So, I've had some time to think, and I feel it's time for another article on deck building, specifically on making a strange card more useful.
With Honor and Profit, we got another neutral AI icebreaker in the form of Overmind, but it didn't seem very viable at the time. After all, there were few ways to raise your memory limit. The only options at the time were Akamatsu Mem Chip, CyberSolutions Mem Chip, and whatever console you wanted to run. Probably Deep Red, since it gave you three extra memory for cheap. But flash forward a few data packs to Up and Over, which brought in the new Anarch program Origami. At the time that came out, I knew I wanted to do a build that made use of Origami, but I had no idea what at the time. The came All that Remains, and with it, the Anarch console Ekomind. Now, with the memory limit tied to cards in hand, and the ability to massively increase your hand size, the possibilities opened up.
I think my earliest iteration of this deck used Exile for the identity. What I was thinking was I could use Aesop's Pawnshop to trash empty Overminds, then bring them back with Clone Chip. But this idea didn't prove as workable as I had hoped. So, on to the next idea.
Folds of the Mind
This may have been the first actual attempt at the deck. It works on Chaos Theory's smaller deck size to get through the deck more efficiently The big problem is that it takes time to set up, during which the Corp can score out agendas; possibly enough to win the game.
Mind Over Matter and Mind Over Matter 2.0
I moved from Chaos Theory to Quetzal to bring E3 Feedback Implants into the deck. After all, it should make it easier to use Overmind by spending credits instead of counters, plus the card complements Quetzal anyway. Granted, the ability is only really useful on ice that has more than one subroutine. Still, the deck was slow to set up; maybe moreso than with Chaos Theory. But with the release of Breaker Bay, we have some new options to consider.
Beach Brain
Hayley gives an opportunity to increase the speed of the deck drastically. Being able to install multiple types of cards in one click means that more pieces of the combo can be brought into play. The combo has also changed from Origami and Ekomind to Beach Party and Ekomind, which can give 10 extra cards with two cards instead of the 9 extra cards from 3 cards, and also frees up more memory, making Sage even more powerful. Self-Modifying Code gives some tutoring, but it could be removed for something more useful. I'm not certain what just yet. Granted, it does make for good fodder for Aesop's. Still, I'm going to need to give this deck more testing to see where it's strengths and flaws lie.
Well, that does it for now. Maybe next time I'll go over some corporate deckbuilding ideas. Until then, make sure your brain in a jar hasn't passed its expiration date.
