Clearly, "a better deck [could] be made just from these talent cards distributed in a different fashion" -- swap out a couple chokes for a couple more debris and Vader's ceiling shoots through the roof (visualize that one if you can ). The real weakness I see in Vader's deck is the lack of movement -- without enough direct damage to kill off a major, he needs to be in attack position somehow. Unlike Yoda (Force Lift, even Force Push), he has no compensation for this weakness. Still, Vader has a game against almost any character. He's pretty much hosed against Maul since one turn of Maul attacking and he's done, and he's completely hopeless against Obi because even getting off all the DD (and assuming no healing), Obi can hit him plenty of times before even the JB are cracked. But I like Vader's chances against Yoda, he at least has a game against the Emperor (though I for one don't think it's anywhere near even), he has at least a decent chance vs. the shooters if the Chokes come quickly (though movement really hampers him depending on the map), his matchup with Luke is as even as they come (IMO), his game against Anakin can work if Padme isn't a factor (again, Chokes), and although certainly not at an advantage, strategically played he is effective against Dooku, too. So let's see, the other is Mace, and there Vader is probably no match again. So he's really only awful against three characters, in my opinion; at least he has a game against the rest. And it's worth noting that Obi, Maul, and Mace are considered among the best decks. One final note, the map also plays a huge role because of the no-movement factor.

In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo-clock.
- Orson Welles