Character: (12)
1x Darth Vader (K)
1x Darth Vader (R)
3x Darth Vader (S)
2x San Hill (A)
2x Mas Amedda (A)
3x Orn Free Taa (A)

Mas Amedda and San Hill are my build units. They are two of the best and work in almost any deck. Mas can retreat and avoid being discarded, and San pays for himself on the first turn. He also is an excellent recipient of Imperial Misdirection.

The beat sticks: Vader and Orn. It's amazing how Vader (R) no longer looks so good with the introduction of Luke (S). Throw in Chewie Bowcaster with damage removal and he looks even weaker. However, Vader (S) can take both. Generally, Vader (S) stacked once should survive till the third attack from Luke (S). Against, Chewie (I) with his bowcaster, he should survive 3 attacks and 3 retialates and still be left standing. This gives Vader (S) enough time to kill off the LS tanks. His ability also works great against Yoda (J), Boba Fett (H) and swarms. Imperial Misdirection should also help keep Vader alive. Not to mention, with all the build gain you have, you can build another Vader (S) well before your first one dies.

Orn Free Taa (A) is incredible in a build gain deck. The cost for his ability is a small percentage of your build. While he is at his best when tapping units in other arenas, you can use him to tap characters, either keeping him alive till Vader can be built or to help keep Vader alive.

However, Character is an arena that I generally try to avoid building in during setup. Vader and Orn are expensive and I want to make sure I can keep Death Star II (D) alive in the early turns. So character is something I usually fight for in the later turns.

Ground: (12)
4x Jawa Sandcrawler
4x Patrol Mode Vulture Droid
4x Pirate Swoop

Ground looks pretty basic but this setup actually has a lot of synergy with the rest of the deck.

Pirate Swoops help with the build gain and serve as a recipient of Imperial Misdirection. Jawa Sandcrawlers draw you more units, which you can deploy quite easily, and also serve to stall the game with their high health. The longer the game goes, the more your build gain will have effect. Patrol Mode Vulture Droid's are there to win ground; however, they also serve as a stall so that your build gain can take effect. In this deck, you aren't trying to win per se, you are trying to not lose. The build gain will win the game for you if you stay alive.

Just because a ground arena looks average, does not mean it plays average in every deck.

Space: (15)
2x Death Star II (A)
1x Death Star II (B)
1x Death Star II (C)
4x Death Star II (D)
3x TIE Defender
4x TIE Pursuit Wing

The key card in this deck is Death Star II (D). The other Death Star's are there mainly to stack underneath and the help me cycle in setup. Since I can't intercept attacks, I want to run cheap high speed units with high power. This enables me to usually kill off a unit or two before they even attack, keeping the Death Star (D) alive. If my opponent attacks the high speed units that have already attacked, then the Death Star (D) will be able to stay alive and kill units. Not to mention, with the extra build and draw I can build new space units. If my opponent attacks the Death Star its unlikely he will be able to kill it first turn. So by the time my high speed units attack in the second turn, I have usually cleared the space arena. Imperial Misdirection also helps keep the Death Star alive. If it stays alive, its just a matter of time till I win another arena.

Battle: (8)
4x Hotwire
4x Imperial Misdirection

Imperial Misdirection fits so well with this deck. Not to mention, you often end up playing it on your opponents units.

Now, why not Dismiss? Well, the deck does not use a tremendous amount of force and could easily run Dismiss. But the reason I run Hotwire is this, I just want to survive the first 3 or so turns. After that, the build gain will win the deck by itself. Hotwire better enables me to survive the first 3 turns than Dismiss.

Mission: (9)
4x Alter the Deal
4x Subtle Assassination
1x Falcon's Needs

Alter the Deal is key to this deck. In this deck, its not unlikely to have an average build of 9 per turn. When you have that much build, you will run out of units very quickly. Combined with Jawa Sandcrawler, Alter the Deal allows you to draw in units. Personally, I love to end a build step with 3 build on Alter the Deal, then next turn deploy it and have about 9 build to spend on new units. Boom, I put out 2 new Space units, a new PMVD, Orn Free Taa or with enough build Vader (S). This card is often the one that wins the game.

Falcon's Needs is hard to leave out of any DS deck. With Jawa Sandcrawler and Alter the Deal, you get to play this card quite often.

Now, I'm sure many of you are asking how do you beat LXW Pilot? Well, it will be interesting to see how many players play LXW after my article. But Subtle Assassination is one of the best ways to kill off pilots. Since DS goes first, you can often kill off the pilots before they get on their ship. What better way to kill LXW Pilot? However, Orn Free Taa can also help you beat LXW. I can simply tap down the ship each turn and (1) allow my build gain to win me other arenas or (2) switch to a more powerful Death Star and slowly beat it the old fashioned way.

Location: (4)
4x Sanctuary Moon

Sanctuary Moon is a must if your going to run Orn Free Taa (A). This keeps Luke (S) from killing Orn. Also, Sanctuary Moon hurts Rebel Commando Unit and the other LS HC units. It's amazing how this card can be played by both LS and DS decks.