Exactly. Corps are also one click down each turn, so shouldn’t something that saves a click be even more valuable?
One example of what only AAL can do is: Turn 1, ice R&D, ice remote, install AAL. Runners turn, fire it to install ABT in the remote. ABT rush, credits AND R&D protection. (It requires a very specific draw, but with a baseline of ‘hedge fund’ it’s a straight bonus for including AAL.)
That would be awesome except the card says “non-agenda card from HQ” 
That’s ok, instead you install ABT during your turn and one of the ices on the opponent’s turn (before they take their first action)
[quote=“CodeDigger, post:2256, topic:4340”]
That would be awesome except the card says “non-agenda card from HQ” 
That’s ok, instead you install ABT during your turn and one of the ices
on the opponent’s turn (before they take their first action)[/quote]
Ooops, yeah! Still a valid play, but not the way I thought.
As a Hedge Fund that installs a piece of ice, you can’t really complain about that too much, especially considering that it’s not going to be stolen from a central EVERY game, and if it does, a lot of those games will have that occur after a particularly taxing run hopefully, else then you know that card isn’t right for the deck. Mumbad has a lot of people reconsidering a lot of different cards, it’s nice.
Pedant mode: It’s a Beanstalk that installs ice, making it comparable to Hedge.
I poop on you
In non-ETF it’s an Infiltration that installs ice, making it comparable to Beanstalk. Do non-ETF decks want an influence-free beanstalk badly enough that they’d be willing to accept AAL’s drawbacks?
In the sixth pack the non-ETF decks will get an influence-free Beanstalk that doesn’t have AAL’s drawback (Lateral Growth) although that requires you to have two credits to use it.
It’s probably also worth remembering that AAL has upsides too. Bluffing the runner into running at an iced server, and still being able to net two credits, can be more valuable than saving a click. Or if you were hoping to install a bot naked, this can let you test the waters and if the runner runs it you still get the credits and don’t lose your bot. If they don’t, you can install and rez the bot at the end of their turn.
I think non ETF needs all the help it can get, which is what I think Lateral Growth and AAL are for. It’s just that it’s so hard not to help ETF, the design team just wrote it off.
Helping ETF isn’t a bad thing - it’s better than NEH being the only tournament worthy ID
we just need to let the player concede now so Gagarin and IG can get their day in the sun. It might be the only way Jinteki or Weyland win worlds, and I want to be the one to do it.
You cant use AAL during a run, so if you want to bluff with it, you have to be prepared to lose it too. In which case it eould be better off having some other utility like a cyberdex.
AAL is a clickless beanstalk in terms of what you net. In the case where you wanted to install an ice/asset anyway, that would cost you 1 click and net you a credit for etfs Id. Or you can install AAL (click and gain 1 credit), rez and use on runners turn netting 3 credits and installing the thing you wanted to install in the first place. Outside of ETF its only worth a clickless 2 credits, which makes it a little bit like a green level clearance in terms of efficiency vs base actions.
Its decent but that trash cost, and the inability to use it during a run make it a bit underpowered.
i agree with the low trash cost being problematic, but i don’t see how not being able to use it during a run makes it underpowered
it’s a pure economy card, not a surprise trap/ambush kind of card
if you want to use it to say ICE up a server, you have to pre-empt an ICE with it (which you can do on the runner’s turn before they use any clicks to gain your credit as EtF). early game, simply use it to start building that scoring remote (install AAL, rez, trash, and install ICE in a now empty server)
if you want to save it to install a new asset in that same remote, i’d say simply wait till the end of the turn, so they can’t run the new asset (or do it first if you think they’ll hit HQ)
but anyway, let’s say they run that remote with AAL. they have to go all the way through the server to find it, so if there’s any ICE, they end up being taxed by all of that. but they get down to the end of the server, and you simply rez it for +2c (which you can still totally do) and present them with the choice of spending 1c to trash or giving you a free install. not being able to use it during a run simply keeps it where it belongs
AAL in ETF with Mumba Temple or BBG, then Turtlebacks. That’s five creds guaranteed right off the bat with one Turtlebacks, an you can trigger it in the window after runner’s start of turn to trigger ETF and Turtlebacks again for another two. If that second install is another Econ card, you just became rich off one click.
New merger deck idea: HB Media Blitz with mandatory upgrades and 3x fast track. All nine other agendas can then be scored the turn you draw them, so you don’t risk losing media blitz as long as you protect the hell out of r&d (use Dedicated technician team lol). Why does the news now hour cost 3 influence? Edit - doesn’t matter anyway cause I keep forgetting merger costs 1 influence, plus blitz and Jackson makes 15.
There has been a player of this style of deck in our meta this SC season and he has done moderately well with it. It’s main weakness is just losing out of R&D and merger just accelerates that.
(Here’s his list:
We really did mean MANDATORY (4 store champs, best 2nd) · NetrunnerDB)
If you’re playing jank, may as well go all the way. You don’t want to click to draw in this deck, because you never want to wait a turn to score an agenda; you might not need to protect HQ at all if you’re not playing against Account Siphon. So ETF isn’t going to trigger every turn. Hence why I decided to run this out of ST. I decided to test out Ravana; it’s cheap, I didn’t have the influence for Eli, and being positional isn’t as big a drawback when you want to build an 8-deep server (that’s the minimum needed to stop False Echo). Use Jackson early - you don’t need him once you play Media Blitz, but since you have to feed the runner 2 points just to get started, you can’t afford to lose anything else.
Draw & Scaw: The Impenetrable R&D
Haas-Bioroid: Stronger Together
Agenda (10)
3x Accelerated Beta Test
1x Mandatory Upgrades
3x Merger •••
3x Project Vitruvius
Asset (6)
3x Brain-Taping Warehouse
3x Jackson Howard •••
Upgrade (6)
3x Cyberdex Virus Suite
3x Dedicated Technician Team
Operation (12)
3x Fast Track
3x Hedge Fund
3x Media Blitz ••••• ••••
3x Restructure
Barrier (6)
3x Heimdall 1.0
3x Wall of Static
Code Gate (6)
3x Ravana 1.0
3x Viktor 1.0
Sentry (3)
3x Ichi 2.0
Chronos Protocol can use Neural EMP to see the runner’s hand, informing you about what to name with Salem’s Hospitality. Sometimes you will get lucky after an agenda is stolen and be able to take out two cards with Salem’s followed by Punitive for the flatline. Other times you will just use your damage to try and take out icebreakers and use Blacklist to keep them in the heap; this plan is backed up by Batty + Rototurret. If the runner plays too safe, score two agendas and then wait for a Clone Retirement to finish the game.
Salem’s Fatality
Chronos Protocol: Selective Mind-mapping
Agenda (8)
2x Clone Retirement
1x Eden Fragment
1x Hades Fragment
3x The Future Perfect
1x Utopia Fragment
Asset (8)
3x Blacklist •••
3x Jackson Howard •••
2x Melange Mining Corp.
Upgrade (6)
3x Hokusai Grid
3x Marcus Batty
Operation (15)
3x Celebrity Gift
3x Hedge Fund
3x Neural EMP
3x Punitive Counterstrike ••••• •
3x Salem’s Hospitality ••••• ••••• ••
Barrier (6)
3x Himitsu-Bako
3x Wall of Thorns
Code Gate (3)
3x Lotus Field
Sentry (3)
3x Rototurret •••
I tried to make this deck with shi.kyu and news team and philotic. Your idea is a million times better, but do you need 3 blacklist?
Any thoughts on AAL in blue sun? In terms of pure econ, it gives the same return as an adonis you rez/bounce on the first turn, essentially turning into a delayed beanstalk (somewhat underwhelming unless you do it repeatededly).
More importantly, you can use it for shenanigans like installing boot camp/public support/corp town prior to your start-of-turn triggers. It’s not bad for baiting runs when you’re trying to wear down the runner’s econ (still net 2 credits from it). It can also give you a little extra tempo during setup as has been noted.
I like the extra flexibility it gives to blue sun bootcamp (which loves having lots of flexibility), not sure that it’s better than the pure econ and higher trash cost from adonis though.