Top Competitive Decks Post O&C

I’m not sure about Maxx eater/siphon being tier 1, maybe that’s because I suck massive ass with her and never seem to have any money…

Identity
1x Haas-Bioroid

R&D / Stack
3x Accelerated Beta Test
2x Gila Hands Arcology
3x NAPD Contract
3x Project Vitruvius

2x Adonis Campaign
3x PAD Campaign
3x Eve Campaign
1x Daily Business Show
3x Jackson Howard
3x SanSan City Grid

3x Biotic Labor
2x Enhanced Login Protocol
3x Hedge Fund
1x Archived Memories

3x Eli 1.0
2x Heimdall 1.0
2x Wall of Static
2x Ichi 1.0
1x Rototurret
2x Quandary
1x Viktor 1.0
1x Tollbooth

This was my list last stimhack league (ended up on 1600 elo) and had only small modifications from the league before (ended slightly higher). From what I’ve heard and seen, the upcoming article will feature a deck with smaller ice (architect is a notable omission here) and more DBS’s, but otherwise a similar gameplan, I think? This shouldn’t be terrible, but otoh, you could easily change it and make it probably even more competative.

But what changed exactly? PPVP Kate still rocks, like in the day where life was supposed to be easy for corps. Sure, anarchs got some cool cards, but when I lose as corp it is still usually to Kate or Andy.

Part of it is that corps are now in the same position as runners were a few months ago, where there are too many competitive runner archetypes to reasonably expect to dominate over all of them. along with Datasucker Andy and PPVP Kate, you have to deal with Eater Maxx, RegMaxx, Stealth Andy, Noise Bullshit, Deep Dig Anarchs, Leela, Blackmail, etc… And slotting in cards to have a great match-up against one archetype can dilute your deck too much against the others.

1 Like

The anarch Eater-Siphon deck is pretty easy to play around with NEH, but with a corp that needs a real remote, you need a Caprice or Crisium on HQ before you can accomplish anything. Even then, they might just take their chances on Caprice or have a trick to trash the Crisium, and once you’re at 0, that’s where you’re staying for a while.

Just one more reason to play NEH?

1 Like

Leela was a big turning point, I’ve had worse was a huge turning point, Knifed was a big turning point, Switchblade was a big turning point, and just the fact that there is a consistent, strong runner that gets to play influence free red cards is huge to beating RP. I don’t think I’d take Valencia into account as to why #Corplyfe is difficult now , but Maxx and Leela were both huge, and the Corp has fewer real decks running around now that people stateside figured out Feedback Filter. Daily Business Show is far and away the best Corp card to come out since worlds, and it helps the two decks that were already the best at worlds without really stretching runners in any different directions, or creating any new strategies of its own. It also didn’t help that the Corp side of big box was mostly gimmicky crap, as it usually is.

1 Like

Pretty much what @hhooo said: if Corps were forking runners between the two poles of NEH FA and JRP Glacier, Runners have now flipped the tables: everything that was good before is still good, but there are more threat avenues than any given corp deck can deal with now that Anarchs are actually good to great.

It seems like there are good archetypes out of each runner faction for each basic playstyle: aggro or control, which is nice for runners but awkward for corps.

I’m gonna say that the biggest turning point was probably Lady who make the best ICE (Eli) a joke against Shaper, who already have a strong matchup against everyone bar NEH. That and not having to pay influence for a corroder or being forced to use an awkard barrier breaker like Inti or Snowball.

6 Likes

I know my shaper decks got a lot better after I freed up 2-4 influence and didn’t have to pay 4 for every Eli. That influence was very handy for more parasites!

1 Like

People are well aware of my feelings on this, I think shaper was already good against NEH, and I still usually run snowball when I play Kate. I’ll disagree, but if it got other people to start beating NBN with green cards, then it’s probably valid.

1 Like

Earthrise deserves a mention for freeing up influence in criminal

2 Likes

I don’t really think most people were using influence in criminal for card draw. Maybe a QT or two here and there, but most people seemed to use Masanori or Mr. Li.

Criminal still has massive issues with card draw IMO.

I think “massive” is over the top. I’ve have a fine record with Andy + John mas or mr li. All you really need is a couple of special orders a game the rest of your cards are either “nice to have” or you run three(desp/testing) which is fine.

2 Likes

On a related note I’ve been playing a bunch of reg ass. It’s very strong but I tend to agree that it’s not quiet tier one. There are games, not many but enough, where you are just durdling in treacle due to draws/mills.

Nah, earthrise.

No love for HB Glacier :frowning:

I-its a perfectly viable deck, I swear!

2 Likes

grail ice is a huge reason why runner decks and playstyles have shifted. when a barrier trashes your rig and code gate murders you you start trying to figure out a different way to play lol.

4 Likes

Well, both Anarch who are reliant on Parasite/Sucker/AI doesn’t give a lot of shit to grail. Neither does Kate with SMC + a toolbox of breakers. It only matter to crim.

… If your siphon Maxx deck can’t win when it doesn’t land sipon your siphon maxx deck is shit.

Look you are splashing 2 maybe 3 siphon and 1 addional SOT and 1 extra Deja Vu over Clone chip maxx. Siphon maxx plays 3 Day job 3 Liberated 3 Sure gamble, and some number of Queen’s gambit for econ. Alongside a plan of making the corp broke.

Siphon is super strong especially when the corp plans on going broke to beat it.

And people really are sleeping on Self modifying code valencia, IMO that deck is a good deal better than MaXx, Not playing Deja vu/Same old thing/Levy really helps a lot. You can go Inject/Atman/Clone chip or Lucky find/Zu/Masonori (I prefer the masonori version myself) Better stimhack usage, along with good run based gameplans. It also doesn’t suffer from the problem where the card I need to tutor for isn’t in the discard pile yet. (happened way to often with Maxx when my Zu.13 was in the bottom 10 and I faced a lotus field on R&D shutting me off of that path to victory.