TWIY Astrobiotics

Lysander 1035

Foreward: I'll be honest, this deck is dumb. If you want to have fun with quirky shenanigans, this isn't for you. Astrobiotics is a quintessential Spike deck. My opponents have left once they see what I'm doing, they've flamed how much of a bore it is, and I've scared away a couple of new players (sorry! I do always put [Adv] in my OCTGN room :/). This deck has an extremely hard time losing.

I've spent months analyzing TWIY trying to figure out how to unlock its true potential. Many conclusions I've drawn won't be new to many (Biotic Laboring a Astroscript is teh shit), but many I haven't seen reflected as much as I think should. Anyways, let's begin.

Firstly, I'm going to make a bold claim: TWIY improves as the deck approaches 40 cards. TWIY is all about consistency and speed - the more you fine-tune both, the better your deck becomes (even if only marginally - it adds up). There's nothing worse than spending half your game drawing without seeing an Astroscript or fast advance tool

Now, as many of you are aware, cutting to 40 cards increases your agenda density and you lack the deckspace needed to incorporate ice, econ, and the tools you need, causing some opening hands to lose the game for you. Anonymous Tip was designed for TWIY. Running three of them, you have a 40% chance of starting with one, granting you an eight-card starting hand. Anonymous Tip provides opening flexibility - its deckslot functions not only as a draw accelerator, but also as either ice or economy since it gives you a second opportunity in a bad opening hand. This Andromeda-like effect all but eliminated bad openings in this deck (too bad it doesn't come with an improved mulligan).

So what constitutes a good opening hand? Here are cards to mulligan for (in order):

  1. Biotic Labor
  2. Astroscript Pilot Program
  3. Ice #1
  4. Anonymous Tip
  5. Econ #1
  6. Ice #2
  7. SanSan City Grid (moves up vs Gabe)

Your one and only objective is to get that Astrochain rollin'. If you have a Beale in HQ and don't suspect Siphon, leave it undefended. If that Beale is an Astroscript, protect it (I swear, the fact tihs deck exists angers the Gods of luck). Biotic Labor is the most sure-fire way to score your first Astroscript (and allows an alternate scoring method if your Astros get stolen), at only 5c if you use SfSS (which is also helpful against denial decks such as Reina or Gabe). I would not recommend switching SfSS for Subliminal Messaging or Restructure, as it greatly increasses your scoring window - something that I think has been undervalued.

And that's right, no Jackson. Every time he showed in an opening hand, I was disappointed. I'll consider re-adding him if Noise gets the help he needs (never thought I'd be saying that). Data Raven is here because TWIY Scorch decks put the fear of God into runners, so they either never run that server again, find methods of bypassing it, or they run much more slowly and remove the tags. Very rarely have I encountered a runner willing to eat the tags without digging for a Plascrete first. I do however, intend to switch it for the spoiled Sentry ETR that can't be bypassed, and swapping Enigmas for Quandry.

This deck, if piloted properly without the worst possible draws, keeps the runner at phase two of the game (ice is out, but runner is still searching for breakers). My average game length is 8-11 turns, with about 10 cards left in R&D. Good luck with it!

48 comments
9 Mar 2014 ZiNOS

The lack of comments is deafening, the deck is good though, really good.

GJ.

9 Mar 2014 Lysander

Thanks! My guess is that people are commenting about it on my BGG thread? Though I'm more than happy to talk about it here.

9 Mar 2014 Lysander

Thanks! My guess is that people are commenting about it on my BGG thread? Though I'm more than happy to talk about it here.

9 Mar 2014 TheRyanBurke

Any replays on youtube? I'm shocked this deck has enough money to fund Biotic or SanSan with just 6 operations as economy.

9 Mar 2014 Lysander

No, I don't have the processing power to record, sadly. 6 econ doesn't seem like enough, but with how fast this deck draws and its small size, it's been plenty. If you need to click for money (typically in games where you haven't seen your econ unless you've rezzed too many ice) draw instead to find your econ. Pop-Ups are a valid consideration as well.

9 Mar 2014 tavocado

I'm playing a very similar deck with a couple of Jacksons to get Agendas out of my hand and recycle my operation economy. Also Popup/Paper Wall + RSVP works quite nicely.

A lot of the time I find I just need to use the biotics + astro script. I use the city grids to bate the runner and make them spend the credits to trash it. Also 3x Shipment from SanSan meaning I can still score agendas even after an account syphon.

I've had some bad experiences against Keyhole but other than that it's a solid deck.

9 Mar 2014 weepinggorilla

Brutal, I never want to play against this stuff. Any good stories about how runners have been able to outpace this deck? Nice call with the bluffing tag n bag, love it.

9 Mar 2014 Lysander

My favorite recent game was against a Reina Roja deck all-in on Account Siphon and increasing rez costs/splashing de-rez. It took a minute for her to get set up, so I was able to score two Astroscripts and keep their tokens. Then I got siphoned, putting me at zero. Next turn I scored a Profiteering out of hand thanks to Shipment from SanSan and an Astroscript token, so I elected to gain 10c. Later I sacrificed that Profiteering to an Archer on HQ to blow up her rig, and the rest is history. Still, it was an exhilarating match.

9 Mar 2014 x3r0h0ur

Doesn't this deck just die pretty hard against shaper or knight criminal?

9 Mar 2014 Lysander

Nope, Shaper takes far too long to set up and it's easy to counter Knight.

9 Mar 2014 ZiNOS

Played more games with the deck, against Knight Gabe. The game where he got his siphon in early and kept on siphoning me was lost. 3 other games where I managed to score an astroscript, I won. Astro is the most vital card in the deck. If you score it, keep on the pressure, you will probably win eventually.

Knight Gabe is strong but the thing is to get the first siphon in. If this does not happen early, or you get money, then the things get easier for you.

10 Mar 2014 quizoid

Whoot! This deck won the Atomic Goblin Store Championship in Longmont on 3/9/14.

10 Mar 2014 Heartthrob

Reina Roja deck all-in on Account Siphon and increasing rez costs/splashing de-fez

@Lysander, I'd actually like to see that deck as well. What was in that?

10 Mar 2014 Lysander

No idea on specifics, but it was pretty standard: 3 Account Siphon, 3 SOT, 3 Crescentus, Xanadu, Rook, Darwin. It was too slow and inconsistent to be competitive.

Also congrats to the winner of that tournament!

10 Mar 2014 Lysander

@quizoid I'd actually love to see a tournament recap or the winner's decklists if they're public anywhere!

10 Mar 2014 db0

How do you deal with decks that run The Source?

10 Mar 2014 Lysander

Great question. Simply place a Breaking News naked on the table. Either the runner scores it or you do next turn. Regardless of the outcome, The Source will be trashed. Plus it can't stay out if the runner wants to run through the Data Ravens.

10 Mar 2014 Cephiros

Assuming you take out Data raven because of your meta. Do you advocate NAPD Contract replacing Market Research. You'll only be able to score it if you don't have any BP from profiteering in most cases.

10 Mar 2014 Lysander

Yes, the three foreseeable changes I want to make are Enigma for Quandary, Market Research for NAPD Contact, and that 4/2 sentry ETR that can't be bypassed for Data Ravens.

10 Mar 2014 Diegofsv

This deck is so good that sucks. My god, I will play this for sure. Will probably try to add Panic Button as single defense agains Account Siphon.

11 Mar 2014 Ber

What's the deal with Chimera in this deck? Is it just there as an option to score an Agenda behind early game?

11 Mar 2014 Lysander

Pretty much. I'm not absolutely crazy about them, but my in-faction ice choices are limited and it isn't terrible since it at least synergizes with Archer/Rototurret.

11 Mar 2014 yeoda

I really like this. I've always been a fan of the 40 min decks for both runners/corps. So I've been playing with this ID. What do you think of harmony medtech/silhouette??

11 Mar 2014 Lysander

I'm pretty damn sure Medtech will be the best ID in the deluxe expansion, and as Jinteki is my primary faction, I intend to test all archetypes among all IDs quite extensively.

I like Silhouette, but I fear her ability lacking any advantage in tempo will cause her to lose momentum relatively early on.

12 Mar 2014 Heartthrob

Shoot @Lysander, last night @AKAnderson and I built this to test it against various runners and we couldn't beat any aggro account siphon decks with it, or a Kit/Cypher deck. Maybe we just aren't understanding the rules of engagement with this type of strategy.

What are your opening moves and how long will you try to draw into your Astros before it's dangerous? Keeping Gabe and Knight Whizzard out of HQ for more than one turn seemed very difficult with this deck.

I have a feeling we just aren't used to this deck's play-style and we're much more adept at playing the runners we faced it up with...IDK

12 Mar 2014 omegalife2002

Similar issues as Heartthrob above. Played this deck 4 times last night and lost 3. Played against a Noise mill deck (Won 1, lost 1) and against a fast Kate deck with parasites and fixed breakers/datasuckers (Lost both). Every single game I was flooded with agendas that I could not get out safely. Only 1 of the 4 games did I see the Biotic Labor's and then I was too poor to use it. I mulliganed for the Astro/Biotic every time and it didn't work. Even the game I won was a last minute mistake by the runner to hit R&D instead of HQ (5 agendas in hand).

My honest opinion after playing: too small for how many agendas are in this deck. And maybe my meta (Seattle) is just to used to FA to give me any time to deal with this many agendas coming into HQ. Bah, it was honestly depressing. I LOVE the idea, but I think it needs 4 more cards, either ICE or money.

12 Mar 2014 CodeMarvelous

After several playtests this deck requires a lot of luck to win with and you either super win or super lose. and if you get a bad opening hand its more often than not super lose the ice evaporates.

13 Mar 2014 Freeman 1.0

I like play NBN sice I have started playing Netrunner and I love TWIY* but I think only 40 cards is too little conmparacion with agenda's density. I think 42 is a middle ground between the 40 and 44 (and also is the meaning of the universe XD)

IMO, I would change: -2 Data Raven +2Toollbox -1Archer -2Rototurret +3Grim -1SanSan City Grid +1 Biotic Labours Add -> +2 Jackson Howard

With 3 Botic you have more likely see one at the beginning, and also is more cheap than SSCG

Grim makes the same impact as archer and rototurret... destroy the breacker you want to win more time.

Finally, 42 card allow you to include 2 Jackson that save your ass without lossing the speed Anonymous Trip gives you

13 Mar 2014 Lysander

If you lose with this deck, you are not being aggressive enough. Whizzard/Gabe need a Knight and Siphon first turn to succeed, and even then you can trash the hosted ice and re-ice HQ. Plus SanSan City Grid mitigates Siphon as well if rezzed mid-run.

This deck forc

13 Mar 2014 Lysander

This deck forces players to learn about timing windows in regards to when to score, how long to sit on economic operations (hint, sit on a Sweeps Week if you expect an impending Siphon), and when not to rez ice.

13 Mar 2014 Lysander

This deck forces players to learn about timing windows in regards to when to score, how long to sit on economic operations (hint, sit on a Sweeps Week if you expect an impending Siphon), and when not to rez ice.

13 Mar 2014 DubiousYak

Anybody have a video of playing this deck successfully? That might help out.

14 Mar 2014 Lysander

I'll see what I can do about posting a video by Tuesday or so. No promises though, I'm relatively unfamiliar with the recording and editing process and I'm not certain my computer can handle it anyways.

15 Mar 2014 Heartthrob

Account Siphon and R&D pressure own this deck unless they are afraid of scorched...which they aren't after they see the first biotic in HQ. We have had people testing this a bunch and it is wildly inconsistent and susceptible to parasites, SMC decks that can grab any breaker and all aggro decks really. IDK, in practice we couldn't get wins in more than 1 in 4 games...

15 Mar 2014 Lysander

I really don't know what to tell you other than I'll fervently try to get a video recorded and uploaded.

This deck has won four different store championships (congrats guys!) and I think that says more for this deck than I ever can.

16 Mar 2014 ZiNOS

However silly or simple the deck might seem, i always catch myself making wrong moves that actually cost me the game. There are various plays with San San rezed and one Astro open. Just take your time and consider all the possible moves. Keep in mind that you can always score a 3 cost agenda in only two cliks (install and advance) if you have a san san rezed and an Astro counter. Imagine having only 1 credit, playing and rezing Profiteering for 15 creds and spend the creds on double biotic to score the next agenda and win. Situations like these come all the time if you have the first Astro down, the priority of this deck!

16 Mar 2014 ZiNOS

@Hearrhtob, Account siphon and RnD pressure own pretty much any deck IMHO.

16 Mar 2014 Heartthrob

I meant Account Siphon and RnD pressure as two separate strategies, not one that does both. And I don't think they own every deck. NBN tag decks fend off account siphon nicely.

17 Mar 2014 db0

Only one solution here. Those people who claim it's inconsistent just too weak should play Lysander piloting this deck on OCTGN ;)

25 Mar 2014 yeoda

Lysander, I know quandary probably made it into your deck. What about corporate shuffle?

8 Apr 2014 Heartthrob

Lysander, my comments were premature. This deck is very formidable, I now pilot two versions of it and it consistently does well. Very nice. I do like Quandry in this deck now...

16 Apr 2014 kephalopode

Why is sansan more important for the starting hand against gabe than against other runners? Is it to get the agendas out of hand earlier because of sneakdoor?

25 Apr 2014 lajcik

It's because you can rez SanSan in response to a siphon and not lose credits while creating an opportunity to score from hand on your turn

15 May 2014 voltorocks

I love bringing this deck to events, takes so many people completely unaware when it goes from 0-7 in like 2-3 turns. One major caveat: don't bother with this deck against your friends or regular playgroup. It relies heavily (in my experience) on the surprise effect; for example, players who know your strategy and know you don't have any real tag punisment will fly through your ice and either strip your hand, R&D lock, or both.

TLDR: great deck for one-off games, don't expect to win a second game against that player though.

29 Jan 2015 Fl3xbyts

I have been looking for a rush deck to try out; MAN I LOVE THIS DECK! I played 4 games with it tonight, and won 3 of them. I lost the one game because I did not secure my R&D early, and they scored three consecutive agendas. Interestingly, I have yet to play SanSan City Grid; it either sits in my hand or ends up in my discard pile. Amazing deck @Lysander! Thank you for sharing it.

Any other suggestions for decks to check out if we like rush-style decks, like this one?

29 Jan 2015 Fl3xbyts

@Lysander, I am thinking of removing the single Market Research and change it to either a piece of ICE or an economy card.

That way, it lowers the agenda density (exactly 1/4 of the deck will be agendas), and that extra piece of ICE can be used to better defend central servers that are oftentimes under attack early turns.

Thoughts...?

29 Jan 2015 Fl3xbyts

One last thing... :P How have games been for you since swapping in Quandary, Guard and NAPD Contract?

29 Jan 2015 voltorocks

@Fl3xbyts this deck is pretty ancient at this point (last post was like 8 months ago, almost a year for the OP)...

obviously a lot of these NBN tricks never really get "bad" --indeed, there is a reason they've been one of the winningest factions for a long, long time-- but better ones do come along, and I think NEH just does the rush deck better than TWIY.

There's still a place for this ID, check out netrunnerdb.com for a great example, but I just can't see justifying this ID in a rush deck with 5 less influence and a wholly inferior ID ability.