I thought it was way too late for Design This! articles but as there are some new creators making what I believe are very similar mistakes, I thought I’d put together a quick article. This is based on years and years of designing dozens of decks. Initially I made all the same mistakes as I see being made now, but eventually I figured out what has been the best formula for fun, lasting decks that you want to play repeatedly:
1. Figure out the deck’s Path to Victory. This is the unique way the deck beats its opponents, typically a combination of 2-3 cards but not necessarily. The Path to Victory is often supported by a theme, which is a mechanic that it uses repeatedly such as card drawing, forcing discards or hit-and-run. Much has been written on this already.
2. Figure out what else the deck needs. Probably movement. Does it really need power defense? Everyone seems to think so but I wouldn't make it automatic. If it has a Blue deck, it probably doesn't need it, if it has a Red deck, it probably does. Does it really need card drawing or forced discards? Make sure it has what it needs to support the path to victory, and consider avoiding all else.
3. Fill out the rest of the deck with any other cards that fit the character. For most first-time deck creators, this is step 1 instead of step 3.
Example of how a first-time deck creator might have created Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine:
Darth Maul
3x DOUBLE-SABER ATTACK
A3*. After attacking, you may attack
again with this card without using an action.
2x SITH RAGE
A4*. If this attack is not blocked, attack value is 8.
2x FEAR IS MY ALLY
Choose an opponent with a character adjacent to Maul. Opponent discards 2 cards at random.
2x FORCE PUSH
Move a character adjacent to Maul to any space.
That character takes 2 damage.
2x SPEEDER BIKE
Move Darth Maul up to 6 spaces. Draw a
card.
1x DARK EYE PROBE
Choose an opposing character. Move Maul adjacent to that character.
Perfect Darth Maul deck, right? It has all his moves from the movie! He uses a force push, he moves with the Speeder Bike, uses the Probe Droids, has the double-saber, it has his big attack he used to kill Qui-Gon when Qui didn't block it, uses quotes from the film, etc. (heh, I actually think it's not bad).
Emperor Palpatine
3x FORCE LIGHTNING
A6. Draw a card.
1x YOU WILL DIE
A9. If the defending character is not
destroyed, Palpatine takes 3 damage.
2x FORCE STORM
Emperor Palpatine does 3 damage to all adjacent characters.
2x POWER OF THE DARK SIDE
D6. Attacker takes 2 damage.
2x LET GO OF YOUR HATRED
Choose an opponent to discard 2 cards.
2x CALL ME MASTER
Move Emperor and Royal Guards up to 4 spaces each. Draw a card.
Again this deck is representative of its character and balanced, with some offense, some defense, some direct damage and some movement.
Now compare the Maul and Emperor decks to each other. Now compare them to their original versions. I could easily argue that the 2 decks I just created are more representative of their respective characters than the originals, and each has cards that accurately represent what we saw in the films. But so what? The deck is what matters, not the cards representing that one moment where Maul killed Qui-Gon. Switching to another original deck, when did Chewie ever take out his Bowcaster and do more than blast a Stormtrooper? It doesn’t matter because the Han & Chewie deck works well.
Now, I’m not saying you should pay no attention to the characters involved. A good deck works well and honors its characters, and I think that the original Maul and Emperor decks represent their characters very well. At the same time, the designers didn't bother giving Maul a double-saber or a force push, even though the former is his signature element and the latter comes in a big moment of the film.
Get a deck that has a certain theme and feel that fits its character, but don’t worry too much about trying to perfectly capture a moment from the movie with a card. It can be kind of cool but what really matters is that the deck plays well.




