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#1

Step One: Knowledge

There is a lot of jargon when talking about decks. You can find definitions of most of the terms used on the Star Wars Epic Duels wiki.
Other terms, which might not be ED universal (but probably should be), will themselves be links to the definition.
Throughout this series, I refer to both Special and Power Combat cards as Talent cards.

So you have a great idea. The question is how to make a deck out of it. You could just put your idea on cards and call it a day, but it's doubtful anyone will take your idea seriously. The first thing you need to do with your idea is put it on the shelf. You need to know how Epic Duels decks are built, then you can pick your idea back up and put it into a deck.The most basic structure of an ED deck is this:

• 10 Major basic combat cards
• 9 Minor basic combat cards
• 12 talent cards

There are tons of vairations within this basic structure, but that's for later. We will begin with basic combat cards. The core Hasbro game has 4 basic decks for majors and 2 basic decks for minor characters. Major character decks are distinguished by a color code. The 4 basic major character decks are Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow. The yellow deck is the most unique of these; it is the only ranged deck, and it has one official variant (Yellow+). Minor character decks are broken into two categories, Strong Ranged and Weak Ranged, and there are 3 variations in the Strong category, designated by the plus (+ and ++) sign.

There are also several custom decks, used to fill in the gaps where Hasbro decks don't go. For major characters, the decks mentioned above along with the Orange, Purple, Aqua, and Brown decks. For minor characters there is Strong Melee, Strong+ Melee, and Weak Melee. The following section discusses the intended archetype behind each deck. You don't need to be intamately familiar with every deck, but knowing what deck represents your character's combat style will help it fit in with the rest of the ED universe.

The aqua deck is the custom basic combat deck for defensive Jedi/Sith type characters. Your deck should use aqua if your major character is a force user, trained in combat, but known for defense rather than all-round ability or offensive presence. The EU has one character with an aqua deck: Corran Horn.

The blue deck is the basic combat deck for well rounded Jedi/Sith type characters. Your deck should use the blue deck if your main character is a force user known for mixing it up in the thick of combat. Hasbro characters that use this deck are Count Dooku, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The brown deck is the basic combat deck for untrained, but still tough, or self-trained melee fighters. Some consider this the creature deck. Your deck should use the brown deck if your main character is a creature or a tough melee oriented character without the training of a Jedi or Sith. Some custom decks that use the brown deck are Jabba the Hutt and the Wampa.

The green deck is the basic combat deck for defensive Jedi/Sith type characters. Your deck should use the green deck if your main character is a force user known for mastery of combat; many people think the green deck is also the deck to assign to heads of major organizations, like the Jedi Order or the Galactic Empire. Hasbro characters that use this deck are Emperor Palpatine and Yoda.

The orange deck is the basic combat deck for highly trained ranged characters with some melee combat skill. Your deck shoud use the orange deck if the major character uses a blaster as his/her main weapon and has recieved Jedi/Sith training. The EU has two characters that use an orange deck: Kyle Katarn and Prince Xizor.

The red deck is the basic combat deck for offense oriented Jedi/Sith type characters.Your deck should use the red deck if your main character is a force user known for dominating in the thick of combat. Hasbro characters that use this deck are: Anakin Skywalker, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker.

The Yellow deck is the basic combat deck for major characters who rely on blasters as their main weapon; ranged attackers. Your deck should use the yellow deck if your main character uses a blaster, or some other ranged weapon; many people think the yellow deck is the ideal deck for fringe types, those not associated with any specific organization. Hasbro characters that use this deck are Boba Fett and Jango Fett. Han Solo uses a variant yellow deck called Yellow+ that replaces a 2/2 with a 2/3.

The strong ranged deck is the basic combat deck for two different typs of minor characters: personalities and well-trained generics, both of which rely on blasters as their main weapon. Your deck should use the stronge ranged deck if you minor character(s) rely on blasters as their main weapon. Even if your minor character isn't necessarily combat oriented (like Padme), the basic strong ranged deck is ok. Hasbro characters that use the strong ranged (or a variant) are Chewbacca, Greedo, Padme Amidala, Princess Leia, Royal Guards, Super Battle Droids, and Zam Wessel.

The strong melee deck is the basic combat deck for minor characters with Jedi/Sith quality training. Often such characters use lightsabers or similarly powerful weapons of close-combat. This deck is intended for well-trained, elite close-combat characters. The Strong Melee deck consists of the following attack/defense basic cards. The strong+ melee (a 5/1 instead of a 4/1) deck is commonly called the strong melee deck, because it is more commonly used. The EU uses the strong+ melee deck for Yuuzhan Vong warriors and Jedi Knights.

The weak melee deck is the basic combat deck for generic minor characters who rely on vibroblades or similar close-attack weapons. Your deck should use the weak melee minor deck if you minor characters are rank and file soldiers (or untrained generic characters) that rely on melee weapons.

The weak ranged deck is the basic combat deck for generic minor characters who rely on blasters as their main weapon. Your deck should use the weak ranged deck if you minor characters are rank and file troops who use blasters. Hasbro decks that use the weak ranged deck are Battle Droids, Clone Troopers, and Stormtroopers.

So now you have an understanding of which character type belongs to which deck. Be careful if you choose not to follow the standard format or make deck types not presented here. Such changes are easy to make, but often have results far beyond - and far worse than - what you expect. Then again, none of the custom decks would exists if everyone had stuck to the original guidlines. For your first deck, I recommend using the standard card distribution, and the deck types presented here. If later you discover the deck doesn't have the right feel, you can always change it. In the next Design This!, I'll talk about designing your talent cards; time to take your idea off the shelf!