I've wondered for a long time how the defense pools stack up.
This may be useful for Overlords with a large selection of monsters. It contained a few surprises for me when I started doing the math. Below the list I provide my reasons for rankings where two defense pools are very similar. (Like Gray+Gray and Black+Brown).
I do not include 3 dice pools, though they can be inferred from this list.
From best to worst:
Black+Black
Black+Gray
Black+Brown
Gray+Gray
Black
Gray+Brown
Gray
Brown+Brown
Brown
Notes: (I put [] around defense pools with multiple dice for easier readability)
[Black+Black] only appears naturally on Act 2 Ariad & Queen Ariad in 3 hero games.
[Black+Brown]>[Gray+Gray] surprised me. [Black+Brown] is marginally more likely to give you 0 shields, but its odds of giving you 3+ shields are better than [Gray+Gray]'s chance of giving you 3+ shields.
Black>[Gray+Brown] is similar. Black is more likely to give you 0, but its odds of giving you 2+ shields are better than [Gray+Brown]'s chance of giving you 2+ shields.
[Brown+Brown] does not appear naturally in the game. Gray is more likely to give you 1+ shields.
This isn't always easy to apply to the game. Act 2 Ice Wyrms have a worse defense pool than Crypt Dragons. But a master Ice Wyrm has 4 more health than a master Crypt Dragon. So it can weather more damage. If your heroes hit very hard vs. Death by 1000 cuts, Ice Wyrms are probably tougher.
It was a fun exercise and does clarify some things (Like as dismal as Act 2 minion Hybrid Sentinels seem to be, they are slightly more resilient than Plague Worms).
This may be useful for Overlords with a large selection of monsters. It contained a few surprises for me when I started doing the math. Below the list I provide my reasons for rankings where two defense pools are very similar. (Like Gray+Gray and Black+Brown).
I do not include 3 dice pools, though they can be inferred from this list.
From best to worst:
Black+Black
Black+Gray
Black+Brown
Gray+Gray
Black
Gray+Brown
Gray
Brown+Brown
Brown
Notes: (I put [] around defense pools with multiple dice for easier readability)
[Black+Black] only appears naturally on Act 2 Ariad & Queen Ariad in 3 hero games.
[Black+Brown]>[Gray+Gray] surprised me. [Black+Brown] is marginally more likely to give you 0 shields, but its odds of giving you 3+ shields are better than [Gray+Gray]'s chance of giving you 3+ shields.
Black>[Gray+Brown] is similar. Black is more likely to give you 0, but its odds of giving you 2+ shields are better than [Gray+Brown]'s chance of giving you 2+ shields.
[Brown+Brown] does not appear naturally in the game. Gray is more likely to give you 1+ shields.
This isn't always easy to apply to the game. Act 2 Ice Wyrms have a worse defense pool than Crypt Dragons. But a master Ice Wyrm has 4 more health than a master Crypt Dragon. So it can weather more damage. If your heroes hit very hard vs. Death by 1000 cuts, Ice Wyrms are probably tougher.
It was a fun exercise and does clarify some things (Like as dismal as Act 2 minion Hybrid Sentinels seem to be, they are slightly more resilient than Plague Worms).