I wanted Dooku's talents to reflect his fighting style, which is reminiscent of a fencer. This gave me the idea to make his combat cards revolve around his board position. From there, I needed to add good engagement cards to help him attack from the angles he wanted. I originally planned to round out his kit with riposte-themed power defense, but opted to try to capture his political scheming instead with the Dark Diplomacy card, adding a rarely-used form of crowd control. Here is the build:
Count Dooku – HP 18 – Blue Deck – Melee
Super Battle Droids – HP 5 – Strong+ Deck – Ranged
Dark Diplomacy
Special
Choose any character. Until the end of your next turn, that character may not attack Dooku. Playing this card does not count as an action.
Acrobatic Lunge
Special
Move Dooku up to 5 spaces. Dooku may move through, and end movement on, pits and obstacles. After moving, choose any character adjacent to Dooku. That character receives 3 damage if it is a major character and 5 damage if it is a minor character. At the beginning of your next turn, move Dooku adjacent to any enemy character.
Saber Finesse
A3
If Dooku is closer to the light side of the board than the defending character, search your draw pile for a combat card and put it in your hand, then shuffle your draw pile. If Dooku is closer to the dark side of the board than the defending character, playing this card does not count as an action. If he is closer to neither side, draw 2 cards.
Twice the Pride
A3
If Dooku is adjacent to the defending character orthogonally, decrease the defense value of any defense card played by 3. If Dooku is adjacent to the defending character diagonally and this attack does damage, increase the amount of damage by 3.
Double the Fall
A3
If Dooku is adjacent to the defending character orthogonally and this attack does damage, increase the amount of damage by 3. If Dooku is adjacent to the defending character diagonally, decrease the defense value of any defense card played by 3.
Brilliant Bladework
A5
If Dooku began the turn, or ended any movement this turn, on the space on the opposite side of the defending character, then until the end of your next turn, Dooku's attack cards are treated as if he occupied every space adjacent to the defending character of that attack.
3x Dark Diplomacy
3x Acrobatic Lunge
3x Saber Finesse
1x Twice the Pride
1x Double the Fall
1x Brilliant Bladework
Despite featuring three cards in triplicate, the Dooku deck is not all that straightforward. It plays out differently depending on what phase of the game Dooku begins fighting in and what kind of teammate Dooku's working with. If the Dooku player wants to engage in early game conflicts, the light side or neutral effect of Saber Finesse can allow Dooku to shine in a low-resource environment. On the other hand, if Dooku is given time to prepare, his talents flow effortlessly together from Brilliant Bladework and Dooku can fill the role of a late game assassin similar to Maris Brood.
Thanks to his reliance on Dark Diplomacy, Dooku is what I would consider a "tempo deck." Since he doesn't absorb any offensive resources, only delay them, he needs to make plays in specific time windows.
For that reason, I can see Dooku pairing well with Emperor Palpatine, Maris Brood, General Grievous, or Galen Marek. His unrivaled ability to tear apart strong minors in melee range also makes him an excellent counterpick to decks that rely on their minors to win.
When playing against Dooku, it's important to be aware of your position on the board relative to him. Only plan to fight against Dooku late-game if you are careful to avoid letting him trigger Brilliant Bladework. If he does get to activate his ultimate, try to force him to use an Acrobatic Lunge to get to a lucrative target on the second turn of its duration.
I hope you enjoy playing Count Dooku as much as I am! Check back tomorrow for a look at a character that uses an old mechanic in a BIG new way!