval!