Darth Vader

2 Stormtroopers

Darth Vader by *NathanRosario on deviant ART

About Darth Vader in the Star Wars Universe

Apprenticed to Darth Sidious, better known as his friend Chancellor Palpatine, he became Darth Vader. The Galactic Empire was founded with Palpatine at the helm as Emperor, and after Vader led an attack on the Jedi Temple, the Jedi were exterminated by Order 66, with fewer than a hundred surviving. Two of the survivors were Grand Master Yoda and Skywalker's old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader dueled his old master on the fiery world of Mustafar, and despite the Sith Lord's new abilities, he was defeated by his old master, and his body was so damaged by the lava that Sidious encased him in a dark life-sustaining suit that he would wear for the rest of his life. His children, Luke and Leia, were born at this time, though Vader remained unaware of their existence.

As a master of the dark side, Vader became the scourge of the Jedi, continuing the Great Jedi Purge which would last until 1 BBY. An extension of the Emperor's will, the Dark Lord was constantly on the move, traveling throughout the galaxy to defeat rebel uprisings or arrest corrupt Imperials. When Vader began planning to impress his Master before overthrowing him, he found, manipulated, and trained a "secret" Sith apprentice named Galen Marek to not only to help hunt down remaining Jedi, but also to expose the Emperor's enemies and have them destroyed. However, Vader's betrayal lead Marek to turn to the light side and sacrifice his life for the leaders of the Alliance to Restore the Republic to escape, thus starting the Galactic Civil War. Vader continued to train apprentices, this time, under Sidious's notice, including Flint, and the future Sith Lady Lumiya.

Darth Vader
20 HP
Melee
22 Cards
Red Deck

2x Stormtroopers
4 HP Each
Blaster
9 Cards
Weak Ranged Minor Deck

Vader – 12 Talent Cards

3x WRATH
Choose one character’s players to each take 2 damage.

3x CHOKE
Choose one minor character to take 6 damage.

2x THROW DEBRIS
Choose one character to take 4 damage.

2x DARK SIDE DRAIN
A5. For each point of damage done with this attack, Vader recovers 1 damage.

1x ALL TOO EASY
A9*. *If this attack is not blocked, attack value is 20.

1x YOUR SKILLS ARE NOT COMPLETE
Choose a player to reveal his hand and discard all Special cards.

Why tweak Vader? To make him a better melee fighter and stronger overall deck. This has been discussed ad nauseum in most places Epic Duels is discussed but mainly, he’s a very weak player in 1v1 and even though he’s much more valuable in 2v2, he still comes up short of our expectations of such a character.

Tweaks:

2x Tweak DARK SIDE DRAIN from A3 to A5.
1x Tweak ALL TOO EASY from A3* to A9*, still 20 damage if not blocked.

Theme: Powerful direct damage dealer with some melee ability
Path to Victory: Combine direct damage cards and finish with ALL TOO EASY
Strengths: High direct damage that gets to opponents anywhere, kills minors anywhere, high HP
Weaknesses: No card drawing power, poor defense, weak minors
Strategy: Throw direct damage from a distance, save your big melee cards for when they close in.
Test Level: Medium
Tier: 2

Notes: Original Vader powers up in a 2v2 game as CHOKE and WRATH have more targets and THROW DEBRIS is a great move to follow up an ally’s attack. This is a very simple tweak-scheme we are using after years of replacing half the deck with power combat cards and a powered-up YOUR SKILLS ARE NOT COMPLETE, choosing instead to return him to his direct damage theme. However, these tweaks give him a pretty good melee game, which we think is more representative of his movie persona. The boost to DARK SIDE DRAIN also gives him better staying power than his original version, the tweaks combine to make him a strong overall teammate, solid Tier 2.

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Darth Vader

2 Stormtroopers

About Darth Vader in the Star Wars Universe

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