Originally published at: Peddling Peddler – All Things Kit - StimHack
Discuss the latest StimHack article by @Feliks here.
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Kit is my ultimate favorite runner. And I’m really not sure why she’s not seen more often. Safely facechecking ICE is becoming more and more important, especially now that we are getting more non-sentry ICE that hurts facechecking.
I know a lot of people dismiss her because of the 10 influence. But her ability is incredibly usefull.
What’s the best economy engine for Kit? In general, how does a 10-influence shaper build an economy engine without sacrificing too much tempo?
I would say the decision usually comes down to “Magnum Opus or not?”
If you can spare the setup time, MU, and clicks, consider Opus. If you can’t then it’s time to look at other options.
Kati Jones gives you sustained economy without a lot of investment, at the cost of it coming in pops. Professional Contacts can keep you going through the game but it won’t be the big money you need.
PPVP/Lucky Find isn’t really an option with the limited influence, nor is bringing in Desperado.
Personal Workshop is an option I didn’t explore much in the article, but it’s there. It’s slow, and a bit vulnerable.
So, Opus, Kati, or Workshop for most builds. The same as most Shapers, but without the option for PPVP.
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I’ll just add a word on Kati – I find her tempo works out well in a lot of Kit builds. In the early game, you’re rarely making more than 1-2 runs per turn, which leaves you with clicks to charge her. You also find yourselves in a lot of situations where you need a bunch of money at once (to install both your fracter and killer in a single turn, for instance). Opus can work out similarly, but the MU requirement can create some tempo problems of its own in mid-game (although Mopus is critical for Hinke’s build).
I didn’t think the article really explored new cards in Kit very well.
Ie., it seems pretty stagnant.
What would you like to have seen? More exploration of cards on the horizon, or more exploration of recent releases?
Edit: This was my first article so I’ll take any critical review people can offer.
Great article.
I agree with the Author in that I think Spooned will be fun with her. I hadn’t thought of the combo until the last paragraph in the piece. I was inspired to make a little Kit deck after seeing it.
Here’s my take on it, going with a Stealth Build // Opus Eco // Cybersolutions MemChips: Lil' Dipper · NetrunnerDB
I have to disagree.
The article endeavored to be a survey of different popular approaches to Kit and in that it succeeded. It showcased a stealth deck which is new for this cycle. It touches on some upcoming cards which is really all that was needed. If its purpose had been to explore the fringes then I would agree with you that it was stagnant.
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I think the author’s proposed Spooned/Femme combo doesn’t work since Femme skips past ice as opposed to breaking subs, unless I’m missing something here.
I just meant Femme would be my last influence (3x3 for Spooned+1 for Femme) as it’s a solid card. No Spooned/Femme combo. And you’re right, that interaction does not work.
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Nit: The text on the article calls paintbrush 4C, but it’s 3C.
Fixed. Thanks!
Nice article. Kit is my favorite Shaper.
No love for The Personal Touch? I’ve been leaning towards it in Yog builds since, unlike Dinosaurus, you can play Yog first, and it hits the important Ice like Lotus Field and Eli. I’m building Yog, Atman with Datasuckers and The Personal Touch.
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I played The Personal Touch in a Yog deck for a while, it was pretty effective! I got scared off it when Will-o’-the-Wisp came out because loosing 7-11 Credits and your unrecoverable Touches to one card was hurt. Considering the unpopularity of that card it may be worth exploring again.
I’m going to start a new thread about Sage, but I think sage is much stronger than generally considered - and especially in Kit.
Sage benefits (strongly) from dinosaurus & personal touch, as well as The helpful AI.
Since it covers two ice types at the same time, it allows very early high stakes play., ie., makers eye, indexing, account syphon. It helps three separate kinds of decks:
Decks with draw problems (one program replacing two).
Decks that want to run super early.
Shaper decks that couldn’t afford influence.
Oracle decks that want to decrease the numbers of misses.
To me, this suggests high stakes play - account syphon, makers eye, indexing, wanton destruction. Fork Knife spoon.
Kit, Criminal are logical candidates
I’m not sure it is good especially in Kit - 2 to break a sub is not as good now as it used to be.
Komainu, Tsurugi, NEXT Silver all exist. If you go against a Boot Camp Foundry deck and they get to, say, 6 NEXT pieces (not a huge stretch), that’s 12 credits for a piece of ICE that should have cost 6.
I mention Komainu and Tsurugi because they’re ICE that Gordian, Cyber Cypher, and even Refractor break just fine for the same as Mimic.
I’m not sure Sage is actually very good but I would like to be proven wrong.
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Komainu/Tsurugi is sentry. I didn’t say you didn’t need a sentry breaker.
But if you are going to run a high stakes card early, you need good prospects of landing it.
Kit can face check one ice a turn safely. Once that ice is revealed it lets you continue to run against that ice 2/3 of the time without the need to deploy a different IB.
Additionally, it leverages the power of testrun/smc - because you no longer have to find one breaker - so it can be used for more silver bullets.
I’m excited to try Spooned with Kit. I think one of the cards that could make that deck improve is Collective Consciousness since you’ll keep destroying their ICE forcing them to install and rez several ICE giving you a lot of draw. And, since less ICE will be stacked the 2 memory cost will be less of an issue since you’ll have less breakers in use.
But, with the Spooned route. I still think the way to go is 2 Spooned, 2 Parasite. Parasite for the low str ICE. Spooned + Cyber-Cypher for the higher strenght ICE.
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Ive been playing a Stealth Kit deck for a couple months now, relying on the reoccurring stealth creds and ProCon for most of the the decks econ, running Kati as backup. Its worked well for me so far, with an added benefit that most things in the deck are very cheap, so it doesnt cost much at all to get up and running.
http://netrunnerdb.com/en/deck/view/173102
Suggestions for improvements are welcome.