It’s good while it’s unexpected. I feel like as people adjust to the match and learn to identify it, it’ll settle down. So, yeah, being the first weekend out it was probably a mistake not to run it, but in a few weeks it’ll probably be the old thing everyone gets and techs for.
The number of games I win now with that installed are much lower than they were even two weeks ago.
lose the turtlebacks you damn savages.
you don’t need the money.
Install agenda, gain 2 credits, score agenda for 2 credits, install more things because you scored getting more things. Turtlebacks always gets trashed so it must be good. 
I guess it depends on your slots. I don’t believe that 3x pad, 3x hedge, and 3x sweeps is enough to run this deck on. If they aren’t turtlebacks, they have to be something else…
Players these days don’t run pop-ups, they parasite them. And that means you’re ultimately leaning on 6 events for your economy, which is just not enough.
That might be so; oftentimes when I win with turtlebacks up, I’ve got way more money than I need (20-30 credits after scoring the last agenda).
However, Turtlebacks has a nice ability to fork the runner. If they hammer your centrals, possibly burning ICE and doing lampreys and other things, you can be involved in a pretty gritty economic fight to keep ICE installed and rezzed. Turtlebacks basically gives you an option to click for cash at a pretty good return all while putting things like Team Sponsorships, Sansans and Cyberdexes out on the table so they can be active. Once you start FAing your agendas, Team Sponsorship starts re-installing the ICE over your centrals/Sansan and things start to curve out ridiculously from there, but Turtlebacks helps pay you during that warlike early stage of the game. Without it, you probably have to click for credits more, which keeps you in that early stage longer.
On the flip side, if they chase down and trash the turtles, you’ve slowed down their central assault and probably given yourself time to stabilize via operation econ and ICE and probably can support a semi-taxing Sansan remote and you can play something more like traditional Fastrobiotics.
Basically, I think Turtlebacks ends up being overkill at the end of the game, but it allows your economy to operate both passively and quickly during the early game by supporting you while you build state. That’s valuable.
I refuse. I like turtles.
Seriously though, why not make more money doing the thing you were already going to do? Turtlebacks is brutal for the runner. If they trash it it’s a pile of credits and you’ve probably already broken even. If they don’t trash it you get a pile of credits. It’s a win/win!
Also they’re only 1 inf apiece. What would you slot instead?
Turtlebacks seems amazing with sponsorship. This isn’t asset spam, the efficiency of a credit and draw in fast advance with clickless installs when scoring holy hell.
I can attest that chasing turtles cripples central running ability without Imps. Criminals, make note, and put the 3x bank job back in.
Bank Job should be in pretty much all Criminal decks these days. Inf free lucky find in all the meta-best decks? Yes please.
I’ll throw my current list up too. As I mention in the description over on NRDB, this is a very typical NEH FA shell with SfSS and DBS and a Biotic swapped around for Team Sponsorship and Turtlebacks. For the last influence I went down to 2 Eli. I don’t like losing the DBS in fast advance especially, but I think it was the most reasonable cut. For some reason I’d originally put a Grim in the Draco slot, but I think something like Mother Goddess works for the moment and Archangel drops in there when DnD is out.
Near-Earth Hub: Broadcast Center (Upstalk)
17 influence spent (max 17)
20 agenda points (between 20 and 21)
49 cards (min 45)
Cards up to The Universe of Tomorrow
Decklist published on NetrunnerDB.
It’s way better than Lucky Find with Desperado and Dirty Laundry.
You can’t really add Laundry to its value, since you could use Laundry efficiently on any run you expect to be successful. If you count it as part of bank job’s worth, you’re subtracting it from a sec testing run, for example. Desperado, however, does make it better since there is no opportunity cost involved.
Laundry doesn’t add to its value, that’s true. But when Sec Testing hasn’t shown yet or isn’t possible, Bank Job provides a valuable target for a Dirty Laundry that would otherwise sit in your hand (or be used for poor value on a run you didn’t want to make otherwise).
That sort of synergy is really strong, even if it’s not a ‘+1 to value’ sort of synergy.
That is true; it does provide more opportunities for valuable runs. That said, as long as you’ve got breakers you should find opportunities pretty often. I mostly use mine checking remotes or running RnD.
more good targets is always a good thing, though.
I tested out the Astrobiotics with Team Sponsorship against a standard PPVP Kate with Clot. It feels a lot stronger than without TS, but it’s still definitely a bad matchup. We played around 8 games, and Kate won all 8. How should the matchup be played?
try adding Blacklist to block their clone chips for Clot. Can also add Tech Startup for extra consistency in finding the Blacklist, and dealing with the IAA click compression when you need an extra click for Blacklist install.
The problem with blacklist is that it blocks them from using their clone chip, it doesn’t actually get rid of it. CVS kills the clot and leaves her down a clone chip which is important if you’re planning on taxing her recursion. I run 2 CVS and 2 Shipments from San San which seems to be good enough.
It’s still not a good match up but you can win against the slower kates with a bit of luck and some bluffing.
I have had good luck with this low-econ build against Clot Shapers. I have never lost the match-up in a tournament (Regionals, local ANRPC, and current SHL for 5 games). You just have to go FAST FAST FAST. Gear checks for days splits Clone chip usage between SMC and Clot. 3 Shipment from SanSan also gives you a lot of play against the card (and there is still 1 CVS), and 3 DBS + 2 Fast Track let you seize the win if you get even the smallest window.
http://netrunner.meteor.com/decks/9gSRSfprLwDcP3NwD
NEH Anti-Clot (49 cards)
Near-Earth Hub: Broadcast Center
Agenda (11)
3 AstroScript Pilot Program
2 Breaking News
3 NAPD Contract
3 Project Beale
Asset (6)
3 Daily Business Show
3 Jackson Howard
Upgrade (4)
1 Cyberdex Virus Suite
3 SanSan City Grid
Operation (13)
2 Biotic Labor ---- ----
2 Fast Track
3 Hedge Fund
3 Shipment from SanSan
3 Sweeps Week
Barrier (3)
3 Wraparound
Code Gate (7)
1 Lotus Field -
3 Pop-up Window
3 Quandary
Sentry (5)
3 Architect – – –
2 Pup - -
(This is not my original creation, but I grind it into the ground on OCTGN daily.)
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. It’s sounds super lame but jamming game after game after game against RANDOMS is the best way to counter Clot. Testing with a partner warps your bluffing techniques. Learn to know when to go for double gear-check 3/2 scores.
Back to basics guys 
The Pups stick out to me. What’s their role?
without having made the deck, my guess is they provide another thing to soak up Parasites or just be pretty taxing while being cheap to rez