The saddest thing is that most of Apex’s toys aren’t even that fun. Apocalypse is great, but what else is going to get splashed? Harbinger in an Aesop’s econ build? Yaaaaay.
All the mini-factions have serious problems, but Apex straight up does not work. It’s a real shame because the core concept here is fantastic, but when your entire faction doesn’t have a single win condition you’re going to flounder.
Harbinger & Wasteland are both “interesting” but too expensive in most cases to splash.
Describing Prey as “a parasite that is more devastating to your own board than your opponent’s board” was brilliant, I lol’d.
[quote=“Chuftbot, post:62, topic:5589, full:true”]It’s a real shame because the core concept here is fantastic, but when your entire faction doesn’t have a single win condition you’re going to flounder.
[/quote]
I assume you don’t mean that Apex isn’t allowed to steal seven points (or I need to go back and read the cards again if you do)? So what precisely do you mean by a “win condition”?
A win condition is more than just “get points”, it’s how you get said points. Apex has no mill plan, no multiaccess, no specialized means of getting through remotes, nothing. Apex attempts to apocalypse and hopes that some agendas tumble into its noodly lap.
I think I’d agree then in that I would classify Apex’ speciality as playing “basic Netrunner” in stimmed-up mode. Running nets at a basic level is simple. Pick a server; run on it; get in; see if you get an agenda. Keep doing it until you win. I think Apex’ tools, such as they are, are aimed at doing that well. Try to end my run, don’t care. Try to damage me, don’t care. Try to trash my programs, don’t care. Keep accessing. Build up a large amount of tricksy stuff to start slowing me down? Apocalypse, don’t care. Keep accessing, keep accessing, keep accessing…
Even Apocalypse, a tricksy thing that you have to plan for in some way, should probably be seen ultimately as an aid to enable you to keep playing simple, no-frills Netrunner.
“I think Apex’ tools, such as they are, are aimed at doing that well. Try to end my run, don’t care.”
I’d agree if Endless Hunger said “trash a card to break any subroutine that can end a run.” But it doesn’t, so it can’t even do that very well. It really is an infuriating, ineffective ID and card pool.
Yeah, how good he is at his speciality I think is definitely up for debate! But I think the idea of it is not to have a complicated “win plan” as Chuftbot describes it, but to win by playing basic Netrunner more cheaply and easily than normal. That doesn’t intrinsically have to be a bad concept does it?
Yeah, I think that’s right. “Keep re-setting to the early game and snipe agendas” is a fine game plan- one criminals used to great effect for much of ANR’s history, often without much or any multi-access. The problem is that Apex lacks a realistic way of executing this game plan. Too many ice shut him down, he has too few tools for the late game, and so on.
There’s nothing complicated about multiaccess or efficient running. Literally every other faction can do realistically do that, even Adam. Apex can’t.
Calling it cheaper or easier than “basic” Netrunner is kind of disingenuous. Apex is almost always on the poor side since it can’t run normal resources, meaning it can’t use normal breakers well. And its breaker is fine at its niche, but not if you’re running multiple servers. It’s unusable against Turing, Viper, Caduceus, etc.
Sunny and Adam have problems, but at the very least they can get into places. Apex is kitchen table tier and will remain that way until something gets printed that directly helps its gameplan.
Apocalypse really is the garlic sauce.
I played this deck with a few tweaks 2 weeks in a row at the LGS. Back when D&D was spoiled, I denounced Apex as unplayable. I then played several builds on OCTGN to prove myself right. It worked.
For some reason I felt compelled to put on my spaghetti suit again. Again, I just proved to myself how unplayable it truly is. I am only so masochistic. I can furiously and stubbornly pound out games as Weyland Rush, but Apex is frustrating on a whole 'nother level. Coming from Anarch, it was a joke how difficult it is to destroy anything as Apex. The spaghetti monster can’t even solve a basic enigma.
If this the AI of the future, I’m scared for all the wrong reasons. This is how the world ends, not with an Apocalypse but with sexless, digital angst.
This article has 3 advancement counters on it, will you access?
Accessed…
CRAP, IT’S A JUN-- Connection Terminated
I’ll give it an exploratory romp.
Snake?..Snake!..SNAAAAAAAKE!
Why does it always have to be Junebugs…
Curious how you think this PE build compares to the IG graveyard deck that Chris Hinkes is playing these days, which seems like the competing big net-damage flatline archetype currently. To my mind, the IG build has a more reliable way to flatline people with the ronin/chairman hiro/neural emp combo, but it is more predictable and thus potentially easier to play around. PE strikes me as a deck with less raw power, but more potential lines of play.
I respect your opinion, but I have to say I enjoyed his tone. Maybe if he put something in the title that makes it clear there will be snark it will be easier to take these with a grain of salt.
I got the same satisfaction from reading this as I do from watching a zeropunctuation video game review.
This deck pulls my heartstrings as a murder enthusiast. Having all three flavors of damage brings me so much joy. I maintain that Biotech is probably better than PE for it in a post-Film Critic world, but I didn’t take 24th at Worlds. Good deck, good analysis.
Regarding changes, yeah, Pup seriously doesn’t belong here. The wonderful thing about Profiteering is that it makes the runner want to slap down cards and run, which is exactly what PE wants. The goal should be to punish the runner for doing so. Pup just kind of confuses them when they’re sitting on 6 BP. A one-of Swordsman belongs in almost every Jinteki deck with all these Fausts running around like they own the damn place.
Medical Research Fundraiser fills the same role as Profiteering in that it bolsters the runner and pushes them to make a mistake. Doesn’t really do that against good players, but who says everyone is good? That being said you could probably just run three Hedge Funds and replace the leftover Medicals with another Junebug or somesuch.
Much respect for my murder-brothers. Mushin is love, Mushin is life.
My Chronos Project wanted MRF instead of Celebrity Gift (and it had 3 Hedge Fund) but that was because it didn’t really care how much money you had, it was gonna blow up your breakers and make sure they stayed gone.