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Headless Horseman

Playstyle: Offensive · Complexity: 4/6 · Outcasts

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Who is this character?

A haunting snowball: stack Dreadful, send the Head wandering – his big turns grow with the stockpile.

How to play Headless Horseman

If after roll 1 5× Scare for Dreadful Charge! are reachable. Keep 5× Scare and reroll all dice not needed, aiming at Dreadful Charge! (5 dice). If fewer than 5 matching dice remain after roll 1, switch to Spectral Assault. Dreadful Charge! deals a documented 14 damage and applies Dreadful/Grim Pursuit, so the 5 committed dice stay on the table.

Early game: Build Dreadful and Grim Pursuit through safe turns.

Mid game: Keep the Head on an opponent, reach 4–5 Dreadful defense, and prepare Assault.

Late game: Combine Terrorize, Spectral Assault, and the ultimate in a short burst window.

If after roll 1 3× Axe + 2× Scare for Spectral Assault are reachable. Keep 3× Axe + 2× Scare and reroll all dice not needed, aiming at Spectral Assault (5 dice). If fewer than 5 matching dice remain after roll 1, switch to Dreadful Charge!. Spectral Assault deals a documented 10 damage and bypasses the defence roll and applies Dreadful, so the 5 committed dice stay on the table.

If your roll offers no usable attack, end the turn without damage: the passive grants you Grim Pursuit for it.

Hold Dreadful Charge! until the opponent is above 14 health: with the Grim Pursuit follow-up it reaches 19, below that you waste the overkill.

Terrorizing Dreadful to 0 and standing there with a naked 1-die defense.

Forgetting the Head on your own board – it only collects on an opponent.

Strengths

  • Spectral Assault scales with Dreadful: 8 base + 1 die per token (~10+)
  • The defense grows too: 1 die + 1 per Dreadful (up to 5)
  • Grim Pursuit: an extra roll attempt OR +1–5 after the attack
  • Haunted Head + Terrorize: 3 undefendable, isolated source, free target choice

Weaknesses

  • At 0–1 Dreadful he is below average – the stockpile IS the hero
  • No healing, no avoidance

Key attacks

  • Cleave
    Standard route

    Reliable damage route for turns without special setup.

    Take it as soon as 3× 🪓 Axe is mostly on the table after roll 1 (98% across all three rolls): safe damage beats rerolling working dice for a harder route.

    3× 🪓 Axe · 4 damage

  • Reap
    Standard route

    Reliable damage route for turns without special setup.

    Take it as soon as 3× Ω Horseshoe + 1× 🎃 Scare is mostly on the table after roll 1 (60% across all three rolls): safe damage beats rerolling working dice for a harder route.

    3× Ω Horseshoe + 1× 🎃 Scare · 3 damage

  • Ride Down
    Standard route

    Reliable damage route for turns without special setup.

    Take it as soon as 3× 🪓 Axe + 2× Ω Horseshoe is mostly on the table after roll 1 (63% across all three rolls): safe damage beats rerolling working dice for a harder route.

    3× 🪓 Axe + 2× Ω Horseshoe · 6 damage

  • Sow Despair
    Burst

    High single-turn damage that locks several dice.

    Only go for it when at most one symbol of Small straight (4 in a row) is missing after roll 1 (59% across all three rolls); otherwise you give up an already safe route.

    Small straight (4 in a row) · 7 damage

  • Horrify
    Burst

    High single-turn damage that locks several dice.

    Only go for it when at most one symbol of 4× 🎃 Scare is missing after roll 1 (10% across all three rolls); otherwise you give up an already safe route.

    4× 🎃 Scare · 6 damage

  • Spectral Assault
    Burst

    High single-turn damage that locks several dice.

    Only go for it when at most one symbol of 3× 🪓 Axe + 2× 🎃 Scare is missing after roll 1 (31% across all three rolls); otherwise you give up an already safe route.

    3× 🪓 Axe + 2× 🎃 Scare · about 10 damage

  • Dreadful Charge!
    Finisher

    Ultimate: the board's highest damage value with the hardest requirement.

    Do not force 5× 🎃 Scare (1% across all three rolls): only when the requirement is reachable after roll 1 is giving up the safe route worth it.

    5× 🎃 Scare · 14 damage

Key statuses & resources

  • Dreadful: Max 5: sets the dice count of Spectral Assault and the defense; 4 in upkeep = Terrorize (Head back, 3 undefendable, Grim Pursuit + 1 CP). Reap +2, Horrify +3, Sow Despair +1–2, a Cleave four-of-a-kind, the Head on an opponent at turn end, ultimate +4. Keep 3–4 as working stock for defense/Assault; only fire Terrorize when the Head gets productively re-placed.
  • Grim Pursuit: Max 3, each once per turn: 1 = extra roll attempt; 1 = after attacking roll 5 dice, +1 per horseshoe (4–5). Ride Down +2, Horrify, the passive (when your turn dealt no damage), Terrorize. The extra attempt on 4× scare chases; the damage roll (~+1.7) on every big hit.
  • Dreadful max 5; Grim Pursuit max 3 and once per turn; the Head creates the documented end-of-turn/upkeep pressure.
  • Terrorize at 4 Dreadful in upkeep; do not trigger at 0 Dreadful if it collapses defense.
  • 4 Dreadful = Terrorize/full-defense threshold; 5 Dreadful = highest defense and ultimate-symbol threshold.
  • Manage up to 3 Grim Pursuit as extra-roll/damage windows.
  • Dreadful: Reap +2, Horrify +3, Sow Despair +1–2, a Cleave four-of-a-kind, the Head on an opponent at turn end, ultimate +4.
  • Dreadful: Keep 3–4 as working stock for defense/Assault; only fire Terrorize when the Head gets productively re-placed.
  • Grim Pursuit: Ride Down +2, Horrify, the passive (when your turn dealt no damage), Terrorize.
  • Grim Pursuit: The extra attempt on 4× scare chases; the damage roll (~+1.7) on every big hit.

Abilities & board

Health: 50 · Starting CP: 2

Dice symbols

🪓 Axe · 3/6 (faces 1, 2, 3)Ω Horseshoe · 2/6 (faces 4, 5)🎃 Scare · 1/6 (faces 6)

Level I abilities

  • Cleave
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    3× 🪓 Axe
    Damage/healing:
    4 damage
  • Reap
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    3× Ω Horseshoe + 1× 🎃 Scare
    Damage/healing:
    3 damage
  • Ride Down
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    3× 🪓 Axe + 2× Ω Horseshoe
    Damage/healing:
    6 damage
  • Sow Despair
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    Small straight (4 in a row)
    Damage/healing:
    7 damage
  • Horrify
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    4× 🎃 Scare
    Damage/healing:
    6 damage
  • Spectral Assault
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    3× 🪓 Axe + 2× 🎃 Scare
    Damage/healing:
    about 10 damage

Ultimate

  • Dreadful Charge!
    Ultimate
    Dice requirement:
    5× 🎃 Scare
    Damage/healing:
    14 damage

Defense

Hallowed Reckoning The defense roll is made whenever you are attacked. The prevented damage is not sufficiently verified. Hallowed Reckoning: 1 die + 1 per Dreadful (max 5) – 1 counter per axe, 1 prevention per horseshoe PAIR, scares grant Dreadful. At 4+ Dreadful a real deterrent (~2 prevented + 2 counter).

Special mechanics

  • Dreadful
    Token mechanic
    At most 5 tokens, starting at 0. The stockpile simultaneously scales Spectral Assault (1 bonus die per token) and Hallowed Reckoning (1 die plus 1 per token, capped at 5). It is only spent via Terrorize from 4 tokens in upkeep. · Maximum: 5
  • Grim Pursuit
    Token mechanic
    At most 3 tokens with two separate options, each once per turn: an additional roll attempt in the offensive roll phase, or after an attack roll 5 dice for +1 damage per horseshoe (0 to 5, about 1.7 on average). · Maximum: 3
  • Haunted Head
    Companion
    A single marker that sits on his own board or on the board of an opposing figure. At turn end on an opposing board it yields 1 Dreadful; on his own board it yields nothing. Terrorize brings it back. · Maximum: 1
  • Terrorize
    Board mechanic
    Triggerable from 4 Dreadful in upkeep: 3 undefendable damage from an isolated source at a freely chosen opposing figure, the head returns, plus 1 Grim Pursuit and 1 CP. Because no attack takes place, no defense and no usual target determination applies.
  • Hallowed Reckoning
    Board mechanic
    Defense roll on 1 die plus 1 per Dreadful, at most 5: 1 damage prevented per horseshoe pair, 1 counter damage per axe, 1 Dreadful per scare. There is no fixed prevention value – with an empty stockpile the single die prevents practically nothing.

Resources

  • DreadfulMax 5: sets the dice count of Spectral Assault and the defense; 4 in upkeep = Terrorize (Head back, 3 undefendable, Grim Pursuit + 1 CP). · Reap +2, Horrify +3, Sow Despair +1–2, a Cleave four-of-a-kind, the Head on an opponent at turn end, ultimate +4. · Keep 3–4 as working stock for defense/Assault; only fire Terrorize when the Head gets productively re-placed.
  • Grim PursuitMax 3, each once per turn: 1 = extra roll attempt; 1 = after attacking roll 5 dice, +1 per horseshoe (4–5). · Ride Down +2, Horrify, the passive (when your turn dealt no damage), Terrorize. · The extra attempt on 4× scare chases; the damage roll (~+1.7) on every big hit.

Upgrades & cards

What changes?

  • Cleave
    Level II
    • Damage: 5 damage instead of 4 damage
    • Dice requirement: 4× 🪓 Axe instead of 3× 🪓 Axe
  • Cleave
    Level III
    • Damage: 7 damage instead of 4 damage
    • Dice requirement: 5× 🪓 Axe instead of 3× 🪓 Axe
  • Sow Despair
    Level II
    • Damage: 9 damage instead of 7 damage
    • Dice requirement: Large straight (5 in a row) instead of Small straight (4 in a row)

Hero-specific cards

Not sufficiently verified

Works well with

  • Barbarian

    Barbarian adds the healing that Headless Horseman lacks.

  • Seraph

    Seraph adds the healing that Headless Horseman lacks.

  • Wolverine

    Wolverine adds the healing that Headless Horseman lacks.

Good matchups

  • Gunslinger

    Headless Horseman keeps Gunslinger tied up with attack denial, and Gunslinger already needs tight rolls.

  • Pyromancer

    Headless Horseman keeps Pyromancer tied up with attack denial, and Pyromancer already needs tight rolls.

  • Rogue

    Headless Horseman keeps Rogue tied up with attack denial, and Rogue already needs tight rolls.

Tough matchups

  • Black Widow

    Headless Horseman lands spikes up to 14 damage off Dreadful without a long ramp – and Black Widow has little to absorb it.

  • Tactician

    Headless Horseman lands spikes up to 14 damage off Dreadful without a long ramp – and Tactician has little to absorb it.

  • Druid

    Druid pushes damage through that Headless Horseman barely stops with Hallowed Reckoning.

Buy now

Dice Throne: Headless Horseman Hero Pack

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