This is a great discussion. I remember trying to get in depth discussions about Vader going in the past, back at the yahoo board, and mostly got the "he sucks, deal with it" answer.

I've breezed most of the postings here, and thought I'd throw in another two cents. We mostly agree that Vader doesn't have a clear definitive edge to any of the decks (arguably luke and han). okay. I don't have a huge problem with this, but let's take a look at a list of "managable" wins, that is, wins that may not have a clear edge, but provide vader with a significant chance to win:

Luke and Leia
Emperor Palpatine and guards
Jango Fett and Zam Wessel
Han and Chewie
Yoda and clones
Boba Fett and Greedo (most people will argue with me here, but with a yellow deck facing a red deck... there are far worse odds. I beat boba the other night with vader without breaking a sweat).

Pattern here? With the exception of Jango (and possibly the "representation" of Yoda here) we're dealing with original trilogy characters. What does this mean? Well it doesn't mean that Epic Duels is of brilliant design through and through. It's not. A brilliant design, but a rushed one. We know this. The makers admitted it. What the hell is a Cable Shot? Why is Serenity 15? okay, so there are problems with the game, some with design. Some with character "accuracy". But not big ones, not from my point of view.

We're always arguing power levels on the forum. Does Obi deserve to be best? Why is Dooku only "eh"? Whatever, but overall, I would argue they are correct. Who should Vader be owning? Maul? Mace? No way. I think the "canonical accuracy" of the hasbro decks, despite a few bumpy areas, is pretty dead on. Vader is the damaged, almost handicapped version of the "chosen one" in a time where the Force (and followers thereof) had dramatically diminished in the world of Star Wars. He can't breathe by himself. Yeah he was the bad ass of the last three episodes, but to luke. to Han. To boba. Alright, check the list. The Vader Deck matches that. I can't see him out there charging full ahead against the likes of Dooku or Maul or even his former self. And his deck, while admittedly weaker than his prequel counter parts, "fits" the Sith Model (limited/no power defense, limited drawing cards, above average direct damage, etc).

By design, Vader remains a head scratcher for us. The talent cards don't seem to work toward a common goal. Okay. He's a challenge to play. So is Luke. And Jango. And many times Han. But I love playing these decks. I don't know if hatred over the deck is over these difficulties, which i feel can be overcome with strategy and a little luck, or actually part of some general idea we fans may have of Vader being this grand overlord you should beat anyone by just looking at them.

If admiral Motti was a deck, yeah, okay. But c'mon.

"There's always a bigger fish."
--Qui-Gon Jinn