Dice Throne
Sign in
Back to all heroes

Vampire Lord

Playstyle: Balanced · Complexity: 4/6 · Season 2

Find team partners

Who is this character?

A blood-driven controller: bank Blood Power, let bleed tick, steal health back.

How to play Vampire Lord

If after roll 1 5× Droplet for Exsanguinate! are reachable. Keep 5× Droplet and reroll all dice not needed, aiming at Exsanguinate! (5 dice). If fewer than 5 matching dice remain after roll 1, switch to Rend. Exsanguinate! deals a documented 10 damage and applies Blood Power, so the 5 committed dice stay on the table.

Mid game: Combine Rend / Possess to build raw damage and Bleed.

Late game: Use Blood Magic / Exsanguinate! with stacked Blood Power for burst damage.

If after roll 1 3× Claw + 2× Droplet for Rend are reachable. Keep 3× Claw + 2× Droplet and reroll all dice not needed, aiming at Rend (5 dice). If fewer than 5 matching dice remain after roll 1, switch to Exsanguinate!. Rend deals a documented 9 damage and applies Blood Power, so the 5 committed dice stay on the table.

Discard a Mesmerize as soon as a large straight is up: Blood Magic turns it into 8 undefendable damage instead of a blockable hit.

If three claws and two droplets are up after roll 2, take Rend: 6 plus up to 3 bonus damage is your strongest hit outside the ultimate.

Trying to 'save' Blood Power past the cap of 5 – excess tokens are simply lost.

Strengths

  • Blood Power is a menu: +3 damage, status removal, 2 cards, or lifesteal equal to your attack
  • Immortal Flesh steals health and sets bleed – defending feeds you
  • Mesmerize forces rerolls – even against ultimates

Weaknesses

  • Gouge starts weak (3 on 3 claws)
  • Droplet is the rarest face: Blood Thirst (4×) and Exsanguinate! (5×) need rerolls

Key attacks

  • Gouge
    Standard route

    Reliable damage route for turns without special setup.

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

    3× 🖐 Claw · 3 damage

  • Glamour
    Standard route

    Reliable damage route for turns without special setup.

    Take it as soon as 3× 👁 Gaze is mostly on the table after roll 1 (84% across all three rolls): safe damage beats rerolling working dice for a harder route.

    3× 👁 Gaze · 4 damage

  • Sanguimancy
    Healing

    Healing instead of damage this turn.

    Only take it once you have taken enough damage for the healing to land in full – at full health the turn is wasted.

    3× 👁 Gaze + 1× 🩸 Droplet · healing: 2 health

  • Rend
    Burst

    High single-turn damage that locks several dice.

    Only go for it when at most one symbol of 3× 🖐 Claw + 2× 🩸 Droplet is missing after roll 1 (32% across all three rolls); otherwise you give up an already safe route.

    3× 🖐 Claw + 2× 🩸 Droplet · 6 + 1 per 🖐 Claw (roll 3 dice)

  • Possess
    Control

    Control route: damage plus an effect against the opponent's next turn.

    Worth it when the opponent is hunting their strong route next turn (59% across all three rolls): the effect beats a few extra damage points there.

    Small straight (4 in a row) · 7 damage · bleed

  • Blood Thirst
    Burst

    High single-turn damage that locks several dice.

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

    4× 🩸 Droplet · 5 damage

  • Blood Magic
    Control

    Control route: damage plus an effect against the opponent's next turn.

    Worth it when the opponent is hunting their strong route next turn (25% across all three rolls): the effect beats a few extra damage points there.

    Large straight (5 in a row) · 8 damage · bleed

  • Exsanguinate!
    Finisher

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

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

    5× 🩸 Droplet · 10 damage

Key statuses & resources

  • Mesmerize: Max 1: spend and roll – on 5–6 you force a reroll of one enemy die (even during their ultimate). Glamour, Possess with a gaze/droplet on the follow-up. Against enemy 4×/5× symbol turns – one twisted die kills the whole combo.
  • Bleed: negative, triggered by Possess (conditionally) and Blood Magic.
  • Blood Power: Sanguimancy +3, Blood Thirst +2, Blood Magic +1, Exsanguinate! +2, end-of-turn bonus when your attack hit a 2-bleed target, Immortal Flesh on 2 gazes.
  • Blood Power: Default: 1 for +3 on every hit of 5 damage or more. At 4 tokens: strike first, then heal the full damage back with threshold 4.
  • Mesmerize: Glamour, Possess with a gaze/droplet on the follow-up.
  • Mesmerize: Against enemy 4×/5× symbol turns – one twisted die kills the whole combo.

Abilities & board

Health: 50 · Starting CP: 2

Dice symbols

🖐 Claw · 3/6 (faces 1, 2, 3)👁 Gaze · 2/6 (faces 4, 5)🩸 Droplet · 1/6 (faces 6)

Level I abilities

  • Gouge
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    3× 🖐 Claw
    Damage/healing:
    3 damage
  • Glamour
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    3× 👁 Gaze
    Damage/healing:
    4 damage
  • Sanguimancy
    Dice requirement:
    3× 👁 Gaze + 1× 🩸 Droplet
    Damage/healing:
    healing: 2 health
  • Rend
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    3× 🖐 Claw + 2× 🩸 Droplet
    Damage/healing:
    6 + 1 per 🖐 Claw (roll 3 dice)
  • Possess
    Normal
    Dice requirement:
    Small straight (4 in a row)
    Damage/healing:
    7 damage
    Key effects:
    bleed
  • Blood Thirst
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    4× 🩸 Droplet
    Damage/healing:
    5 damage
  • Blood Magic
    Undefendable
    Dice requirement:
    Large straight (5 in a row)
    Damage/healing:
    8 damage
    Key effects:
    bleed

Ultimate

  • Exsanguinate!
    Ultimate
    Dice requirement:
    5× 🩸 Droplet
    Damage/healing:
    10 damage

Defense

Immortal Flesh The defense roll is made whenever you are attacked. It does not prevent damage directly. Immortal Flesh: 3 dice – 0 prevention, but 2+ claws = bleed on the attacker, 2+ gazes = 1 Blood Power, each droplet steals 1 health (unpreventable).

Special mechanics

  • Blood Power economy
    Token mechanic
    Start 0, cap 5, four thresholds with one use each per turn: 1 = +3 damage, 2 = remove a status, 3 = 2 cards, 4 = healing equal to the attack damage. Sanguimancy delivers 3 tokens at once. · Maximum: 5
  • Mesmerize forced reroll
    Token mechanic
    Exactly 1 token. Spend and roll: on a 5 or 6 (about 33%) a kept enemy die is rerolled - the only way to still break an enemy ultimate combination. · Maximum: 1
  • Bleed attrition
    Board mechanic
    Bleed stacks up to 2 and ticks in the target's income phase for 1 unpreventable damage per token. A 2-bleed target that was hit during the own turn additionally yields 1 Blood Power at end of turn. · Maximum: 2
  • Immortal Flesh without prevention
    Mechanic
    3 defense dice, 0 damage prevented: 2 claws (about 50%) apply bleed to the attacker, 2 gazes (about 26%) grant 1 Blood Power, each droplet steals 1 health. The full attack damage lands regardless.

Resources

  • Blood PowerMax 5, each threshold once per turn: 1 = +3 on your attack, 2 = remove a status from any player, 3 = draw 2 cards, 4 = heal equal to your successful attack damage. · Sanguimancy +3, Blood Thirst +2, Blood Magic +1, Exsanguinate! +2, end-of-turn bonus when your attack hit a 2-bleed target, Immortal Flesh on 2 gazes. · Default: 1 for +3 on every hit of 5 damage or more. At 4 tokens: strike first, then heal the full damage back with threshold 4.
  • MesmerizeMax 1: spend and roll – on 5–6 you force a reroll of one enemy die (even during their ultimate). · Glamour, Possess with a gaze/droplet on the follow-up. · Against enemy 4×/5× symbol turns – one twisted die kills the whole combo.

Upgrades & cards

What changes?

  • Gouge
    Level II
    • Damage: 5 damage instead of 3 damage
    • Dice requirement: 4× 🖐 Claw instead of 3× 🖐 Claw
  • Gouge
    Level III
    • Damage: 7 damage instead of 3 damage
    • Dice requirement: 5× 🖐 Claw instead of 3× 🖐 Claw

Hero-specific cards

Not sufficiently verified

This summary follows the current rules revision (2022 leaflet (unversioned)); older printings may differ.

Works well with

  • Seraph

    Seraph adds the healing that Vampire Lord lacks.

  • Barbarian

    Barbarian adds the healing that Vampire Lord lacks.

  • Cursed Pirate

    Cursed Pirate adds the attack denial that Vampire Lord lacks.

Good matchups

  • Headless Horseman

    Headless Horseman lands spikes up to 14 damage off Dreadful without a long ramp – more than Vampire Lord heals back.

  • Black Panther

    Black Panther lands spikes up to 11 damage off Kinetic Energy without a long ramp – more than Vampire Lord heals back.

  • Jean Grey

    Jean Grey lands spikes up to 12 damage off Flame Blast without a long ramp – more than Vampire Lord heals back.

Tough matchups

  • Wolverine

    Wolverine keeps Vampire Lord tied up with Alpha, many of Vampire Lord's effects get cancelled that way.

  • Doctor Strange

    Doctor Strange pushes damage through that Vampire Lord barely stops with Immortal Flesh.

  • Barbarian

    Barbarian keeps Vampire Lord tied up with Concussion and Stun, many of Vampire Lord's effects get cancelled that way.

Buy now

Dice Throne: Season Two – Battle Chest

Affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.