Though Gingerbread doesn’t really help with the lockout part. If it’s only tracer ice (where Ginger would help), you can pay through it anyway (of course it’s more expensive that way).
So basically it’s a far less versatile Alias?
It’s not really is it? It’s more fair to say that it’s a copy of Alias that breaks Tracers rather than Sentries but doesn’t have a server restriction and is a credit cheaper. If you like using Alias to break central sentries, you should like using Gingerbread to break tracers anywhere!
The question is do you want to plan to break tracers specifically? If you don’t see that as ever being useful, obviously it’ll never look good to you! I have a soft spot for it, but I wouldn’t include more than one copy!
Most tracers are useless, and the ones that are good are usually sentries that have something else nastier than the trace subroutine (think Data Raven and Ichi).
Compound this with the fact that most tracers are installed on central servers and rarely on scoring remotes, and Alias basically already does everything Gingerbread does and then some.
Which is why I sometimes play shinobi in blue sun
surprised no one has mentioned Skulljack. I was really disappointed when I saw this card. It is strictly worse than Scrubber in all cases except turns when you trash 3+ Cards (that cost at least 1c each). Sure, It’s Hardware so you can go tag-me with it. If anything, it should be 1 influence. But no, it is also 2 influence like Scrubber.
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Titanium ribs is not amazing either, though it combos with I’ve had worse
Now, I know I’m that guy who hates on Skulljack, but…
Scrubber is only 1 influence. It just boggles the mind, I know - in spite of everything else terrible about it, it’s also more influence. I have well and truly had my rant already, but seriously, Skulljack is really, really bad. Well worse than the likes of NeoTokyo Grid or Data Hound.
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If it’s unplayable who cares about the influence cost? It’ll save someone who doesn’t know any better from trying to splash it.
Wow; you’re right, Scrubber is 1 influence. Skulljack is officially objectively the worst card in the game.
Skulljack is better for Apex, though. Scrubber is not a virtual resource. You can also prevent the damage with it’s console.
Doesn’t mean it’s good, or even playable, but it has a corner case where it’s better than Scrubber.
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Two corner cases: if you hit a one-cost card behind an RSVP, you can trash it without breaking the RSVP subroutine with Skulljack. You can’t do that with Scrubber.
Break out the champagne for Skulljack!
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Salvage is probably the best ice to set up the negative handsize flatline with Valley Grid. It’s close with Ireress (depending if you’re meta has Val). Add in Whirlpool, Gyri Labyrinth, Cell Portal, Chairman Hiro. Umm… so many good cards!
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Valley grid is 1 per ice not 1 per subroutine
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Yes, but breaking 0 subroutines still counts as breaking all subroutines. So a server with (unadvanced):
Salvage
Salvage
Salvage
Woodcutter
Woodcutter
Woodcutter
Valley Grid
Would be lethal.
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Wouldn’t the runner choose whether or not to break the (0) subroutines?
No he’s got a point, unless you can just state that you’re breaking the subs, they’d just be automatically broken. Now that is a deck that wants some crappy support cards in it. Dedicated technicians anyone?
Also, I’ve been in situations where I run really aggressively with no money and couldn’t trash caprice or melange, so I can see where there might be a deck that really wants skulljack. Still terrible, but it might be the correct choice in an apex deck.
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Salvage is only best if you’re in Weyland, otherwise Troll is better than an unadvanced Salvage.
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Nope, you don’t want to give the runner the option to end the run.
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Unless you want to score something in that server, but I see your point