Card Appreciation Vol. 1

CARD:  "Taunting"

CHARACTER:  Count Dooku

WHAT IT DOES:  It punches you in the mouth...repeatedly.

WHY IT'S AWESOME:  Though Count Dooku is currently a bottom-three ranked character in this Duels league, it's not because he isn't dangerous.  The heart and soul of his deck are his four, that's right, four Taunting cards.  Good for seven points of carnage apiece, Dooku can potentially drop 28 points of attack in a mere two rounds of play.  Only a couple of other characters in the game can do more damage in such a short span of time.  But the real kicker?  The card replaces itself after each action with the "draw a card" bonus.  So you can drop those 28 points of vengeance and still have ten cards in your hand!  Admittedly, it's hard to hold all four in your hand at one time, but not impossible.  Dooku operates best when you have a full ten cards in you hand and the Taunting attacks help you maintain hand superiority.

BEST USED:  In tandem, preferably when you know your opponent's best defense cards have already been played.  Like it was mentioned above, they play better when your hand is/nearly is full.

WORST USED:  When you're low carded.  Dropping the Taunting card on an enemy when you have few cards in your hand is a quick way to exit a game early.  Dooku's biggest weakness is his defense, and using the Taunting card will almost always produce a counter-attack against you.  The one time you might ignore this advice is at the start of the game, especially if you are one of the first three or four players in the rotation of play.  Everyone starts off with four cards, meaning premium defense cards are less likely to be in play, and the "Draw a card" feature of the Taunting will help you keep pace.  Dooku often starts near the Fetts or Emperor Palpatine, three characters with smaller health point totals that could be half dead with one successful Taunting play.

FINAL THOUGHT:  It feels so right when you land two of these in a row on some poor, unsuspecting competitor.

What do you think of Taunting?  Sound off in the comments below!