Dice Throne Nexus Hands-On: First Look at 4 New Heroes

Dice Throne is heading into unfamiliar territory with Dice Throne Nexus, bringing four new heroes into the arena with a futuristic twist. With its Kickstarter launching October 13, the latest addition to the popular tabletop series looks to introduce some interesting new ways to battle.

After discovering Dice Throne at PAX West, I had the opportunity to get my hands on all four upcoming heroes before the campaign. While each brings something different to the table, two in particular stood out to me: Hacker and Punch-a-Tron 3000. Of course, these are early impressions and are subject to change.

And for two characters with very different approaches to combat, both managed to capture what I enjoy about Dice Throne.

Hacker: A Different Kind of Strategy

Hacker approaches combat differently from your typical Dice Throne hero. Rather than relying entirely on direct attacks, they specialize in disrupting opponents through malware, viruses, and lots of R.A.M. (which is spent on rerolls).

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I really like the virus aspect. You place viruses on your opponent’s abilities, reducing the damage they deal when those abilities are activated. Once you’ve placed five viruses on a single hero, you can Hack them after dealing damage, allowing you to perform a second, full offensive roll phase with an undefendable attack.

I was able to beat the heavy hitter by getting lucky (with some help from Samsies and Six-It) to hit my Ultimate, which allowed me to place enough viruses on my opponent to Hack them immediately afterward.

Hacker appeals to me the most because of the four different symbols and the many ways to inhibit opponents. The only real downside is the weak defense, consisting of a single die with a maximum block of two damage.

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I feel like Hacker is my number one choice here. The card names are hilarious, and the playstyle offers plenty of choices that make the character fun. Just beware of the spam mail.

Punch-a-Tron 3000: Sometimes You Just Need to Hit Something

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Punch-a-Tron 3000, a robotic bruiser whose approach to combat is considerably more direct.

Where Hacker focuses on disrupting an opponent’s strategy, Punch-a-Tron is built around delivering powerful attacks.

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He hits hard, then hits harder, and can even sucker punch you during his defensive turn.

If you like the Barbarian, with his hit-hard-and-heal style, this robot is for you. He punches and punches and punches some more. He has great defense and can easily K.O. his opponents.

He’s easy to use because he’s straightforward. The downside is that his strategy is fairly straightforward. However, you can save up two Fuel Cells and then spend them to add five damage to any swing. I was hit by him for a cool 15 damage on a Large Straight.

He became one of my favorites after I kept losing to him at first. He just hits that hard.

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Two More Heroes Join the Fight

Of course, Hacker and Punch-a-Tron aren’t the only heroes arriving with Nexus.

Snyper brings precision attacks and deck manipulation into the mix, using Intel tokens and other abilities to set up her attacks.

I’m not the biggest fan of deck manipulation, but I lost to Snyper a few times during my testing. I can certainly see the appeal of Ricochet and going Prone to Lock-On.

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Phantom Runner takes a different approach, utilizing tokens to upgrade abilities and mobility-inspired mechanics to create offensive and defensive opportunities.

Unlike Snyper, Phantom Runner is fast and hard to hit. She uses her Ecto-Blades to add attack power and Ethereal to reduce incoming damage.

While I personally gravitated toward Hacker and Punch-a-Tron, having four distinct playstyles gives players different ways to approach the battlefield.

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Final Thoughts

After spending time with all four heroes, I’m interested to see how Nexus develops and how these characters fit alongside the existing Dice Throne roster. I’ve played roughly ten games with them, including 1v1, four-player free-for-all, and 2v2 matches.

One thing I’ve appreciated about Dice Throne is how competitive its different heroes can feel. In one match between Hacker and Punch-a-Tron, both were down to just eight health, despite their dramatically different approaches to combat.

My biggest surprise of the four is how hard Punch-a-Tron can hit, sometimes dealing even more damage than his Ultimate. I also love how these new heroes all feel very cyberpunk while still fitting well into the Dice Throne universe.

Whether you prefer manipulating your opponent’s abilities or simply punching them into submission, Nexus has already given me plenty of reasons to return to the arena.

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Dice Throne Nexus launches on Kickstarter October 13, 2026, introducing four new heroes to the Dice Throne universe.

Disclosure: Advance copies of the Dice Throne Nexus heroes were provided for coverage.