Last updated on April 24, 2024
Wall of Fortune | Illustration by Tom Babbey
Polyhedral dice continue to be the trademark item at all LGSs across the world. Entire walls are devoted to housing row upon row of plastic dice bricks. Buckets of loose dice of every shape live in front of the register, tempting customers to round up their purchase by a quarter or two. Hell, every new Magic set bundle comes with a spindown D20, these days.
Dice are unavoidable for the Magic player. Whether you’re counting tokens, +1/+1 counters, floating mana, or your planeswalkers‘ loyalty, you’re probably using dice. But there are a lot of options out there for dice, so how are you supposed to decide on which is the best dice set for you?
Check out this handy buyer’s guide for the best dice for Magic: The Gathering!
Best Overall
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper | Illustration by Yongjae Choi
If you’re looking to grab some dice for your Magic-playing friend and don’t know where to start, the safest bet is to grab a set of the +1/+1 counter dice from quEmpire. Chances are, most Magic players don’t already own a set of these dice, and they’re incredibly useful to have around. Everyone at the table is stoked when they see these hit the field. They’re the most accurate way to depict the total bonus any creature has at any time, and their bold lettering makes them easily legible from across the table. They come in plain black and white, too, so there’s no need to worry about purchasing a set that won’t fit your aesthetic.
- The Original And Best Counter Dice
- 6x White +1/+1 to +6/+6 Dice
- 6x Black -1/-1 to -6/-6 Dice
- Perfect for Magic: The Gathering!
Buyer’s Guide
Let’s be frank: you don’t need dice to play Magic: The Gathering. However, it’ll behoove you to acquire some. Your first few games of paper Magic probably won’t call for 100 D6s to count those tower counters on Helix Pinnacle, but eventually you’ll feel the need to brew up Ghave, Guru of Spores, and god knows that’ll take quite a bit of counting.
The kind of dice you purchase ultimately depends on what you need your dice to do. Before purchasing, ask yourself:
- What do you need your dice for? Are you just looking for d6s to count +1/+1 counters and tokens, or are you looking for some fancy spindown d20s as life counters to track your life total? Maybe you want a die you can use specifically for loyalty counters, or a set that you can use for other games besides Magic. Get a clear picture of how you’ll use your dice and start from there.
- What material should my dice be made of? Typical plastic Chessex dice are the industry standard, and they should hold up fine, but you can find dice in all sorts of material, from metal dice to wood dice and even cruelty-free bone dice!
- What sort of face design are you looking for? Standard d6s use pips to indicate which number corresponds to which face, while dice with more sides tend to favor numbers only. Others have very complex faces with highly stylized fonts. Or, maybe you’re like me and absolutely need to use the spindown d20s with your favorite set symbols.
- How big do you need your dice? Larger dice are usually easier to read but can be more difficult to roll.
- Finally, consider how many dice you actually need. There’s no reason to order multiple 36-count Chessex dice if you aren’t going to use them.
Keep an eye out for cheap and poor-quality dice while you shop. Bad dice are weighted poorly or have softer edges that can wear out. This affects the randomness of your rolls and can damage their aesthetic over time.
D20
The d20 has many uses in Magic, most popularly as a life total tracker. Since Magic games start you with 20 life typically, a single d20 can be used to count your life as the game progresses, with another d20 added for any life you go above 20.
WotC caught on to the life counter d20 craze in the mid-2000s and started including specially designed “spindown” d20s with the set symbol engraved on the “20” face in the fat packs. Unlike a normal d20, which have their statistical opposite on opposite sides (1 and 20, 2 and 19, etc.), spindowns’ faces are arranged in such a way that you can simply spin the die one face at a time to count up or down.
Amazon store Bescon Dice sells a set of six spindown d20s for just under $10. Six is more than you’ll ever need in a single game, so you’ll be able to mix and match your d20 to your favorite decks!
- Spindown 20 Sides Dice in marble surface.
- This set contains 6pcs spindown D20 in color black, white, red, green, blue, purple.
- Velvet drawstring bag included
- Face to face size 22MM (7/8 inch)
- Get your game on with these amazing dice and prepare for action and adventure!
If you’re looking for a spindown with the symbol of one specific MTG set, your best bet is Ebay. Many of the spindowns end up on auction for around $5-$10. Keep an eye out and you’re sure to find your favorite Magic set in no time.
These are by far the best d20s to purchase for any Magic player, but aren’t typically used for rolling, due to their nonstandard layout. If you’re looking for a d20 to roll alongside your Ancient Copper Dragon, avoid a spindown and go for a standard d20.
If you’re looking for specifically rollable d20s, there are a number of stores on Amazon with great deals. Yemeko sells single d20s with very fancy designs for just $10.
- Material of Dice: Natural resin, wear-resistant, strong. Natural resin can effectively prevent scratching, resin dice just like the new one for a long time. Tip: each dice is a unique color, and there may be some differences.
- Specification of DND Dice: D20 sharp resin dice is sanding and polishing by hand to maintain its beautiful sharp edges.
- Easy Reading & Good Hand Feel: Large and easy to read numbers with weighted irresistible hand feel. The size is a common D&D dice standard on market.
- Multi Purposes: Used for board games, tabletop RPG games as D&D(Dungeons and Dragons), Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Savage World, Warhammer, Yahtzee, Heroscape and many other RPGs, Math Teaching, etc.
- BUY with CONFIDENCE: We are committed to providing the best product and excellent services to you. If any quality issue occurs, please don't hesitate to turn to our customer service for help, we will spare no effort to help you solve the problem.
D6
The humble d6 is the definitive polyhedron of the gaming world. Six-sided dice are used for all sorts of games from Warhammer and D&D to Monopoly and craps. In Magic, six-sided dice are commonly used to count tokens and counters on the field, and also occasionally to count mana in your mana pool. In this case, it helps to have a few different colors to differentiate which die represents which color of mana, or which one was +1/+1 counters and which was the quantity of tokens.
Chessex makes the best d6s in the world, and I’ll broker no argument on this statement. Chessex’s d6s are the perfect size and weight, coming in both smaller 36-dice packs and larger 12-dice packs. Perfect for counting and rolling, Chessex’s d6’s pips are easily legible on every color and come in so many varieties you’re sure to find what you’re looking for. They also sell full seven dice sets in both metal and plastic for the Magic player who wants their dice to pull double-duty for D&D night, too.
- 12 mm = 0.47 inches/ between 7/16 & 1/2 inch
- 6 sided dice pipped
- 16mm is standard dice size.
- 12 - 6 Sided Dice
D10
D10s are a little rarer in Magic and mostly see use as ways to count objects or permanents where you won’t need more than 10. D10s make sense to use for poison counters, loyalty counters, and defense counters, among others. They’re also seen in MTG sets based on D&D, like Bag of Devouring from Forgotten Realms Commander, which call for you to roll various polyhedral dice typical of TTRPGs.
Many d10s, especially those sold for tabletop gaming, come as a pair with one marked 1-10 and one marked with the tens between 10-00. This is usually used to roll a percentile but can also be used for counting those huge numbers of Saproling tokens in your Ghave, Guru of Spores deck or the tower counters on Helix Pinnacle.
Sets of specifically d10s are a little less common than the set of seven polyhedrals or bricks of d6s, but they’re not impossible to find. Chessex produces sets of ten d10s and sells them for under $7. This is a great deal, but none of them come with the “10-00” labels that you need for rolling percentages.
If a matching set isn’t as important to you, consider IvyFieldDice’s 50-piece assorted d10s bag for just $11.99; five times as many d10s for just $5 more!
- 1. You will receive 50pcs10 sides dices and 1pcs black storage bag, sufficient quantity for you to have fun.
- 2. Number color are red, white, green, blue and yellow.
- 3. Dice is made from acrylic, it can be used for a long time; Each dice with large and easy to read ,great for teaching math or playing with others.
- 4. Suitable for World of Darkness, Vampire etc
Other Sides / Sizes
D4s, d8s, and d12s can all find a home in Magic. The neat thing about polyhedrons with numbers is they can always be used to count something.
If you’re looking for a set of the standard TTRPG polyhedral dice, look no further than Chessex’s seven die sets. Available on their website, on Amazon, and all along the walls of your local game store, the Chessex dice sets are the industry standard for polyhedral dice. With a massive selection of size, color, and style, it's no surprise Chessex is the number one name in the dice world.
+1/+1 Counter Dice
The standard d6 makes sense for use when counting +1/+1 counters, but the second -1/-1 counters enter the game it becomes a different story. You can always denote different colors of dice to mean different things (“the black dice are my +1/+1s, the reds are the -1/-1s, and the green dice are oil counters”), having a set that specifically displays what they are at a glance can save you a lot of trouble.
quEmpire makes a set of 12 dice marked from +1/+1 to +6/+6 and -1/-1 to -6/-6. $20 is a little steep for just 12 dice, but when you consider the custom faces, it evens out to a fair price.
- The Original And Best Counter Dice
- 6x White +1/+1 to +6/+6 Dice
- 6x Black -1/-1 to -6/-6 Dice
- Perfect for Magic: The Gathering!
Loyalty Dice
Planeswalker cards enter the battlefield with loyalty counters, which tend to change a lot as they activate their abilities and take damage. They also tend to stay within a range of 0-12 counters or so, creating an interesting opportunity for some specific dice.
Ultra Pro, known mainly for their card sleeves, deck boxes, and playmats, also produces sets of two d6s numbered for loyalty counters. One d6 is numbers 1-6, while the other is 7-12. In addition, each numeral is framed in the same frame as the loyalty box on the planeswalker cards, serving up a very clean look when placed on your card.
Tarmogoyf Dice
The infamous Tarmogoyf has a hard power/toughness to figure out at any given time. Simple d6s don’t work as great, given the goyf’s uneven stats, and counting power and toughness separately with two d6s is torturous. Luckily, there are more than a few dice printed specifically for this popular creature.
quEmpire’s Tarmogoyf Dice are perfect for the fresh goyf player. This set contains four green dice that are number 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, and 6/7, perfect for representing your Tarmogoyf’s power and toughness.
- Counters keep track of the board state of collectible card games.
- No more trying to remember what your Goyfs stats are at.
- 4 Green Goyf Dice
- Great for Magic: The Gathering!
- Ultra fun and unique brand new item.
Mechanic Dice
While WotC was kind enough to include little punch-out cardboard labels in packs and precons for the evergreen mechanics counters produced by some cards, there’s always room for improvement. If you find yourself losing track of what exactly your Kathril, Aspect Warper has going on, consider some mechanics dice from PrintPlayProtect. These six-sided dice cost $2 individually and are labeled with six images representing the flying, lifelink, trample, menace, deathtouch, and first strike abilities. These are incredibly useful for decks that need to count multiple types of counters on multiple creatures, but your opponents may not find the images as easy to read as you.
The Cadillac of MTG Dice
The ceiling on how much you can spend on dice is fairly high. Take this massive spindown d20 from Sirius Dice, for example. For $60 you, too, can be the owner of a 54mm clear resin d20 with a 3D replica of a Black Lotus inside! Be the envy of Commander night with this thick brick of plastic.
Best Budget Dice
If you only need some d20s quick and on the cheap, Handan’s cheap 6-piece dice set is the way to go. $8 gets you six d20s in different colors with bold lettering.
- This set contains 10pcs of two color D20 DND dices
- Colors may vary sometime due to our inventory. Guarantee all double-color dices.
- Made of acrylic materials which is durable and hardwearing. Each die with large and easy to read numbers.
- Perfect for Table Games, Board Game, Dungeons and Dragons, MTG, RPG, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Heroscape, Savage World, Yahtzee, Math Teaching, etc.
- Product Warranty: 1, 30-DAYS MONEY BACK GUARANTEE; 2, FREE REPLACEMENT WITHOUT RETURN if you receive defective dies or missing dies.
The absolute cheapest set of TTRPG dice on Amazon right now is Beertoy’s 7 Piece set. For $0.99 you’ll get one each of the six standard die sizes (d4, d6, d8, d10, d20), plus an additional d10 for rolling percentile dice. These dice might not roll as sharply as a more expensive brand, but they’ll do the counting just the same.
- All the number are engraved on the dices, never fade easily. And the clear figures are as large as possible on each face for easy to read and use.
- Multi-faced dices are made of acrylic material, easy to roll, very durable and lightweight. You can experience the fun of dices game with your friend.
- 7 Pieces colorful acrylic polyhedral game dices set with delicate craftsmanship. Each block are fine polished and fine feel and smooth without burrs.
- Widely used puzzles game polyhedral dices kits, perfect and quality Role Playing Dices for table game, family or party board game, RPG, and etc.
- Its texture are dense and firm, not easily to crack, and clear in texture. Various shapes/different sizes dices are suitable for various game occasion.
Finally, the plainest and cheapest d6s you can get are the Generic Brand Wooden d6s. For just under $3 you can acquire a set of 10 wooden d6s with pips carved and inked in black. While their rounded edges might wear down over time, these are the perfect set of neutral-colored dice for counting tokens or replacing in your Yahtzee game.
- Size : 20mm
- Type : as shown ,
- Product Name : Dice
- Color : As Picture
- Quantity : 10 Pcs / Pack
Custom Dice
URWizards is the go-to for custom dice sets online. Their site sells a custom set for $108, which can include custom logos or symbols, short text, and stylized fonts. They have a lot of great reviews online, both for their products and their customer service.
Etsy is also a great place to look for custom MTG dice. Tons of Etsy shops sell highly stylized dice, like BeneaththeDeepMinis’ Jumbo Knucklebones die. This massive spindown d20 is lettered with a decidedly Phyrexian-looking font, giving your deck a dark and evil vibe.
Roll Off
Pair o' Dice Lost | Illustration by Bruce Brenneise
Ultimately, you don’t need any dice to play Magic: The Gathering. Sure, some cards call for you to roll a die, but you can always just avoid running those cards. However, dice make Magic so much easier to participate in that I can’t imagine playing the game without at least my Chessex 36-die tower next to me, never mind all the spindowns and other miscellaneous polyhedrons I find use for in a typical game. And dice aren’t just important functionally, they’re important aesthetically as well. My Borborygmos Enraged EDH deck is cool, but my Gruul commander is way cooler when I bust out my matching Gatecrash spindown d20s from the prerelease.
What kind of dice do you use? Are there any specific dice you use to count energy counters, or poison counters? Let me know in the comments, or over on Draftsim's Twitter/X.
Thanks for reading, good luck on those rolls!
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