How many dice should the defender roll?
If the defender must choose how many dice to roll before seeing the attacker’s roll (see Q2.6.1), then he should always roll as many dice as permitted, assuming he is trying to kill as many attacking armies as possible. If the defender gets to see the attacker’s roll before deciding, then he should generally roll 2 dice if the attacker’s second die is 3 or less and 1 die if the attacker’s second die is 4 or more. If the defender is down to exactly 2 armies, then he should roll 2 dice (assuming the rules permit him to) if the attacker’s second die is 4 or less. This is because rolling one die and losing a single army forces the defender to roll only one die the next time, so he’s better off trying to get lucky while he can still roll two dice. If the defender has exactly 3 armies, however, he should still use the “second die is 3 or less” rule, rather than playing conservatively to avoid losing two armies. If the defender has exactly 4 armies, he should roll 2 dice if the attacker’s sec
