I said it before and I’ll say it again. They really need to print a mini-manual (1-2 pages) with each data pack that a description of how any card works that’s any more complicated than a regular breaker and provide a reasonably complex example. Basically what Dominion does with their manuals.
This would avoid some much confusion, especially for new and casual players (which is their focus customer segment anyway). We wouldn’t have massive amounts of frustration and delay when they released cards like Caprice Nisei, IT Department, Housekeeping, etc., if we knew how the cards were intended to function in the first place.
What ID are you thinking? This is pretty close to what I had in mind for Argus, but I feel like ID and agendas matter as much as just influence. Maybe more, even.
When O&C hit I found Titan was the new Supermodernism ID. The ability to save a click never-advancing Atlas and getting more Geothermal money was always welcome. Plus you could use 1x or 2x Yale to eat counters on Hostile Takeover and possibly False Lead.
Since Casting Call isn’t a double, you can treat it like a regular install. So all of the 4/2 and 5/3 agendas are game. Even Atlas. Geothermal/Oaktown/High Risk/Cleaners.
Argus would be good with Casting Call too. Blue Sun is Blue Sun, they could use it too. But they could get just as much tax out of splashing Tollbooth.
I’m just afraid with the power level of the card being so high (it doesn’t even reveal the agenda as far as we know), it’ll probably be 4 inf and all for naught.
4 is possible, but seems doubtful. It’s not bad for NBN but it’s clearly a card they want to see splashed, and also one you need multiples of to function. So 2-3 seems like a solid bet, and depending on the printed wording I honestly could see it being only 2. 3 is more likely if it triggers on any copy of the installed agenda.
I like Argus for Casting Call because it adds to the built-in defense of the ID. “2 tags and 2 meat OR 3 tags” is not a comfortable thing for the runner. Casting Call also goes very nicely with the Renovations, which I think might have a good home in Argus, again due to the ability making steals require a bit of prep/extra time. It puts a lot more time pressure on the runner.
I like Titan for the ability to bluff out Atlases as other things sometimes and the extra counters are certainly useful but seem… limited? Risky might be the better word. I dunno, could help with chaining but I worry that there’s not enough there to keep the runner out if they know for sure that it’s an agenda. Then again, maybe that’ll be less of a worry between 79 (Barrier Ice) and 99 (Transaction).
EDIT: The big edge I see Casting Call having with the Renovations is that it makes them less attractive to run – particularly Underway Renovation – which makes it a bit easier to see them lasting into overscoring territory. That’s useful with Oaktown, but probably of the least direct benefit there. With Hollywood Renovation, though… it becomes an early 5/3 you can rush out with Space Ice and the like, or something you can keep as a lingering Punitive/Scorch threat sitting at 5 advancements, forcing them to either have complete control over your HQ and R&D or risk you being able to FA something out for two credits.
It’s weird. Hollywood Renovation overscoring seems nigh-impossible to happen, generally. But if it does, it turns into the most efficient fast advance engine in the game. Two clicks and two credits for 4 advancement tokens. Might even be protectable, could toss some other bit of advance ice in front and ping it twice to get an Orion for 3 or a 9 strength Fire Wall (5 strength Ice Wall).
Again, doubtful that’ll happen much, and it’ll rarely be the safer play, but there are going to be games where you break your enemy and get to do something silly like that and I look forward to it.
Titan is a snowball ID. It does nothing if you aren’t scoring. That’s great for supermodernism, and makes the juggernaut even more unstoppable - but if you need the boost to get rolling, (or extra fear from Argus) then you don’t have it.
Wow. Spoiler-ken just said on 4chan that Casting Call is 2 influence. Talk about timing.
[quote=“crossbrainedfool, post:1947, topic:2197”]
Titan is a snowball ID. It does nothing if you aren’t scoring. That’s great for supermodernism, and makes the juggernaut even more unstoppable - but if you need the boost to get rolling, (or extra fear from Argus) then you don’t have it.
[/quote]It also only works with select agendas. They’re all good, but if you’re not running them it becomes a lot more questionable as far as choices go.
EDIT: @whatisthistreachery what do you think the right call is with that two extra influence? Part of me wants to just grab a third casting call, but I can’t help wonder if another Snare, SEA Source, or something else might be better. I don’t think the upgrade to Midseasons is right, Casting Call and Midseasons both get hosed by Film Critic and if you’re not running Traffic Accident the need for so many tags isn’t quiiite so great.
But seriously, it’s an operation that lets you install an agenda with Casting Call on it as a counter reading “When the runner accesses the hosted agenda, give him or her 2 tags.”
Yeah. I think I’m going with a Data Raven. Might do two and cut the SEA Source depending on how Ice/Econ shakes out, but since it’s still two packs away it’s not like there’s a big rush.
But the idea of a scoring server with Data Raven into a Casting Called 3-pointer in Argus seems crazy-fun unless they’re running Dorm Computer.
“Okay, so, take a tag, then spend some cash to beat this sentry. Right, good, now take two more tags. Now pick, a tag or some meat damage. Meat damage? Aaand cleared your tags? Okay, my turn, mandatory draw… Can’t Scorch you, have some Punitives.”
Add another DR or a Checkpoint or something with a decent ETR behind the first Data Raven (or, hell, a Wormhole to get another shot at the trace-for-future-tagging) and… yeah, I dunno. Seems potentially very hard to justify running into that rather than trying to focus on centrals or something, but that in turn makes overadvancing it waaay easier. And, of course, centrals have Snare…
Film Critic will suuuck to deal with, though, for sure. Negates Argus and Casting Call both, may need to play around it. Maybe a couple of the Contract Killers will have to make an appearance…
I imagine your Titan deck will be similarly crazy, though, with the ability to add in Architect or Tollbooth or a Biotic or even just a pair of Sweeps Weeks (my favorite econ card for a kill deck, makes asking “cards in hand?” each turn more useful, and it’s hard to play around BOTH of 'em).
Based on the recent interview Lukas did for Bad Publicity, it sounds like there are already a few people in the third role you identify, unsurprisingly. No way could he have been doing all that work by himself and coming out with what is on the whole such a well-designed game.
I totally agree with you about the requirement for an in-house rules lawyer though. As someone who’s very familiar with the rules-clarity debacle that is the 1st edition of the Game of Thrones LCG, the sloppy wording on Netrunner cards, and the lack of consistency in what rulings we get, worries me. Iterated over the full 5-7 cycle, 4+ expansion cardpool, that stuff adds up and interactions that range from unintuitive to downright game-breaking will crop up. The game could really have done with a more formalised ability-timing structure from the start, like Star Wars and Conquest have with their Reactions, Interrupts, etc. Timing is already starting to get unintuitively complicated with things like Clone Chip-ing Clots, and because timing has not been important to the game for most of its life many players don’t have good habits like allowing your opponents time to use paid abilities in the relevant windows.
Not as exciting as the D&D reveal, but s-k confirmed this as Marcus Batty:
2 rez cost, 2 trash cost, 3 Influence.
Trash: “Chose a rezzed piece of ice protecting this server. Resolve one subroutine on that piece of ice unless the runner pays 4 credits. Use this ability only during a run on this server”
So that’s a thing. Dunno how good a thing it is, necessarily, but could be interesting or useful, pretty hefty tax on the right server at the very least. Seems strong in RP as a supplement to Caprice/Ash, though, and I was thinking it’d be better elsewhere. Suppose we’ll see, but makes Yoggability slightly less of a risk, I guess?
Could be devestating late game behind a souped up Next Gold. If anything could screw up their math and keep them out. Paying 2 to cost them 4 isn’t that exciting though.
