I’m looking to get back into regularly playing on Jinteki.net, and as I’ve been out of the competitive game since the Industrial Genomics idiocy, I have no clue what cards are good or what decks are being played. Can anyone give me a brief recap? Thanks!
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Currently the meta is basically Clan Vengeance Anarch decks vs. whatever corps people think have a decent shot against Clan Vengeance Anarch decks (i.e. CI Combo, Skorpios, Sportsmetal Rush, Weyland Kill of various flavors, and Mti Glacier).
Of course, since that top runner deck is expected to get hit really hard in the next MWL, it’s anyone’s guess what the meta could be in a few weeks when the latest MWL goes live. You can find the details and discussion in this thread.
If I had to make a guess, I’d say that MaxX comes out looking stronger than ever, since her natural predator Skorpios is going to be significantly weaker and much less likely to appear in competitive play. Valencia will still be good. Geist doesn’t really lose much and will probably be the best Criminal, unless the meta gravitates towards slower decks where 419 looks like a great choice. Adam and Sunny will probably do alright, and we will see some new Hayley control builds since Clone Chip is coming off the restricted list.
Corp side, CtM is basically untouched and has never really been a bad choice. With CI banned, Sportsmetal will probably be the HB deck of choice. Mti is going to remain the best glacier ID. Weyland kill decks should be strong as well in The Outfit/Gagarin/Argus.
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Literally every corp faction has at least a couple of viable decks! After the leaked MWL CI will be gone. Runner-side I think Anarchs will still be the strongest faction, with Criminals second. Shapers will get a big boost from Clone Chip becoming unrestricted, but not sure quite how big.
Interesting that people think Anarch will remain on top after this. I suspect Shapers to dominate competitive play, with Aesops/Clone Chip decks able to lock down glaciers in the late-game and keep up with the tempo play of CTM.
I think Aesop’s/CC decks might be okay, but most of those decks that I’ve seen in the past rely on using Levy to keep the pressure going in the late game. With Aesop’s and Levy still being restricted from being in the same deck, I’d be wary saying that these decks will be top tier.
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ah, you’re right, somehow I forgot that!
You will not be pleased
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isn’t this always the most correct answer? 
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Been playing Skorpios recently on jnet - its not exactly revolutionary, but its reminding Aesops that he isn’t always king.
If you’re picking Levy as your restricted card though what’s your economy engine? Tapwrm is gone.
Moistloaf was saying that he expected Aesop’s decks to be prominent again, and my point of that post was to remind him that Aesop’s decks have almost always had Levy as part of them. So yeah, if you take Levy, you no longer have Aesop’s, and the other way around. I don’t think that Aesop’s decks will be that good because of this.
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Aesops would have been nice to have off the list. It’s economy tied to a dynamic board state that’s synergistic with other shaper cards. But I agree, without Levy Aesops is less reliable. Clone Chip coming off will boost Aesops, but I wouldn’t expect it to be an appreciable difference.
I’m back in the thread to eat some crow, after CritHitd20 reminded me that he got 2nd at World’s last year with an Aesop’s list with no Levy (or Tapwrm, it turns out). Soooo, yeah. Maybe @moistloaf is correct, and this could be a thing.
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Asger also came 3rd at Euros with an Aesop Hayley list that gets a lot better with clone chip
I tried a few games online when it was leaked, cause I decided to make one for this. I did ok considering I’m not really much of a shaper player. Lost badly to a couple of rush decks but it had game against everything else.
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I’ve been having some success with a Kit deck that uses Aesop’s, Cache and Clone Chip (plus about a dozen 0-cost installables). It has ProCo to draw into all your pieces while still moving you forward. Engolo and Kit’s ability lets you get through any 2 ICE per turn. It uses Spooned to clear the way on R&D and The Maker’s Eye plus Equivocation for multi access.
It is a lot of fun to play. If you get ProCo early you will draw into your pieces eventually and by mid game you should start to get on top. Without Levy you will run out of steam in the late game so you have to win before then.