Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-137.200.0.109-20180430135014/@comment-454133-20180430161007

When an effect says "assign a damage card", you do just that: put a damage card on the ship. This ignores shields, which is amazingly powerful against some ships, and why Proton Bombs cost 5 points. An A-Wing or TIE Adv. Prototype, for example, could die instantly if they draw. A B-Wing can die with all 5 of its shields still intact if it only takes damage through proton bombs.

Contrast "assign a damage card" to "suffer a damage": suffering damage means it goes through the normal channels of hitting shields first, then hull. Some abilities (like bombs) cause direct damage by making a ship "suffer damage" without being an attack, so the targets don't get to block it with green defense dice. When you attack a ship, they roll green dice and cancel hits/crits with evades, then they "suffer" the remaining hits/crits.

Just a quick primer on damage, in case that's interesting/helpful.

If you're interested in other effects that can bypass shields (they're rare but some are really cool), check out Category:Bypass Shields.

I hope that helps!