Elite Draft of the Whole ANR Cardpool

Need to get yahoo to do the draft grades. Their draft grading is so bad it’s funny.

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a lot of runner econ is gone, i need something with longevity in games ill need it in. this was one of few influence free options left… but its also 1 influence and there are several runner decks still in need of money (at the time)

i needed to secure it, since its a new and untested card, but it is a solid econ choice when you hear people talking about zona sul shipping and tri maf contact XD

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side note that BBG was taken, but i was very unlikely to take it.

reason 1 being that i have 12 econ cards already. reason 2 im gonna keep hidden, but lets say i dont wanna run 2 regions in the same list :stuck_out_tongue:

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Algo Trading is unplayable Garbage
you are better off clicking for credits than including it in your deck

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I don’t think it’s fair to say that.
Only ONE player have access to breaking news.

All other tag sources require at least a run and some interaction you could play around.

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Interesting that all the damage prevention cards have been drafted away. Runners will have to run carefully in order to avoid getting slaughtered.

Yeah, I’m gonna get roasted :cry:

SAVE ME UTOPIA SHARD!

Will the draft games be streamed? Very curious to see how this plays out.

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Eh i might try to record my games Ill update if I figure it out.

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I am quite curious to see how some of the players will deal with barriers, since the good breakers were all taken. :slight_smile:

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You gotta record your games, what’s the point of teasing everyone else with the news then? I have no doubt as to the charisma and showmanship of the most elite players in the netrunner circuit. Also, the shit talking could be unreal.

The draft is all but over at this point, so I’m going to grade drafts, do a terrible job of it, and reveal that I am a scrub who doesn’t understand anything about deckbuilding. What fun!

Simpleton

Runner: At the time of writing, Simpleton still hasn’t actually picked his ID. Simpleton planted a strong flag in Anarch, taking Parasite with the first overall pick, followed by Faust at the end of the second round. The third pick Aesop’s suggests he was aiming for Noise, but when Deja Vu got sniped in round 4, he switched to picking up the rest of the Dumblefork rig–except that Wyldside got picked off, leaving him with Drug Dealer. In the end, he leveraged Same Old Thing to make Val, with Rebirth to switch into Noise. Notably, he’s got the Plascrete.

Grade: B+. A solid core!

Corp: Simpleton decided to stay open with a first pick NAPD–a smart pick given the premium placed on power agendas–5/8 first round picks were agendas! The flag was planted in the second round, with Midseasons into BOOM! Scorched Earth was taken immediately afterwards, but that’s not a huge issue, as Simpleton was able to assemble the Power Shutdown combo in Argus. There’s gonna be a whole lot of exploding runners this draft. He was free to spend a lot of picks on goodies, such as PriSec and Hostile Takeover, or hatepicks like Excalibur, but I’d note that he’s quite short on ice, with only Enigma, Swordsman, and Archer, and also doesn’t have a lot of econ going on, which is prett ycritical for Midseasons.

Grade: C+. A one-trick deck, but it’s a pretty good trick.


Thebigunit3000

Runner: With Parasite off the board, BU3K started off with Account Siphon, which can honestly go in a number of directions. By the time that the draft swung back around to him, it looked like Anarch was going to be open, so he moved in on Eater, picking it over Faust and moving in on a MaxX style deck, taking DDOS third, Deja Vu fourth as a second set of Siphons, and Keyhole 5th. IHW is purely for card draw–it doesn’t help against BOOM!, and BU3K has the Scorched. It might have been better to pick up the Same Old Thing, but 6 siphons is a good number. The shell wound up being run out of Whizzard, with a hefty helping of econ in Armitage and Queen’s Gambit, and a Hades Shard to close out the game.

Grade: A-. A solid gameplan with all the tools it needs to succeed.

Corp: While Simpleton stayed open, BU3K immediately staked a hard claim to NBN with Breaking News, with Explode-a-Palooza second and Scorched Earth third further defined that as Haarpsichord kill. To that end, he was able to get some great ice in Data Raven, Turnpike, and Resistor, supplemental damage in Traffic Accident, and a whole host of great agendas, including Astroscript, QPM, and Profiteering. That last one in particular is the sole econ drafted, although with 24/7 News Cycle powering the kill, outmoneying the runner isn’t as important. Between Jacksons and Anonymous Tip, Simpleton should be able to assemble the kill consistently, especially with SEA source undrafted and therefore available.

Grade: B+. This is going to be a tough nut to crack, although Simpleton’s Plascrete may pose difficulties.


Bahram

Runner: Oh god, where do I even begin? I’m going to say straight up that while I can see how this draft is supposed to work, it’s such an oddball rig that I have a hard time evaluating it. Clone Chip into Atman is a respectable start, and Lucky Find is solid econ, but from there we go into full-on Bahram-land, with Personal Workshop and Stimhack, to play mid-run Atmans, Chameleons, and Sharpshooter supported by Panchatantra. Game Day, Brain Cage, and Paparazzi form the bulk of the meat protection, and there’s Day Job and Algo Trading for further econ, and the whole thing’s run out of CT, and and and…

Grade: N/A. This is either a stone F or mad genius, and I don’t think I’m qualified to say which. Setting aside the quality of the actual rig, I think that Bahram took some cards higher than he needed to, so purely from a perspective of drafting, not as a question of the final result, I think I have to give this a C-. I’d also note that Bahram never threatens anything more than a single access. Actually, let’s call that a D+, but I look forward to being proved wrong.

Corp: Now this is more like it! Bahram has managed to be the only person drafting HB, which is honestly kind of mind boggling. He started off with ABT, and everyone else just kind of cleared out. The econ is powered by both Adonis, Eve and PAD Campaign, and the agenda suite of ABT, Vitruvius, and Corporate Sales Team is strong, and Jeeves helps power out the 3/2s. The ice suite is similarly satisfying, with Architect, Ichi 1, IQ, both Fairchilds, and DNA Tracker as a big threat. In the lategame, Bahram’s going to be relying on Red Herrings to try and pull through the last couple points, which isn’t great, but it’s quite a bit better than nothing, and it’s not like he really had a shot at Ash or Caprice.

Overall: I can’t give a draft this open anything less than an A. Missing out on Breaker Bay Grid is sad, but it’s hardly a dealbreaker. This is going to be an excellent glacier.


Crfluency

Runner: It’s interesting to me how the drafters in a particular runner faction have been right next to each other this draft. Crfluency responded to Bahram’s Clone Chip by taking SMC, following it up with a Magnum Opus and immediately putting to rest any need for econ. From there, she was immediately free to take breakers, scoring Lady for her fracter, and the Scavenge to support it (along with the CyCy she picked up later), rounding out the suite with Shrike picked 7th, and taking Kate 8th overall (the first ID drafted) to glue it all together. With only three scavenges and two different breakers it’s good with, there is a bit of difficulty switching up directions, but Crfluency accounted for that, using Escher and Security Nexus to expand threat range and force double-iced servers. Out of all the runners, Crfluency has the most ability to find what she’s looking for, with SMC, Artist Colony+Fan Site, Diesel, and Quality Time. Honestly, it’s kind of excessive, but it’s sure going to get the job done.

Grade: A-. SMC+Mopus is a really strong start for a draft–being able to just be done with your econ is so, so good. The silver bullets are interesting as well, though the fact that she doesn’t have an answer to meat damage is worrying, moreso against BU3K than Simpleton who probably won’t be able to trace through Nexus+Rabbit Hole+Kate+Mopus.

Corp: Our second Weyland drafter, Crfluency’s deck is… interesting. Starting off with Project Atlas (Simpleton had not yet committed to a faction, remember), Crfluency was able to pick up Ash, which is going to go a long way towards helping out the lategame scoring, especially with Interns. Things got maybe a bit rocky with BOOM! and Scorched disappeared back to back, although it’s possible that was never Crfluency’s plan, but she persevered, taking Launch Campaign and Tollbooth to lead into a probably vegan Blue Sun list. Blue Sun is nice for returning Launch Campaign, turning Oversight AI into a strong econ card, and letting you play giant ice that nobody else is going to take, (although Tollbooth and Assassin were both very nice pickups). Missing Restructure is kind of sad, but Crfluency didn’t have a shot at it, so it doesn’t matter. Sandburg is going to make her servers obnoxiously expensive to get in, assuming she can keep a large credit pool, which isn’t guaranteed.

Grade: B+. Nothing outstanding, but I think this has the tools it needs to function. Defensive upgrades really are at a premium–I have to wonder if Ash in the second round didn’t go later than he should have.


Gonna get the other grades up in a bit, just putting this out there to be read for now, because I don’t want this wall of text to be twice as tall as it already is. After all, stacking giant barriers does a lot more to tax out D4V1D than just giving one of them higher strength.

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It’s funny, it was actually during the Crfluency writeup that I was thinking “I am totally going to get someone’s gender wrong, but I have no idea whose it will be”. Got that fixed, thanks.

Did @Calimsha forget to draft an ID for both sides or am I losing my mind?

Also I think @SimonMoon pulled off that Geist deck in the exact order he needed to to ensure he could get it. The Levy then Technical Writer then Street Peddler are all very essential cards, but at that point you can see where everyone else is going and then unabashedly snag every single card you need.

Was there anything taken that you even wanted? Crescentus? Hostage?

I think hostage / fall guy for consistency / slightly improved econ were the biggets things I didn’t get. However laying out my picks in advance I realized I was going to be going 2-3 picks longer than a couple other people, so I needed to pick things more fundamental to my deck first and hope that those fell. I think I maybe should have let legwork drop, though I felt FTE was going to be important to let me beat Tubs / HAARP and also fizzle C-Static if Calimsha got it.

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And part two of the reviews, in which I continue to be bad and wrong!


Calimsha

Runner: Our first Criminal! Desperado, influence-free thanks to the lack of MWL, was the first pick here, and the second pick Datasucker made it immediately obvious where this was going, with the follow-up Security Testing rounding out the set for Andysucker, John Masanori coming much later as nobody else wanted him at that point. Complementing that engine we have a supplemental OCA engine, with PolOp, Underworld Contact (although the link is presently missing), and the support package for The Source (The actual card The Source wasn’t picked, but will presumably be in the open pool). HQI and Indexing provide multi-access, while we have a Special Order-fetched breaker suite of Gordian Blade, Battering Ram, Faerie, and… uh… well. Looking at the open pool, I’m guessing that the non-Faerie killer is going to be Golden, unless Calimsha plans on only running into three sentries all game.

Grade: B. The support engine is fantastic, but I find the breaker suite to be a touch underwhelming. Datasucker will help a lot with that, though. Also, failed to actually draft Andromeda. Way to break the rules, Calimsha.

Corp: This is almost certainly IG, but could still technically be PE, and thanks to Calimsha’s rule-breaking ways, we can’t be sure! GFI and Restructure were our leading picks here, both strong cards that don’t make any particular commitment. The third-pick Biotic is rather strange, having no 3/2s to pair with. It’s just going to have to pair with Medical Breakthrough and Ronin, I guess. After the early picks, we get into a whole mess of net damage, taking just about every card that does net, and every trap possible, plus Genetic Pavillion to land the Bio-Ethics lock. However, the deck lacks Museum, Temple, Snare, and TFP, so it remains to be seen how well the rest of that particular IG shell holds up.

Grade: C-. It certainly has the capacity to kill, but I’m skeptical that it’s going to be able to keep runners from just hammering its centrals all day every day, especially with so few picks on ice. I think if I’m drafting a Jinteki deck and RP is taken, I probably start looking at Palana.


Simonmoon

Runner: Simonmoon went into this draft with a plan. Not something he was going to stick to no matter what or anything, he went into the draft with this in mind: nobody but Geist wants Geist’s cards (okay, yes, Camera Haley, but that’s not an easy one to pull off). So when he was placed in the back of the draft, and Levy was still around, he immediately went in on it (notably, without Levy, you straight-up can’t Geist). He immediately locked down his core engine, and was able to proceed smoothly from there. He was maybe a bit vulnerable to someone sniping Replicator or Bazaar, to screw him over, but that didn’t happen, and he wound up with just about everything he could ask for, short of maybe Crescentus, Fall Guy, and Hostage, which are sort of luxury picks. Legwork and Freedom Through Equality do a good job of providing additional oomph to Geist’s runs, too.

Grade: A. Simonmoon found the open slot and took it as far as he possibly could. If this deck does poorly, then that’s an indictment of Geist in draft, not the quality of this draft.

Corp: Holy moley. If I were wearing a bowtie it’d be spinning around making a comical noise while my eyes bug out and my jaw clangs to the floor. This is just about everything I could ask for out of a drafted RP deck. Starting out with Caprice Nisei, Simonmoon was able to turn around and pick The Future Perfect, an incredibly strong start for a Jinteki glacier. Celebrity Gift for econ and a fourth-pick non-MWL Eli continue that trend, and then not only does he get almost the entire Grail Suite (short only Excalibur), he gets Nisei Mk2 with his 7th pick, Marcus Batty with the 8th, and both Mental Health Clinic and Sundew. In fact, with the Braintrust and Philotic Entanglement he picks up, Simon has his full agenda suite picked out, and every one of them is really, really good. He’s got Crick! He’s got Pup! He has everything he could possibly want!

Grade: A++. I could easily see this corp deck going undefeated. I’d actually be more surprised if it loses more than one game. Ludicrously good, especially when you consider there was another Jinteki drafter. I almost want to go back and dock Calimsha points for allowing this to happen.


Bluebird

Runner: Bluebird started out non-committal, taking Kati Jones into Temujin Contract, which is only slightly a criminal card. He (?) then took Paperclip, the best fracter remaining after Lady and Faust were both taken, and then took Yog.0 fourth, although it wasn’t entirely clear until the sixth-pick Mimic just where this was going, although I immediately got excited because it’s Null! Having taken the fixed breakers, Bluebird proceeded to take all the support possible, getting Net-Ready Eyes, Injection Attack, Ice Carver, and Null himself to be able to get into servers as cheaply as possible, with Forked, Knifed, and Crescentus rounding out a strong ice-denial suite, although the Spooned was lost to Simpleton. Bluebird also got a strong econ, with Wyldcakes and Vigil providing draw, and Liberated Accounts completing the money. Finally, The Turning Wheel and Bhagat make for good central pressure.

Grade: A-. All around solid, but without Levy or Trope, Bluebird’s going to need to be considerate about reaching the end of the deck. Lacking damage protection also hurts. Overall though, I like it a lot.

Corp: Bleurgh. You can tell the initial goal on this–Tubs out of Gagarin, which has the wonderful side effect of not caring about taking agendas, but then all of the meat damage got taken at the start of round three, and the deck was left fairly toothless. It’s got all of the assets–Sensie Actors’ Union, Commercial Bankers Group, Clone Suffrage Movement, it’s got the Hard-Hitting News, it has Zealous Judge to make tags stick, and it has tag punishment in Closed Accounts and free-pool All Seeing I, but… I just don’t think it’s enough. Yes, you can potentially look someone out of having credits, but that’s not the same for this kind of deck as just killing them dead, or having the threat of killing them. With only Hive and Tour Guide picked, I’m not enthusiastic about the ice, either.

Grade: D. I think this is going to make infinite money and then get eaten alive by Crfluency’s Kate.


TheBigBoy

Runner: TheBigBoy started out going for Sunny, with Daily Casts into Vamp, then Dirty Laundry and Earthrise. Beth and RDI were picked for value and to have a multi-access threat, and then whoops, Crfluency took the Shrike and now Sunny looks like a terrible option. He took Corroder as the last good fracter, and added ProCo for econ while he tried to figure out a more concrete archetype to move into, settling on Stealth Kit by the time the draft wound back his way. Ultimately he got a breaker suite of Corroder, Refractor, and Dagger (Kit lacking the influence for Switchblade), and a decent econ suite, but you can definitely tell this wasn’t Plan A.

Grade: C+. It’s alright, and Bookmark does do a lot to help it against meat damage, but it isn’t more than alright.

Corp: TheBigBoy’s goal on the corp side was to really annoy BU3K by moving into NBN alongside him, taking SanSan City Grid and Project Beale with consecutive picks, and heading towards New Angeles Sol. On the one hand, being able to FA Beale is nice, Sweeps Week is nice, Improved Tracers is nice, and the NBN ice suite is pretty nice. On the other hand, the deck doesn’t really have a wincon outside of SanSan FA. It lacks a defensive upgrade to close out the last points, and doesn’t have any tag action, so it just has to kind of hope that either its ice can keep out a lategame runner (questionable) or that it can stick a SanSan. That’s shaky at best.

Grade: D+. This deck is not only playing Merger, it spent a pick on Merger. Merger. When you draw your opening hand and see that you’ve got a Merger in it, you’re going to do a lot of thinking about where you went wrong in life.

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I really enjoyed reading these and they were spot-on! I’d also be interested in a spin-off, Rate My Hatedraft. :slight_smile:

This draft was so much fun and I hope it encourages people to elite draft on their own! If people end up doing something similar, I’d love to see how their draft ended up playing out.

I’m not a fancyman with streaming or anything, but I’d like to try and play some games Wednesday night (eastern time). If we’re able to schedule games, I’ll try to update in the thread with times. There will be some surprises in the games, I’m sure.

Also, as a side note, Kenny’s Corp deck is so good because he convinced Abram to pick nbn cards instead of moving in on jinteki. :triumph::triumph:

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To be fair, I tried to convince him not to draft Tennin because it was a terrible plan. I tried to convince him to draft Net Damage (which incidentally, I think you highly underrate Calimsha’s final draft, he’s got basically every card IG-49 needs in a format where there’s 1 whizz and 1 siphon). I think going into Net Damage was probably Abram’s best plan, with going into HB 2nd, and NBN 3rd.

I think Ran’s Corp / Blue Bird’s Corp are underrated, and Calimsha’s runner is overrated (it has almost 0 econ that’s not run based, so testing is gonna get turned off quick and the deck is going to starve).

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The ratings forget that un-drafted cards are available to all players, so BigBoy could still possibly make a decent Sol deck and (I think) can change his ID to one of the undrafted ones.

There’s places I factored that in, but I think that a lot of the things I talked about for that deck specifically are things that just aren’t around at this point. Ash, Caprice, Batty, Red Herrings, PriSec to an extent… are there even any defensive upgrades left? I don’t think that’s a hole the open card pool can patch.

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