Ninja Macaroni 1.1

pastorn 30

Here are some thoughts on how to play this deck and motivations behind the choices made.

Replicator

Try to get a Replicator out as soon as possible. After that, play a cheap hardware to get another copy of it (most are 2x). Not to quickly though! You want to use Macs ability each turn. For anyone unfamiliar with Replicator, you'll only want to draw cards when you know it won't be any hardware already in play. Having a Replicator out will save you around 8 clicks when building this rig.

Breakers

Switchblade is chosen over Dagger because the sentries I usually run in to have more than one subroutine (Grim being the exception). 2x Silencer, 2x Cloak and 3 x Ghost runner should be enough stealth credits to beat even the nastiest of Jinteki servers. So Switchblade, Deus X and 3x Clone Chip should be able to deal with most stuff any corp will throw at you. Corroder is chosen primarily because it's very cheap, so getting it out will be easy.

Economy

Some have suggested to switch out Armitage Codebusting for Professional Contacts. That's a terrible idea! Most of this deck is build around lots of cheap cards that quickly builds up a powerful rig. Aesop's Pornshop is at the center of the economy. Sell everything and your mum to him! Not only does he synnergise well with both Daily Casts and Armitage Codebusting, you should also have no qualms about selling Ghost Runners when they have just one credit left on them. The 2x Lab Acces will make them come back. Selling Clone Chips is also not uncommon.

Multi-Access

With 3 x Self-modifying Code you should be able to get either Medium or Nerve Agent out pretty easily (shouldn't be a memory problem either). The viruses are chosen above other cards because of economical and space reasons. Medium requires one card and 2/3 credits (+2 with SMC, so usually 4/5). 3x RDI Interface will require 9/12 credits and two clicks more to get out - a huge hit! Getting 3-4 successful runs in a turn shouldn't be that troublesome once all the recuring stealth credits are available.

Console

With a Replicator and the pornshop out you should sell Astrolabe the turn after installing it and install the one in your hand. That's 3 credits for one click, very much worth it.

Lack of Diesel

Had to remove 3x Diesel. That sucked. It was needed to make room for 2x Tinkering and 1x Escher. Without Tinkering I have no good way of breaking a Curtain Wall. And if the corp starts stacking same type ICE I need Escher to fix that.

4 comments
22 Nov 2014 desertfox42

Removing Diesel makes sense since you already accelerate your deck with Replicator.

You're right that the deck struggles against Curtain Wall, but going up to 47 cards hurts your consistency for getting replicator out.

The more I think about Tinkering, the more I like that choice.

  • Early game pseudo Inside Job against rush decks. (not vital, but could save a SelfMod for the nerve/medium later on)
  • Helps counter Curtain Wall alongside switchblade/stealth creds.
  • Can save you stealth credits throughout the game against awkward strength ice
  • Late game ace-in-the-hole since its effect is until end of turn (tinker, 3x medium/nerve agent)

Escher/SoT would be nice, but I think consistency in getting Replicator out is more important to the game plan.

-1 Escher, -1 SoT, and Tinker away, my friend.

23 Nov 2014 pastorn

Okay, so the tournament is now over. I got 4th place of 11 players. First two rounds went well. I beat Jinteki (RP with Fetal AI instead of Nisei MK II + Snare! & Shock!), Jinteki (PE but with the standard RP agendas) and Weyland (Accelerated Diagnostics shenanigans). Then I lost twice to Blue Sun :(

Okay, so this is what I learned today:

I never want to use Armitage Codebusting to get money. The only reason to grab money from it is so that I can sell it to Aesop's Pawnshop. Two subsequent turns usually looks like this:

  • 1:1 Install a piece of hardware, get a second copy.
  • 1:2 Draw a card
  • 1:3 Draw a card
  • 1:4 install something (usually a resource or SMC)
  • 2:1 Install copy #2 of last turns hardware
  • 2:2 Draw a card
  • 2:3 Draw a card
  • 2:4 Install something else

Sure, if I have the first copy of any piece of hardware in my hand I'll always try to install to avoid accidentically drawing it again.

This pattern leads me to the following change:

Since most of my cards are installed for free, and I usually draw 1-2 cards per turn, this change makes perfect sense. I'll have to try this to see what happends.

As for Tinkering, that card got me close to a win against a Blue Sun. I played a double Tinkering and ran a remote to steal the agenda. Pretty great. But a turn later another agenda gor placed there, threatening to score. I had to play Lab Access in order to draw Tinkering again, but no such luck :/

The best win of the day was hands down against AD Weyland. He threatened with a score of an agenda which would lead him to the win. The remote it was in had 3 ICE. One Archer and one Grim. I didn't have the 4 stealth credits needed to switchblade through that. So I played Escher and moved a Hive with no subroutines and a Quandary (both at the time protecting HQ) to that server. Then I ran, paying only with recurring credits and won the game :D


Having 2 x Lab Access was probably overkill. I only played it one time today, and that wasn't as nessecary. So next time I'm playing only one. And with only one Same Old Thing will have to stay.

24 Nov 2014 desertfox42

If you feel like your economy can handle it, you could maybe try -3 armitage +3 diesel. Am I just crazy?

24 Nov 2014 pastorn

Maybe not. But that will take me down a few economy cards. Right now I'm at 14, but 3x Diesel makes me get to those 11 remaining cards much faster...