Skaven Warpstone Dice
Publisher: Games Workshop
Cost: $17
Count: 10 Dice
Release Date: 01/17/2015
Get it Here: Sold out. Third party resellers are your only hope
Dice for Warhammer tend to sell out insanely quickly. Games Workshop underproduces them and so when they are made, they generally sell out within a few hours – if not faster. I’ve never understood this because Warhammer uses only d6s and those are the cheapest dice on the market and also the easiest kind of die to find. They’re in everything. So why do people react as if GW dice are some magical holy grail? I do not know. That said I saw the preview for the Skaven dice and thought the translucent, almost glowing green dice were some of the best looking I had ever seen, but what was the likelihood of me getting them? Well, I was actually one of the first to get to the Games Workshop page when the Thanquolbook launched and so I had a chance to pick them up. I decided that since the pack was only $17, I might as well get it and see what all the fuss over Warhammer Dice was about. I received them on launch day (today), so I thought I’d do a quick photo review since if you don’t already have them – you’re not going to be able to get them without going through something like Ebay and inflated third party markups. I can tell you though that these are JUST DICE and I can’t say they are worth $1.70 per die, but they are pretty gorgeous and the tin they come in is super swank. Let’s take a look.
Here’s the front of the tin with the plastic wrap still on. The tin features runes specific to various Skaven Clans (If you don’t play a Skaven band in Warhammer, it will take too long to explain them) and the green color represents the warp stone (Chaos embodied in a physical form) that the ratfolk covet and even eat.
Here is the back of the tin proclaiming that you get ten dice in the set. Again, that’s $1.70 for each d6, if you don’t factor in the tin. That’s a bit of a ripoff to be honest, but hey my cats LOVE d6s and lose them regularly so why not splurge at least once in my life?
The front of the tin again – this time without the plastic shrink wrap. Soon we shake-roll, yes-yes?
Here is a look at the inside of the tin with all ten dice neatly lined up in it. You’ll notice that the 1 has been replaced by the rune of the Great Horned Rat, the god of the Skaven. Most dice generally replace the 6 with a logo, but not Skaven dice. It’s kind of a nice touch. The dice are gorgeous. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but in real life, light just goes through them like they were ephemeral. The middle of each die also appears to have a little crystal in them? Pure warpstone, mayhaps?
So how to the dice work? Well they are well made, VERY light compared to other d6s I own so they roll far. They are normal sized and very pretty and not a single one of them feel weighed to any particular number, which is good. The last thing you want is a bum die that is prone towards one number over the others. You might as well have a loaded die. As you can see from the picture, they also pass the cat test as our kitten Angel of Music went right after them the second I released them from their tin prison. I mean, they are dice. There’s not much more to say about them. They work well and they are pretty. It’s just up to you if you want to spend $17 on ten d6s.
I can’t imagine letting my kitten play with warpstone can be good for her in the long run. Although what better way to keep the ratfolk away than a giant mutated intelligent cat? I’m surprised Thanquol or Clan Moulder hasn’t tried something that insane.
One last look. This is a close up of the “1” spot on the die. Unfortunately for my Lizardmen army (that goes back to 5e and is mostly metal), the Horned Rat and his followers make out exceptionally well in Warhammer: the End Times -Thanquol (which we will have a review up for down the road). At least they will be able to take solace in the fact we kept these dice out of the hands of one of his armies.
In all seriousness, I do really like the look and feel of these dice and will definitely use these as my go-to d6s for games like Warhammer and Shadowrun. Until they start rolling nothing but Horned Rat symbols. Then it will be time for a switch. Be honest, what games doesn’t switch out there dice when they feel “cold,” even though it’s all luck and probability? Anyway, if you like the way these look, I suggest heading to Ebay or some other third party reseller ASAP, as you won’t be able to get them any other way. If you don’t get a set however, it’s not a big deal. They’re just green dice after all.
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