Agreed. While HB has some OK sentrys in both versions of Ichi and Rototurret, they are also somewhat predictable in that’s it’s fine to facecheck them without programs (combined with the Rototurret weakness to Parasite). Now it will be very hard to facecheck HB without a sentrybreaker.
Jinteki is probably the faction that has least use of Architect since Komainu already makes it very painful to run without a sentrybreaker.
Just when you thought it was at close to an all-time low point for Runner, Architect hits…
Feels like living in ‘1984’, or an akin totalitarian state.
You mean it feels almost like there’s a totalitarian corporate structure with goals and objectives that often involve mass surveillance and construction that harms the ordinary every-man that is reeking havoc on the environment in which you reside?
Sounds like a distopian future to me. And great story telling.
Hey y’all. How do you feel about Architect right now. It’s off the mwl. But parasite is gone. Also MKUltra is okay against it. But it might be a good again with Hippo on the verge. Worth playing?
Not sure if troll? Architect is all over the place 
It’s a fun sentry, very happy with it at 2 influence. Recently cut back to 2 in Asa to make room for News Hound (to go with Scarcity because Hacktivist makes me grind my teeth). Might want to go back to 3?
My mantra when face-checking is, “It’s probably an architect.” And I’m never surprised when it is.
Even if you don’t get it to fire, MKUltra paying 3 each time can start to get taxing.
It seems like a good ice in Asa Group because occasionally you’ll get a free double install. Only very, very occasionally though. I think Fairchild 3 is strong enough that runners are careful around it, which in turn makes Architect a bit less likely to fire.
Architect only really fires early, but sometimes your options will be to install an agenda you’re not ready to score, a piece of ice you can’t really afford to rez, and a bin with just a Hedge Fund and an IPO in it because no assets have been trashed yet. By the mid-game, the runner can deal with Architect well enough so it’ll never fire again, however I think this is when it could really come in most handy to recur a key asset to tip the scales back in your favour.
My favourite application of Architect was in the Moons ETF era where you could more easily create a) a bin with an irritating asset the runner already trashed it (e.g. Team Sponsorship), b) an urgent enough asset threat (Moons) where the runner would relatively often faceplant an Architect and deal with the installs rather than let Moons sit on the board for a second turn.
Architect is also pretty cool out-of-faction, but perhaps less so. I seem to remember playing it in NEH at some point within recent history.