Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Interesting matchup -- what should the swing die be?

OK, I am currently in the middle of a Socrates vs. Morgan game. Both buttons have only four dice, with some compensation in their skills. Both buttons have low winning percentages overall, though I think this is partly from misplay in each case (especially Socrates), though certainly neither one is very strong.

But my question at the moment is about the Y swing for Socrates. What do you think it should be set to in this case? Usually, a "1" makes a lot of sense for Socrates -- the presence of his special attack gives a lot more flexibility and the benefit in gaining initiative is very strong, especially when you only have four dice. On the other hand, against a button with speed dice -- especially MULTIPLE speed dice, a "1" can be a ticket to disaster, making losses of multiple dice -- which Socrates in particual can ill afford -- much more likely. My GENERAL recommendation
when going against buttons with (multiple) speed dice
is to make your swing dice as LARGE as possible; but the desire for a nice victory condition may keep you from simply maxing out the swing. In this context, the need for initiative is yet another constraint.

So: the questions:
  • If Morgan's X=4, what do you think Socrates's Y should be set to?
  • If Morgan's X=20, what do you think Socrates's Y should be set to?
  • What should Socrates's Y be set to for the opening round?

All answers are welcome -- I don't necessarily have a best answer myself -- but I'm more interested in your reasoning than your answer.


Socrates (from Fantasy set)
  • 4-sided die [ 4 ]
  • 10-sided die [ 10 ]
  • 12-sided die [ 12 ]
  • Y Swing [ Y ]
[Special Rules: Socrates may use one of his opponent's dice as part of any 2-die Skill Attack. (called a Socrates Attack)] Wins: 1814 Losses: 2940 Win Ratio = 38% Total Games: 4754
(Stats do not count Socrates vs Socrates games.)

Morgan (from Brawl set)

  • Speed 10-sided die [ z10 ]
  • Speed 12-sided die [ z12 ]
  • Speed 12-sided die [ z12 ]
  • Speed X Swing [ zX ]
Wins: 2404 Losses: 4798 Win Ratio = 33% Total Games: 7202
(Stats do not count Morgan vs Morgan games.)

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