Android: Netrunner #26: Double Time

Double Time is the final data pack in the Spin cycle and as you might expect, contains a lot of Doubles cards. Let's get straight into my highlights from the new additions.

Runner

Paintbrush

You can see my use of this card in my Painting Kit posts Part 1 and Part 2, but basically this allows for a great deal of flexibility when building icebreakers into your deck and opens doors when running that might otherwise have been closed or at least closed for longer. It is click intensive and a rich Corp can build servers big enough to stop you, but this card is highly effective and good fun to play.

Savoir-Faire

The Criminal's answer to Self-Modifying Code - kind of. You have to have the card you want in hand, but it gives you more options when face-checking Ice if you have this on the table.

Lucky Find 

If this didn't take up an Influence slot, Sure Gamble would be history, even with the Double click cost. As it is, Lucky Find is a good card that most will struggle to find the room for. 

Corporation

Shinobi 

Just look at those subroutines. Basically this one card can kill you. It's expensive for the Corp to rez (particularly Jinteki - though their economy is much improved of late), and ultimately, if the Runner has the money, they will probably take the damage from the first two subroutines and then pay to avoid the third. Nevertheless, this is great, deadly Ice.

NAPD Contract

Easily one of the best Agendas in the game right now. 2 for 4 and it costs the Runner 4 credits to steal. Brilliant.

Caprice Nisei

The card to make the biggest splash since Jackson Howard. What an ability this is. I can't see Caprice not being EVERYWHERE for the foreseeable future. Yes, she's unique and yes the Corp might lose the Psi-game, but they're going to win a lot of the time too, and this card is going to ruin your day.

The next cycle on the way is the Lunar cycle and that'll be bringing a whole new mechanic to the game called Currents. I'm excited and you should be too.

First though, we'll have my highlights from Netrunner's second deluxe expansion - Honour and Profit. Stay tuned.

Android: Netrunner #25: Painting Kit: The evolution of a deck build - Part 2

In my last post, I built a deck based around Paintbrush and taking one main Icebreaker - Torch.

The deck was tested in one game (all we had time for!) and won. My economy was good and I got Ice rezzed by face checking early before laying out the programs. 

I have since altered the deck a little and tested it in a further two games. I have added Forged Activation Orders to help get Ice rezzed and put pressure on the Corp in the early game. Lucky Find had to go to free up the influence and I also removed both copies of Quality Time to make room for a The Maker's Eye and and R&D Interface.


In my first game the deck was working well, pressuring R&D and HQ with occasional runs on remotes, until I landed on an Archer and both Paintbrush and Torch were trashed. It was encouraging that only a few turns later I had drawn another Paintbrush and pulled Torch back out of the heap with Clone Chip. I went on the attack again and found the winning agendas.

In the  second game I found myself without Magnum Opus and had to rely instead on Armitage Codebusting and Kati Jones. They came through for me though and this deck remains undefeated. Granted, I've only had 3 games and haven't put it into a tournament yet, but I'm happy with how this has come together.

I'll leave you with the current build and a few potential changes to think about. I'm not really using Test Run and could lose maybe two copies. Perhaps another The Maker's Eye should go in there. 
Having looked through the new Honour and Profit cards and seen just how terrifying Jinteki has become, maybe Deus X or other net damage defences should be considered.

Identity
Rielle ‘Kit’ Peddler: Transhuman

Event (15)
Sure Gamble x3
Test Run x3
Forged Activation Orders** x3
Diesel x3 
The Maker's Eye x1
Modded x2

Hardware (10)
Clone Chip x3
Plascrete Carapace x2
CyberSolutions Mem Chip x1
Dinosaurus x1
Lockpick x2
R&D Interface x1

Program (10)
Paintbrush x3
Torch x1
Crypsis x1
Self-modifying Code x3
Magnum Opus x2

Resource (10)
Decoy** x2
Armitage Codebusting x2
Daily Casts x3
Kati Jones x2
Aesop’s Pawnshop x1

Total Cards: 45
Total Influence: 10

Android: Netrunner #24: Painting Kit: The evolution of a deck build - Part 1

It started with Paintbrush. A Shaper Program released in the Double Time data pack got me thinking about the number of Icebreakers needed in a deck. When you first start out with Netrunner you tend to put two or even three copies of each type in there because you don’t want to get caught out without anything to run with. But as your understanding of the game and the card pool increases, you find ways to reduce this number. There are cards that allow you search for Icebreaker programs or retrieve them if they have been trashed by your opponent.

The lowest number of breakers I have ever used so far is four. One decoder, one fracter, one killer and then a single Deus X for a surprise when the Corp puts out a big AP piece of Ice.

But Paintbrush got me thinking. For a click, you can change any rezzed piece of Ice to a type of your choosing, so it was suddenly possible to only take one Icebreaker. Granted, it has its limitations. The Ice has to be rezzed which means I’d still have to face plant into some to get this deck going and with Paintbrush’s ability costing a click, this deck would only really be good for one run per turn.

Nevertheless, I was excited by the prospect, so I set about building it.

First off, the Identity I think best suits this experiment is Rielle ‘Kit’ Peddler. Not only does this keep Paintbrush in faction, her ability allows me to hit that first piece of Ice, knowing she can deal with it as a code gate. So obviously the breaker of choice will be a decoder. Freeing up the need to pay for other breakers, I think I can afford to splurge a bit an opt for Torch.

With just one copy in the deck, I need the means to go and get it and also to save it should it get trashed. Test Run covers both eventualities and Clone Chip the latter, but the main addition here is of course, Self-Modifying Code. Not only can I go and get Torch with this, but Paintbrush as well and my main economy card - Magnum Opus.

Both Magnum Opus and Paintbrush take up 2 MU slots each, so my next port of call is CyberSolutions Mem Chip, increasing my memory allowance by 2. Dinosaurus is expensive but if I can get it out and host Torch on it, that’s  a pretty great combination. 2 copies of Lockpick are next to save some money on all this decoding.

Having been Scorched Earth one too many times recently and with my regular opponent turning to Weyland, I have put 2 copies of Decoy in there and 2 Plascretes. Heavy on the Hardware, I’ve added Modded to save some cash where I can and I have chosen Diesel and Quality Time to help work through the deck if I’m not seeing what I want.

Which leaves me to sort out my economy. The ever reliable Sure Gamble is straight in there along with my favourite lady of Netrunner, Kati Jones. I decided on Armitage Codebusting and Daily Casts and to take a little more advantage of these, Aesop is setting up shop alongside them. With 4 of my 10 influence used and no further out of faction cards to add, I thought I’d give Lucky Find a go.

Aiming for 45 cards, this left me with one slot left. At this point, I think we have to play it a little safe and go for Crypsis. Yes it’s painfully expensive and it’s already moving me away from the whole point of this experiment, but I need to get some Ice rezzed and Crypsis could help.

I’ll post up again when I’ve tested this build. There’s already food for thought. Forged Activation Orders would be a good fit to get Ice rezzed or trashed, but Lucky Find would have to go if I was to add this. And if this deck is reliant on one big run each turn, then perhaps I need to add the likes of Makers Eye and R & D Interface to improve my chances of hitting agendas.

I’ll leave you with the deck as it currently stands. Any comments would be appreciated.


Identity
Rielle ‘Kit’ Peddler: Transhuman

Event (16)
Sure Gamble x3
Test Run x3
Lucky Find** x3
Diesel x3
Quality Time x2
Modded x2

Hardware (9)
Clone Chip x3
Plascrete Carapace x2
CyberSolutions Mem Chip x1
Dinosaurus x1
Lockpick x2

Program (10)
Paintbrush x3
Torch x1
Crypsis x1
Self-modifying Code x3
Magnum Opus x2

Resource (10)
Decoy** x2
Armitage Codebusting x2
Daily Casts x3
Kati Jones x2
Aesop’s Pawnshop x1

Total Cards: 45
Total Influence: 10