You’re exaggerating about how bad of a card Rebirth is. You don’t have to bring a stack of IDs with it. Unless you’re just having fun, when you build a deck, there will be what 3? other IDs you’d switch to. If I want Rebirth to be useful, I need to build a deck that will function in my original ID and any IDs I plan to switch to. From Andy, who will I Rebirth into? Gabe? Iain? Leela? Geist requires building around. Also being able to identify which ID to switch to, at what time will often be a high skill decision.
It’s wrong to build an ID with the intention of switching into one or two IDs every game, and though, yeah, you’re right in that Andy will usually just go into Gabe, Iain or Leela based on board state. Silhouette can be an option vs PE and Fisk is good if they have exactly 1 card left in deck. Hell, Ken is good if you have three Dirty Laundries and two Siphons in hand and think that it’s right.
You’re right in that you won’t be switching between them all equally, but it’s practically strictly wrong (aside from an Andy deck with literally no trash effects not bringing Geist) to not bring every ID you own. Not bringing IDs actively reduces the number of options you have (for no upside) and even if they’re (very usually) bad options it is incorrect not to have them as options at your disposal because there’s no downside to bringing them, only potential upside. Even if you should go into Leela 2/3rds of the time, it would be incorrect to just bring Leela as an Andy deck with Rebirth in it (and if you do that, you’re probably misusing Rebirth anyway). Rebirth isn’t a way to get an Andy hand as Leela, it’s a way for Andy to sometimes switch into an ID that’s better than she is right then.
6 Likes
There will be at most 15 IDs per faction. Bringing 60 cards instead of 46 for your runner deck is unlikely to break your bag, or stop your deck fitting in your case. I think it’s a neat card, it’s powerful and flexible and means the IDs that are broken because they have insufficient influence become cards again.
12 Likes
Complaining about having to bring IDs is one of the nitpickiest reasons to not play a card. This card is going to offer a chance to throw the Corp off their feet and surprise them. This can help to make runners more powerful and allow for more different kinds of decks. The real power could be in the influence, especially with the most wanted list. Professor/Kit with Morning star, parasite, clone chips, etc.
Also claiming that rebirth violates key concepts just sounds like I can’t think of a reason I don’t like this card but I want it to sound serious. It’s not going to break the game but it will have strong potential
5 Likes
Imagine using Deja Vu on Rebirth. shudder.
You know it’s removed from the game after use, right?
3 Likes
Yeah, limit one per deck is always a problem. In this case it makes more sense in that having three would make it easy to build around and broken, but some limit 1 per decks are just powerful cards that they want you to autoinclude one of. (Path of Need from Lotr)
Oh okay.
But how will TOs know which is really your real identity? You could, in theory play an Andromeda deck, but switch to Gabe when a Haarpschord Lo-ICE deck is next. And the TOs would think the spare identities are just for rebirth. At the store and regional level, this isn’t really a problem. But what about the untelevised matches at Nationals and Worlds?
If Haarpsichord feller feels a little suprised in your confidence in building a Stealth Rig without more Drug Dealers as Gabe, he might call a judge for a deckcheck. And if he Traffic Accidents you and sees Rebirth in your discard pile as Gabe, he might call a judge for a deckcheck. And drawing the Rebirth is now a brain damage, because if you let Haarpy fellow look through your discard pile to see how many siphons are left and notices a Rebirth in Gabe, he might call for a deckcheck.
I guess some of those are eliminated if Rebirth actually proves so strong that you can play it in Gabe (and playing Gabe over Andromeda remains plausible in spite of Rebirth really proving so strong). There’s still a missing Sneakdoor Beta, signature Faust rig, a lot of tells about the decklist that might make the opponent suspicious about the decklist and ask for a deckcheck.
There’s a lot of brave for this particular cheat, there are many more cheats I’m more concerned about that require far less bravery, like bottoming RP’s 1 of Fetal AI with Maya because you don’t wanna deal with it right now and classic installing agendas as archives ICE.
All that said, there is no harm and only upside in a rule stating that your default ID be sleeved one way and all backup IDs sleeved a specific other, matching way.
I’m going to play Shaper, not actually run Rebirth, and sleeve up only Exile and Nasir and set them out in arm’s reach for every game just so my opponents wonder what the hell I’m up to.
1 Like
Logos Iain into Gabe would be nice !
Or just don’t play Ian at all…
TOs will know which is your real identity because you have to provide a decklist. Also, "people can cheat’ is a poor argument. People could cheat since the game’s inception by installing Agendas as Ice, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s doing it.
6 Likes
I think you have that backwards.
2 Likes
For people complaining about having to bring all their IDs in decks with Rebirth… doesn’t that only apply to Store Champs and above? How often do you go to those that it’s an issue? Certainly at the weekly games I go to at the local comic shop, nobody’s gonna care if I say ‘my Andy is Gabe now’ without taking out the ID.
Also, this card will be nice for this disastrous Eddie Kim matches where you’re playing against asset economy like HB Foodcoats and scream ‘Why!? Why didn’t I use Whizzard!’ At least this way if you mulligan for Rebirth you have a 36% chance of a fair matchup. He might get played more.
Wouldn’t you want to go the other way? Start as Whizzard and switch to Kim? Or are you assuming Kim for kill decks and Whizzard for the longer foodcoats games?
Depends on what’re more popular in your meta, but yeah, starting as Whizzard probably makes more sense. It’s so good against HB and Jinteki. If people like Blue Sun though, there’s nothing better than Kimmy Smashing their Oversights.
Not sure you want to be behind the corp in endgame.
Ok, you would gain 5 influence, I get your point.
Anyway, Rebirth would be a getaway tool for most Iain decks I think.
Same remark for Silhouette (or CT). 40 cards Kate would be nice I guess ?