Sol feels super strong to me. I have been doing a lot of testing with it lately both in person and on Jinteki, against a variety of decks from the straight up jank to world class fine-tunes. Here’s my Current build (lame pun intended):
Solfood aka Fastfood aka ICEcream Parlor
New Angeles Sol: Your News (Data and Destiny)
49 cards (min 45)
15 influence spent (max 15)
20 agenda points (between 20 and 21)
Cards up to Data and Destiny
Agenda (9)
3x AstroScript Pilot Program (Core Set)
3x Global Food Initiative (Data and Destiny) •••
2x Project Beale (Future Proof)
1x 15 Minutes (Data and Destiny)
Asset (3)
3x Jackson Howard (Opening Moves)
Upgrade (5)
2x Ash 2X3ZB9CY (What Lies Ahead) ••••
3x SanSan City Grid (Core Set)
Operation (16)
3x Fast Track (Honor and Profit)
3x Hedge Fund (Core Set)
2x Interns (Mala Tempora)
3x Paywall Implementation (The Spaces Between) ••••••
3x Sweeps Week (True Colors)
2x Targeted Marketing (The Spaces Between)
Barrier (3)
1x Wall of Static (Core Set)
2x Wraparound (Fear and Loathing)
Code Gate (8)
2x Archangel (Data and Destiny)
3x Pop-up Window (Cyber Exodus)
3x Tollbooth (Core Set)
Sentry (5)
1x Architect (Up and Over) ••
1x Assassin (Data and Destiny)
3x News Hound (Data and Destiny)
Deck built on NetrunnerDB.
Breakdown
First, credit to @TheBigBoy for the build he and his wife worked on and props to them for repping ANR at one of my local LGSs (Mead Hall!). Their build is the basis of this deck and my starting point while I was building and testing. Also, I took some ideas from @gumOnShoe and his version. Furthurmore, I took ideas from the thread too. Basically, full disclosure, 70-80% of this deck is just a mashing of various ideas together. Here’s why I think it works:
Agendas
I think the suite I have here is the best in the game for Glacier. There’s a lot of reasons why…
First and foremost, the density is super low at 9, of which they have to find 4 of those. Since 15 Minutes just goes right back in if it isn’t the last one, there’s pretty much only 8 they can reliably steal. With 3x Food, those are all worth just 2 to them, meaning total number of reliably available points is just 16.
Second, Beale increases the density JUST for you, giving you essentially 22 available points to score. If you have two Astro scored, you can NA it for 3 points and the third score for the win, or you can IAA it and score normally without them. Even better, it can just do the normal FA out of hand score with a single Astro or a rezzed SanSan.
Third… Food. Oh my Jackson, this card is stupid. Especially in this deck.It is chance 3-5 to a 3 score win (the first two being Beale), gives slots, lowers density, and can be scored in a variety of ways; Duel Astro, Astro SanSan, IAA, or IA on a SanSan. Big, beefy points with no risk.
Last thing I want to mention is NAPD. Yes. It is missing. If Film Critic was not a card, and if Val were not so popular at the moment, it would get a slot. As is, FC ignores the tax and Val makes them take 5 advances to score. If I’m going to do that, I’d rather get 3 points on a Beale.
Assests
Our Lord and Savior, although he’s not always needed at 3x. He can be used aggressively to just shuffle back in non-trashables like Sweeps or Hedge, or as remote running bait.
Upgrades
This might be blasphemy for the Paywall deck, but Ash is underwhelming unless credit lead is amazing. Still, he’s a low-ish influence way to lock down a remote with decent stack of ICE.
SanSan is the star here, because of course it is.These are bait if remote ICE stack is big enough or or installed turn before score, depending on matchup. Even though Wizard gets them out at a discount, he has to run that stack.
Missing is Cyberdex. It isn’t here because the deck has the ICE to just score agendas behind. If they interrupt the score, no big because they still have to run a fat stack of ICE most of the time.
Operations
Fast Track is a beast, and this card alone allows me to effortlessly transition between FA, Glacier, or Rush. A secure a SanSan remote with a decent stack of ICE and the Astrotrain choochoos out of deck. Also, screws up any R&D lock plans.
Interns allows cheap, influence free SanSan recursion OR a bigger remote stack if the installs start becoming 3-5 credits for the next piece of ICE.
The rest is pretty standard.
ICE
Pretty standard suite here too. Wall of Static might need to become something else, but the choices aren’t really great. Another Wraparound might not be a bad idea. Other options that might be worthwhile are Mother Goddess or Resistor.
Changes to Test
-2 Ash, -1 Paywall, -1 Architect & +2 Caprice, +1 Predictive Algorithm, +1 Guard. This would give the deck a better remote lock. Still maintains 5 Currents for News Hound, which is just about right, and Guard lends to Rush potential.
Same cuts as above, add Grail ICE. The Ashes could become Will o’ Wisp and ICE would change to fit in 3x Galahad, 3x Merlin, 2x Lancelot, 1x Excalibur. Paywall might not be as good in this one.
Closing/Overall Thoughts
You might be thinking: Why is this better than Foodcoats? Also: Why is this better than NEH?
The answer is that it isn’t. Not at what those respective decks do. HB is better at taxing and locking remotes for cheap, and NEH is faster. They are just plain better in their respective niches. The thing this deck DOES have is versatility. It can Rush, it can FA, and it can Glacier up. Better yet, it can do this depending on gamestate and matchup.
Sol is one of the better IDs to do this style of NBN in simply because it can keep up Paywall for turning the Runner’s own tempo to your advantage AND because you get to use News Hound. That card is a little badass with how cheap and taxing it is.