Kate Blitz: Who says only Criminals are aggressive?

Deck Archetypes
61

Got in four quick games (2 Teki, GRNDL, MN). Two players purged on turn three when I got Imp out, which I’m perfectly happy with. I actually didn’t get any great trashes with it (I mostly thinned HQ so I could ensure I don’t potentially access the same card twice) so all I trashed was annoying to break ice. Siphon wouldn’t have played a role in any of those games I think, as one Jinteki (and I assume MN) was packing Closed Accounts and the other two corps were extremely well off financially. Money is extremely tight now for me but I managed thanks to Kati/Armitage.

Grimoire was pleasing - I enjoyed having 2 SMC plus 2 programs out, and I got better mileage than I could have expected from the extra virus tokens.

Scavenge however, was my Cinderella story. For the games I was using Imp aggressively, it allowed me to Imp harder. Even more impressive, it helped bail me out of two of my games by functioning as Clone Chip 4 and 5. Power Shutdown was used liberally in two games (I burned the CCs early on Parasites and Deus X) and it allowed me to save Mimic and Corroder once, and Datasucker twice. I even used my only SOT in both games not on Escher or Indexing, but on Scavenge.

62

That raises a couple of related points.

  • Account Siphon was originally a replacement for Desperado. If we’re moving away from Siphon and want Imp, we need to address the econ hit from the loss of Siphon.
  • We moved from Daily Casts to Armitage due to adding Siphon. Should we now go back to 3x Daily Casts? If so, how the crap do we fit them into the deck?

What if, instead of replacing Siphon with 2x Imp and 1x Grimoire, we do something like this:

Digital Tinker (v1.5)

Kate “Mac” McCaffrey: Digital Tinker (Core Set)

Event (18)
3x Diesel (Core Set)
3x Dirty Laundry (Creation and Control)
1x Escher (Creation and Control)
3x Indexing (Future Proof)
2x Lucky Find (Double Time)[color=#708090] ••••[/color]
2x Quality Time (Humanity’s Shadow)
1x Scavenge (Creation and Control)
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)

Hardware (7)
2x Akamatsu Mem Chip (Core Set)
3x Clone Chip (Creation and Control)
2x Plascrete Carapace (What Lies Ahead)

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

Icebreaker (7)
1x Atman (Creation and Control)
1x Corroder (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
2x Cyber-Cypher (Creation and Control)
1x Deus X (A Study in Static)
1x Mimic (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] •[/color]
1x Sharpshooter (True Colors)

Program (8)
1x Crescentus (A Study in Static)[color=#4169E1] •[/color]
2x Datasucker (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
1x Imp (What Lies Ahead)[color=#FF4500] •••[/color]
1x Parasite (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
3x Self-modifying Code (Creation and Control)

15 influence spent (max 15)
45 cards (min 45)
Cards up to Double Time

Deck built on NetrunnerDB.

1 Like
63

I personally have some hangups with that, although to each his own. Shapers have the most options for economic engines; I’d really hate to see us burn influence on Lucky Find if it’s at all possible to avoid it. One Scavenge and one Imp basically means that you get the Imp when you get it, and you might not even be able to reset it if you need to use Scavenge on something else. Imp’s power in my opinion is at its greatest early game when you get several cheap accesses.

Armitage and Daily Casts both yield a five credit gain, but one is delayed and the other is click-intensive. However, here’s an option: running two Cybersolutions, although more expensive, means that the first you install solves your MU issues and the second gives you two spare MU. I think we may want to consider a lone Magnum Opus. If I scavenge an Imp for it, it costs me 2c to install (or I can pay 4c if I want to save the Scavenge). I personally prefer Armitage, but we’d have to go Casts if we went this route.

So what do you think? The deck actually doesn’t need Siphon for income (I have been regularly swapping them for other tools). You just have to be more selective in your runs if the game gets past its initial blitz stage. On that note, I feel as though this deck is turning into a rush/toolbox hybrid, though that’s not a bad thing.

So in summary, I might want something other than Imp if I have only one. If we keep Imp, we’ll always find uses for Scavenge, so I’d recommend two. I’m becoming disenchanted with Escher and prefer Tinkering since it’s so much cheaper. Alternative economic options? MO?

1 Like
64

Yeah, I started rethinking it almost as soon as I posted, because I don’t think two Akamatsus is enough memory for that list. My concept was to treat Lucky Find as a Stimhack that cost a click and 3c instead of a brain damage: start your turn at 1c, get 2c from a Daily Casts, then Lucky Find → Indexing or a run on the scoring remote.

I do think a lone Crescentus has the potential to replace some of Siphon’s denial and complement Imp, especially with multiple Scavenges around on top of the Clone Chips, but it’s very difficult to fit in.

I think you may be right that Tinkering > Escher in the non-Siphon version. To fit an Opus, I think we really need more MU. What if we keep the Grimoire and add one CyberSolutions? I think as long as we have the influence, that’s strictly better than two CyberSolutions, since we’re happy drawing either or both.

The shift from rush toward hybrid is why I changed the name of my list. :slight_smile:

Something like this:

Digital Tinker (v1.6)

Kate “Mac” McCaffrey: Digital Tinker (Core Set)

Event (18)
3x Diesel (Core Set)
3x Dirty Laundry (Creation and Control)
3x Indexing (Future Proof)
2x Quality Time (Humanity’s Shadow)
2x Scavenge (Creation and Control)
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)
2x Tinkering (Core Set)

Hardware (7)
3x Clone Chip (Creation and Control)
1x CyberSolutions Mem Chip (Fear and Loathing)
1x Grimoire (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
2x Plascrete Carapace (What Lies Ahead)

Resource (4)
2x Armitage Codebusting (Core Set)
2x Kati Jones (Humanity’s Shadow)

Icebreaker (7)
1x Atman (Creation and Control)
1x Corroder (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
2x Cyber-Cypher (Creation and Control)
1x Deus X (A Study in Static)
1x Mimic (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] •[/color]
1x Sharpshooter (True Colors)

Program (9)
2x Datasucker (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
2x Imp (What Lies Ahead)[color=#FF4500] ••••• •[/color]
1x Magnum Opus (Core Set)
1x Parasite (Core Set)[color=#FF4500] ••[/color]
3x Self-modifying Code (Creation and Control)

15 influence spent (max 15)
45 cards (min 45)
Cards up to Fear and Loathing

Deck built on NetrunnerDB.

2 Likes
65

I really like that list. Armitage conflicts with MO, but I think this deck basically runs at two different speeds - Fast Advance or non-Fast Advance. In the former we’ll forego MO and the latter Armitage will carry us until we get the MO installed. I think it works. I’d personally prefer 1 SOT 2 Indexing, but it works either way.

Do we still need Kati? Probably I suppose but at this point we should be open to all possibilities. What are your thoughts or concerns on the list as it is now?

1 Like
66

Yeah, the Armitage/MO tension is less of a problem since we want to use each one in two very different game states.

That’s a good point about Kati, though. She’s nice since we can toss her a click here and there and then collect when we’re ready, but I’ve also sometimes been using her less efficiently early on as a way to fuel up quickly for runs that the Corp doesn’t expect – I’ll gladly take 6c from her if it lets me land an unexpected Siphon or Indexing by installing a breaker the Corp didn’t know I had. She may be less useful in this version of the list, but I’m not sure what I’d put in those slots that would be better. [Edit: Maybe Infiltration?]

My big concern with my latest list is that we now have no way to deny the Corp credits. That’s why I was thinking of Crescentus after dropping Escher. But even asset econ is hard to keep up with these days unless you can reliably stick Siphons, so maybe it makes sense to concede the economic war against most Corps and focus on getting accesses whenever we want them, plus combo and tempo denial with Imp.

67

Actually I had conceded about two datapacks ago that Corps have enough money to not be terribly bothered by denial unless you go all-in :p. Using and recurring two Emergency Shutdown was surprisingly uneffective, and corps were able to rerez fairly easily.

1 Like
68

Is anyone here found a solution for dealing with replicating perfection (untrashable ver). I played against it and got gobsmacked! With only 9 agenda cards in the deck, and only asset based econ, I found myself burning through my whole deck with no answer.

69

I’ve had some trouble with RP and Red Coats as well. Hopefully Imp will help us. I’ve had more success being more flexible so rather than hammering R&D I’ll switch gears to keep the corp on its toes. The only other solution I can think of is to combat click compression directly. Perhaps that upcoming resource Rachel that gives an extra click can help. It’s a bit expensive though.

Swapping Kati for Infiltration sounds good. I will miss her though. With 2 Armitage and 2 Infiltration we have a 1 in 3 chance of drawing an Armitage in the first eight cards, about 45% in ten cards.

70

The only thing I can think about that would help against this kind of decks is MO. Because those decks are in for the long game, and MO will help you keep the pressure longer.

71

I’m terribly sorry, but I have more food for thought :x

I’ve been studying tournament winning Shaper decklists. About 85% of them run the Scavenge/Test Run combo. Do y’all think we should attempt this? Femme (or Garrote) can be pumped via credits in an emergency to avoid Grim. Coupled with Tinkering, no two-ice server is safe from Femme, which is extremely powerful. I think I’d be comfortable cutting the other Sharpshooter if I did this to fit in two TR. Downside is that I am forced to wait until TR and Scavenge are drawn and can’t reasonably SMC it. I think getting a sentry breaker online before the first run is our highest priority what with the popularity of Caduceus and soon Jinteki ice. It’s a great, simple combo, but still a combo nonetheless, so I’m a bit leery here. I still want to keep an eye out for a better Killer and Fracter.

An alternative to MO for sustained economy is Levy AR Lab Access. I think MO is better-suited against straightforward glacier decks, but LARLA is better against Jinteki, program-trashing decks, and if you’ve used up all your recursion tools (and we can revert to Akamatsu’s). I can see an argument for either, though I think glacier is our bigger weakness right now.

Edit: Screw it, I’m going to test dropping Mimic and one Datasucker for Ninja. The top five Sentries I care about are Caduceus, Grim, Komainu, Archer, and Ichis. Link will most efficiently address the first, and Ninja is better-equipped to handle the rest. My lone Datasucker will drop Komainu and Archer into a more reasonable range, and work well enough with Parasite and Atman. Grim/Archer/Ichi 2.0 are just too prevalent in my meta and they screw with Mimic too hard.

72

I’ve tried the tr/Scavenge combo before, and it’s bloody slow. SMC is way faster and can get you stuff mid run.

2 Likes
73

I’ve been loving the idea of returning to Kate since successfully piloting Katman at Plugged In and Worlds (17-2 over 4 events). I do believe you need speed thanx to the NBN rise.

Not sure if this is fast enough, but I was so enamored with the idea of a Prepaid deck that I decided to put this together. Prior to Lucky Find, I had Imp in there. With recursion, I’ve found it to be strong.

I don’t believe TR/Scavenge is optimal for this deck, but agree that Scavenge/Imp is super-tight.

PADman

Kate “Mac” McCaffrey: Digital Tinker (Core Set)

Event (18)
3x Dirty Laundry (Creation and Control)
1x Escher (Creation and Control)
1x Levy AR Lab Access (Creation and Control)
3x Lucky Find (Double Time) ••••• •
3x Quality Time (Humanity’s Shadow)
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)
1x Test Run (Cyber Exodus)
3x The Maker’s Eye (Core Set)

Hardware (8)
3x Clone Chip (Creation and Control)
1x CyberSolutions Mem Chip (Fear and Loathing)
1x HQ Interface (Humanity’s Shadow) ••
3x Prepaid VoicePAD (Second Thoughts)

Resource (7)
1x Kati Jones (Humanity’s Shadow)
3x Professional Contacts (Creation and Control)
2x Public Sympathy (Cyber Exodus)
1x Same Old Thing (Creation and Control)

Icebreaker (6)
2x Atman (Creation and Control)
1x Corroder (Core Set) ••
1x Deus X (A Study in Static)
1x Femme Fatale (Core Set) •
1x Sharpshooter (True Colors)

Program (6)
2x Datasucker (Core Set) ••
1x Parasite (Core Set) ••
3x Self-modifying Code (Creation and Control)

15 influence spent (max 15)
45 cards (min 45)
Cards up to Double Time

Deck built on http://netrunnerdb.com.

1 Like
74

Heh, Padman. I was considering Prepaid Voicepad as well. The only reason I elected not to go that route is that I want to cut as much fluff as possible so I have as many tricks as possible. Perhaps I should test it and LARLA as an alternative to MO though.

No Decoder?? I think you may want even just one Cyber Cypher or Gordian.

I’m really hoping continuing to test my build doesn’t show that we’ve diluted the essential pieces with too many tricks though. One thing I like with your build is it’s simplicity. You have abundant econ, your breakers, and your access enhancements. Now I have Imp, Scavenge, Tinkering and other shiny toys. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll try out Voicepad.

At least in adding Ninja I was able to cut down to one Datasucker and I took out the last Sharpshooter, opening up two slots.

75

I just added a Sharpshooter, dropping Kati, after reading the thread. A Decoder would be nice, but Katman crushed pre-Wraparound with no Decoder or Fracter. Parasite is a major tool, and Escher lines up the problems, esp. if you get them to ICE up Archives.

The PAD is a little trick, but the burst Econ May allow for a quick recovery/assault. SOT is mainly to protect the LARA. Once the PADs are out, the events (Lucky Find for 9, anyone?) are super-efficient.

Are you worried about FA? You should be. I see the Kate’s (at least one of them) that rocked the Paris Chronos had a Nerve. I went with the HQI. Both are nice. HQI is better v. CI.

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I personally think that nerve is better as a one off, because we can tutor for it if we see an opening over HQ.

77

This is a very interesting list. I’ve tried Prepaid in Andy, but, like Hostage, I found it terrible for tempo. A Katman approach is more about board position / efficiency, though, so I like where it is going. Especially if it means you can avoid the Magnum Opus…

Definitely food for thought!

1 Like
78

After placing 2nd in a store championship with Kate Blitz thanks to this thread, I’ve been experimenting with different Shaper decks.

I tried a replicator/silencer/dagger deck that was pretty strong but really slow to get off the ground. I found it hard to find deck space for all the things I wanted to do. Prepaid with Replicator can make events extremely efficient but I ended up dropping it.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with a Stimhack Atman deck inspired by the Workshop Fast Rig post, here’s what I’ve come up with so far. I’d love some feedback.

Stim Blitz

Kate “Mac” McCaffrey: Digital Tinker (Core Set)

Event (12)
3x Diesel (Core Set)
2x Dirty Laundry (Creation and Control)
1x Levy AR Lab Access (Creation and Control)
3x Stimhack (Core Set) •••
3x Sure Gamble (Core Set)

Hardware (11)
2x Akamatsu Mem Chip (Core Set)
3x Clone Chip (Creation and Control)
2x Grimoire (Core Set) ••••
2x Plascrete Carapace (What Lies Ahead)
2x R&D Interface (Future Proof)

Resource (9)
3x Daily Casts (Creation and Control)
1x Kati Jones (Humanity’s Shadow)
3x Personal Workshop (Cyber Exodus)
2x Public Sympathy (Cyber Exodus)

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

Program (7)
2x Datasucker (Core Set) ••
1x Nerve Agent (Cyber Exodus) ••
3x Self-modifying Code (Creation and Control)
1x Sneakdoor Beta (Core Set) •••

15 influence spent (max 15)
45 cards (min 45)
Cards up to Creation and Control

Decklist published on http://netrunnerdb.com.

The general idea is to host Atman and R&DI on Personal Workshop and then Stimhack R&D early, installing Atman mid run to desired strength. I’ve found it to be pretty flexible. Inti is there for Wraparound, Femme for big ice/Swordsman, and Deus X for Snare/Jinteki.

One thing I love about Shaper is how flexible it can be so I’ve tried to bring a lot of tools but perhaps narrowing focus of this deck would make it better. In the few test games I’ve played with it, surprise Sneak Door + Nerve Agent is nasty, especially when you hammer R&D early.

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to spend influence. Parasites seem good in this deck but in practice I haven’t found them very helpful. I feel like Femme can fill a similar role if needed, especially with Personal Workshop on the board. I’ve also tried Doppleganger/HQ Interfaces instead of Nerve Agent/Grimoire, I’m not sure which is better. Maybe I should remove the console altogether?

1 Like
79

I’m still running my 1.4 Siphon list, and went 3-1 at FFG’s April monthly on Monday, bringing my tournament record with the deck to 12-3.

You definitely need to be careful with your Siphons, but it’s still great (obviously). However, I think its days are numbered, so I’m still working on the Imp list I posted most recently. Nice to see some different takes on Kate - I’m going to be looking closely at these lists as I tinker (pun intended).

I find that the games I lose are the ones where I whiff on multiple Indexing runs. This is especially true now that Caprice is a thing and remotes can be very hard to get into. With 3 Indexing and 2 SOT, I don’t have trouble making 3 Indexing runs in a long game, but if those 3 runs turn up 2x Clone Retirement like they did in my very annoying 50-minute game against a PE player in round 1, it’s hard to get those last few points. The problem is that the other main option, R&D Interface, is worse against Jinteki. We’re pretty good against Jinteki now - yesterday was my first loss to Jinteki and I could probably have gotten a timed win if I hadn’t wanted to play the second game - but losing Indexing would hurt thr matchup and Jinteki is about to be all over the place. (It’s already overrepresented in Minnesota, which is another reason why I switched to TWIY*.)

Still, the problem remains: what happens if you make 3 Indexing runs and get almost nothing? On the one hand, that’s rare and I have a great record with the deck, so maybe I should just chalk it up to occasional bad luck. On the other hand, though, I think there’s an opportunity for the Imp list. If you Index and see no agendas, you probably saw a mix of ice, economy, and maybe traps (lumping Ash/Caprice into that category for now). Just put the card you like least on top, run again, and Imp it. Bonus: maybe they blow a facedown Jackson to shuffle away, opening a new Indexing window.

Jackson hurts, though. Caprice plus Jackson causes real problems for Indexing, and both are going to be in a ton of decks. We could free up deck space by switching to 2-3x R&DI and cutting SOT; the free space could be used to shore up the Jinteki matchup somehow. I don’t know how to approach that, though, and I have to admit that I have an almost irrational love of Indexing.

Interestingly, I saw five players on TWIY*, and saw them all (myself included) lose to aggressive Shapers, both with and without Siphon. We definitely have more than enough for that matchup, and the prevalence of Shaper in my meta plus the release of Caprice has me playing with some different decks (Lysander’s Caprice troll deck and dual combo Weyland).

2 Likes
80

A very interesting read and the decklists posted are quite cool. Looking at the different versions I think a lot of problems could be solved by dropping 5 influence (Grimoire and Imp) and replacing them with something else would allow you to swap to Kit adding a lot of extra utility to most of the tricks in the deck. On the downside almost everything is going to be more expensive but is that really a problem when a single CyberCypher is such a big threat in the beginning?