I've been putting off this article for a bit, but it's still sort of within the schedule I'm trying to get back into of writing at least once per week. So, I'd like to talk about the most recent store championship here in Colorado. This one was a bit of a stretch for me, as it was farther away from my home than the one at Chaos, Games and More. Still, I had intended to go, and had set up some accommodations that made it possible for me to attend. As such, I might as well get to the decks I brought.
The Shadow Project 1.0 - 45 cards
Identity: Adam - Compulsive Hacker
Programs
BlacKat - 2 (6 influence)
Cache - 2 (2 influence)
Cloak - 3 (6 influence)
Dagger - 2 (4 influence)
Multithreader - 3
Refractor - 2 (4 influence)
Hardware
Brain Chip - 3
Resources
Daily Casts - 3
Dr. Lovegood - 2
Earthrise Hotel - 3
Ghost Runner - 3
Kati Jones - 3
Scrubber - 3 (3 influence)
Events
Independent Thinking - 3
Infiltration - 3
Mass Install - 2
Sure Gamble - 3
I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to using the runners out of Data and Destiny, but I feel there is some promise in this route. Almost all of the influence has been sunk into the stealth rig. Also, I've gone with Dagger over Switchblade for two reasons: first, it costs less influence, and second, because it uses fewer stealth credits, which is important since I can't really bring in several copies of Silencer without massively shifting around influence. However, if you are interested in such a build, I recommend looking over Sneaky Adam by Jamieson.
So aside from the stealth rig, my build utilizes Multithreader to mitigate the cost of breaking subroutines (and also pumping up BlacKat,) and Cache for some extra burst economy. Brain Chip is the only hardware, but it's about all you will need, I feel. Daily Casts gives you some clickless economy. Dr. Lovegood allows you to shut down a directive that is hindering you, but can also be used to stop a Daily Cast or an Earthrise Hotel if you don't need money or cards immediately. Earthrise Hotel is your backup draw engine, although for most of the game you will probably be relying on Safety First. Ghost Runner gives you extra credits for using stealth breakers, but keep in mind that you may be forced to spend these credits when you don't want to because of Neutralize All Threats. Kati Jones works well for an efficient economy engine. Scrubber is included to help mitigate Neutralize All Threats. As for events, Independent Thinking is used to get rid of directives that are no longer useful, but can also be used to destroy empty Caches for extra cards. Infiltration works for either economy as needed or to expose specific cards, such as something that has just been put out from Mushin no Shin. Mass Install allows you to compress a handful of clicks into one, allowing you to install parts of your rig together. Sure Gamble is of course staple economy.
The biggest problem with this deck is the need to snowball. You need to grab two points worth of agenda in the early game so your Brain Chip can overcome the deficit of Safety First, as well as giving you enough space to bring in more of your rig. Making good use of Always Be Running will be critical in that regard. Still, if you feel a directive is holding you back, don't hesitate to blank it with Dr. Lovegood, or smash it with Independent Thinking.
While I would have liked to come up with something new and brilliant for this tournament, I'm afraid no inspiration came to me. Even so, the snowstorm I spoke of in the previous report ended up a full on blizzard, and I would have had no good opportunities to test a new deck. As such, I went to a deck I had come up with a few months ago.
Brother Eye 1.0 - 44 cards
Identity: SYNC - Everything, Everywhere
Agendas - 18 points
AstroScript Pilot Program - 2 (-2 max influence)
Breaking News - 2
NAPD Contract - 3 (-3 max influence)
Project Beale - 3
Ice
Data Raven - 1
Enigma - 2
Gutenberg - 1
Information Overload - 2
Tollbooth - 2
Universal Connectivity Fee - 2
Wall of Static - 2
Wraparound -1
Assets
Jackson Howard - 3
Marked Accounts - 3
Upgrades
Cyberdex Virus Suite - 1
Operations
Archived Memories - 2 (4 influence)
Closed Accounts - 1
Hedge Fund - 3
Midseason Replacements - 2
Psychographics - 1
Scorched Earth - 1 (4 influence)
Sweeps Week - 3
The All-Seeing I - 1
This was intended to be a mixture of Rush and Taxing decks. The agenda choices are fairly standard. AstroScript is in since it is a 3 for 2 agenda with a very good effect. Breaking News is in since it can be used in combo with several operations. NAPD Contract is in since it taxes the runner to steal, which works very well with Midseason Replacements. Project Beale can make for a surprise victory, especially with Psychographics. The ice suite is where the elements of Rush and Tax stand out. I originally ran two copies of Data Raven, but swapped one out for Gutenburg to try and more reliably land tags, since the runner can't choose to jack out against Gutenburg. Information Overload can become a painful surprise after a Midseason Replacements has landed. Tollbooth is both taxing and can stop the runner. Universal Connectivity Fee works like a Pop-Up Window while the runner has no tags and becomes a Closed Accounts when the runner is tagged. Plus, since it is a Trap, it becomes harder for the runner to break it. Enigma, Wall of Static, and Wraparound fill out the remaining slots for EtR ice, working as gear checks. For assets, Jackson is a given in this deck, since you are running a smaller deck, and may need to recycle cards. Marked Accounts is likely to be your primary source of economy throughout the game. One copy of Cyberdex Virus Suite allows you to purge viruses such as Clot at a moments notice, then goes into Archives to deprive runners from building up viruses such as Datasucker.
The main idea from this deck is the adaptability of the operations. Archived Memories sort of acts as additional copies of whatever operations you play or dump into Archives. Closed Accounts will let you shut down your opponent's credits, which could be hard to come back from. Hedge Fund and Sweeps Week give you some burst economy to supplement the drip from Marked Accounts. Midseason Replacements is the main tagging mechanism. Just watch out for runners using Film Critic. Psychographics lets you score out an agenda very quickly, provided the runner has been tagged enough times. Scorched Earth is in as a possible kill, either on its own or in combination with an Archived Memories. The All-Seeing I allows you to destroy numerous resources simultaneously, as few runners right now give the corporation Bad Publicity. But against those who do, you can use it to get the runner to remove it from you.
Even with all that versatility, this deck still has issues. The ice is very porous, so actually stopping a runner will become difficult once their rig is set up. Multi-access cards can snatch a lot of agenda points from you quickly. Also, once the runner hits 6 agenda points, Midseasons becomes useless, blocking off a quick way to victory.
With that out of the way, let's get on to the matches.
Round 1: vs. Elliot
Adam vs. Replicating Perfection: 2 - 8 L
SYNC vs. Leela Patel: 0 - 7 L
A very rough start for me. I managed to pull a Nisei Mk II off of R&D early in the first game, and saw The Future Perfect several times, but my opponent was able to keep me from getting it when I saw it. Game two was abysmal. I saw very few ice, and my opponent was able to pick agendas out of my hand and off of R&D before I could establish a solid defense. Maybe removing some taxing ice in favor of more EtR ice would have been beneficial.
Round 2: vs. Luke
Adam vs. Personal Evolution: 7 - 1 W
SYNC vs. Hayley: 0 - 7 L
A rematch, of sorts, though with somewhat different decks. I took more damage than I ought to have early game, mostly due to me forgetting to use Always Be Running to its full effect. Still, I managed to snag a Fetal AI, which started the snowball effect. I pulled a copy of The Future Perfect off of R&D after that. My opponent was able to score out a House of Knives, but I took another Fetal AI off of R&D to win that game. The next game was abysmal. Once again, I couldn't establish a solid defense, and couldn't score anything.
Round 3: vs. Stetson
Adam vs. Cybernetics Division: 6 - 8 L
SYNC vs. Edward Kim: 6 - 6 T
Both of these games were close. The first one was probably the worst match-up Adam could be against. Luckily, I pulled a copy of Independent Thinking in my opening hand, which I used to get rid of Safety First. I did manage to take a Mandatory Upgrades early, which enabled my Brain Chip, but that enabled him to use Media Blitz, which let him score out an Advanced Concept Hopper as well as another Mandatory Upgrades. I managed to shut that off by stealing a Hopper, but the damage had been done. He was able to score an Accelerated Beta Test, and I picked up another agenda, but he was able to score the last agenda point. Game two was rough. I gave up several agenda point before I was able to land a Midseasons. I was able to get a Wraparound on my scoring sever, which made trouble for his Faust. Still, I managed to get back up to 6 points. Then time was called. He made one last effort at snagging an agenda from R&D, but all of the remaining agendas were buried, so the game ended on a true tie.
Round 4: vs. Carl
SYNC vs. Rielle "Kit" Peddler: 2 - 8 L
Adam vs. Engineering the Future: 0 - 7 L
Once again, my corporation failed me. I was able to score a Breaking News into an All-Seeing I early, but I then gave up too many agenda points to get a Midseasons off. I managed to score the other Breaking News, but it was too late. Second game I messed up massively. I trashed Always Be Running early, since all the servers had been iced up and I wasn't seeing any breakers I needed. I suppose I ought to have trashed Safety First instead, as I was getting no real use out of it. As such, trying to dig through my deck for the cards I needed allowed my opponent to play solitaire Netrunner.
And that was that. Out of 19 players, I came in dead last. I don't recall doing quite this badly in any previous Netrunner tournament I've been in, but I may be forgetting something. Still, the games were, for the most part, good ones, and I've learned that this particular corp build needs to either be majorly overhauled, or just outright scrapped. Still, there are more store championships coming up, so there's more chances to try and get into a top ranking.
Anyways, thank you to Total Escape Games for hosting this store championship and to Tobin for running the event. Perhaps I'll come back some day in the future.
Until next time, Big Brother is watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment