Single Character Decks:

Observations, Problems, and Solutions for a deck without minors

by Darth Trumpetus

The idea of a single character deck may well border on blasphemy in the Epic Duels universe, but single character decks have been tried in the past and deserve discussion. During the construction of a solo Aurra Sing deck many aspects of the game were revealed to me (some obvious, some not) which illustrated many problems a single character deck inherently has. Through extensive testing of single character decks some problems emerged through the fact that the deck has no minor characters, and this article will attempt to present each problem as well as a workable solution to each problem.

1. Card Distribution

The standard size for an epic duels deck is 31 cards, 9 of which belong to the minor character. If you have a deck with only one character, then that means something needs to change to make your deck conform to the Hasbro creations. Having 31 cards is an absolute must. Having 10 basic cards for your major is an absolute must. Specials and Power Combats need to be 12 as well, so that leaves you with 9 cards that have to be something *other* than major basics and Specials/Power Combats. One workable solution is to make them unique “special” cards that retain the function of “dead” minor cards. Adding 9 “Heal {main character} 1 point” cards essentially gives you 9 dead minor basic cards, as that would be their only value to a major character once their minors are destroyed. This solution would retain the convention of a deck without minors normally (after they’re destroyed), and it would keep the standard deck size convention, as well as the standard distribution of basics and Specials/Power Combats.

2. Lack of indirect “staying power”

Here staying power is defined as Hit Points, Defense and Healing. Minor characters give a deck extra hit points and defense that an opponent may or may not have to destroy. Often minors act as a “buffer” for the major character in that the minor will “soak up” some their opponent’s killing power. Sometimes minors are completely ignored in a game, and other times it is necessary to destroy the minors as quickly as possible. In either case, there is added staying power that a single character deck has inherently less of. There are several solutions to fix this problem, each one addressing one facet of staying power. One solution is to add more defense, like a couple of power defense cards. A criticism of this solution is that you have to give up some of your Special/Power combat cards as a solution when normally a deck wouldn’t have to do that, and it is a valid criticism…however if your deck has room for it, it might be a good solution. One of the most obvious solutions is to give the single deck character a few more hit points than you might otherwise normally give them. For example, if Aurra Sing seems like more of a 16 or 17HP kind of character, making her a single character deck might require you to up the HP to the range of 18-20 to account for her lack of minors.

3. Access to “dead” minor healing cards immediately

If you use the solution from #1, then the single character deck has a slightly unfair advantage in healing inherent from the lack of minors; they can heal from the start of the game without having to wait for minor characters to be destroyed. However, as the problem from #2 isn’t immediately solved by simply adding a couple of hit points or defense cards, this immediate access to healing is itself a problem AND a solution. While the character gains a slight advantage in staying power here, the advantage is offset by the character’s lack of staying power disadvantage. So, the problem here is actually an additional solution to the problem of #2.

4. “Dead” minor specials take up space early in the game

While the solution presented in #1 works in terms of deck distribution (and itself presents problem #3 which acts as a solution to problem #2), it also presents yet another problem. As there are 9 of these heal cards, you can expect 1 for every 3 cards you draw. This means on average, you’ll always have 1 of them in your hand at the start of the game (start with 4 cards in your hand), meaning they’re useless until the character actually takes damage. The other problem is that, while these are necessary healing cards, you have to spend 2 actions to heal back 2 points, which isn’t a very good deal (and therefore not a great solution to #2 either), especially early in the game when you’re trying to get through your deck. One possible solution is to add a secondary effect or special card that allows to you play multiple heal cards for free. For example, a Power Attack of “A5*, *You may play all Heal cards in your hand.” This allows you to stock up the heal cards worry-free knowing you can utilize them later without having to waste an entire turn to heal back only 2 damage. This solution also increases the value of the solution #3.

5. Lack of Added Killing Power

The loss of minor characters means that there is also a loss in killing power inherent for all single character decks. While normally minor basic cards can be used to heal when the minors are dead (solution #1 retains this function for single character decks), they can also be used to attack while the minors are alive. It has been argued that while single character decks are inherently at a disadvantage, “fixing” problems (especially this one) is unnecessary as, that is how single character decks should be…”weaker” as they don’t have the benefit of a “team.” However, this author disagrees. In trying to achieve balance with the Hasbro decks, all of these problems need to be addressed in one way or another. One potential solution then is to try to “even the playing field” for the single character decks. If the opponent also doesn’t have access to their minor killing power, then the decks can essentially duel in balance of each other. Therefore, adding a special card that specifically targets minor characters with DD is an option to help. While the single character deck does have to “waste” a Special or two in order to solve this problem, doing so will allow all the other cards to be focused against the primary target: the main character. Another potential solution is to consciously apply more killing power to your specials/power combats than you normally would if the deck had minors. So, instead of trying to level the playing field, you can tweak-up the single character deck to match the Hasbro deck. For example, if you would normally put in an "A5, draw a card", you might consider making it an "A7, draw a card" instead.

6. Cards like Vader’s Choke and Anakin’s Wrath become totally useless

What do we do with cards that specifically target minor characters, like Choke and Wrath? Well, the simple answer is: nothing. As these cards can *only* be used against minor characters, if their opponent simply doesn’t have any to begin with, then “no harm, no foul”…these cards can be considered useless against single character decks. Also, consider, what do those cards do? They kill minors, and what do minors have? -Killing power and a buffer of staying power for the major...that's it. As evidenced above, what *doesn’t* a single character deck have? -Minor killing power and the buffer of staying power, the very things these cards get rid of. However, a point has been made before that, despite this, Vader and Anakin still end up with 3 useless cards in their deck against single character decks AND if you apply a bunch of “fixes” (as above), then the lack of minor killing power and staying power buffer is no longer a problem…therefore, you have to do something to make these cards usable. One potential solution is to make a blanket rule that all DD that targets minors can still be used against the single character deck, only at half the value (or even at 1/3 the value). Utilizing this rule is ultimately up to the deck designer. If sufficient tweaks have been made to render the above problems “fixed”, then it might be good to consider the “half-damage” rule. If your single character deck does NOT contain very many tweaks to counter some of the disadvantages, then simply making Choke and Wrath useless against your deck may be the right answer.

7. Positioning

A single character deck is inherently at a disadvantage in terms of positioning from the start of the game. Logically with only one figure on the board, the single character deck is a sitting duck. A “team” deck with 2 or 3 figures has an obvious advantage in positioning in that is has many more options. Again, some would argue that this weakness is one that is natural for a single character deck and doesn’t need to be addressed, as this is how it should be for a single character trying to duel a team. But, if a solution is required, there are a couple of options. First, the most obvious solution is to provide added movement, either as a special card, or as a secondary effect. A second solution is one that is similar to the solution presented for problem #5. If you add minor DD to the deck to “level the playing field”, then you can overcome this positioning disadvantage much easier. Again, you have to give up some special cards to overcome an inherent problem, but it can be a possible solution.

Summary

All of these problems stem from the fact that a single character deck doesn't have any minor characters, and is therefore at an inherent disadvantage when compared to the Hasbro decks. What you do about these problems is ultimately up to the deck designer. In general there are two approaches. 1)Level the Playing Field by adding "power cards" to counter each problem or 2)Raise the power level of each existing card in the deck to try to bring the deck up to the level of the Hasbro decks, thereby avoiding "wasted" space among your 12 power cards. As some of the Hasbro decks have a "shared" power card distribution (when their minors are destroyed they lose some of their power), "wasting" the space of your 12 power cards should be taken with a grain of salt. Is it a "waste" to level the playing field, or is uncharacteristic to amp up a weak, single character deck? One thing to consider when trying to strike a balance between these two solutions is the character you're dealing with. If you're making a deck for a more generic and less prominent character, like a Wampa, it might be ok for the deck to be at more of a disadvantage. If you're making a deck for a more prominent and deadly character (who may fight alone anyway) like Aurra Sing, it might be more appropriate to apply some of the "tweak" techniques mentioned here. At the end of the day, as blasphemous as single character decks may appear to be on the surface, it is possible to make them balanced as well as representative of the deck's character.