With this in mind, Pip knows he cannot afford to hold back and play it safe- he must give it all, strategy and training be damned. So saying, Pip plays a risky move- one that will either turn the match around or put him out of the tournament entirely. Fortunately, with the power of the plot behind him, the former outcome is achieved, enabling Pip to bring out his DESTINED DIE.
It isn’t quite over yet, however, as Roku reveals his own DESTINED DIE, and the clash of the powers of wind and ice soon creates almost blizzard-like conditions around the players. Somehow, in blatant disregard for the rules, this match has become not a game of dice, but a test of endurance- whoever falls first loses the game.
Despite the freezing conditions, Pip is able to hold on by picturing the faces of his friends cheering him on, but for Roku, it isn’t so easy. All he can see in his mind’s eye is Mars’ coolness towards him, and it begins to seem as if the blizzard itself represents his attitude. Unable to stand strong in the face of such treatment, Roku collapses to the ground, and his loss is declared.
Having won the match, Pip teases Ace that he will have to recognise someone who has come so far, but Ace merely tells him that both he and Chip have lost his respect- they have relied on the cheap gimmicks of DESTINED DICE to win, instead of trusting in their own skill. Pip remarks that he is just jealous, but Ace remains calms and tells him that he will demonstrate how a real Dice Master should play- by winning his quarter final with a randomly generated deck from his database.
Naturally, when Three hears this news, she is less than pleased- just because she is a supporting character, she doesn’t want Ace to take her match so frivolously. Ace tells her not to take things so personally- no matter who he plays against, he has to do his best under even the most adverse of circumstances, or he won’t be able to snatch that elusive victory from Chip. Three tells him that she will make him stop aiming for Chip and start focusing on the opponent in front of him, starting here and now.
Before the match can begin, Ace must choose his deck, and as luck would have it, the computer spits out an especially weak one. Aware of Three’s skill, Pip wonders why Ace would throw away his chances of winning just to prove a point, but Chip is not so certain that he has- Ace is a genius, and if anyone can play under these conditions, he can.
Nonetheless, as must inevitably happen, in the first few rounds, Three manages to take a clear lead. She tells Ace that she is disappointed in him for not taking her seriously, but that in the end it doesn’t matter if it means she can attain her goal of victory more easily. Telling her that she lacks the ability to taste more than trifling victory, Ace begins making a comeback, putting together the weak elements of his deck to create a powerful and cohesive whole. As Three’s dice points crumble away, Ace tells her that she does not have the spark that he and Chip share, the potential to become more than a mere dice player and ascend to the ranks of Dice Master. Although she must accept defeat this time, however, Three cannot help but disagree- anyone can reach the top, and she isn’t going to rest until she makes it.
As Ace departs, Pip tries to comfort Three, telling her that Ace is a real jerk, and that the stunt he pulled was bound to throw anyone off their game. In response, Three tells him to shut up, and goes to leave, promising that when they next see her, she will have improved her game and far surpassed any of them.
Finally, the time for the last quarter final has come, and this time it is Mars’ turn to play against Evan. As Mars calmly sorts his deck, Evan tells him that the time has come to answer for everything he’s done- by losing in a dice match. Mars laughs, and reminds Evan about the fate of his partner Anna. Evan merely retorts that that makes him all the more determined to win to avenge her.
As the match begins, Evan plays a strong opening game, whilst Mars seems barely awake. Pip remarks to Chip that the big bad Mars Cubehart must have relied on all those underlings because he was no good at dicing himself, but as if on cue, Mars suddenly seems to wake up. He comments that he has seen the extent of Evan’s skill, and for someone who is supposed to be a highly ranked dice agent, it really is quite disappointing- in another three turns, Mars can easily win the match. Evan retorts that there is no way that Mars could deduce that, to which Mars replies that he would love to toy with him for a while, but with tea break so close, he really can’t afford to miss out on his digestives. With that, Mars begins reciting the next few moves Evan will make, and how he plans to counter them. Although he tries to put a brave face on it, Evan goes pale, and it is clear that Mars has read his every move. In the end, his hand shaking as he goes to draw his next dice, Evan is forced to surrender.
In the audience, Pip wonders why Evan surrendered when Mars told him the moves he was going to make- surely he could have thought up counter-moves. Chip tells Pip that the situation was grim from Evan; from what Mars said, it was clear that his play was on a level far beyond his, and that there was no sense in carrying on. Walking to the sidelines, the defeated Evan looks over at Chip and Pip and tells them that much as he hates to put the two boys in this position, they are the only hope of defeating Mars and thus somehow saving the world from his evil plans.
With the quarter finals over, Deuce and Roku are forced to give up their DESTINED DICE to Chip and Pip respectively, as is the custom in any match involving DESTINED DICE. The two boys realise that Mars must be aiming to collect all the DESTINED DICE from his opponents, and even though he will lack the one still in Snake’s possession, the power from these six will be enough to commit all sorts of nefarious acts, like taking over the world.
The next day, the semi-finals begin, and first up is a match that will test friendship to the limit- Chip vs. Pip. Chip wants to win so that he can face Mars and find a way to return Flick to normal, whilst Pip is desperate to prove himself against his friend. Despite the copious amount of flashbacks used to remind us of all they’ve shared, neither side is about to give an inch.
As the match begins, both boys make a strong start, and Chip comments to himself on how much he has improved. Pip tells him that he has tested himself against the best, and we digress for a few episodes to follow his journey through the tournament, starting with a recap of his match against Ichi before showing him fighting some generic themed opponents. There were times when things looked grim and he almost gave up (cue a quarter final flashback), but then he realised that he had to keep going. And if Chip thinks he is the same person he used to play against after school, then he is in for a little surprise.
Chip admits that Pip has improved, but tells him not to be so sure that everyone has stood still whilst he was refining his skills. Just as Pip is aiming for something higher, so is Chip (although who and what this is remains unclear), and every match he has played in this tournament has taught him something important.
A lengthy dice match ensues, until at one point, Pip plays an unexpectedly good move and seems set to take the lead- has he really surpassed Chip? Perhaps not, for even as Chip congratulates Pip on his move, he replies that much as he would like his friend to win, he simply cannot let that happen. Annoyed, Pip tells Chip that is not up to him to choose who wins and loses, and plays a combo with his DESTINED DICE of Ice and Wind. As the temperature drops and a freezing blizzard attempts to take hold once again, Chip counters with his DESTINED DICE of Fire and Lightning, burning away Pip’s harsh conditions and striking directly at his Dice Points. With this one move, Chip has won, and possession of the DESTINED DICE goes to him.
Chip offers to give back Pip’s DESTINED DICE, but Pip tells him to keep them for now- if he is going to fulfil his promise to defeat Mars, he will need all the help he can get. Ace tells him not to be so hasty- there is no guarantee that Mars will make it past the semi-final match against him. He sarcastically apologises for denying Chip the chance to ‘save the world’, but he has an important final against Chip to play, and no tea-sipping Englishman is going to get in his way.
Unfortunately, skilled as he is, as his match against Mars begins, it seems that even Ace may not have what it takes to defeat the villain. As an intense battle of logic, attack and counterattack begins, Pip and Chip are impressed by the raw skill of the two players, but as Ace is beginning to suspect, Mars is several levels beyond him. Even so, Mars congratulates Ace, telling him that he is the best person he has played, for unlike all those other fools he has faced, Ace is skilled enough to be aware of how Mars is watching him from on high, reading a hundred moves ahead.
Although he knows that match is futile, however, Ace cannot bring himself to give up, and Mars suspects that he knows the reason- he is trying to make Mars reveal as much of his playing style as possible, so that Chip will have a better chance against him. Naturally, Ace denies this, but Mars tells him it is futile- his strategies are far too numerous to be revealed in a single match. Even so, Mars picks up the pace and defeats Ace within the next few turns, as if he truly is scared of giving away anything else.
With the final set for the next day, that evening, Ace visits Chip. He is understandably disappointed at not being able to face Chip in the finals (which was the point of this entire arc), but he tells Chip that it is imperative that he defeat Mars, and to that end, he wants to customise Chip’s deck to take advantage of Mars’ playing style. Chip refuses, saying that not only is that probably what Mars wants, but that he would rather stick with the deck that has been by his side all this time than show a lack of confidence in it by switching to different dice. Ace tells Chip that his sentiments are ridiculous, and that the dice are just tools to be used in the most logical way, but Chip knows better- there should always be a bond between the dice and their master that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The next day, before the final proper can begin, Pip asks Ace if they can play a third place match. Ace initially refuses, believing it to be pointless, but when Pip taunts him about being afraid to lose, he changes his mind. As the pair begin their match, Mars predicts from the sidelines that it will be over quickly, but Chip tells him not to be so sure- Pip is a far better dice player than he used to be. Mars merely laughs, and says that he is glad not to have met Pip in the old days, as he surely would have been pathetically weak.
Unfortunately, even with Chip rooting for him, the power of Friendship is not enough to save Pip, and he swiftly falls to Ace’s strategies, concluding the match and allowing the actual final to begin. As the two finalists step into the dicing arena, Chip tells Mars that he will take him down, but Mars laughs once again- even four DESTINED DICE are of no concern to him.
As the lengthy final match begins, it seems that Mars may have a point, for compared to his skill, even Chip seems unable to cope. In desperation, he plays the DESTINED DICE of Wind and Ice, only to have Mars counter both of them with the DESTINED DIE of Dragons. Next, Chip tries the DESTINED DIE of Lightning, but this time Mars manages to set up a trap that enables him to take control of it and devastate Chip’s Dice Points. And when Mars follows up with the DESTINED DIE of Sun, it seems as if it is game over for Chip…
Fortunately, at such times, Chip descends into a black featureless world where he sees a vision of his father, and this match is no exception. Chip’s father tells him that he knows Chip can see a way out of this dilemma, and when Chip replies that it has only the slimmest chance of succeeding, his father instructs him to have more faith in himself. Energised by these words, and by the power of friendship exuding from Pip, Chip returns to reality, and to Mars’ surprise, he seems more confident that ever. Playing the DESTINED DIE of Fire, and imbued with Friendship, Destiny and Cheating, Chip pulls off a series of unlikely moves that strip away Mars’ defences and leave him open to a direct attack. After ten episodes of struggle, Chip has finally won- and with it, he has claimed six DESTINED DICE.
With the match over, Mars is forced to concede that his plans are in ruins, and that he has finally realised the error of his ways. He is a skilled player, but as long as he uses his abilities for evil, he is wasting his life. Mars realises that he needs to think of a new direction in life, and decides to take a trip to Ireland in order to figure out what that is.
Although the tournament is over, Ace insists that he and Chip must have their showdown one day, before leaving to go and analyse all the data he has collected from the tournament. With six DESTINED DICE now in his possession, Chip goes home, only to receive a message left by the all too familiar voice of Snake Eyes. Snake has magically heard of Chip’s victory already, and he knows that the boy now own six of the seven DESTINED DIE- and since he already beat Snake, technically he also owns the seventh. With this in mind, Snake suggests it is time to open the gate to the mysterious Dice World…
UPCOMING ARCS
Dice World Arc: Having finally gathered all the DESTINED DICE, Chip visits his previously unmentioned inventor friend Grandpa Johnson and has him assemble a Dice Gate. Using the Dice Gate, the way to the Dice World can finally be opened, so that Chip can search for the father who abandoned him long ago. Eager to embark on a new adventure, Chip and his friends pass through the portal to the Dice World, a magical world where the monsters summoned by the dice are real! Unfortunately, the once peaceful Dice World has been taken over by a despotic villain known only as Chakra. Can Chip free the denizens of the Dice World and find his father before he has to return to the real world? Could Chakra in fact be Chuck himself?
Dicemasters Elements: When Chip Roller and his friends returned to the real world after the Dice World arc, the power needed to bring them back shattered the DESTINED DICE into Element Fragments that were scattered all across Japanamerica. Flash forward a few years, and Chip and his friends are now in high school with no time for dicing. A new legend begins, however, when Ellis Diecut finds an Element Fragment on the way home from school and discovers that DESTINY has chosen him to become a Dice Master. Now Ellis must battle against others with Element Fragments, collect them and oppose an evil force wishing to use the Fragments for their own nefarious purposes.
Dicemasters MATERIALISE: Thanks to recent advances in technology, Dicemasters has become a more advanced and intense game than ever before- now players can go into a special holographic arena and actually fight in person! Shori and Riel are twin brother and sister marked by DESTINY, who set out to become Dice Masters and unlock the ULTIMATE DIE.
