Tokens: What to use?
General forum
Posted on June 18, 2013, 1:26 p.m. by IonImplant
I see most players use dice as tokens and a few actually use the token cards in combo with the dice. Dice alone is a struggle because, I'm running a deck with many different types of tokens and can't keep them straight easily. Buying all of the token cards gets real pricey real quick.
Any other things people use? (or is there a written or unwritten rule)
The thought jumped in my head to use poker chips. I can add my own artwork for the different types that come up.
Thoughts?
Epochalyptik says... #3
Token cards are dirt cheap. You can usually get draft players to give them to you.
Dice are typical for decks that only make one or two kinds of tokens.
The rule is that something must be used to denote the existence of a token. You don't have to use an actual printed token, but you must represent the token somehow.
June 18, 2013 2:01 p.m.
GreatSword says... #4
You really should just use token cards. They're real cheap, you can get them from anyone that opens a lot of boosters, they'd be happy to share (probably).
Otherwise, you can make your own! Take some old basic lands, lightly glue some white paper on them and draw a token! You can make them look better by sticking them in some old card sleeves.
June 18, 2013 2:25 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #5
If you don't want to/cannot obtain the real things (but but they really are very cheap, usually players who don't need them give them away), I'd say just make your own! Why not just find an image of the token, make it the correct size using an image editing software, and print it? It's not like you're printing Thundermaw Hellkite s or anything..
June 18, 2013 2:36 p.m.
How about flipped over cards? Maybe in different coloured sleeves to denote which is which.
June 18, 2013 2:39 p.m.
I've tried a lot of different things. The nice thing about dice is that you can differentiate types using colors and P/T (which luckily tends to be the same for tokens - and rarely over 6) using the flipped over number.
But if I were to make some, what about just printing out some and laminating them and only making them small like 2in x 2in. I have one deck in particular that pumps out a lot of different kinds of tokens where this hasn't been a huge problem yet (thanks to boardwipes) but could become one where dice aren't good enough. And certainly, if I ever got into a game with more competitive or picky players it could be an issue as well.
I have borrowed tokens from friends for a game before, but this one deck I have could outstrip all the tokens and dice available that I could use. So I thought making my own non-card sized tokens (they don't ever actually get shuffled into the library anyway) might be feasible?
June 18, 2013 2:52 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #8
Buy a pack of Sticky Notes and a Pen. Congrats! You have yourself every token you will ever need.
June 18, 2013 3:08 p.m.
IonImplant says... #9
My first look at buying them they were $2 each and I have a bunch of types. Seems silly to drop $15-$20 on tokens. I just needed to look on another site. Found some for $0.25.
Will also as around at FNM as the people there I'm sure would dump any they didn't need. Thanks.
June 18, 2013 3:30 p.m.
Smith_and_Tonic I totally agree. As long as it's clear what the token is, and whether or not it's tapped, then it's not harder than this.
June 18, 2013 3:32 p.m.
Jarrheadd0 says... #11
Hey, look. Fifty tokens for five bucks. http://sales.starcitygames.com/on_sale_now.php?promo_IDs[]=577
June 18, 2013 5:59 p.m.
I make my own tokens by wiping off the ink of tip cards from booster packs with rubbing alcohol, then drawing on them with colored sharpie. They look awesome and offer clear visual representation of what the token is supposed to be. If you want, I can load up an image or two of my tokens.
June 18, 2013 6:33 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #13
Make your own, you can make mini cards, dozens upon dozens on single sheet of card. all the token needs to say is it's creature type, any abilities, usually none, it's power and toughness, and be the right colour.
June 18, 2013 7:37 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #14
http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/427523/goblins-pub.html
Need goblin tokens? download this, print on a single piece of white card, and bam, get yourself a pair of scissors.
Don't need goblins, then change it to whatever you want.
June 18, 2013 7:57 p.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #15
A friend of mine makes custom tokens then print them. We use them the same way as some use proxy, some cut and paste on a crapy common, there you just made a token.... My personal favorite is a zombie token "michael jakson thriller".
June 18, 2013 8:05 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #16
I still have a bunch of cards from other games I used to play, and often I use those as tokens. Star Wars characters, werewolves from Rage, freaky Lovecraftian monsters from Mythos, all kinds of crazy stuff.
June 18, 2013 8:38 p.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #17
Never use round tokens like poker chip, we can't see when they are taped. Keep in mind that while you see your board, your opponent is far, on the other end of the table...
June 18, 2013 8:59 p.m.
I tend to play token decks, the sort that could possibly have six or seven kinds of tokens on the table at the same time. Even my non-"token" decks like Junk Aristocrats might have four different kinds (Spirit, Demon, Vampire, Elemental, plus Sorin emblems). But I've found it hard to come up with a lot of actual token cards in my area, and honestly, when I'm ordering cards online I just never think about tokens.
So it was worth the two or three hours that I spent printing some out and gluing them to basic land cards. Then I put them in sleeves that reflect the token's color (white for spirits, black for vampires, etc.), but that part probably belongs in the OCD thread.
June 19, 2013 9:17 a.m.
I think I am going to make some. I considered buying them instead, but I looked through all the decks I am using and my list of cards that I want to add and found 28 different token types! I also just playtested Mother of All last night and without a board-wipe event, I ran out of dice to use for keeping track of counters and tokens. So that means that even at the deal my nice LGS has (12 for $1), I would still be spending a couple bills on something that I could just make, legitimately.
I just have to fix this, though. I can't go on this way LOL.
I was talking with a friend about it and we want to make tokens that have a little slot in them for keeping track of how many copies of the token there are. The text on the token would look like:
"Number of Copies: ___" and have enough space for a D6 or D20 to count how many of that specific kind of token there are. The rest would have name, P/T, creature types, any abilities, and it would have the right color(s) as a background (and maybe also a highly entertaining picture - love the "Thriller" reference!).
I wonder if anyone can foresee a possible problem with that. My plan would to be have at least 5 of each token type so for example in that Mikaeus EDH token deck Mother of All, there can be one token out that keeps track of each different batch of soldiers or humans or angels sorted in batches based on how many Mikaeus +1/+1 counters that batch currently has. But this is still cheaper / easier / more reasonable for board management than having dozens of each token type available (or even in play).
June 19, 2013 9:29 a.m.
IonImplant says... #20
I tired it with cards last night and it works fine. I tended to use the dice along with it to have the number rather than 1 each with the power listed (I boost all creatures together so they are all 1/1 or all 4/4) The only thing I had to do was add dice to separate which were tapped or which had summoning sickness. In the end cards are nice because they fit in my case and I have dice anyway.
June 19, 2013 11:03 a.m.
I made some this past week and have been testing them out. They ended up being tiny: about 1.5" x 2". I used fun pictures and laminated them. I made a total of 96 for $5 paid to the person whose printer and laminator I used (cost of ink, lamination sheets, and keeping a friend whose stuff I just used a plenty good amount of).
They all have the following text at the bottom:
of Copies: [BOXFORDICE]
By having that well-defined place for a die (or stacked dice if necessary as was the case when I sacked Shrine of Loyal Legions for 10 Myr tokens - and I could have used one D20 but I don't have one - but there are situations where I could have more tokens like if I were to drop Storm Herd or play Nomads' Assembly at the right time - then I could just stack D20s if/when I get them).
It was also nice to have no confusion about which dice were keeping track of the count of that token type and which dice were keeping track of +1/+1 counters. The board was also nicely consolidated and there was no need to count a stack of tokens.
I don't know how much Wizards makes on selling tokens, but I think this type of token is easier to use than anything else I've seen so far. I hope that other people I play with agree ... we shall see (won't be buying new cards for a while but I also won't get rid of them and probably will still play now and then).
gufymike says... #2
I used to use glass beads as tokens way back in the day. So the poker chips make sense. Though I think the token cards are best but custom ones are so much funner. It really is a personal choice.
June 18, 2013 1:45 p.m.