Salem's Best Kept Secret - Undefeated - 1st Place Birmingham

shanodin 686

This deck confused people. It pretends to be asset spam until too late. You've scored a naked AstroScript Pilot Program, baited them into a Snare!, and they suddenly feel the noose tightening around their neck too late.

It went undefeated all day, including the final. In eight games, I scored a naked agenda about 6 or 7 times. I won one game by scoring an Explode-a-palooza which had been in play since turn 1 with triple advance + astro token.

Bluffing is important in this deck.

I don't have too much to say about it honestly, it's delicious fun. I'll be doing a write up at some point where I'll talk about specific match ups and mistakes, but in terms of card choice I think everything is pretty on point.

12 comments
15 May 2016 Shockeh

Yeeeeessss... Salem's. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessss.... :D

15 May 2016 Wyrm

Congrats =]. But sooooooo much ICE, kappa.

15 May 2016 shanodin

@Wyrmwithout the ice it's harder to bluff :P

15 May 2016 crushedguava

I've played a (very) few games alternating between this (@shanodin's) and @Wyrm's Fiery Inferno version. I thought that this had barely enough assets to trigger NEH's ability every turn, let alone pretend to be asset spam. Ended up with having ICE stuck in hand and trying to go glacier without enough money.

Any thoughts/comments/advice from either of you?

16 May 2016 Wyrm

I don't know about @shanodin's strategy so I'll allow him to speak to that. For FIERY INFERNO, you do not really have a secondary option. Winning a game by scoring is not a viable strategy, so given that this is the case I'm not installing a remote every turn. I'm getting NEH triggers off BN FA, and I'm installing stuff like Shattered Remains/Sensie/Exploda/15 Minute/News Team/Psychic Field. Those they don't really want to check, so it's not so much pretending to be asset spam for me, but making them not want to run my remotes and then maybe hiding a Beale. Short of it at least for me, no need to cry over getting value off your identity. Sometimes your best play turn 1 is ICE Central, Sweeps, Take 1c

16 May 2016 dodgepong

@Wyrm just FYI @shanodin is a she

16 May 2016 Wyrm

@dodgepong, @shanodin Apologies!

16 May 2016 Ilza

Not running Midseasons is an interesting call, and then it makes sense to not run the third Explode-a-palooza. Interns seems like a really interesting slot that makes a lot of sense.

16 May 2016 shanodin

@Ilza Interns actually won me a game - I was able to fetch a Breaking News from archives and score it with an astro token :)

@dodgepong thanks :P

@Wyrm & @crushedguava honestly, as Wyrm said, it's not that important to trigger NEH's ability every turn. It's nice, but there are other ways of drawing cards - Sensie Actors Union does so much work, and in fact I don't mind if the runner trashes it immediately as usually once is enough to find what you need. Bluffing the asset spam (or even just traditional fast advance) is fine in this deck, just install stuff and don't worry. Having plenty of ICE in HQ is great - people like to Legwork or otherwise hassle HQ against NEH , but if your hand is full of ICE cos your agendas are all on the table, then it doesn't matter.

@Wyrm the main way this deck differs from your FIREY INFERNO is that it can score out. Four of my five games in Swiss were scores. People are scared and confused cos they see cards like 24/7 News Cycle or Salem's Hospitality - this deck leverages that to astrotrain.

19 May 2016 SHIEL

I feel like a massive newbie, because I can't figure out how to use Salem's Hospitality. It seems great, but what kind of prescient mind powers do you need to have in order to not only know what to target, but when to play it, so that it doesn't just whiff and be a wasted click?

20 May 2016 Talism

You can use Salem's Hospitality to get rid of cards like I've Had Worse or other problem cards

20 May 2016 shanodin

@Rhaplanca1001 yeah as @Talism said, it's great to get rid of I've Had Worse when you're zeroing in on the kill. You can also take some fairly likely speculative shots with it, like if a Whizzard player keeps their hand you can guess they probably have a Wyldside or a Faust or some other important piece. Vs. a Criminal? Get rid of those pesky Account Siphons! It's a card with a lot of utility, just needs some thought and some practice.