My intention is to help people new to expansion decks decide which deck(s) to print out and try. I'll lay out some of the decks our group enjoys playing with and why. Please note we have not played with all these decks, far from it. We have probably played about 2 dozen of the decks listed in the character section. So not seeing a deck here doesn't mean I don't like it. It just means that I might not like it :) or more likely I just haven't tried it yet.

Generally these are the criteria I used in evaluating decks:

1) Balance : If a deck is close to Obi powerful or Jango weak we don't tend to play with the deck for very long. We like decks that land in that sweet spot where they have a good chance to win or lose every duel.

2) Makes players think : Are you needing to debate your options as you are playing the game, because you have multiple options that seem reasonable? Does your opponent have a way to counter/mitagate your combos? Do your cards make board positioning important for both sides? If the deck being in play makes people think, then we give it major "points".

3) Fun to play : Are you enjoying drawing your special cards? Is it fun to pull off your combos? If people are smiling or saying "sweet", or quoting the movie quotes in bad impersonation of the movie actors? If the laughs and energy are high with certain decks they gain "points".

4) Not frustrating to play against : Have you ever played against a Blue denial deck in magic? Do you have any fun playing against it (aside from the satisfaction of defeating the annoying thing)? Now I admit that blue denial decks are fun to play, but if the deck causes frustration on the other side of the table it loses points with us.

5) Friendly for players newer to the game: There are a handful of other execellent decks, that I just didn't include becasue I'm worried that they won't be as easy for new players to play/understand. If you look through the comments section of each deck, I've noted some of those decks down. But this list aims to be friendly for players new to epic duels.

Top choices:

Luminara Unduli - (Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee by Roman Farraday)

   This is the gold standard for custom decks as far as our group is concerned. Roman has added some new spice to these decks without completely breaking the mold set by the original 12 decks. They are of good middle power level, so they matchup okay with any of the original 12 decks. If you are just getting into expansions then this is a great place to start.

General Grievous - (Grievous, Jedi Hunter and 2 Magnaguards by Roman Farraday ) 

   If Luminara and Bariss are 1A for expansion decks you should try, sliding right in at 1B is this 4-armed Grievous. Our group loves the 4-arm dynamic. The deck plays right in the middle of the pack. If you are looking for a deck to print out and play, you've found it!.

Other great decks:

Grand Admiral Thrawn - (Grand Admiral Thrawn & Rukh by EU Expansion (offsite link))

   A strong shooter deck! I love this deck. It can hang with the melee monsters. It is still somewhat fragile as shooters tend to be, but both the major and minor have ways to make the enemy pay. I recommend this deck to new expansion players.

Mara Jade - (Mara Jade Emperor's Hand by Scott Hagarty )

   This deck is very fun to play. I love the uncertainty on the opponents' faces when you move adjacent to one of their characters. The concept is wonderful. The deck may be a little under powered to hit the sweet "middle" that I like, but the fun factor is more than enough to make up for that. I would highly recommend this deck to first time expansion players.

Bultar Swan - (Bultar Swan & Clone Troopers by Aaron Shockley)

   This is one of the first custom decks someone in our group printed out. After examining it and playing it a bit we started calling it "Darth Maul light". However in all our 2-on-2 tournies it has been constantly making a very good showing, which lead us to believe two things: the one extra power D is a big deal, and the force pushes are very powerful cards in 2-on-2. This deck is fun to play, and against our better judgement is squarely in the middle of the pack power-wise. This is an excellent expansion deck if you are just starting to use expansion decks.

Prince Xizor - (Prince Xizor and Guri by EU Expansion (offsite link))

   Fun deck. I like the marksmanship card. It adds another dimension to board movement. Guri is a supped up Chewie. This deck is a pretty strong shooter deck. I would recommend this deck for first time expansion players.

Talon Karrde -(Talon Karrde and Shada D'ukal by EU Expansion (offsite link))

   Fun shooter deck that is not weak. I've enjoyed playing with and against it. When you get Databombed it is very interesting how you decide to react to it. I recommend this deck for first time expansioners.