How about 5/3s, punitive and advancable traps? Give the runner a good ol’ damn if you don’t, damn if you do scenario. Granted, this also means that your centrals must be well-protected. And you should have some influence left to some ice.
I was trying to run that deck, but the problem with it is that it’s really really hard to adequately protect your servers with relevant ice to tax the runner, and to get the runner to end their turn with 2 hand size (either from their own doing or through you doing brain damage) after stealing an agenda and still have money left over to hit them with a Punitive without that sexy ETF money. And if that long-shot plan falls through, it is super hard to score out with 5/3s. Domestic Sleepers helps the score-out game plan a little bit, but the rest is still pretty hard to do.
Been playing the following list - it feels like its on the cusp of being a very strong (or at least playable) deck, but something’s either not quite fitting right or I just haven’t played it enough to learn its ins and outs yet.
(44 cards)
Cybernetics Division: Humanity Upgraded
– Agenda (9 cards)
3 Accelerated Beta Test
1 Eden Fragment
1 Priority Requisition
2 Project Vitruvius
2 Self-Destruct Chips
– Asset (11 cards)
3 Adonis Campaign
2 Daily Business Show**
3 Jackson Howard***
3 Melange Mining Corp.
– ICE (14 cards)
2 Architect
3 Eli 1.0
2 Fenris
2 Heimdall 2.0
2 Quandary
3 Viktor 1.0
– Operation (8 cards)
2 Archived Memories
3 Hedge Fund
3 Neural EMP******
– Upgrade (2 cards)
2 Valley Grid ****
I like to abuse people’s assuptions about overwriters to score a 2 pointer or over-advance a vitruivius - it’s honestly shocking how often this works. Valley grid is a boss for setting up EMP kills, especially with S-D chips scored. works particularly well against keyhole/indexing/etc.
don’t be afraid to use archived memories to grab more econ if you need to, and only rez adonises that you think will stick (you’re not etf after all), but it also makes a nice 2nd EMP in a pinch.
In terms of ICE, your main gameplan is to rush and tax. Fenris should only be rezzed early if it will land its subs (this happens with way too much regularity, actually), other than that it’s fine for a valley grid layer. Heimdall is a backup plan, in most games I don’t even think about rezzing him. but, he can hold down a central all by his lonesome a lot of the time, and if you pop him last click as a surprise the 2 brain damage he can land is pretty much game over.
Overall, I dunno. I feel like cybernetics needs some in-faction support to really come into it’s own; ryon knight is pretty much garbage, Self Destruct Chips is awkward to use, and I think overwriter does better in other decks that can survive a called bluff better. I reeeally wish cerebral casts were in-faction, it would make a very mean scorch deck, but alas it is 3 influence.
Is anyone else continuing to play around with this ID? The small deck feels great in HB, so I really hope there ends up being some decent play around this ID.
I tried a list with cerebral casts and Bad Times. It possibly had something, noise was a bad matchup. I could probably have given it more time, but I’m quite distractable with decks. It just seems generally quite hard to fit in enough economy + a kill threat + enough ice to apply scoring pressure into an ID without an econ boost.
If I go back to it I think I’ll try OAI and Awakening centre, maybe with some grids. Not that I’ve put it in the janky box or anything …
I have a closed beta build right now, needs more testing. Here’s what I’ve found:
- Don’t do EMPs, can’t hold them with the reduced handsize
- You have a really high agenda density, hence Snares
- Can’t do operations econ, don’t have enough ICE for asset econ. Led me to a combination of Gila Hands and Melange
- All of the above works really well with Edge of World - runners seem to be adverse to risking a face-down is a Melange that’ll just pull you out of a jam. If you get an EoW to connect, Snare kills become much, much more likely
- The NEXT suite is really good with the reduced decksize - you get more of them quicker, on average (and they’re cheap enough to afford in the pre-Melange phase)
- This might actually be a deck that wants to go below 44, not sure yet. Would definitely make it a much meaner rush
- I think Brain Chips are a deckbuilding trap, you don’t want to be running more than two 1-pointers in here, and those should be Gilas
Overall, an interesting ID, and I definitely plan to tinker around with it some more. Don’t think it needs any more in-faction support to be viable, honestly - it’s just a matter of fine-tuning, and I totally feel like there’s plenty options in the purple card pool to choose from even after I spent all my inf on booze and hookers… I mean, Snares and EoWs.
6 Likes
with the deck i’m running, I rarely need more that one, so this has never been an issue. that said, for other reasons (some of which you mention below) I think it’s right to move away from this
the chips have done great work for me so far, but your point about econ is really well taken; I always forget about gila even existing… I will definitely experiment along this vein.
I’ve been bouncing between snares+EoW and Valley+EMPs. I think they might work bettwer in conjunction with the econ you suggested, so maybe it’s time to switch back.
[quote=“PeekaySK, post:105, topic:3895”]
The NEXT suite is really good with the reduced decksize - you get more of them quicker, on average (and they’re cheap enough to afford in the pre-Melange phase)
[/quote]I’m interested to hear more about this ICE suite, your point about deck size makes sense w/ NEXT. do you run golds? do you have any beefier ICE in there to resist the parasite onslaught or is it just pure rush?
Because of the 1 pointers?
Nah, they don’t matter all that much I think. It’s either 9 agendas in 44 cards with 3 NAPDs or 10 agendas in 44 cards with two Gilas. I prefer the two Gilas - they’re both never-advanceable, and double up as econ. A scored Gila complements what you want to be doing here perfectly - namely install something into a remote, click for money.
Here’s where I’m at right now. Torn between the Overwriter being a second Turing, a third Archived Memories, and, well, an Overwriter. Like I said, consider this a preview build, waaay more testing needed.
Edge of Cybernetics
Cybernetics Division: Humanity Upgraded (Chrome City)
Agenda (10)
- 3x Accelerated Beta Test (Core Set)
- 2x Gila Hands Arcology (Creation and Control)
- 2x NAPD Contract (Double Time)
- 3x Project Vitruvius (Cyber Exodus)
Asset (13)
- 1x Cerebral Overwriter (Creation and Control)
- 3x Edge of World (Cyber Exodus) ••••• •
- 3x Jackson Howard (Opening Moves) •••
- 3x Melange Mining Corp. (Core Set)
- 3x Snare! (Core Set) ••••• •
Operation (5)
- 2x Archived Memories (Core Set)
- 3x Hedge Fund (Core Set)
Barrier (6)
- 3x Eli 1.0 (Future Proof)
- 3x NEXT Silver (Upstalk)
Code Gate (4)
- 3x NEXT Bronze (Opening Moves)
- 1x Turing (Breaker Bay)
Sentry (6)
15 influence spent (max 15)
18 agenda points (between 18 and 19)
44 cards (min 40)
Cards up to Chrome City
3 Likes
thanks for sharing! this is very close to what I came up with after your earlier post.
w/r/t overwriter, I think you are right to be wanting to scrap it. Like brain chips, I think it’s a bit of a trap in a deck that otherwise doesn’t really ever IAA cards. Otoh, I have snuck out many an agenda with this deck simply by IAAing to represent overwriter. Overall though I think edge of world and overwriter don’t play very nice together. My vote would be for the third archived memories. It’s an insanely flexible card and I have never, ever regretted drawing it in this deck.
Thanks for the ideas, I have a sense that you’re headed down the right road with this.
The overwriter is there to make NAPD easier to score and Vitruvius to overscore. One is enough - both to show it to the runner, and for the old classic “Archived Memories for an Overwriter, install, advance, go” play. That’s why I’m reluctant to ditch it.
Edit: I sometimes IA a non-NAPD agenda, particularly if they look like they aren’t flush enough to steal an NAPD from the remote. For some reason unfathomable to me, people are less willing to Stimhack into remotes willy-nilly against this deck 
Love the list. Very lean and very mean. 
ah, great points. I’ve been running 3x 3/1 and a 5/3 rather than the 2 napds and 2 3/1s, so that might explain why I haven’t had good luck with the overwriter. Still though, my suspicion/experience is that people will fill in that blank without you actually needing to show the card.
I hadn’t thought of the cybernetics/NAPD/stimhack interaction, so maybe that’s a good reason to be running the NAPDS
Hi there. Could you comment on your choice of including 3x Architect? As far as I can see, beside the usual Architect tricks, it allows you to recycle the trashed Melanges.
Architect is the jelly to NEXT’s peanut butter. It recycles parasited Silvers, tutors up stuff, and is actually really threatening on a remote. It’s also a guaranteed 2 credit tax. If I weren’t packing them, I’d have a choice of Rototurret (meh, parasite + zero other synergy) or Ichi (too similar to Gold to run more than one, maybe two).
tl;dr: Why wouldn’t I run Architect? It’s the most broken piece of ICE since Tollbooth 
5 Likes
yeah, this. both subs are always must-break against a deck like this (as peekay mentioned, it’s hilarious on a remote where you can slide something into the remote and let them wonder if it’s an edge of the world or an agenda parading as one). untrashable ICE that’s always 2cr to break and is always must-break - you can’t go wrong.
oops - eli came out between tollbooth and architect.
2 Likes
Tested a deck very much like yours (minus the cerebral and with minor ice tweaks) a lot last night, and I have a couple things:
1: the econ feels right. Gila and melange both do good work for how precious little of your deck they take up. Along with the Next Ice and cheap bioroids, the econ and agenda rush of this deck functions just like I’d like it to.
2: snare/EoW feels off… Either I land snares all day while they RnD dig but can’t land an EoW to save my life, or they bite the bullet on an EoW but are able to just tiptoe around the flatline threat from snares. I’m going to be trying different variations on EoW, snare, emp, valley, and a few other weird tricks to find a flatline threat that actually has some teeth.
1 Like
Don’t forget Salvage 
Interesting to hear that the Snare+EoW combination isn’t working for you, I’m extremely happy with it. Snares protect EoW in centrals, a connected EoW enables Snare flatlines.
I might have to go down to two Edges, but it’s because I need to fit in two Crisiums - Keyhole and Indexing are a problem.
What I am considering dropping, though, is NEXT Gold - one copy seems plenty, most of the time I’d rather have a second Ichi.
I might just need more practice with that setup, but basically what ends up happening is scoring agendas isn’t enough of a threat to force the EoW check, and without a landed EoW the snares are just minor speedbumps in the RnD/HQ dig.
I’m already at 1x Gold; it’s pretty situational and honestly I might even be able to do without. Ichi is a good add I think.
NEXT Gold with Corporate Troubleshooter is pretty good, but it seems pretty bad without it. I do really like 1xMother Goddess with NEXT Bronze/Silver though. MG would be insanely good if it wasn’t unique.