Neutralize All Threats

♦ Neutralize All Threats 0[credit]

Resource: Directive - Virtual
Influence: 3

The first time each turn you access a card with a trash cost, reveal it. You must trash that card by paying its trash cost, if able.

Whenever you breach HQ, access 1 additional card.

The Third Directive requires a bioroid to preserve its ability to function and report frequently to Haas-Bioroid for repairs and updates.
Illustrated by Tadas Sidlauskas
Decklists with this card

Data and Destiny (dad)

#43 • English
Startup Card Pool
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No rulings yet for this card.

Reviews

Obviously, this card is very important for Adam: Compulsive Hacker, lending him a great deal of early HQ aggression and in faction, turn one multi access. But there is something that really bugs me about it's design: influence cost.

There already exists an HQ multi access card: HQ Interface. It only costs two influence and has no drawbacks. Now, a runner might be inclined to use NAT and deal with the drawbacks of the card if the influence were lower than HQI. But that's not the case. I can't think of any reason why a objectively less powerful card in any other faction would cost more influence to import except for flavor. I'm assuming that was the design choice here: having Bioroid technology and programming in your human brain isn't something you can just peddle off the streets. You need some connections for that, so it costs more influence. Also, it makes it consistent with the influence cost of the other two directives. So unfortunately, what could have been an interesting choice to make in deckbuilding becomes a card you only want in one place. Ever.

Clearly, these mini faction cards are best suited to the Runner's they belong to, but there are a handful of new Runner cards that are great additions to other factions. Unfortunately, Neutralize All Threats is one of those situations where the flavor and the mechanics of a card clash.

(Data and Destiny era)
I would assume part of the balancing for this card is the zero install cost making it a cheaper alternative to the likes of HQ interface. Though I agree that the influence in order to include it in out of faction decks is rather high. —
HQI costs 4, while NAT costs 0 to install. HQI will also not survive rotation, and NAT will. —
The real advantage of Neutralize All Threats is that Adam has it installed before the game even starts. —
I feel making an argument for this card's influence is pointless due to what you mention - flavor. It should have been 4 or 5 if you ask me, if only to make it more exclusive to Adam. Same with Heartbeat and Security Nexus. Having a few 4-5 influence cards for each D&D runner would have enhanced thier unique presence. —
I suppose I didn't think about the install cost. But, NAT is also Unique so you can't stack the effects. I think the point that the influence is rather high still stands. Thanks for the comments. —
There is one other thing about NAT that needs to be considered... it works with HQI. If you have out this and HQI, you get to see all 5 cards. —
I'd just like to point out that this card is absolutely tits when used with Whizzard - as forced trashing does him about nothing. —
Yeah, and the install cost difference is huge for Whizzard. He can plonk this down turn 1 and suddenly have a credible threat against HQ for little to no cost. —

Agreed. Pair this with whizzard and a scrubber, and you have a serious destructo-rig going for the measley cost of 2 credits and 2 clicks. The additional HQ accesses from NAT are not just to increase chances of hitting an agenda in HQ, but also to give Whizzard access to more trash fodder, makin g sure that you're sabotaging the corps assets and upgrades at an alarming rate. Five recurring credits and two HQ acesses per run are going to start seriously grinding through the corps HQ, limiting options, trashing the cards they were planning for next turn and creating disruption in their planning and strategy. Pure anarchy at its finest.

It apparently hasn't been said yet, but this card is absolutely brutal when paired with Gang Sign. Each time the Corp scores an agenda, you get a two card access from HQ, and that's only with ONE Gang Sign. Multiple signs will trigger in succession, each time granting you two accesses with NAT. The 'cost' of trashing the first trashable card you access each turn is negligible, since you're probably playing Criminal or Anarch and subsequently rolling in dough or scrubbing / imping the Corp anyway, respectively. And you really should be trashing any and all corp cards you can in the first place, if for no other reason than to reduce the odds you'll access the same card(s) again.

Also, it costs 0 and, as WayneMcPain points out, is only three influence. I fully expect to see NAT in a Leela Gang Sign deck.

(Data and Destiny era)
25
But if you're playing gang sign leela you can do the same thing with hq interface without spending influence. —
Or you could do both and get a 5-card HQ access with only one gang sign. —

Adam ALWAYS takes this directive. It is that good. Sadly, nobody import it in their deck. Especially now that Docklands Pass is easily available for one influence less, 2 more and an hardware. Maybe Zahya Sadeghi: Versatile Smuggler could use Neutralize All Threats to make a cool 3 when breaching HQ (by a direct run or with Sneakdoor Beta). Otherwise, it is simply not worth it.

With this directive, Adam can control HQ from the start of the game, making Adam a very aggressive runner.

Of course, this pairs well with Sneakdoor Beta, especially since this is a "whenever" ability. Allowing you to (probably) see the whole of HQ in one turn, if you run about three times with Sneakdoor Beta or directly.

The art is nice but I fail to see the relation with neutralizing threats or accessing more cards. At least the name relate to the effect of the card. The quote gives us a good bit of lore about bioroids. Good enough for me.

(Parhelion era)
3864