I think I'm finally able to capture in a phrase something that I hate more than milk and rice combined with sour things like tomatoes.

The first example of something that always pisses me off is when certain people argue that certain green dice centric ships are either completely unkillable or totally easy to kill. Both of these are expectant of green dice to behave in a certain fashion, of which, neither are the case. Green dice are green dice. They have 3/8 evades, 2/8 focuses, and 3/8 blank. That is a very wide spread.

[Yes autothrusters make a blank an evade, but only out of arc or R3. Yes, Palpatine changes another blank, but this is only once a turn. The prerequisite to avoiding both of these ruining your plans is to mathematically determine how many more dice you need to fire to easily overcome statistical deviance. If soontir bumps, has no tokens, but you only have one 3dice shot at him, and he evades it on a high evade spike plus palpatine, your planning failed. No, soontir is not invincible or unkillable.]

The second interesting factor of these type of exclamations is that these are all "I said so", declarative, "fight me or die" type of statements. They're not meant to look for the truth. They're trying to force their truth upon you.

In the US, we for sure live in a system that is created by the extreme clash of ideas: republican debate, capitalism, interest vs interest = balance. Our justice system works this way: It is intended (not always true) that two sides fight to their hardest possible ability for their side, and a neutral third party decides the "winner" of that fight. Neither side is supposed to give any ground, or consider why the other side might be right. This is important in the critique of Western thought: it is all extremity, not a view of all facets. It is not about trying to find the truth between you and someone else, but that you have the truth!

I want to suggest a new way of talking for those who care: Try, instead of declaring, considering. Go for a more nuanced opinion.

I've had friends tell me in very strong declarative tones that their brewed up build is really good before trying it on the table. Sometimes that comes with statements such as, with the focuses I get from things like Poe, as long as I roll a side of the green dice that has white paint on it, I'll be fine. This ignores nearly half the other possibilities. And this in turn is what catches people by surprise many times for why their lists get blown up.

We say green dice are fickle. Play enough games and that will for sure show you why that is. In this game, you win some, you lose some.

Things aren't usually absolutes.

Except Rebels. They suck.

You might appreciate this blog of mine:

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/in-my-experience-theres-no-such-thing.html

I look at pretty much exactly this subject.

You might appreciate this blog of mine:

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/in-my-experience-theres-no-such-thing.html

I look at pretty much exactly this subject.

I love you. Sorry if that comes off as aggressive and declarative.

--

Seriously though guys, go read that.

Paraphrase: "If you're going to play with green dice, be prepared for variance. Otherwise you're going to have a bad time".

Even if you don't play Magic, this example should be simple enough to make sense: In Magic, you get a 7 card starting hand. If you don't like it, you shuffle it away for 1 less each time. New players tend to keep a lot of hands that are "hoping". "If I get this card and this card in the next 3 rounds, I'll be okay!" They don't determine the odds of certain this card and that card combinations are very unlikely, or are actually keepable.

Don't be that guy. Know your odds. Screw Fat Han.

Things aren't usually absolutes.

Except Rebels. They suck.

Want a "MULTILIKE" Button

Green dice are very much a swing feature, especially with ships that has as many green dice as they have hit points. One of only two outcomes happen:

1. they cancel 3 (or more) hits beating the attack all together
2. all blanks and the ship is destroyed

There really isn't much room for middle ground. However the whole point behind green dice bias is people don't know or talk about the 1 or 2 evades that canceled a single hit. Also the probability in greed dice calculations is assuming that green dice are rolled for every attack. No one takes into account if the attack fails to hit as it doesn't even matter if green dice were rolled (but the attacker will take note if their 1-2 dice evade comes up all blanks after that bad dice roll).

I'm out of likes for the day but this is too good not to give credit to.

If you blame dice for your losses -- red or green, yours or your opponents -- you are holding yourself back as a player. I don't care if Soontir did roll 4 natural Evades when you blocked him at range 1, there is always something you could have done differently that would have at least given you better odds.

Perhaps you should have seen a particularly obvious maneuver coming a few turns earlier and blocked it. Perhaps you blew your ordnance or Crack Shots on the wrong target. Perhaps you even lost on Turn 0 when you set the rocks up poorly. There's always something, and if you try to look for those instead of just assuming you got screwed by dice you'll find the dice start mattering a lot less.

More to the point being 'screwed by the dice' doesn't exist.

You played a ship that can blow up on 4 blank results. 4 blank results WILL happen - that's a mathematical certainty, it's just a matter of when it happens. you're the one who brought Russian Roulette to the table, the dice were just being dice.

I spent some time (by that I mean 25 practice games) chasing Soontir with 6 Zs PRE-CHIMPS. Now, that sucked. But it was doable.

Not likely. But doable.

The importance was blocking. I started learning how to block around the level of the Regional players in the area. (I'm still not quite there. I make blocks, but they aren't bricks of art with amazing denial and firepower chances like the good players).

Nothing is certain.

Shroedinger's Fel only exists in 3 places at once before you've stopped him.

I blew up Soontir and Carnor Jax yesterday using Trandoshan Slaver with Zuckuss crew.

My Slaver has 12+ stress tokens when it killed both. Green dice aren't fickle with Autothrusters palp and tokens.

You might appreciate this blog of mine:

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/in-my-experience-theres-no-such-thing.html

I look at pretty much exactly this subject.

That's a great post, FWIW. Top-notch content.

Marking this day with a red cross in my calendar:

Blail Blerg does "love" someone/thing... So does this mean he does not "hate" everyone/thing?

I love many things.

Love. Will it fly?

Paraphrase: "If you're going to play with green dice, be prepared for variance. Otherwise you're going to have a bad time".

Sometimes that variance can be *dang* annoying, though. IE., that 'worst game ever' I still recall years later - me in three 'ace' Interceptors vs a Fat Han, jumped-up A-Wing and generic A-Wing. I absolutely school my opponent on maneuvering turn after TURN...to no effect, my attack dice just blank out, although I keep denying him shots. He finally breaks his formation more widely so I can't avoid EVERY shot, but so what? The only shot he ends up with is against my Soontir *with* hull upgrade and stealth device, (it was before AT), focus token sitting beside him...and it's his dinky, generic A-Wing, that lost its action to get the shot it had so no tokens of any kind...

He rolls his two dice...crit...crit. I roll my 4 evade...all blanks. Draw the crits...direct hit...direct hit.

Just...goddamn those green dice.

GODDAMN

THEM

TO

HELL

However the whole point behind green dice bias is people don't know or talk about the 1 or 2 evades that canceled a single hit

Indeed. You don't need to dodge entire attacks, TIE/in fashion, for green dice to make a difference. The fact that you'll probably dodge 1 damage with a 2 dice evade roll if you've got focus to play with is the difference between it taking 2 torpedoes and 3 torpedoes to kill an R2 x-wing

However the whole point behind green dice bias is people don't know or talk about the ... 2 evades that canceled a single hit.

Funny story (and the reason I don't fly Interceptors any more, even after that GODAWFUL last event)....found myself with another Soontir that arc-dodged with PtL to a range 3 position, took evade because I was worried (so got a focus), even though I was behind a rock...and the shooter was a Phantom that had (inexplicably) pulled Expose as his talent.

I'd hoped to get out of arc, as I was target locked, but...no such luck. So he rolls 5 attack dice...all blanks. Rerolls them all...gets 1 hit. Hilariously. I roll my *six* evade dice (3 base, stealth, range 3, rock) with my evade and focus token beside me....natural 6 evades. So...7 total evade results against 1 hit results.

Ummmm....??thanks, dice gods??

Green dice, man...

If you blame dice for your losses -- red or green, yours or your opponents -- you are holding yourself back as a player. I don't care if Soontir did roll 4 natural Evades when you blocked him at range 1, there is always something you could have done differently that would have at least given you better odds.

Perhaps you should have seen a particularly obvious maneuver coming a few turns earlier and blocked it. Perhaps you blew your ordnance or Crack Shots on the wrong target. Perhaps you even lost on Turn 0 when you set the rocks up poorly. There's always something, and if you try to look for those instead of just assuming you got screwed by dice you'll find the dice start mattering a lot less.

More to the point being 'screwed by the dice' doesn't exist.

You played a ship that can blow up on 4 blank results. 4 blank results WILL happen - that's a mathematical certainty, it's just a matter of when it happens. you're the one who brought Russian Roulette to the table, the dice were just being dice.

Buuuuut suddenly you remember that most of the time 2-3 evades are enough.

and that "some specific pilot that is not to be named" can get up to three evades out of thin air, being AT+Evade+Palpy

Green dice are unintuitive for many people. They roll 6 greens and they only get 1 evade? "Impossible!" they cry, when in fact it's just slightly below the average of 2 and there's about 1 in 5 chances of that happening.

Green dice are unintuitive for many people. They roll 6 greens and they only get 1 evade? "Impossible!" they cry, when in fact it's just slightly below the average of 2 and there's about 1 in 5 chances of that happening.

Don't scare me. I might not want to fly my Imperials.

Also, people. scare me.

The problem is you hairless monkeys are pattern seeking animals so the Times you roll all blanks stick in your mind.

But the green dice do hate you and actively seek to betray you which is why only a fool trusts them.

At least the green dice you hold in your hands will try to be friends sometimes... so they can betray you more thoroughly later. The Green Dice of Vassal HATE unilaterally. They don't care who you are or what you are flying, they just hate you. They know your hands will never warm their evil little insides so they don't even bother...

At some moment you throw your dice

then the dice throw you.

If you blame dice for your losses -- red or green, yours or your opponents -- you are holding yourself back as a player. I don't care if Soontir did roll 4 natural Evades when you blocked him at range 1, there is always something you could have done differently that would have at least given you better odds.

Perhaps you should have seen a particularly obvious maneuver coming a few turns earlier and blocked it. Perhaps you blew your ordnance or Crack Shots on the wrong target. Perhaps you even lost on Turn 0 when you set the rocks up poorly. There's always something, and if you try to look for those instead of just assuming you got screwed by dice you'll find the dice start mattering a lot less.

More to the point being 'screwed by the dice' doesn't exist.

You played a ship that can blow up on 4 blank results. 4 blank results WILL happen - that's a mathematical certainty, it's just a matter of when it happens. you're the one who brought Russian Roulette to the table, the dice were just being dice.

Buuuuut suddenly you remember that most of the time 2-3 evades are enough.

and that "some specific pilot that is not to be named" can get up to three evades out of thin air, being AT+Evade+Palpy

Yeah... Bloody Sienar Test Pilot.

Play a couple games and count your green dice. Really puts it into perspective.

I have had games with

4 evades out of 32 rolls

and

24 evades out of 29 (I apologized to my opponent for this one)

But I am usually just about average.

Another thing people focus on is games where they roll poorly in the beginning and lose a ship but the rolls average out by the end of the game. They say that the green dice screwed them, when they really rolled perfectly fine but just had one or two bad crucial rolls.

Wait. You hate milk and rice? Who hates milk and rice?

Play a couple games and count your green dice. Really puts it into perspective.

I have had games with

4 evades out of 32 rolls

and

24 evades out of 29 (I apologized to my opponent for this one)

But I am usually just about average.

Another thing people focus on is games where they roll poorly in the beginning and lose a ship but the rolls average out by the end of the game. They say that the green dice screwed them, when they really rolled perfectly fine but just had one or two bad crucial rolls.

And ignore that it's happening on the red dice as well. If your Evades are matched to their Hits you're ok, if they're mismatched you'll blow up.