Breaking Overmind

Today I published this list:

Dinomind (v0.1)

Chaos Theory: Wünderkind (Cyber Exodus)

Event (12)
3x Diesel (Core Set)
3x Scavenge (Creation and Control)
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)
3x Test Run (Cyber Exodus)

Hardware (10)
3x Clone Chip (Creation and Control)
3x Deep Red (Mala Tempora) •••
2x e3 Feedback Implants (Trace Amount) ••••
2x R&D Interface (Future Proof)

Resource (5)
3x Daily Casts (Creation and Control)
2x Kati Jones (Humanity’s Shadow)

Icebreaker (8)
1x Deus X (A Study in Static)
1x Inti (Creation and Control)
2x Knight (Mala Tempora) ••••
3x Overmind (Honor and Profit)
1x Sharpshooter (True Colors)

Program (5)
2x Grappling Hook (Honor and Profit) ••••
3x Self-modifying Code (Creation and Control)

15 influence spent (max 15)
40 cards (min 40)
Cards up to Honor and Profit

Decklist published on NetrunnerDB.

Yes, I know there’s no Dinosaurus, but I couldn’t resist the sweet name.

The synergies between Overmind, CT, Deep Red, E3, Grappling Hook, Test Run, Scavenge, Clone Chip, and Knight looked too good to me to just ignore. I feel like there are numerous combos in that list of cards that will come up in any given game, and I think Deep Red plus CT is the most effective way to maximize the odds of getting a huge pile of counters on Overmind.

I’m hoping Knight combined with Deep Red, E3, and/or Grappling Hook is enough to break most high-strength ice that would be prohibitive for Overmind. And Grappling Hook + E3 breaks anything once.

Things I’m not sure about:

  • Is 3x Diesel enough draw? It seems like it should be OK between CT’s deck size and 3x SMC for tutoring.
  • Will I be overtaxing my Clone Chips? 3x CC and 3x Scavenge is quite a bit of recursion in a 40-card deck, so I hope not, but you never know.
  • Should there be a Levy? The thing I like about the Overmind / Deep Red / Knight plan is that you can run out of the gate with an Overmind or a Knight, but keep running later in the game when you have E3 and/or Grappling Hook out.
  • No Plascrete. I want 2x. What should I cut? I’m not crazy about my resource econ; should I cut 2x Kati and go with 3x Armitage over 3x Casts? It seems like Overmind wants burst econ, but I also want to not die to Scorched Earth.
  • Can this become competitive, or is it just a bunch of cute stuff that works nicely together? That will require testing, which I won’t be doing much of until after next week’s monthly tournament at FFG.

I’d love some input on this. It’s less polished than what people normally share here, but I figured that if Overmind is as intriguing to anyone else here as it is to me, we might be able to get a conversation going. :slight_smile:

7 Likes

I think 1 or 2 Femmes would be good here. You can cheat her out reliably and she permanently deals with annoyances like Swordsman, Tollbooth, Dataraven, or huge Icewalls.

3 Likes

I could see 1x Femme over 1x Deep Red. That would definitely offer a lot of flexibility.

You know… this could also be a pretty mean Anarch build too. You’d have access to both Parasite and Knight so that you won’t have to use Overmind nearly as much. Grimoire gives one less MU than Deep Red and you don’t have CT’s extra memory, but I feel as though this type of deck would be more diverse at the expense of being less Overmind-oriented.

2 Likes

What about a Stirling DLR deck with Hostage/Donut/The Source using Overmind as a faster Crypsis when the Corp is at Match point ?

Two questions…

What do you view as the sweet spot for using Overmind? For the most part Knight + E3 is going to be cheaper, and when you get to ice that Knight can’t break you are talking some major money to pump Overmind to strength.

Do you think you have enough econ?

I gave this a lot of thought too. I was consdering LLDS Processors, with a view to playing Overmind at Str 3 every turn. You can use Replicator to get your hardware out quickly and pull out your dupes so you don’t waste draw actions later on. This also boosts your hand, which is useful if you think Jinteki is now a thing.

@Lysander I’m intrigued by this concept. I went with the obvious route for my initial deck, but there’s no reason to assume that’s the best application for Overmind. Overmind could replace Crypsis in Anarch builds like you’re thinking, or Criminal builds like @Calimsha suggested. Definitely some possibilities there I’ll have to think about.

@EmJayBee For me, the sweet spot for Overmind is the kind of cheap, taxing ice that some Corps love to rez early game: Yagura, Hive, etc. Low strength, multiple subroutines, just plain annoying. It’s also good against gear check ice like Quandary that might not be worth wasting a Parasite on in a different deck. Re: Economy, I’m not sure at all what the best econ mix is to support Overmind. Drip econ like Casts seems effective against gear check ice, but against larger ice some burst econ is probably needed, which was why I went with the initial econ mix. I’m not crazy about it, though.

@Arkhon Strength boosting support seems like it would be really good with Overmind, which to my thinking actually lends itself to Lysander’s proposal to run it in Anarch – you can run 3x Datasucker and 3x Parasite alongside it, and every virus counter on either one saves you a credit for Overmind. You could even do that in Criminal and keep e3 and/or Grappling Hook, like @Calimsha suggested.

I think the next step is trying to come up with Anarch and Criminal Overmind lists to see which version is effective (if any). I’ll tinker with that alongside my CT list, and anyone else who comes up with a list, please post it! :slight_smile:

(Necro warning!)

I’ve been running a deck like this lately, and initial testing seems pretty good. It’s also not fully polished/battle-tested, but I think the idea has merit. You get a nice steady pressure game from the very beginning, without running out of steam too badly if the game goes late. There’s a lot to be said for not having to worry about Ice types! :smile:

I don’t find that Overmind counters feel like a very scare resource. You get a lot on each install with Deep Red out, and you can get more many different ways. Test Run and Scavenge are both super cheap and easy. Combined with the Prepaid burst economy, you can go from no rig and no money to running big servers in a single turn. As long as you make your runs count (with Maker’s Eye and Legwork, as well as just good timing), it’s really hard for them to keep you out.

CT Overmind

Chaos Theory: Wünderkind (Cyber Exodus)

Event (22)
3x Dirty Laundry (Creation and Control)
3x Legwork (Honor and Profit) ••••• •
1x Levy AR Lab Access (Creation and Control)
3x Lucky Find (Double Time) ••••• •
3x Scavenge (Creation and Control)
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)
3x Test Run (Cyber Exodus)
3x The Maker’s Eye (Core Set)

Hardware (7)
2x Deep Red (Mala Tempora) ••
2x Plascrete Carapace (What Lies Ahead)
3x Prepaid VoicePAD (Second Thoughts)

Resource (6)
3x Professional Contacts (Creation and Control)
3x Same Old Thing (Creation and Control)

Icebreaker (6)
1x Deus X (A Study in Static)
1x Femme Fatale (Core Set) •
1x Inti (Creation and Control)
3x Overmind (Honor and Profit)

15 influence spent (max 15)
41 cards (min 40)
Cards up to Honor and Profit

Decklist published on http://netrunnerdb.com.

6 Likes

Wow, nice deck, love it. One question: have you considered adding a 3th Deep Red?

I tried to add one, but the influence becomes a mess, but maybe you tried better;)

I actually started with three, and took one out after testing. As I mentioned, I almost never feel constrained by Overmind counters, so I don’t mind waiting til mid-game to see it. I also draw a ton, so that helps me see it reasonably fast.

I definitely don’t think three would be bad, but I honestly prefer the third Legwork or Lucky find.

1 Like

Where is LLDS proc?

Yeah, I like the Prepaid build. I recooked my Siphon CT with Overmind. LLDS is a cute toy, but a bit slow, IMHO.

Over Bored

Chaos Theory: Wünderkind (Cyber Exodus)

Event (24)

Hardware (7)

Resource (3)

Icebreaker (6)

15 influence spent (max 15)
40 cards (min 40)
Cards up to Honor and Profit

Deck built on NetrunnerDB.

2 Likes

With a high MU and shaper-search, might a nerve agent make more sense than legworks? Similarly, at least 1 knight seems like it would bring a lot of motility to the build. Or do you need to bleed every last drop out of the Overminds?

Have you run this this yet? How did the economy hold up for you?

I’ve tried a similar build and found Overmind to be fairly incredible–as long as you have credits to feed the beast. Even trying to limit and time my runs to maximize Legwork/TME still caused me to spend a lot of time clicking for credits.

Between OCTGN and IRL, I’ve played it around 4 times. If Siphons land, Econ is fairly strong. Overmind is a good guarantee they land. I’ve hit the wall v. Jinteki, but LARLA wrecked them.

Been playing against a lot of CT Overmind decks lately and they are surprisingly versatile and surprisingly quick. Matched up against Jinteki using lots of small annoying ice, though, Overmind doesn’t have as much fun. Wasting two counters on a single Yagura seems like a waste. Has anyone tried both the E3 and the non-E3 versions? Which is better in your opinion?

E3 is a bit of a wash for me. There are specific cases where it is really useful, but in general I’ve always felt much more constrained by credits than by Overmind counters.

Maybe I just need to find opponents who build their deck around nothing but 0 or 1 strength gear check ice.

1 Like

My thinking is that you probably want e3 in a criminal overmind deck, because its in faction and you have less recursion. Outside of that, it depends how you’re complimenting your suite, and if you’re playing any cards that benefit from e3s. A lot of Anarchs play e3 if Darwin or Knights are their main breaker, if you compliment your rig with overminds, then I totally think e3 is strong play.

Part of the problem with e3 is just that you don’t want to give up the influence/deckslots for 3, and can’t play cards that depend on it (like a grappling hook deck) with just one. Lunar cycle is going to get a hardware search, which I think will make e3 much stronger.

1 Like

Good point @false_idol. I don’t see running too much e3 out of faction.

Stephen from Team Covenant uses Overmind the best IMO. For him it’s an early pressure breaker or a sniper breaker for a dedicated run. In his Regional-winning Reina deck, Overmind wasn’t the main breaker, but rather an important role player that made all the difference.

OM as the main breaker still seems vulnerable to me…idk