Here are four CtM decks that have won store championships while being piloted by high-skill players since the beginning of the year.
Some observations:
All four have same agenda suite.
Some variation on the economy package with PAD/NASX being common but the formerly standard Commercial Bankers Group showing up in only 1/4 lists. It is also worth noting that World Champion Chris Dyer apparently can play Netrunner without using credits.
All four include significant fast advance tools.
Operation suite pretty similar across all four lists. It is interesting that despite widespread use of currents by Runners that none of the lists uses any kind of counter current. I assume this is because they pack multiple 2/1s and 3/2s to clear currents.
Resistor, Archangel, Tollbooth show up in all four lists. Brits still prefer Cobra and Turnpike. Americans prefer Data Raven. Quandary and Enigma take roll of gear check Code Gate still. Secondary Barrier a mix of Wraparounds, IP Blocks, and Data Wards. (I’d be interested in more nuanced observations than just counting ice.)
What is the state of CtM at the end of Flashpoint? It seems like it is still quite strong and the top players still go to it as a reliable performer in tournament settings.
Aaron Marrón has changed the game for CtM. Previously, their strongest weapon against runners with a bunch of cash was the one-two punch of Breaking News+Closed Accounts, and from there pressure runners economically.
Aaron saves runners from Breaking News, and significantly reduces the pressure from the ID ability.
I’d say CtM is strong, but not the top dog anymore. The ID ability is useful against ParaSifr, so that’s something ^^
It autoloses against Power Tap Andy. It has a horrible matchup against anything with Aaron and especially Aaron combined with Temüjin, because then you can’t race them on money. Whizzard with Strikes and Slums is bad as well, and now your Booth remote, which was your best weapon, just gets insta-Sifr’d.
If you’re winning with CtM, you’re probably going more for the rush and FA options in the deck, while trying to keep them busy with politicals. I’d include some more hard ETR ICE to try and rush out some points or protect a SanSan. You need to stick at least one PAD and protect it, because you severely need the money. The deck still gets you through Swiss, but in the cut it’s becoming a liability in certain metas.
Also, when you finally get the Runner tagged, Closed Accounts and especially EOI are more impactful. Well, CA vs. ASI depends on board state of course, but Closed also works against non-resource based Runners (Siphon deck, Opus Shaper…). EOI wins games on its own.
Yeah, I think Crim goes from 2x Aaron 1x Hostage to 3x Aaron and… still probably 1 hostage. I don’t think it hurts them that much. When both MCA and Hunter Seeker are out, and Crim also wants to run extra copies of breakers, then card slots might start to become a big issue?
