You’re right. I couldn’t put my finger on why it felt so much better than Biotic, but this is definitely it.
@Nick.brown10, my list is super similar to yours, except I fiddled with some influence and slots a bit. Current list is -3 Clones Aren’t Dudes, -Restructure, +3 Caprice, +1 Preemptive Action. Here’s the starting list I ran vs CodeMarv:
Yeah, I think Caprice could be helpful against anyone with Clot and Sac Cons. The 1 of Ark Lockdown can be useful for Clot if you can get it in the trash (or locking down a conspiracy breaker if they toss them), but you have to find it. I’ve swapped the 3 Nisei MK II’s for 2 Obokatas to free up a deck slot for Cyberdex Virus Suite. I don’t like removing the Clones are not People though. Employee strike wrecks AG Infusion and can be used to clear it.
Does anyone see O2 Shortage as fitting in a Jinteki FA plan? Or is the 3 influence too much for an uncertain cheaper cousin to Biotic? I feel like in a deck with FA and kill options, O2 is a win/win.
I think neural emp is strictly better. Cheaper and doesn’t give the runner a choice. You’ll only get the click with O2 shortage if the runner can’t afford to take the damage, and in that case, you’d rather the damage go through.
Note that I wasn’t suggesting replacing Neural EMP. My thought was perhaps saving INF and cost on Biotic when you have a dual plan for FA and kill. I specialize somewhat in flatlining with Jinteki and I know how significant one card can be in the math. Having an agenda ready to score when you are hovering on a kill shot can make the choice one of ‘pick your poison’. That’s a situation Jinteki excells at creating.
The only situation I see where O2 Shortage is better than EMP is when the runner has 0 cards in hand and has net damage protection (which isn’t seeing a lot of play right now). Otherwise, the runner will most likely take the trash 1 cost since giving the corp a free biotic is bad. If they don’t want to take the trash 1 cost, then it would be better to play EMP and force them to trash something (assuming the runner is a perfect player and makes the right call). That’s kind of my point. You either play a 2 cost, influence free card that forces a damage or you pay a 3 cost, 2 influence card that lets the runner choose the better option of taking a damage (effectively) or giving the corp a biotic. I’d rather just force the issue with Biotic or EMP on their own.
You keep comparing O2 Shortage to EMP and that’s not my point. I suggest using this in addition to EMP. Kill deck math doesn’t work as simply as you describe, and O2 Shortage has an advantage over EMP because it doesn’t require a run. If the card were Jinteki, I wouldn’t even be debating its inclusion in a butcher style Jinteki deck. I don’t know if a proper kill package can be imported, but the best use of this card may be trying it in HB.
Some cards just need the right deck to find a place, and that’s probably for the best in a living card game.
I think we are talking past your initial question @Cynchwyrm… “Does anyone see O2 Shortage as fitting in a Jinteki FA plan?” and you are right that the question “Do I want this or Neural EMP?” is kind of irrelevant because probably you wouldn’t actually play O2 shortage without Neural EMP anyway.
I see O2 Shortage being good in a situation where I am set up the leverage both sides: if they take the random discard, I kill them… if they give me the free click, I am set up to use that. I don’t think setting up situations where you are in a good position to fast advance AND you are in good position to get a flatline will come up often, especially if you are working with a 5 card hand.
So I have a lack of enthusiasm for O2 Shortage… I just am imagining all these games where the optimal situation to use it just doesn’t come up, so I am forced to either play it when the runner has one correct option and hope the runner picks wrong, or just stare at it in my hand all game and eventually discard it (oh, and once I discard it, that’s when I find myself with the runner with one card in hand, a Neural EMP, and a 3/2 agenda).
Thinking about it, O2 Shortage might be better in a net damage kill deck than a fast advance deck… O2 Shortage could give you the clicks to maybe get a Ronin into kill range or Archived Memories a Neural EMP a few times maybe? It’ll certainly be more at home there than in a Jinteki Fast Advance deck, which can be a little spiky but not nearly as much as a deck playing stuff like Fetal AI.
I agree that my biggest doubt is how often you can create that pressure situation where either choice advances your position.
You hit on another thought I had which was using the extra click in a pure kill deck to help set up the kill, creating perhaps more situations where either choice is good for you.