Clashes and avoiding them

[Zareeth]

So, I thought I knew the mechanics fairly well, but for some reason, I keep clashing with Xiao on her scale attack first turn. I ensure it's a one-sided attack on her end, but every time it seems to clash with something. Am I missing something here?

[Starakira]

Defensive dice and counter dice are retained if you used them.

[Zareeth]

Ah right. So if a defensive dice such as a block doesn't get used during a clash it will sit on the character until something one-sided attempts to hit them. That makes sense then.

[Seiun]

Using any pages with yellow dice? Those are counter dice, and they'll clash with one-sided attacks until they lose a clash or win all clashes on the incoming page. Reverse Scale is well within range of being beaten by an unpowered counter die due to being 5-5.
Those might be part of it, along with unused defensive dice.

[Dice_24K]

Originally posted by Zareeth:

if a defensive dice such as a block doesn't get used during a clash it will sit on the character until something one-sided attempts to hit them.

Yes. "Unused defensive dice" are "pooled" into the "counter queue," if you will.

If you're looking for a more technical side explanation:
Every character has a counter queue -> it is a "pool of counter dice," if you will, that are only used when the character gets one-sided. This counter queue comes to exist on "Combat Start" by taking all counter dice off of combat pages (or passives) and putting them in order.
Fun fact: "Learn" on Keter kinda breaks this mechanic due to it copying the combat page "On Use" - which is muuuuuuuuch slower than combat start. Spaghetti code

Order matters. For example, let's say that you have 2 speed dice and you use Repressed Flesh on the left speed dice (the first one) and then serpentine barrier on the right speed dice (the second one) -> your counter queue will be:
1) the blunt attack off Repressed Flesh
2, 3 and 4) the block dice from Serpentine Barrier.
Swapping the two speed dice will swap the order and put the blunt attack last.

What if you have Retaliate off of Red Mist's combat page? That'll always go first, so using the previous example, it'll be:
1) Retaliate's slash attack
2) blunt attack off Repressed Flesh
3, 4 and 5) Serpentine Barrier's block dice.

To get to the point: unused defensive dice are pooled into the counter queue AT THE END.
Using the same example, lets say you one-side with repressed flesh, now there is a block dice that's unused, so your counter queue updates to:
1) retaliate
2) blunt attack
3, 4, and 5) serpentine barrier
and now 6) Repressed Flesh's left over block dice.

Two important details on unused defensive dice:
1) they are NOT a counter dice, so it will not recycle upon winning a clash like counter block dice do - though evade dice behave like normal
2) if you have a bunch of them and the enemy one-sides and hits you with a Gale Kick (just an example) -> the game kinda... bugs out and not only removes the defensive dice that was used in the clash (and lost), but also the next one too. Though if it won against Gale Kick, the bug doesn't happen. Spaghetti code

Note 1: Speed dice operate on a left-to-right system, so when you have four of them, the far left is first, followed by the second, then the third, and finally the far right is fourth and last.
Note 2: Dice in the counter queue do NOT interact with mass attacks - this is why counter dice can't stop a mass attack. They are removed from the combat page and put into the queue before mass attacks go off.
Combat start happens right before mass attacks.

Hope that helps, and good luck.