What does everyone use as counters?

I had some experience with MAGIC when it first came out in the mid-90's, and was always baffled when I had a card that needed counters. My intrest in the game was casual, so I was always astounded at all the fancy stuff that some players had, like little dragon statue life counters, or colored discs that they used as counters.

So when I got into the TCG, I was a little put off (at first) at the game's reliance of keeping track of unit strengths and stuff, mostly because I knew I needed lots of counters.

So, just a silly question im throwing out there, What do you all use for counters? Anything weird?

 

i use some glass bead things that i got at the local craft store. it was cool because i got about 100-125 of them for about .75 cents.

 

I use pennies. I have a whole bucket of them. Not nearly as classy as some, but they do.

 

Beads! Thats a great idea, I'm going to have to go to a craft store this weekend and find somethign I like, there is such a wide variety this way. We actually still use the original counters from the priemier 2 deck starter. I would love to see them make a new game board too . We use the glass magic counter things for force counters with 20-sided dice (and game board). At our local hobby store I saw some really awesome dice to - a little smaller and the perfect color, someday I'll get them.

 

i also use glass beads for counters and ten sided dice for force

 

I use my RPG dice. I use the dice closest to the number of hit points a card has... like a Hit 3 would need a d4, a hit 7 would use an d8... you get the message. It's so much easier, I've even stopped using the game mat and I use a d20 for Force Points.

 

You can't go wrong with glass beads. I got a whole crap load of glass beads from my brother-in-law when I started playing Magic. They were free and he even gave me a nifty little carrying bag and my first 10-sided dice. He was awesome.

 

I never liked the beads myself; what do you do with Death Star C? That many beads won't fit.

I carry a small cube of small six sided die. Some black, some white. When I play Dark Side, I roll the black dice for attacks and use the white dice to mark the LS hits and build points, turning the appropriate number on the die facing up for the number of hits. It also helps to keep them from being confused when I roll due to the different colors.

I will say that the guy who won our Qualifier and came in #2 at Worlds last year uses beads so it can't be all that bad!

 

Holy crap, im I the only loser who dosn't buy gaming supplies and who uses coins for counters? Arrgggg!!!!

 

i use dice, green for build, red for damage and white for damage rolls, and a d20 for force count.

 

On the Death Star thing, first I've never had to put that many beads on it, haven't been able to play it that much. But if I did, I have blue and clear beads. I would use clear as ones and the blue ones count as five. Not too hard, had to do it a lot of times with Magic. Don't worry, I got is all figured out. But I know eventually something will come along and totally screw it all up, but oh well, it works for right now.

 

I, too, use glass beads, but made the STUPID mistake of buying them at a gaming shop. I have two different colors in case my opponent has the same color OR there is an insistence that build counters be different from damage counters.

I use 2 d10 dice (one marked in single digits, the other in multiples of 10) and a brick of small 6-sided dice for damage. All my dice are yellow with black markings. The d10 dice came in a small box of multi-sided dice. It came with a regular sized 6-side die marked with numerals that I sometimes use for the build roll. The other dice besides the 6-sided and d10s I use as "all-purpose" counters. I announce what it will be used for on a card/unit then place it there in lieu of bead counters. D12 and d20 dice work very well with large build point and health units.

 

yup i use dice....4 4 sided for force 9cuz most of my deck dont use force or mission cards hardly) and lots of 6 sided. when i get damaged i just put a six sider on the damaged card with the amount of health left facing up.

 

Like Morondude I use a D20. Its alot easier to manage.

Sd

 

Actually, not only do I use coinage as counters, but I still use that goofy placemat that came with the starter set. Im so used to using it, that I almost cant play without it (It has that easy to see force tracker).

 

Loyal-Guard I completely agree! Psycho_Jedi and I always use the playmat and I hope they come out with a new one soon - mine has been folded so many times its starting to tear in areas but I just don't think its the same without it. I just love the playmat.

 

Thank God I'm not the only one who uses the kiddie mat! I'm addicted to it! Mine is still holding up pretty well after about six months, but about a week ago me and a friend were playing and when we were finished we realized the mat was stuck to the table because she had left a small glob of mustard on it.

Now my mat has a pretty thin part on it (in the space arena) from where we had to carefully peel the mat up.

Thankfully, my local record store still has a ton of unsold starter sets they cant get rid of; Ill have to go in there and buy a few just so I can get more mats. And heck, I'd at least get some more of that rare Naboo Defense Station card my friend likes using so much.

 

y not laminate one? it would save it from the horrors of spilt kool-aid and its easily cleanable!

 

or not use one at all, im sure by now your experianced enough to visualise the mat!

 

At this point the mat is mare addicting you might say. Its like playing a board game without the board. If I got another mat though I would consider laminating it, might be much better. There are 2 people I play with and they both prefer the mat as well. Oh and I have to play on one side of it, otherwise its to wierd. I'm not only used to the mat but I have to have the space arena on my right!

 

I keep the space arena on my left mostly because I ususally play the Dark Side, and because I'm left handed. The mat has that space where the rules are; That's where we keep our decks and roll our dice.

 

Regarding the game mat, it didn't take us a month before we jettisoned that. Units either wouldn't fit in the space provided, or you'd wait for the player to get it out, perhaps even bothering with turning it in the right direction. Early in our gaming experience, we would find that our Force started going past the counter on the mat. That was the first sign of the mat's demise.

Stemmi wrote "...when i get damaged i just put a six sider on the damaged card with the amount of health left facing up." I faced a couple of players who use counters to "count down" health and build. This is a pain in the rear opposing someone doing this, since it's dubious as to whether or not they're counting up or counting down at any given point in the game, especially when it's done with build. I played a non-sanctioned tournament in the early days when a kid did that, and I'm certain he deployed units that were never fully built.

The rules state that you count up on damage and build counters... not down.

 

I don't care what anyone says, the mat is teh winz!!! (Yes, I spelled it that way on purpose.) They just need to come out with a better one.

 

i suppose the rules would matter in a tourney but since theres only 4 of us that play, we just alter them a bit........like a 50 BP start up instead of 30. things to keep it interesting.

 

As Homer Simpson would say: "Mmmmm... 50 build points... {slobber slobber}".