Last updated on May 9, 2025
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.
Dice are unavoidable for the Magic player. Whether you count tokens, +1/+1 counters, floating mana, or your planeswalkersโ loyalty, you probably use dice. 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 buyerโs guide for the best dice for Magic: The Gathering!
Best Overall
Slice and Dice | Illustration by Jeremy Wilson
quEmpire +1/+1 Counter Dice
If you look to grab dice for your Magic-playing friend and donโt know where to start, the best bet is to grab a set of the +1/+1 counter dice from quEmpire. Chances are, most Magic players donโt already own a set of these dice, and theyโre incredibly useful to have around. Everyone at the table is stoked when they see these hit the field. Theyโre 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 it's easy to fit most aesthetics.
- 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!
Buyerโs Guide
Letโs be frank: you donโt need dice to play Magic: The Gathering. However, it behooves you to acquire some. Your first few games of paper Magic probably wonโt call for 167 d6s to count those time counters on The Millennium Calendar, but eventually you may feel the need to brew up Ghave, Guru of Spores, and trust me, that takes quite a bit of counting.
The kind of dice you purchase ultimately depends on what you need your dice to do. Before you place an order consider these points.
Your Deck's Dice Needs
What do you need your dice for? Do you need d6s to count +1/+1 counters and tokens, or are you looking for a fancy spindown d20 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 board games outside of Magic. Get a clear picture of how youโll use your dice, which decks would really use more than others and start from there.
Material
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 for D&D and lots in between!
Face Design
What sort of face design do you want? 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, but please use clearly marked ones for every player's sake. Or, maybe youโre like me and absolutely need to use the spindown d20s with your favorite set symbols.
Size and Number
How big do you need your dice? Larger dice are usually easier to read but can cover your card text/information, be more difficult to roll, and take up more physical space on the table. Finally, consider how many dice you actually need. Thereโs no reason to order multiple 36-count dice bricks if you won't use them.
Watch 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, inhibit their ability to sit flat on one number, and can damage their aesthetic over time.
Dice of Different Numbers
Their Number Is Legion | Illustration by Games Workshop
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 chose to include specially designed โspindownโ d20s with the set symbol engraved on the โ20โ face in the fat packs. Unlike a normal d20, which have their statistical opposite on opposite sides (1 and 20, 2 and 19, etc.), spindownsโ faces are arranged in such a way that you can simply turn the die one face at a time to count up or down. These handy 20-sided dice come with bundles and prerelease kits.
Amazon store Bescon Dice sells a set of six spindown d20s for just under $10. Six is more than you need in most games, so you can mix and match your dice 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 youโre 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 youโre sure to find your favorite Magic set in no time.
These are by far the best d20s to purchase for any Magic player, but arenโt typically used for rolling, due to their nonstandard layout. If you need a d20 to roll alongside your Ancient Copper Dragon, avoid a spindown and go for a standard d20.
For rollable d20s, there are a number of stores on Amazon with great deals. Yemeko sells single d20s with very fancy designs for just $10.ย
- 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: Ideal for use in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaigns and other tabletop RPGs. Recommended for players aged 15+.
- 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 Iโll broker no argument on this statement. Chessexโs d6s are the perfect size and weight, coming in both smaller 36-dice packs and larger 12-dice packs. Perfect for counting and rolling, Chessexโs d6โs pips are easily legible on every color and come in so many varieties youโre sure to find a set you love. 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.ย
- 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 wonโt need more than 10. D10s make sense to use for poison counters, loyalty counters, and defense counters, among others. I prefer them as digits and often use two for commander life totals. Theyโre 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.ย
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 to count those huge numbers of saproling tokens in your Ghave, Guru of Spores deck or 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 theyโre not impossible to find. Chessex produces sets of ten d10s and sells them for about $7. This is a great deal, but none of them come with the โ10-00โ labels that you need for rolling percentages.ย
If a matching set isnโt as important to you, consider IvyFieldDiceโs 50-piece assorted d10s bag for about $12; 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
The 7 Chessex Polyhedral Dice Set is just one example of a tabletop RPG set that covers many uses.
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 youโre looking for a set of the standard TTRPG polyhedral dice, look no further than Chessexโs 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.
- These dice are perfect for Table Top RPG's such as Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Savage World, and Warhammer. They will make an excellent edition to any RPG or Boardgame you sit down to play!
- Light on table space? Want dice that make less noise when you toss them in your dice tower? Then these 10mm dice are perfect for you!
- 7 piece mini dice set includes a D4, D6, D8, D10,D12, D20, and a D%
- Includes a plastic case to house your dice
- Because you can never have too many dice.
+1/+1 Counter Dice
The standard d6 makes sense for use when you count +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 (โthe black dice are my +1/+1s, the reds are the -1/-1s, and the green dice are oil countersโ), 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 12 dice, but when you consider the custom faces, it evens out to a fair price.ย
- 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 and Ability Keyword Counters
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, and create an interesting opportunity for some specific dice.
Ultra Pro accessories are well known mainly as card sleeves, deck boxes, and playmats. They also produces sets of two d6s numbered for loyalty counters. One d6 is numbers 1-6, while the other is 7-12. Each numeral is framed in the same frame as the loyalty box on the planeswalker cards.
You can take it a step farther and try ability keyword counters and loyalty counters in a 48-piece set. These are the perfect complement to any keyword soup cards you dish out to your opponents. The 12 evergreen keywords included are:
- Deathtouch
- Double Strike
- First Strike
- Flying
- Haste
- Hexproof
- Indestructible
- Lifelink
- Menace
- Reach
- Trample
- Vigilance
- Package Include: Total 24pcs shield dice counters(12pcs 1~6 dice&12pcs 7~12 dice) and 24pcs black MTG keywords dice(FIRST STRIKE,VIGILANCE,MENACE,TRAMPLE,HASTE,DOUBLE STRIKE / LIFELINK,REACH,FLYING,HEXPROOF,DEATHTOUCH,INDESTRUCTIBLE) with velvet pouch.
- Easy To Read: These keywords counters have clear white keyword on each side, the golden number are as large as possible for easy reading. They are 0.63 inch/ 16 mm regular D6 dice.
- Premium Materials: Dice counters are made from premium acrylic, healthy and safety, no smell and lightweight, oxidation-proof and durable. They can serve you for a long time.
- Great Accessories๏ผPerfect compatible with MTG - Magic The Gathering, some TCG and board games. For any card game fan, such as mtg players, this would be a nice gift. The dice counters are easily carried with velvet pouch.
- Creative Design: The design of marble patterns are so different that this set of dice is particularly eye-catching. The marbling element makes each dice look unique.
Tarmogoyf Dice
Tarmogoyf Dice and Wall of Roots Dice are really well suited to their unique cards. The mental energy it saves is immense.
The infamous Tarmogoyf has a hard power/toughness to figure out at any given time. Simple d6s donโt work as great, given the goyfโs uneven stats, and counting power and toughness separately with two d6s is torturous.
Wall of Roots is in a similar boat headed the opposite direction with stats that lose one toughness at a time. I tortured myself with Daru Warchief but I like to think it made my math stronger, and any players that use the blue card effects that subtract power like Fresh Start should appreciate this simple solution.
- Goyf Dice sides: 1/2 2/3 3/4 4/5 5/6 6/7
- Wall of Roots sides: 0/-1 0/-2 0/-3 0/-4 0/1 7/8 (to round out the Goyf dice)
- 4x Goyf Dice & 4x Wall of Roots Dice
- Keep track of the board state of collectible card games.
- No more trying to remember what your cards stats are at.
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, thereโs 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 about $3 individually and are labeled with six images representing the flying, lifelink, trample, menace, deathtouch, and first strike abilities. The icons matchup with the ones you see on Magic Arena. 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
Sirius Dice Black Lotus Spindown 54mm D20
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
Bold 6-Count 20-Side Dice Set
If you only need some d20s quick and on the cheap, Handanโs cheap 6-piece dice set is the way to go. $8 gets you six d20s in different colors with bold lettering.
- Package: This dice set include 10pcs of mixed color D20 dices. The diameter of this D20 dices are 22mm(0.86 inches).
- Colors: The colors incudes all double colors. Colors may vary slightly with the picture, but no repeat colors.
- Easy to Read: All the numbers are engraved on the dice which will never fade easily. The numbers are as large as possible for easy reading.
- Material: These D20 dices are made of premium acrylic materials which is durable and hardwearing.
- Application: Perfect for Table Games, Board Game, Dungeons and Dragons, MTG, RPG, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Heroscape, Savage World, Yahtzee, Math Teaching, etc.
D&D Polyhedral Dice Set
A D&D polyhedral dice set is really one of the best values you can get when it comes to useful dice for Magic. You get one each of the six standard die sizes (d4, d6, d8, d10, d20), plus an additional d10 for rolling percentile dice. The color here is just an example, and you have lots of options at a similar price. These dice might not roll as sharply as a more expensive brand, but theyโll do the counting just the same.
- ๐ฒ7Pcs Colorful Acrylic Game Dice: Acrylic dice as a traditional board game dice, the production technology is mature, it is durable and economical. Besides, the dice are colorful, and the styles are diverse, in any case, you can always find a dice that you like the most.
- ๐ฒWell Balanced, More Professional: Using precise dice mold production,only acrylic material, no other materials and decorations are added to the dice, well balance easy to roll, ensure professional and practicality of the table game dice.
- ๐ฒEasy to Read: The white numbers on the surface of the dice, using underscoring to differentiate 6 and 9,no visual trouble,so you can focus more on your games. Now, pick your dice up as weapon, hold all the might in your hand, roll it! Fighting!
- ๐ฒWide Compatibility: Can be used for role playing games, board games sach as Dungeons and Dragons 2/3/4/5e, Yahtzee, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Savage World, Warhammer,RPGs,COC,MTG,tabletop,card gaming,math teaching or anything else you can think of.
- ๐ฒEasy to Collect and Carry: Set of 7 pcs dice, including D20 D12 D10 D% D8 D6 D4, equipped with a dice bag, convenient for you to store and carry these dices anywhere you like, no need to worry about losing.
Wooden d6s
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 unique custom dice sets online. Their site sells a custom set for $108, which can include custom logos or symbols, short text, and stylized fonts. Some reviews note slow shipping times, but the products look really sharp.
Etsy is also a great place to look for custom MTG dice. Tons of Etsy shops sell highly stylized dice, like BeneaththeDeepMinisโ 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 donโt need any dice to play Magic: The Gathering. Sure, some cards call for you to roll a die, but between me and my opponent, I've never been without an appropriate die nearby. However, dice make Magic so much easier to participate in that I canโt 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 arenโt just important functionally, theyโre 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.ย
What kind of dice do you use? Are there any specific dice you use to count commander damage, energy counters, or poison counters? Let me know in the comments, or over on Draftsim's Twitter/X.ย
Thanks for reading, good luck on those rolls!
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