The Tusken Raider
The Tusken Raider lives in a small encampment on the South Coast of England, which is why his decks spell words like “defence” correctly. He’s been playing Epic Duels since buying it in 2002 for $10 in New York, but estimates that he’s spent over $300 on minis, card and ink since then just to add to the game, thereby showing he has more money than sense.
He has come to deck designing later than most other people on the Wiki so seems to be making up for lost time with a flurry of creativity and postings on the Forum and WIki. A number of his decks employ untraditional game-play techniques, so he appreciates that some people will like them and some won’t. He doesn’t mind that some may not be keen - those who aren’t are simply likely to be struck by a Gaffi Stick when they’re not expecting it. Almost all of his decks are based on the six main Star Wars films. A number of his decks are for larger groups of characters, employing reinforcements as a technique to suggest a wave of characters. Most of the decks are created for the Last Hero Standing rule (aka Personalities Can Win It) although basic gameplay will just render them rather strong.
In his spare time he likes to take pot-shots at pod racers, take part in a good raid or two and is currently engaged in a 400-game test of 37 decks under the Last Hero Standing house rule in order to see how that rule affects the differing characters. The results so far are not entirely what you would expect.
The decks he has uniquely created so far are…
Group Decks
The deck that started it all. A Bantha Rider and two Tusken Raiders working together with the ability to call for REINFORCEMENTS. This deck started out extremely tough but has been significantly weakened and made much easier to play. It's still a good challenge and, with the right cards, can take out very strong characters. The Bantha Rider is susceptible to ranged characters but get someone on the Bantha and you can either combine attacks with other Tusken Raiders (who are tough melee characters thanks to the GAFFI STICK) or squish a few opponents with the BANTHA TRAMPLE.
A deck that reflects the guerrilla tactics of the Ewoks popping up, attacking and then disappearing. It also uses Reinforcements to suggest a wall of fluffy fighters... take one out and another pops up not long afterwards! This is the weaker version of an original, almost unbeatable, deck. For this deck to win, you really need to keep as many Ewoks alive as possible - try to get the damage spread around so that the cards of PANDEMONIUM and HIT AND RUN can be most effective.
Jabba's Palace (created with Orog Ktinga)
Let's face it - Jabba's useless in combat but his power is dervied from his influence and ability to control others. This deck, borrowing elements from Jabba decks by scoundrelhan and Geektopia, reflects this so that he has no direct damage above A2 but can still put a PRICE ON YOUR HEAD or call for REINFORCEMENTS. Boba Fett has many of his classic cards - WRIST CABLE, ROCKET RETREAT, DEADLY AIM and THERMAL DETONATOR - but fewer than the original deck. This strong deck challenges opponents - do they take the time to kill Jabba while Fett and the Gamorreans attack them, or do they take out Fett and hope that Jabba's influence isn't too strong?
A powerful but not certainly unbeatable deck of five Gungans / six characters (Captain Tarpals, two Shieldbearers, a Gungan Artillery and a Kaadu with its Kaadu Rider) over 3 damage boards, although there is the option of fewer if you're more inclined to see Gungans being slaughtered. This deck reflects the Gungans' individual weakness but their effectiveness as a fighting unit, especially with the Gungans frequently USEN DA BOOMA. Strategy has to change profoundly when defending ranged or melee attacks so there are a number of differing paths to victory based on the chosen board and the type of opponent. All characters are covered by the traditional 31 cards and the introductory rules are very easy to pick up. The daddy of all decks and by far The Tusken Raider's most unique deck, if you play this it will definitely be OUCH TIME.
Single or Dual Character Decks
Winning 50-60% of its games, this is a deck that tries to limit its opponents' movement in order to gain victory. Sebulba here is portrayed as a real wrestler, so the key is to work out when to take long-range pot-shots and when to draw close for the kill. And, of course, it has a card called BANTHA POODOO. He's accompanied by the Twi'lek Gella sisters who help him restore damage before going in again for a rumble.
Shockingly weak in 1v1 but still capable of pulling off a shock victory on very rare occasions (e.g. against Boba Fett), which is tremendously satisfying and where the fun of the deck really lies. Not yet tested for 2v2 but there's a real chance that this is where it might shine, especially when combining R2's OIL SPRAY and ROCKET BOOSTERS cards.
A remastered deck that works best with the "Last Hero Standing" rules. Designed to reflect Boushh's passion for explosives - protect Boushh long enough to draw some of these explosives and this deck is tremendously fun to play... lose Boushh early and you don't have much of a chance. Both characters are fairly weak in attack (there's no attack above A5) so the path to victory involves combining Boushh's automatic damage or movement-denying explosives with Tamtel Skreej's VIBRO-AXE attacks.
A deck that reflects both Nute Gunray's slipperiness and the awesome power of the Destroyer Droids who activate shields (+2 defence) or deactivate them (in order to move) for one action each. Just when you think you have Nute Gunray on the ropes, the Droidekas come in and carve you up. IS THAT LEGAL? I've made it legal.
They do blow up the second Death Star together - they should probably get a deck together. This deck reflects Lando as a gambler (make sure you have lots of cards in your hand before playing HERE GOES NOTHING) and Nien Nunb as both as smuggler and then administrator of the Spice Mines of Kessel. They're better off fighting in the Millennium Falcon but they can at least handle themselves here.
A remastering of an original unbeatable deck, this deck focusses on Kit Fisto's Form I combat skills, particularly effective against a number of melee characters nearby. A deck that can certainly hold its own, especially when he uses his SARLACC SWEEP and SHII-CHO cards.
A deck for the "last hero standing" rules that focusses on defence. Keep Luke, the stronger minor character alive long enough and it's incredibly hard to even touch Ben Kenobi. Lose Ben Kenobi and Luke gets stronger through RUN, LUKE, RUN. An average strength deck which is good fun to play. If you download this deck, I shall BECOME MORE POWERFUL than you can possibly imagine.
The BARC Speeder can move to any square, so long as there's no obstruction, so it's best in the Emperor's Throne Room where it can hover on squares where no-one else can go. If the BARC Speeder can get a few STRAFE attacks in before Captain Rex follows ORDER 66, this is a powerful deck.
They fight the Empire and each other all the way through The Empire Strikes Back and this deck tries to capture that passion. Han's boasting - WATCH THIS! - sometimes ends in glory and sometimes in disappointment, as does the card that bears the same name. When they work together as a team, for example by using YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS TO IMPRESS ME - they can be very effective. This deck also features the card SCRUFFY-LOOKING NERF HERDER, obviously.
Darth Vader Created with lots of feedback from the Forum, a very enjoyable deck to play - certainly more enjoyable than the original Vader deck. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE COME BACK makes anyone hesitate before attacking and THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE attack leads to an opponent either taking damage or discarding a card. Weak in defence, but YOU ARE UNWISE TO LOWER YOUR DEFENCES renders Vader's opponent weak in defence too so the aggressive nature of this deck and the use of deadly force abilities makes it very fun to play. Download it in order to be able to say I HAVE YOU NOW!
Lots of shared cards, lots of Force abilities of movement designed to frustrate any melee opponent. THE FORCE WILL GUIDE US card helps Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, who share many cards, to see what is being used in attack against them and FORCE LEAP and FORCE QUICKNESS get them both out of the way if a melee combat is going wrong.
A really fun deck that uses brute strength and the hope for REINFORCEMENTS to keep adding numbers even if no other Gamorreans have yet been killed so this deck literally gets stronger and stronger the longer the game continues. It is the unwise opponent who allows this deck go onto its second draw pile, risking 4 Gamorreans on the board at any one time, especially with their FLANKING ATTACK.
All these decks were created with the Last Hero Standing rule in mind. The Tusken Raider has tested this ruke extensively - for more on this, see here.
An Entirely New Expansion - Biblical Epic Duels
With the help of lots of members on the Forum, Biblical Epic Duels has been formed. All your favourite Biblical characters are represented in 12 differing decks that slug it out on 3 uniquely designed boards. Question cards help facilitate learning for this educational tool. For more information, contact the Tusken Raider on the Forum.
Back to Contributors
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.