Bad Dice

[T10]

GW is pushing some awful dice of late, the Sylvaneth dice in particular. What's going on here, Leaf+ to save? Swirly-skull for charge range? It boggles the mind.

But the Ossiarch dice are just the worst. Is the smugface skull the 1 or the 6? Or is it it the greasy hand thing giving you an OK that's the coveted top number? Why are  three out of six faces just nearly identical jazz hands? The fact that they exist make me want to meet an opponent dumb enough to use them so I can tell him never to use them.

But seriously: How do I tell my opponent not to use crappy novelty dice no-one can read?

-T10

[Emissary]

On all the faction dice the skull is the 1 and the faction symbol is the 6.  Personally I think they're fine.

[T10]

The game usually requires recognizing more than just 1s and 6s...

[Emissary]

My friends and I haven't had any issues with recognizing the leaves quickly on my sylvaneth dice except for the dark green summer dice which is more of an issue of the color and not style.

[Mutton]

These dice have me feeling like I'm taking crazy pills. Everyone is saying they're terrible and unreadable. 

But I really like the design and think they're some of the most legible ones they've ever made. In fact, they're probably some of the top faction dice that exist out there. I just don't understand how people are so confused.

[Slayerofmen]

The worst part about the faction dice and even the last crop of marine dice for 40k is that the specialist games dice sets look gorgeous ie lotr mordor and rohan dice or are easy to read and great looking ie aeronutica imperialis dice. 

 

There is no need for the pipless garbage

[Tankman]

These dice are easy to read.  Just count how many fingers are present. That's it.  In fact that's how pretty much all of the dice work, count how many of X are present.  Only dice that are hard to read are the idoneth dice and squig dice, but squig dice are a lot of fun.

[mojojojo101]

I find most of the faction dice a nice collector peice but not something g I'd want to actually use. Especially when you can literally 100s of perfectly good dice of Amazon for the same price.

[smartazjb0y]

41 minutes ago, mojojojo101 said:

I find most of the faction dice a nice collector peice but not something g I'd want to actually use. Especially when you can literally 100s of perfectly good dice of Amazon for the same price.

Generally agree. I don't really love most of them, they're not impossible to read but they're more effort than necessary. Maybe a nice collector's item if you want to really collect everything available to a faction, but considering the price and the design not something to practically use 

[Panzer]

7 hours ago, T10 said:

GW is pushing some awful dice of late, the Sylvaneth dice in particular. What's going on here, Leaf+ to save? Swirly-skull for charge range? It boggles the mind.

But the Ossiarch dice are just the worst. Is the smugface skull the 1 or the 6? Or is it it the greasy hand thing giving you an OK that's the coveted top number? Why are  three out of six faces just nearly identical jazz hands? The fact that they exist make me want to meet an opponent dumb enough to use them so I can tell him never to use them.

But seriously: How do I tell my opponent not to use crappy novelty dice no-one can read?

-T10

Not sure why you are this confused. Skulls are usually 1s and faction symbols are usually 6s (with the exception that some dice only have the faction symbol and on those it's often a 1 because GW is derpy but I think they've learned).
The hands are just holding up fingers 2-5. That much should be obvious.

Also there are some dice that are entirely artistic and supposed to be collected instead of used in actual games like the squig dice or the death guard dice.

The Bonereaper dice are kind of a hybrid imo. They are perfectly fine to read, however I don't like that the symbols are carved in instead of printed on.

[stratigo]

when you are throwing dozens of dice, upwards of hundreds, it is only polite to use dice that is quickly and easily legible for your opponent. It speeds up the game. If you want to use your specialty dice for your three to five attacks on your character, whatever. If you want to use them on your horde with extra attacks, please don't.

 

And are balanced well. Them gandalf dice and their 6s

[stratigo]

Just now, Panzer said:

Not sure why you are this confused. Skulls are usually 1s and faction symbols are usually 6s (with the exception that some dice only have the faction symbol and on those it's often a 1 because GW is derpy but I think they've learned).
The hands are just holding up fingers 2-5. That much should be obvious.

Also there are some dice that are entirely artistic and supposed to be collected instead of used in actual games like the squig dice or the death guard dice.

The Bonereaper dice are kind of a hybrid imo. They are perfectly fine to read, however I don't like that the symbols are carved in instead of printed on.

people don't hold to this because they are not a hive mind and it doesn't have any required guidelines. 

[Panzer]

2 minutes ago, stratigo said:

people don't hold to this because they are not a hive mind and it doesn't have any required guidelines. 

Clarify "this". If it's about the 1s and 6s, then there's only one other option. Tell your opponent which is the 1 and which is 6 before the game begins. Nothing difficult about that.

[Gaz Taylor]

5 hours ago, mojojojo101 said:

I find most of the faction dice a nice collector peice but not something g I'd want to actually use. Especially when you can literally 100s of perfectly good dice of Amazon for the same price.

100% this. I hate the faction dice thay have put out over the last year or so. Very difficult to read but they aren’t aimed at me but collectors of the dice. The best ones they did were the Horus Heresy dice but I think because the public can make their own with a symbol, they’ve chosen these ones because it makes them more special.

[JackStreicher]

Tell them like people told me:

"Excuse me, could you please use other dice? I can't tell from afar and without looking very hard what number they're showing. Thank you."

 

Btw the GW dice have mostly a very poor balance. All my special dice (Idoneth, DoK and Stromcast) tend towards the 1 heavily. The only once being really okay are the Malign Portents dice. 😃

Edited October 22, 2019 by JackStreicher
typo

[Sonnenspeer]

46 minutes ago, JackStreicher said:

... All my special dice (Idoneth, DoK and Stromcast) tend towards the 1 heavily. ...

So Im ok with you using them :P

[Clan's Cynic]

They definitely seem to go with what they think sounds and looks cool rather than having any concern for practicality. Some sets have been both aesthetically pleasing and work well, whilst others fail on all accounts. 

The Death Guard dice look great, but they roll around as well as me rolling up a ball from chewing gum I've been munching.

The latest batch of Genestealer Cult dice have the faction as... the 1, and a normal 6 symbol. They said they were moving away from this and having faction symbols on the 6 but decided against it on that set for, uhhh, well who knows? 

I'm pretty happy with my Fyreslayer dice, but there can be some confusion when both the 1 and 6 are both 'faces' (one is a skull, the other is a rune in the shape of a head) which from a distance can throw your opponent or people with poor vision off. 

[TimM85]

They are collectors only dice they are not for gaming no one uses them locally, I wouldn't expect to come across them at a tournament, most environments you won't have to ask your opponent should know not to bring them, I only play for fun i like tourneys never serious but i would ask my opponent to use proper dice or use mine always got plenty and a spare bag so dramas. clear numbers keep it simple. one logo on a 6 or a 1 not both and no weird shapes.

[Landohammer]

I use them almost exclusively, specifically the Sylvaneth and Chaos Space Marine ones.  Its takes all of about 2 rolls before my opponent figures them out. However I always make sure to remind them what the 1 and 6 are.  (usually just prior to the roll for sides). 

Between 40k and AOS, I have used them in probably 7-8 tournaments. (so say 20+ games). No one has ever asked me to use other dice. 

Honestly, I would actually prefer to play opponents with faction dice. Being an official GW product they remove any shred of concern for imbalance.  

They also look better in pictures when scattered around the board.

 

[decker_cky]

10 hours ago, Clan's Cynic said:

The Death Guard dice look great, but they roll around as well as me rolling up a ball from chewing gum I've been munching.

Deathguard feel like you're throwing a handful of Legos, but they're generally legible and seem to roll in a fairly balanced fashion. I think they're the best of the bunch. 

[Alexonian]

nobody uses them at my lgs thankfully, not a fan either

[stratigo]

4 hours ago, Landohammer said:

I use them almost exclusively, specifically the Sylvaneth and Chaos Space Marine ones.  Its takes all of about 2 rolls before my opponent figures them out. However I always make sure to remind them what the 1 and 6 are.  (usually just prior to the roll for sides). 

Between 40k and AOS, I have used them in probably 7-8 tournaments. (so say 20+ games). No one has ever asked me to use other dice. 

Honestly, I would actually prefer to play opponents with faction dice. Being an official GW product they remove any shred of concern for imbalance.  

They also look better in pictures when scattered around the board.

 

GW dice are not in any way balanced. Do some salt water testing.

[Shearl]

I usually look at the faction dice as primarily collectible, rather than practical. I don't think I've really seen anyone at my FLGS using faction dice. 

I don't typically purchase them, but I made an exception for the Mawtribes dice as I'm buying the rest of the releases and there aren't a bunch of new kits to get. Will I ever use them? Unlikely, as it's only a pack of eight and they're "extra large" but who knows, maybe use them to track rounds or CP or something.

[AaronWilson]

To be fair, the new mawtribe dice look super usable.

[Redmanphill]

8 hours ago, stratigo said:

GW dice are not in any way balanced. Do some salt water testing.

Are any cheap commercially available dice?