Community Design Exercise - Ep.1 Green Dog

Everyone loves netrunner. And everyone who loves netrunner loves trying to come up with new cards they’d like to have in the game. However, I wanted to do something more focused and constructive than another blank slate thread of “post your card ideas here!”. What I’d like this thread to be is a regularly occurring “assignment” of sorts, where we take a certain idea or goal and challenge the community to design a card that answers it. By giving a specific goal and setting up boundaries for us to work within, we can create much more coherent and constructive card ideas and gain better feedback and a better understanding of how good card design works.

For our first mission, since Komainu is Jinteki Komainu and Brainstorm is HB Komainu, our community thinktank today is “what would a Weyland/NBN version of Doge look like?”…

THE RULES

  1. It must be a sentry.
  2. It must be affected by the number of cards in the runner’s hand somehow.
  3. You cannot just copy Komainu and make it meat damage or tags. Be more creative.
  4. It must be 4 influence. These are not meant to be splashed.

And with that, I’d like to begin the discussion with my submission of a Weyland Komainu. Behold.

Green Dog
Weyland - 4 influence
Ice - Sentry
Rez 4
Str 3
-> If the runner has 4 or more cards in hand, deal 2 meat damage.
-> If the runner has 3 or less cards in hand, deal 1 meat damage.
-> Give the runner 1 Tag.
-> Remove 1 Bad Publicity.

Reasoning: This gives the runner several flexible ways to break it. If the full thing fires and they have a big hand, it is at minimum a snare. If they break one of the damage subs, they don’t have to break the other, but 3 strength with damage subs is something the runner will almost always be willing to pay to break and won’t be cheap for most breakers. Removing bad pub via ice is something I’d like to experiment with. If you have no bad pub, it’s blank, but if you get BP (like weyland does a lot) this ice then becomes more taxing, effectively absorbing the bad pub for runs on that server.

Feel free to discuss my submission or post your own and discuss those. If this series is successful enough I’d like to do one every 3-4 weeks. Any suggestions or ideas are welcome. Enjoy!

2 Likes

Golden Retriever
NBN - 2 inf
Ice - Sentry
Rez 2
Str 3
When the Runner encounters Golden Retriever, it gains “-> The Corp gains $1.” for each card in the Runner’s grip for the remainder of this run.

Can’t decide if weyland or nbn. Also feels potentially OP. Also why does it need to cost 4 influence?

Bloodhounds
Weyland - 4 inf
Ice - Sentry - Illicit
Rez 3
Str 0
When you rez Bloodhounds, take 1 bad publicity.
When the Runner encounters Bloodhounds, it gains “-> Do 1 meat damage when this run is successful.” for each card in the Runner’s grip for the remainder of this run.

Guide Dog
Neutral - 0 inf
Ice - Code Gate
Rez 0
Str 4
When the Runner encounters Guide Dog, it gains “-> The next piece of ice the Runner encounters during this run has +1 strength.” for each card in the Runner’s grip for the remainder of this run.

I broke the rules again

1 Like

Fun game.

Lap Dog
Weyland - 4 Inf
ICE -Sentry - Observer
Rez: 2
Str 3
trash 2
When the Runner accesses Lap Dog while not installed, the Corp may pay 2$ to have the Runner Encounter it. Ignore this ability while in Archives.

When the Runner encounters Lap Dog, the runner may pay 1$ for each card in the Runner’s Grip. If the Runner does not do so, end the run.

  • Return Lap Dog to HQ.

“12/10 would not break it again.”

Lap dog would be Bryan Stinson’s favourite piece of ICE until Rumor Mill kicks in. The on access ability might be a step too far.

Alternately
Boom Dog
Weyland 4 Inf
Sentry - AP
Rez: 4
STR: 0

Boom Dog gains STR equal to the number of cards in the Runner’s grip.
When the Runner encounters Boom Dog the Runner may jack out. (Even if this is the first piece of ICE encountered on this run.)

  • Do 2 Meat damage.
  • Do 2 Meat damage.
  • Do 3 Meat damage.
    “Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.”
1 Like

I’ll go again with that Gumshoe idea (which is better than this one I think) then :

24/7 pasta
NBN
Sentry - Tracer
Rez 5 - Str 6 - Inf 4

Xc recursive.
Use this credit during trace attempts.
When your turn begins or this ice is rezed, X is the number of cards in the runner’s grip.

=> Trace 0 the runner gain 1c
=> Trace 0 the runner draw a card
=> Trace 0 the runner remove a tag
=> Trace 0 the runner put an installed card under his stack

Then for Weyland:
Mirador
Weyland
Sentry - AP
Rez 4 - Str 0 - Inf 4 - Trash 3

When the runner accesses a card, [Trash] : the trash cost of the accessed card increase by the number of cards in the runner’s grip.

=> remove a bad pub
=> remove a bad pub or gain 1c
=> remove a bad pub or gain 1c
=> do 1 meat damage

2 Likes

Setback
NBN ICE:
3c 2☰ ••••

When the runner encounters Setback, name a card type. The Runner reveals his or her grip and Setback gains “↳ Add 1 installed Runner card to his or her grip.” for each card of the named type in the runner’s grip.

2 Likes

Would have called this Peek-A-Boo :slight_smile:
Trigger it like Archangel, please !

Sheepdog
NBN
ICE-Sentry-Observer
Rez 4 - Str 2 - Inf 4
When the Runner encounters Sheepdog, it gains “-> The runner must reveal a card at random from their grip and you may choose to add it to the top or bottom of the stack.” for each card in the Runner’s grip for the remainder of this run.

"The dog doesn’t seem to do anything but watch you. Its uncountable sheep are the real danger "

1 Like

I did partially pattern it after Archangel, but my aim isn’t to copy it.

This could have a single routine, putting the whole runner’s grip under the stack.

It could yes, but this way makes it a far more taxing piece of ICE and it’s more in-keeping with the design brief.

2 Likes

Viringo
Weyland
Sentry - AP
Res cost 6, Strength 2, inf 4
When the runner encounters Viringo, gain 1c for each card in the Runners grip.
->The corp loses 2c, the runner trashes one of their installed cards.
->The corp loses 2c, the Runner trashes the top card of the Stack.
->The corp loses 2c, end the run.

Viringo is one of the names for the Andean hairless dogs.

1 Like

Working from Syntax’s thing, I think I quite like the idea of the runner’s grip being used to Trace them.

Sniffer Dog
NBN
ICE - Sentry - Tracer - AP
Rez: 6 | Str: 2

  • Trace X - If successful, give the runner 1 tag. X is the number of cards in the Runner’s grip.
  • Trace X - If successful, trash 1 piece of hardware. X is the number of cards in the Runner’s grip.

Hurribrane
Weyland
ICE - Sentry - AP
Rez: 12 | Str: 4
When the Runner encounters Hurribrane it gains “> Do 1 meat damage.” before all other subroutines for each card in the runner’s grip until the end of the run.
When the Runner encounters Hurribrane it gains “> The runner trashes 1 resource.” before all other subroutines for each card in the Runner’s grip until the end of the run.

  • Do 1 meat Damage. End the Run.

This hurricane is gonna more than just rock me. ~ MaxX

2 Likes

This one is inspired by the Black Mirror “Metalhead” episode.

Tailchaser
Weyland ICE
Sentry - AP - Tracer
Rez 6 - Str 4 - Inf 4

When the Runner encounters Tailchaser do 1 meat damage if he or she is tagged.

=> Give the Runner 1 tag if he or she has none.
=> The Corp may rez another installed Tailchaser ignoring all costs.
=> Trace 4 - If successful, the Runner is now encountering another rezzed Tailchaser if able.
=> Derez Tailchaser.

“Should we stop it. Or just…uh?”

If the Runner faceplants into that (and another) they just die immediately, right? That seems… Quite strong for 6c. “Never ever facecheck 2 Ice into 6c” seems like a hard rule to follow. xP

1 Like

Well…the loopy part is a trace, and Corp has to boost first usually. So if Runner has 4 credits or more, and several cards in hand, then they should be able to exit the loop unless they are wayyyy behind in credits. How far behind in credits they’d have to be is the product of 1) Runner’s grip size and 2) the difference between the Runner’s credits and the amount of trace. The bottom line is that this could kill if three conditions are met:

a) there are two installed
b) Corp credits >= 6cr
c) Corp cr - 6cr > (Grip + Damage Avoidance + 1) x (Runner cr + link - 3 cr)

I think with these conditions, it isn’t terribly easy to pull off. Plus it derezes when the trace is beaten or broken, so it isn’t great glacier ICE. I think this kinda fits the spirit of Brainstorm but in Weyland. No?

Maybe the situation is a little less likely than I expect. I’m not sure. I’ve just typed two or three different situations where it’s absurd, but running into something possibly big immediately after a Closed Accounts isn’t terribly great, so maybe you deserve to get punished for it?

At US Nationals I face checked an out of faction brainstorm with 6 cards in grip and no killer. It really sucked.

Who needs a restricted list when you can just play 4 Influence cards.

I hope there was a full set in there, too.

1 Like

Wait, if you have 6 Brain Damage how does that work? Do you just discard down every turn, or do you die because you can’t discard the extra card to go to -1 cards in hand?

You got it.