Totally fair on that point.
Thanks for the insight guys.
I understand the draw to have extremely efficient cards like BLC, there is no arguing that as far as for that one card slot, it does itās job much better than GLC. Master Air, you are comparing the 3 clicks of activity to the BLC 5 clicks of activity, but if you choose to click for a credit or a card your only 1 click short on activity on the GLC. Sometimes you might not even want that extra card/credit, and can use the hedge fund you just drew or whatever as well as installing a upgrade/etc. . However, having your influence tied to BLC and Shinobi makes the overall power level/distribution of your influence weaker throughout the deck. I personally have tried BLC, and found that the difference was not as profound as you guys are making it out to be(I havenāt tried the Shinobi at all, and probably wonāt).
I think again if you look at deckbuilding, spreading the power level/influence of cards will make your deck more efficient. I want my cards to be all be great usually. Drawing 1 eli compared to drawing 1 wall of static is actually a fairly big difference in my book, for the cost of that 1 influence.
As far as E3 feedbacks etc, I havenāt ran into any one that installed it(iām only playing eli, no other bioroids) at either of the pacific northwest regionals, so I guess the meta hasnāt shifted the same way here. E3 isnāt much of a concern, if someone wants to take the time to install that against me I think Iād probably be ok with it.
We have lots of Andy players and then mixtures of everything else. I will probably be going to Californiaās regionals so Iām curious to see what the meta will be like since there will be very few from the pacific northwest going down, it will be my first tournament out of āOurā meta, I am interested in how I will fare outside of my 'comfort" zone. I think only me and JohnnyCreations also posting in this thread is going, I donāt know about any of the Washington players.
Still disagree completely on Shinobi, as far as Iām concerned itās still a win more. Again, this is probably all just deck building differences. The way I look at it, (Iām probably just echoing myself here) If your in a position to rez shinobi and win, you were likely going to win that game anyways(except for a few fringe cases where, you are estatic to be using your deck slot for Shinobi cause it just gave you a free win). Either your miles ahead, or you have a skill advantage. I donāt think Shinobi is as consistent at what it does as any of the cards mentioned. Desperado and R&D and Astro all give your deck extremely valuable reach and longevity(regardless of matchup), and I would never not want to see a single one of those cards. Desperado is so good that having the other 2 be dead draws is just not a problem . Face down, unknown ice do have some influence on the flow of the game as far as runner fearing it, but otherwise itās not doing much. A Guard can serve a similar purpose if your just never going to rez it.
I wouldnāt be shocked if a single scorch in NBN would grant comparable scenarios against tag floaters etc. I think they are fairly comparable. You have a surprise factor, free wins, single deck slot for a lot of influence that is not part of your āmainā strategy. The card does have merit, but when Iām playing against really good players over a LOT of games of netrunner(I played 18 games of Netrunner at regionals on Saturday). Every card needs to be live imo, and I just wouldnāt be including Shinobi. Itās almost always been a liability when Iāve seen it be rezzed :(.
The difference being that shinobi tends to be live every game Iāve drawn it. Iāve yet to have the money to rez it, and not rez it profitably. Even in the games where it doesnāt kill, it usually costs them a large chunk of money and some cards, and you are left with a high strength etr sentry with multiple subroutines. Scorched just rots in your hand.
On your earlier paragraphs you mention that any time you flatline with a shinobi is a game you would have won anyway, but between people going low on cards to keep up with nbn/get around sweeps week, and how much it costs to trash sansan/score napd, shinobi gets a LOT of windows. On top of that, a lot of nbn games that seem to be in the bag can be lost in the span of a turn to R&D dig since youāre fairly agenda dense. One bad makerās eye can be the game, so ending it before that option comes up can be a big deal.
Also, you seem to have the impression that it sits unrezzed, not doing anything for most of the game. If you have the money, with rare exception, itās getting flipped. Runners donāt have the time to durdle and money up against nbn, and you have a lot of things for them to spend the money on. They wonāt check at 0 credits if theyāre any good/not desperate, but you can easily get the money to flatline them at 4 credits, especially if they arenāt at 5 cards, and if it doesnāt flatline, crippling them is often enough to put you so far ahead that you actually have the game won.
5 Likes
I think @bluebird503 is saying this because thatās my rule when running Shinobi in NBN. Sometimes I will rez in the late game when Iām at match point (slows then down enough for me to push out the last 2 or 3 points), but I would personally never rez Shinobi in the early game if I had the credits. That bad pub is killer, yo.
Anyway, we are beating a dead horse on the BLC and Shinobi issues. More people should try out their own versions and report here!
I would if it won me the game on Turn 1 like it did in Tulsa or turn 2 in San Antonio.
Haha. Yeah, a Turn 2 kill gave me Top 8 in Seattle. I meant I wonāt rez in the early game unless it will kill. 
Do you have your deck posted anywhere? Iād love to see what you did.