Ugh! This is one place where FFG really messed up! Few things upset me more than having a thematic show down between Vader and Luke in which Vader one-shots Luke because he rolled a Blank! I mean I could strategize perfectly (focusing, maneuvering, etc), and then all that gets me nothing because of a stupid die roll! I mean, sure there's only a 1/6 chance of it coming up, but when it does! Compared to the Black die's worst roll, the White die sucks! And to make it worse, almost all of the Rebs have this die with the blank. This makes Imperials the far superior faction, since they have the most black die defenders. Please join me in my cause to get FFG to rebalance the White die!

P.S. In order for it too be best balanced, I think it should have: 1 evade; 2x 1 block; 2x 2 blocks; and the dodge should be replaced with 3 blocks because it is way OP right now!

This is obviously a joke post, but I'll bite. The difference between 1 block and 0 block is very minor.

The white die is generally better than the black die.

I'll leave this here so people can run some attacks on their own to see why that is true:

http://mattyellen.github.io/imperial-assault-calculator/

You'll see that the dice are actually pretty close, except for the white die you never have more than an 80% chance to do 1 damage.

Thematic? Dude, wimpy Luke never fought Vader, and he wouldn't have stood a chance. One shot kill is pretty accurate. You should have shot from a distance, not get close enough into melee battle.

Even after he learnt some lightsaber skills, Vader still curbstomped him in each battle, until his aggression took over at the end and he almost let the dark side take him.

Maybe try again when Jedi Luke is released end of this year. Make sure to focus him first, hehe.

The white die is generally better than the black die.

I'll leave this here so people can run some attacks on their own to see why that is true:

http://mattyellen.github.io/imperial-assault-calculator/

You'll see that the dice are actually pretty close, except for the white die you never have more than an 80% chance to do 1 damage.

It depends on the attack. The harder the attack, the better the white die. The weaker the attack, the better the black die. The point of break even is around the elite Stormtroopers attack. Everyone attacking harder than an elite Stormtrooper hates white dice, everyone attacking weaker than an elite Stormtrooper loves white dice.

From my experience, 2 blocks is generally better than 1 block 1 evade. Obviously 1 evade is better than a blank. So I wold say, from my experience, That the dodge is a fair replacement to the 3 blocks.

1 block 1 evade is most times better than 2 blocks against elite figures which usually have surge for +2dmg. And in the campaign, with Combat Coat you can make a block from the evade when you need to.

I never want to defend with a white because I'll roll a blank. I never want to attack a white because they'll roll a dodge. *sigh*

Please actually use the calculator instead of saying "I feel like black is better than white in scenario X".

For a majority of attacks in the game, you want to be rolling white.

The white die is generally better than the black die.

I'll leave this here so people can run some attacks on their own to see why that is true:

http://mattyellen.github.io/imperial-assault-calculator/

It depends on the attack. The harder the attack, the better the white die. The weaker the attack, the better the black die. The point of break even is around the elite Stormtroopers attack. Everyone attacking harder than an elite Stormtrooper hates white dice, everyone attacking weaker than an elite Stormtrooper loves white dice.

Please actually use the calculator instead of saying "I feel like black is better than white in scenario X".

Actually, I did.

And just from the math of it, this should be obvious. The more damage the attacker rolls, the better is a dodge. The less damage the attacker rolls, the worse is a blank.

E.g.: The attacker rolls 8 damage. A defending elite Stormtrooper rolls a black die and is dead in any case. A defending Officer rolls a dodge and effectively blocks 8 damage.

E.g.: The attacker rolls 2 damage and a surge for 1 damage. A defending regular Stormtrooper can't be killed by the attack. A defending Officer rolls a blank and is dead.

Use the calculator.

Example 1: RRY (Surge: 2 Damage) vs B / RRY (Surge: 2 Damage) vs W

Example 1: BY (Surge: 1 Damage) vs B / BY (Surge: 1 Damage) vs W

This guy is trolling, you are all getting trolled.

I'm with DerBaer on this one, a stormtrooper maxed out at 5 damage if not focused and can fairly reliably hit that due to re roll.

When firing at rebel troopers (white dice, 5 health) you will be getting one shot a good amount of the time.

When firing at stormtroopers (black dice, 5 health) it's literally impossible to kill them with that shot without some sort of extra bonus. That sort of consistency and taking two shots every time to kill, is what you can build a winning list around and why they consistently place well in tournaments.

That's not an unusual attack, that's the most likely attack for anything to be shot at from given they're in almost every imperial list, and there will be 6 of them.

I agree with you on a lot DT mate, but not this one, I love that black dice in the majority of instances!

This guy is trolling, you are all getting trolled.

This guy is a fairly consistent poster and contributed to some good discussions before, I don't think he's trolling. I just think we have different opinions and both sides hold them strongly, that's not really a problem though.

The only person trolling is the opening comment.

If you're defending against an elite stormtrooper attack, you really want to be rolling white because block/evade is usually going to be 3 blocks effectively.

I would only roll black against an eStorm attack if I absolutely had to not have the guy die or I lose the game and the enemy won't get a 2nd attack before I can go, because block/evade and dodge are much better than 2 blocks or 3 blocks. Block and evade are on both dice. Then the only difference is white has the blank vs the black 1 block. Effectively you're 5/6 to do equivalent or better vs 1/6 to do 1 damage worse.

According to the calculator graph, a white die is more likely to take 3/4/5 damage than a black by small percentages 6/8/3, but that seems like a good tradeoff for the 16.6% chance to take no damage. Of course, if you're unlucky you get blank and they get max damage and you die in 1 hit. That is of course, very unfortunate. The other outcomes generally favor white defense though.

Against some other attacks, black will be better. Like defending vs Leia, where blocking surge is basically pointless.

Or like DerBaer said, Vs. blue/yellow surge for 1, black is going to be better.

​On other attacks, it is clear how superior white is (like RGY surge for +2/pierce 3).

Or like vs RY surge for pierce 2 from a sab.

What I'm taking from this is in some cases white is better, and some cases black is better.

Which is entirely the point of the design no?

Thank You! Some who sees sense! The Black die is more consistent, the White Die is more polar.

- The " Troll "

The only person trolling is the opening comment.

Thanks DT, I had never realized that writing with a different mood than tone was trolling! Does that make Jonathon Swift The Father of Trolling with his A Modest Proposal ?

- "The Troll "

The only person trolling is the opening comment.

If you're defending against an elite stormtrooper attack, you really want to be rolling white because block/evade is usually going to be 3 blocks effectively.

I would only roll black against an eStorm attack if I absolutely had to not have the guy die or I lose the game and the enemy won't get a 2nd attack before I can go, because block/evade and dodge are much better than 2 blocks or 3 blocks. Block and evade are on both dice. Then the only difference is white has the blank vs the black 1 block. Effectively you're 5/6 to do equivalent or better vs 1/6 to do 1 damage worse.

According to the calculator graph, a white die is more likely to take 3/4/5 damage than a black by small percentages 6/8/3, but that seems like a good tradeoff for the 16.6% chance to take no damage. Of course, if you're unlucky you get blank and they get max damage and you die in 1 hit. That is of course, very unfortunate. The other outcomes generally favor white defense though.

Against some other attacks, black will be better. Like defending vs Leia, where blocking surge is basically pointless.

Or like DerBaer said, Vs. blue/yellow surge for 1, black is going to be better.

​On other attacks, it is clear how superior white is (like RGY surge for +2/pierce 3).

Or like vs RY surge for pierce 2 from a sab.

I completely get what you're saying DT however in most circumstances taking 2-3 damage or taking 4 damage is exactly the same, you end up taking 2 shots to kill, which is what I want, if I'm rolling white however I have a chance to be killed by one shot.

I think you need to be careful using the calculator in isolation as it doesn't understand there is a disproportionally increased value in being able to push through 5 damage

I think we pretty much agree anyway that it basically just depends on the situation, we just have different preferences

The white die is perfect just as it is.

Just like your mom.

Another example: Elite Stormtrooper shoots Elite Stormtrooper (black die). He will do up to 4 damage to a 5 health figure.

Another example: Elite Stormtrooper shoots Elite Rebel Trooper (White die). He will do up to 5 damage to a 5 health figure.

In this case, I would prefer the black die. In my opinion, the guarantee to survive the attack is the best thing to have.

We also should consider differences in the local metas. I see a lot of Stormtrooper lists. When shot by Elite Stormtroopers I prefer black dice on five health figures and white dice with rerolls on four or less health figures (Elite Stormtroopers and regular Officers ). If the local meta would be different, maybe I'd prefer white dice.