A Horizontal Approach to the Weyland Problem by Brian Williams

StimHack.com
41

Thanks for the list, which I really like. Been playing around with it a bit and found Negotiator a nice taxing ICE for those non-scoring remotes.

42

It’s something I’ve looked at, since it’s another ICE that’s actually annoying for the runner to face check, but once they get out their Mimic, I usually wish it was a Caduceus. Same break cost, but Negotiator is 1 more to rez. However, if they don’t have any programs yet, and they’re just face-checking, Negotiator is barely worth the rez, since they don’t have to worry abut paying through the trash program.

For a 0 link runner with no sentry breaker, Caduceus takes 5 credits to pay through completely, assuming no trace boosts. If they don’t break the first trace, it’s 3 credits for you, and 2 for them. Negotiator, in the same situation, either costs them 4 credits, or gains you 2 and loses them 2. So it’s either one credit less for you or for them, assuming they have a program they don’t want you trashing. They both cost the same to Mimic, so no real point comparing that.

Against 1 link runners, it’s only 3 to get past Caduceus, which is a little worse than Negotiator… If they let you have money, it’s still 3 for you, but only 1 for them, which is similar to Negotiator in terms of total credit swing.

The best case scenario or Negotiator is that you get 2 bucks and get to trash a program, which can be better than the best case of Caduceus, where you gain 3 credits and end the run, so long as your goal was taxation and not keeping them out of the server. However, that almost never happens against good runners, since they’re usually not running at 0 or 1 credits with programs installed. Maybe Noise is.

Looking at the above, I’d say they’re pretty close in terms of overall taxation. However, Negotiator requires that they have a program they care about to be installed before it’s worth rezzing, making it a worse rez early game. And then there’s the fact that Caduceus strait up costs 3 rather than 4. Looking at the above through that lens, it makes it an almost bonkers-good piece of ICE. Taxing the runner even 3 credits for a 3 rez is fantastic, let alone 5 credits. And if they can’t pay for it? You just rezzed a free ICE that ended the run.

So overall, I prefer Caduceus. It’s less situational (and in a deck as ICE light as this is, that’s a good thing), and it generally does more for less.

2 Likes
43

There are only two reasons it’s not considered one of the best pieces of ice in the game:

  1. Most runners when Weyland was relevant were Andy and Kate - both 1 link.
  2. It’s in Weyland.
44

Yeah, it’s a lot less good against 1 link runners, but still, 3 for 3 is a great ratio.

Against Nexus Kate, though… Ugh. Beyond blank.

1 Like
45

Our card evaluation in the “early-game tempo ice that gear-checks for Mimic” niche is calibrated to Architect in NEH / EtF, i.e. bananas.

I agree, though, I’m a fan of the Duce.

3 Likes
46

Maybe now, but back in the days of Andromeda/Datasucker reigning supreme, it was always considered decent but not amazing piece of ice. I think it would have been considered a great piece if more 0 link runners were played. Nowadays…yeah. We’re spoiled with Architect.

47

Errand Boy also wrecked face in a similar role against poor old Parasite-less Andy. :smiley:

48

Weyland has a bunch of Mimic-range sentries that pale against Caduceus, and Negotiator is one of them. The only reason I can see for even experimenting with it is if you’re running Wormholes and want to give them a cheap(-ish) source for program trashing.

1 Like
49

If Security Nexus is everywhere (or even being played in a couple good decks at all) Caduceus becomes way worse, so I could see looking askance at Negotiator in that light.

2 Likes
50

Since this deck is basically everywhere right now (three out of my last five games on Jinteki against it…), I have to find room for two Crisium Grids. Went down one interns and one Expo Grid. Maybe I’m a weak person, but I can’t mentally deal with it otherwise. Avoiding the siphon is easy enough with prerez, but the DDOS and Apocalypse is brutal. Got apocalypsed twice (…) last game.

Is anyone else really missing it? Am I just too used to its wonder and power?

edit: I just want to say that I’ve only played about 20 or so games with this deck and… I love it. So much. Why do I win so many more games with this than BS bootcamp I don’t understand, but I do. Just mathing folks into the ground.