I think there can be a case made for HQ interface as a good piece of criminal hardware, but I think that case is difficult to make right now when criminal economy feels so anemic.
But accessing an extra card from HQ on every access is a really powerful effect.
It is reasonable to assume that cycles were designed on the assumption that TC would be available to Crim, and therefore not having it is part of why Crim is in a tough spot? I guess weâre just over a cycle past when TC was available, so maybe thatâs not a reasonable assumption, but it does seem like Rubicon Switch, for instance, was designed assuming Crim runners would be much more flush with cash.
Iâve always found it unfortunate that Temujin was printed at 2 influence. I would have liked to have seen it at 4 or 5 so that playing it out of faction was actually a substantial influence tax, to the point of being almost impractical.
Even at 3-influence when it was on the MWL there were still Shaper and Anarchs playing 3 copies which is what made it so dumb.
In the early days of Magic: the Gathering, black cards were overcosted for years before they realised the problem was that Dark Ritual was too strong
Might disagree with a couple of things here:
The Gauntlet is better than HQ Interface unless youâre running Gang Sign. Itâs almost guaranteed to give more accesses for only 1 more credit, plus it gives 2 MU which can be important in many builds. The trick is that you still need R&D pressure to make the Corp pay for putting all their heaviest ICE on HQ (or to get them to spread their ICE). I personally like The Turning Wheel and Equivocation to present an constant threat rather than events. TTW also helps if the Corp doesnât want to rez cheap ICE over HQ.
Maxwell James certainly slots into Steve or Gabe. These IDs that provoke the Corp to ICE up HQ often need extra benefits from those costly runs. So I consider MJ as a boost to Steve, even if Steve isnât a boost to MJ.
Absolutely, 2 influence is way too little, and all that banning it has accomplished was to make Shapers and Anarchs all splash for a different 2 influence Crim card for their economy instead (Tapwrm), which is sad but kinda hilarious.
Like I said, errata are a hassle, but I really think that at 4inf Temujin could be unbanned.
Total agreement. And thematicallyâŚhow exactly does an anarchist get connected to a Temujin contract? I was looking at the early reviews and everyone seemed to know from day one that it was just another crim card that would only push Anarchs to ridiculous OP levels at itâs printed influence.
Can I introduce you to Sneakdoor Beta?
My problem with Gauntlet is how it is weaker when combined with almost any other criminal card (e.g. derez, bypass, access by not running HQ directly, not breaking all subs on ICE). There are more cards that Gauntlet specifically does not work with than combos effectively in criminal.
Gauntlet may well be a good card, but it is best in factions other than criminal.
HQI has a simple effect that combos with many other criminal cards very effectively. Crisium Grid canât even shut it down.
HQI >> Gauntlet imo, unless youâre building a shaper deck.
Really? Youâre going to slot how many HQI plus how many SDB plus what additional hardware to support the MU? Thatâs a ton of cost, slots, and setup. To do essentially what Gauntlet does. In fact I canât even remember recently seeing an opponent play HQI without Gang Sign. (I used to run it in a Supplier deck that lost more than I had hoped).
Much better IMO to let Gauntlet do its thing as a single install and spend the other deck slots on R&D pressure, econ, safety, and draw.
Breaking ICE isnât really a strong suit for Blue Decks. Criminals are better at doing everything else.
Gauntlet is better than HQI in a shaper deck, for many of the reasons you listed. Shapers are good at breaking ICE.
Additionally, Sneakdoor Beta is good on itâs own. It doesnât need HQI or additional MU (beyond whatever console you were running) to support it.
If you want to run gauntlet, now you need to run supporting economy and efficient ice breakers (admittedly better than other criminal gameplans, hence this thread), which you can do better in any other faction. So Gauntlet is a great splash, but bad in-faction for criminals.
SoâŚwhich console are you suggesting?
Iâm not saying HQI is a bad card in principle. Iâm saying itâs not worth building a deck that uses it given the cards we have.
RE: breaking ICEâŚout of faction fracters and decoders are very common in crim builds. And Steve gives a pretty big return on successful HQ runs.
Given the list of amazing criminal consoleâs we have above (/s), Iâm going to sayâŚprobably an Anarch one, depending on my meta and the rest of the deck I build I could go Obelus, Turntable, Maw, Vigil.
Astrolabe? 
Wait. Do you really play much crim? 
Influence in crim is way too valuable to waste 4-6 on a console unless itâs core to your strategy. Iâve tried Maw-Slums-Aumakua-Aeneas (which is a great combo) but itâs definitely T2 at best.
[edit: sorry for the snark. no disrespect]
Astrolabe is a great one too!
Doubling as the cheapest MU available doesnât hurt either.
You donât install sneakdoor alongside your icebreakers - you install it INSTEAD of your icebreakers! 
The correct answer here is no console. Gauntlet is not a good card. Already worse than HQI which is already not a good card.
If the MU is really important (which it usually isnât), then you can take Reflection for 1 MU (and gain a bonus link) or Zamba for 2 MU.
when we see a critical mass of expose effects I think Zamba will be pretty good, in a very slow remote-lock (criminal?) deck
Stands Corrected
Theyâd have to be really, really good expose cards. Right now, almost all cards with Expose on them are pretty bad, and getting a 1c refund on them doesnât do much to justify the console. A âcritical massâ of expose effects still needs to be all good cards, or youâre just filling your deck with trash. It seems like kind of a trap card, making people play bad cards in order for it to have âvalue.â 419 might get some use out of it if he installs it early enough, but I still donât think itâs worth including any other expose cards, even in that deck.