Just over a year ago I created a survey to settle an argument between me and my friend Divadus.
It was really cool see what people thought so I’ve decided to do it again!
Fill it out and in a week I’ll post the results!
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nitpick: it says “rank from best (1) to worst (19)” when there are actually 28 choices. I can only assume 20-28 loop around to become good again 
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Just finished my poll. Kinda hard to organize when it’s everything at once, so hopefully I got it right.
Starting from the bottom -
28. Eli 1.0
This card is kinda gross-looking. I think it’s clearly inferior to the original art and I just don’t like the look of it at all. This was a pretty easy call, with only the next card challenging it for the bottom spot.
27. Pop-Up Window
Also worse than the original art by a not insignificant margin. I get what they’re doing, but the colors are kind of unpleasant to look at, and the original graphic itself is just better to see, I think.
26. Crypsis
Frankly, I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to be seeing here. Sometimes I feel like I can see it, but then I lose it again. Original is still superior.
25. Lotus Field
The art is fantastic on this card, it’s really beautiful. The artist(s) did a fantastic job. But it’s the same as the original card. Pass.
24. Datasucker
A cool take on the original concept, but, frankly, I don’t think it’s anything special to look at. I don’t stop to take the time to actually sit a look at it, which I do for some of the others. This is the lowest-ranked card that has superior alt-art.
23. Reina Roja
I don’t know what to say other than I prefer the way she looks in the original.
22. Swordsman
Eh. I don’t have an issue with it, but I don’t particularly like it either.
21. Wyldside
I like the fact that the original kind of captures the whole club, where the alt is just the two people. Well done two people, but I prefer seeing the whole club.
20. Gabriel Santiago
Superior to the original, but for some reason, I just didn’t want to rank it higher. I can’t really explain it.
19. Kati Jones
Kinda dull. Her original has a good shot of the character itself.
18. Scorched Earth
This art is really good, but Lizzy Mills and a city burning to the ground is kind of an iconic Netrunner image for me at this point.
17. Corporate Troubleshooter
Very nice. No objections really, I just like others more. It looks good.
16. Femme Fatale
Making that bank with Frozen. Artist probably has kids. Looks fine.
15. Chaos Theory
Love that Dinosaurus is there.
14. NAPD Contract
Looks pretty good. That looks like some kind of armor under his jacket. Nice.
13. Adonis Campaign
Remind you of Blade Runner, with the ads thrown right on the buildings?
12. HB:EtF
Simple, but gets the point across wonderfully.
11. Weyland: BABW
First time I saw this one, actually. Very appropriate for the green one.
10. Ken Tenma
I feel like we can get an idea of his personality from this alt-art. A little swagger, some coolness, some arrogance. Nicely done.
9. Private Security Force
Excellent art. These guys look like they’re sending a message: "We are not to be fucked with."
8. Gordian Blade
Pretty solid, and references the flavor text from the original.
7. Aesop’s Pawnshop
Like Wyldside, I like the big “shop” view as opposed to just Aesop himself.
6. NBN: MN
Simple, but tells you everything you need to know about NBN with just one picture.
5. Jinteki: PE
Looks absolutely fantastic.
4. Kate MaCaffery
This alt-art alone makes me want to play her.
3. Melange Mining Corp
This is what mining on the moon should look like. The He3 must flow, baby.
2. Noise
Excellent character portrait, and has his console to boot. Fantastic.
1. Plascrete Carapace
Damn, I want that armor. Do we know if it represents someone in this picture?
Neat survey. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with your top 4, except I also put Datasucker in there. Kate is my number one though.
I think Lotus Field will be the most divisive - the art is beautiful, but do you ding it for being the original art? (I did.)
edit: Y U no like Swordsman 
Alright I did an attempt, but it was hard.
28. Crypsis
I just don’t get it.
27. NBN: Making News
I don’t find it pretty, just boring.
26. Chaos Theory
The original art just looks better to me for some reason. This one bothers me a bit, not sure why.
25. Eli 1.0
It’s ok but nothing special.
24. Haas-Bioroid: Engineering the Future
Again ok but just a tiny bit boring?
23. Swordsman
I really like the idea, Swordsman slaying Darwin, but the color scheme makes the card a bit bland sadly.
22. Ken “Express” Tenma
He’s okay I guess but I’m not really feeling it.
21. Lotus Field
The card looks great but it’s the same as the original.
20. Datasucker
It’s decent.
19. Popup Window
Everyone either hates it or loves it. I think it’s okay, even if only for annoying everyone with it, which is very thematic.
18. Weyland: Building a Better World
It’s nice.
17. Reina Roja
Better than the original.
16. Gordian Blade
Yeah it’s pretty, but it’s mostly the colors. Not anything special going on otherwise.
15. Kate ‘Mac’ McCaffrey
Kate is pretty.
14. Kati Jones
I like the tranquility of the card even though it might be a little boring.
13. Plascrete Carapace
Yeah it’s a little bit cool.
12. Scorched Earth
The art is great. But the original is the best card ever.
11. Wyldside
Very pretty and cool.
10. Adonis Campaign
I love the cyberpunk theme, and a sexbot on a skyscraper both looks good and feels good.
9. Melange Mining Corp
The spice must flow.
8. Gabriel Santiago
Now that I look at it, it’s really good.
7. NAPD Contract
It might look worse on the actual card, but for now it looks really good.
6. Femme Fatale
She’s hot and cool at the same time.
5. Jinteki: Personal Evolution
It’s just a damn tree but it still looks awfully nice.
4. Aesop’s Pawnshop
I love the details!
3. Corporate Troubleshooter
Dark and sinister. I almost want to get a dark/purple suite now.
2. Private Security Force
The protection gear must look good when you enter a runner’s house and shoot them in the face.
1. Noise
Art, colors, style, theme. It’s all good.
And yes, I’m a Noise player.
Wait, isn’t Professional Contacts missing from this list?
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Dunno. Maybe I’m just jaded on Japanese-themed stuff, even though I know it fits perfectly in context (Jinteki ICE, name, etc).
The critical flaw! XD
We shall not name that card! Ever!
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You’ve got a good eye!
Yes my two mistakes. Seems I made this a little too quick last night.
The numbering was because I brought the survey over from last year and edited it. (Fixed now)
Missing proco is because the I was checking my list against the list that is stickied on reddit right now. And the proco image is broken so I missed it. http://puu.sh/kk5BX/d0147d45d7.jpg
Nevermind ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I apparently missed the part where I needed to save my answers before hitting done… so now i’m confused as to how to justify my exact ordering to the masses of the internet.
Scorched / swordsman in the top slots, along with datasucker and wyldside/ aesops. All of these expound upon the idea of the card in new / deeper ways or just blow the original art out of the water.
Bottom of the list is mostly composition stuff, specifically adonis and corp troubleshooter along with Reina and kati.
Mostly cards that don’t take the art in new directions (although kati is not that terrible i suppose, can never unsee that giraffe neck on the original) or that are for characters that somehow give them LESS personality than their original composition. I also put things near the bottom that irk me from a templating and ‘full art’ perspective. Did you know that gabe is the only art (at least in my collection, can’t verify on the survey page any longer) that crosses over the text box? What the shit is with the PSF alter having those weird ass slopey stylistic accouterments on the name? and why isn’t the name somewhere more visually appealing like that blank space in the top right of the card?! If NAPD has the same problem (couldn’t tell from FFG shitpic) I will also drop it from like 7th place to right above corp troubleshooter at like 20th. the rest are fine, meh. Proco is great and would be my 8th or so in that it’s finally a good card with good professor art on it (and possibly our only card with the collective).
EDIT: I JUST DOUBLE CHECKED ON FFG AND NAPD HAS THE SAME PROBLEM AS PSF. RUINED.
Does this take context into account, or is it strictly about quality of art? Crypsis has a very pretty explosion, but I feel that the wasted flavor potential of the hacked bioroid makes it a shoe-in for worst. Most disappointing, at the very least.
Of course, I also dislike the silly Crysis armor Plascrete and the boring Scorched Earth, so there’s no accounting for taste.
Taste is everything when it comes to pimp factor (alters and extensions included). I like my cards that give things personality or different ways of thinking about a card.
Alt art scorched gives that visual OOMPH to the blowout the card actually is. Alt art noise makes him seem carefree and boisterous. Alt art aesops put’s you in the pawnshop in a much better way visually.
Adonis is a similar composition with a possibly worse advertisement (that adonis is stoned or some shit idk). My personal dream (might need to find an artist for this) for a better alt would be a boutique with a posing bioroid in the window looking at passerby on the street (similar to commercialization’s art).
Alt art reina just makes her feel… idk, less determined?
Corp troubleshooter is weird, I can tell he’s a badass, he has minions following him around and he looks like he’s about to bust some runner open on the other side of a terminal, but I can’t tell anything else from his surroundings to his underlings to the generic glow from behind him and the samey monitor style windows (or are they actually terminal screens?) on the walls. I feel like it’s half assed.
The corp ID alt arts are fine, give them some personality outside of the generic logo (and i feel really sad for the stronger together generation of IDs as they probably wont get one).
/ramble/