Flashpoint Cycle!

Netrunner General
1027

So… Paperclip will be the best of this cycle of breakers. The others will not be as efficient to break things with. If it’s +2str for 3c and one sub, that’s probably the Killer. Given the install cost, I’d guess it’s the Killer, but it’s probably two subs. Remember, Mimic is in Anarch.

With 2 base strength and 3cr: +2 Strength, Break up to 2 Subroutines, it’s 9cr to break an Archer which is about par for Killers that aren’t named Faerie or Mongoose, so that’s where I think this breaker is. 3cr for Rototurret and 6cr for Ichi. Both of those are about right for Anarch Killers. 6cr for Assassin, too.

Remember, we import Anarch Fracters, Shaper Decoders, and Criminal Killers. And Mimic and Yog. I’m ok with Black Orchestra being only rarely seen outside of Anarch, given how good Paperclip/Corroder are.

1028

it’d be just 6c for Archer, which i suppose, if nothing else, is worthwhile enough for it to have 3c for +2 str and only breaks a couple of sub routines

also, hilarious that Guard of all things, regardless of how many subs this thing breaks, becomes a painful prospect for breaking

i think that regardless of how you do the math, i’d never use this to break code gates, so i’m still convinced it’s a killer

1029

I wonder if it is something really strange, like not only maintaining Strength for the remainder of the Run but breaking all Subs for the remainder of the Run? How would you even word that? Also, yeah, seems like the Killer.

1030

i was thinking that too and also trying to think of a way it could be worded

after @CrushU’s post, i think breaking 2-3 subs is fine. it’s in Anarch, where killers are, allegedly, their weak point

1031

Given the meaning of Black Orchestra, I’d wager it’d be a Killer. Schwarze Kapelle - Wikipedia

If it’s base strength 2, and 3cr: +2 str, break 2…

Vs Archer, you’d have to Buff, Buff+Break, then Break. 9cr.

I suspect it’ll be similarly worded to Paperclip so that the one ability both buffs and breaks subroutines. I feel like that will be the second theme of the cycle (the first being recurring from Heap upon Encounter.)

Oh hey: Operation Paperclip - Wikipedia Nifty.

2 Likes
1032

3: +2 strength and break all Sentry subroutines for the remainder of the run.

Meaning that the first Sentry is kind of expensive, but you basically break any Setry after it for free if they are the same Strength.

Not sure if they would do that, though, and “for the remainder of the run” seems to be a Shaper thing.

1033

why are there never any positive mentions of Europe’s History in non EU games :wink:

btw is there any confirmation that Black Orch is Black Orchestra and not Black Orchid ore something else?

like Orchard

1 Like
1034

do we know its name is Black Orchestra? i could be like… Black Orchid or something
EDIT: ninja’d while typing :frowning:

yeah, i suppose that’s true.

if so, the install cost is the only thing this thing has going for it. 3c for 2 strength or 3c for 2 subs, and only sometimes will it overlap and break both… seems kinda bad. even for 3 subs, it’s kind of a hard pill to swallow, since, at minimum, you’re paying 3c every time you use this, but are often paying 6 or even 9

also, given the templating on Paperclip, i imagine it’s

3c: +2 str ength. Break up to [#] sentry
subr outines, if able.

there isn’t a whole lot of extra text you can fit in there to make it super different tbh

though it could be

3c: +2 str ength. Break all sentry
subr outines.

the more i think about it though, the more i think it’s an exact number. 3c to walk through Tour Guide seems kind of powerful (even if Shrike can do it for 2), given the other values on the card. at the very least, 3c for a 2 str killer is amazing

but if it breaks less than 3 subs, i don’t really like the math on this. i get 9c for something like Susanoo or Archer, but 9c to break Ichi 2.0? 9c for Brainstorm or Komainu with a hand of 5? even at 3 subs, it’s 9c for Enforcer, 12c for Orion (granted, you rarely ever have only this to break it)?

what would this thing actually be good for? 3c for lots of 4str ICE like Data Raven, News Hound, Cortex Lock, Hunter, lots of 3str ICE seems good, and some 3-str ICE isn’t too bad, but i think given that it shines at breaking 4str ICE, and breaking 0-2 str stuff is kind of expensive, your breaker suite is likely: Mimic, Black Orchestra, D4v1d?

1035

Damon said so in a TWA interview, as I recall.

3 Likes
1036

Damon confirmed it as Black Orchestra on a podcast, can’t remember which one off the top of my head.

4 Likes
1037

Oh thanks
then yeah
interesting

1038

So now we just need to find out what conspiracy-ripe WWII operation they’d choose for the decoder’s name.

I’m hoping for ‘Lusty’.

1039

Alsos might work.

1040

Boom and consulting visit means anyone can now import a basic meat damage kill combo if they can meet the alliance requirements. That gave me the idea of putting the three major archetypes together in one deck.

Meat Damage Fast Advance Glacier

Pālanā Foods: Sustainable Growth

Agenda (10)
3x Braintrust
3x Medical Breakthrough
3x Nisei MK II
1x Philotic Entanglement

Asset (3)
1x Jackson Howard ●
1x Melange Mining Corp.
1x Mental Health Clinic

Upgrade (2)
2x Caprice Nisei

Operation (18)
1x "Clones are not People"
2x BOOM! ●●●●● ●
3x Celebrity Gift
3x Consulting Visit ○○○○○ ○○○○
3x Hedge Fund
1x Midseason Replacements ●●●●
1x Subliminal Messaging
3x Trick of Light
1x Voter Intimidation

Barrier (6)
1x Ashigaru
3x Ice Wall ●●●
2x Wall of Static

Code Gate (4)
2x DNA Tracker
2x Quandary

Sentry (6)
3x Pup
1x Shadow ●
2x Tsurugi

Here’s my attempt at porting the Exchange of Information deck into Harmony Medtech. You can tag with Snare, Prisec, Cerebral Cast, and SEA Source to swap the runner a zero point Project Kusanagi for a 3 point GFI / TFP. Or, you might get a Neural EMP kill sometimes.

Medtech Exchange

Harmony Medtech: Biomedical Pioneer

Agenda (9)
3x Global Food Initiative ●●●
3x Project Kusanagi
3x The Future Perfect

Asset (6)
1x Jackson Howard ●
3x Launch Campaign
2x Snare!

Upgrade (2)
2x Prisec

Operation (14)
3x Cerebral Cast
3x Exchange of Information ●●●●● ●
1x Fast Track
3x Hedge Fund
3x Neural EMP
1x SEA Source ●●

Barrier (3)
3x Vanilla

Code Gate (3)
2x Lotus Field
1x Quandary

Sentry (7)
2x Chrysalis
3x Pup
2x Tsurugi

Revisiting the first idea, the glacier bit is not super necessary since it has the same basic plan as the fast advance bit. So how about a deck that is just fast advance and boom? The runner has to keep credits to beat midseasons but they have to run a lot to beat biotic labor.

Archived Explosions

Haas-Bioroid: Engineering the Future

Agenda (11)
3x Accelerated Beta Test
3x NAPD Contract
3x Project Vitruvius
2x The Future is Now

Asset (8)
3x Adonis Campaign
2x Advanced Assembly Lines
3x Eve Campaign

Upgrade (3)
3x Breaker Bay Grid

Operation (14)
3x Archived Memories
3x Biotic Labor
1x BOOM! ●●●
3x Consulting Visit ○○○○○ ○○○○
3x Hedge Fund
1x Midseason Replacements ●●●●

Barrier (6)
3x Heimdall 1.0
2x Ice Wall ●●
1x Wotan

Code Gate (4)
3x Fairchild 1.0
1x Viper

Sentry (3)
3x Errand Boy ●●●

2 Likes
1041

No, Decoders are their weakpoints. Killers are Shaper’s weakpoint and Fracters are Criminal’s.

“Meh” breakers are easy to remember because of dogs. Yog is an anomaly, look Force of Nature :slight_smile:

2 Likes
1042

My god your right, I had forgotten about that. Why did they give shaper the best stealth killer? Sometimes I wonder if these faction breakdowns that FFG had mean anything.

3 Likes
1043

They’re also getting the best Stealth Fracter, though BlacKat didn’t put up much of a fight :stuck_out_tongue:

9 Likes
1044

I always thought the factions should be more along the lines of:

Shapers do things professionally and cleanly, hence the Stealth focus and doing things the “right way” with breakers and breaking ICE subroutines,

Criminals do things “cheezy” by finding ways around ICE so they don’t have to actually encounter it,

Anarchs do things LOUD by getting in any way possible, damn the consequences. Granted, they really could use more “consequence” on some of their more powerful cards. DDoS, for instance, really should have some sort of backlash if it’s going to be a Anarch card. Any and all network security firms should be shitting down the throat of anyone who pulled one due to the strain on the networks it’s putting. Maybe at the end of the runner’s turn it should’ve given a unavoidable tag to balance it out, or removed bad publicity. Faust, likewise, could’ve had “take 1 unpreventable meat/net damage” as it’s cost for strength boosts or breaking to give it a bit of risk to the strength of it.

2 Likes
1045

I’ve never gotten “professional” from shaper, the faction that includes a 12 year old child, a disgraced academic, and a hobo. They’re just good at making programs. They’re Mackenzie Davis from Halt and Catch Fire. Asshole weirdos who are just SUPER good at being a hacker.

8 Likes
1046

Shaper: Combo. Probably a dirty CI player, too. (Glacier is also a classic fit with this player.)
Criminal: Gets the job done, straightforward without many flashy effects. NEH Fastrobiotics player, too.
Anarch: Loves to make huge plays and powerful cards on their own. Probably plays Argus Rush/Kill.

Alternatively, when confronted with an ICE… Shaper wants to know how it works and will eventually figure a way through. Criminal wants to avoid it, or else extract value from its presence by knowing the Corp has less resources to defend elsewhere. Anarch wants to destroy it because it’s in their way.

6 Likes