Iain Sterling - Criminal Network v1

TonganJedi 67

The impetus of this deck was the desire to find a play style that was different from the usual Criminal style--hard-charging from the get-go, but losing steam in the late-game. Iain's style seems to be slow-but-steady-wins-the-race.

A combination of Iain's core ability and multiple resources form the bulk of this deck's economy. Rabbit Holes and Borrowed Satellites ensure that Underworld Contacts (a.k.a "dirty money") are providing credits early while also enabling a larger hand size. Only five of 40 cards costs more than three credits (18 only cost zero or one!), so a drip economy should be more effective.

Because of the large number of resources, tag defense is critical. The high link provided by the Holes and Satellites is coupled with Decoys, New Angeles City Hall, and Compromised Employees. Should the Corp manage to land tags, Crash Space and Fall Guy are there to help mitigate the damage and provide econ in the form of free tag removal.

Burst economy is provided by Calling In Favors. With 17 connection resources in the deck, even if you only have half of them installed, CIF should provide significant credits for late-game runs and keep the runner from stalling. Emergency Shutdown provides a counter to expensive ICE that might otherwise slow you down.

This deck is also different from most Criminal decks in that it is light on Events. Donut Taganes is included to capitalize on that by providing a small, but steady drain on the Corp's burst economy. He can be trashed in the late-game when you're setup and ready to unleash CIF.

Get your network of connections in place as quickly as possible. Use Hostage to get Professional Contacts, Kati Jones, and Donut into play early. With only one copy of each Criminal breaker, you'll need to be mindful where/when you run. Cripsis provides a backup in case you need to run a remote or you lose a primary breaker.

Remember: slow, but steady -- like drinking a glass of scotch. Savor the experience.

7 comments
4 May 2014 Thike

With so many one-ofs and only 3 Hostages, I feel like Same Old Thing would be a big boon. Even only 2 copies would work. Sure, Logos can help, but you could also use it for more Calling in Favors, too.

4 May 2014 accless

The Helpful AI might be a good addition as well. It gives you a link and is tutorable with Hostage. It makes Underworld contact more reliable.

4 May 2014 Hoywolf

Why do you use those breakers as your breaker suite, the new central server only?

5 May 2014 TonganJedi

Thike: Same Old thing was included in my initial build, but it used up too much space that I wanted to reserve for as many connection resources as possible, if only to make CIF more potent in the mid- and late-game. I also wanted to break the mold and move away from reliance on events.

5 May 2014 TonganJedi

accless: I considered The Helpful AI for quite a while. Because it only gives one link for the cost of two influence, two Rabbit Holes seemed the more efficient choice, plus they can both be played at once which saves a click as well. Hostage is there to tutor the base econ cards. Frankly I'm still considering it, possibly replacing Donut with it if Donut turns out not to have a measurable impact on Corp operations (or ends up being more of a hindrance to my events than I'd like).

5 May 2014 TonganJedi

Hoywolf: Due to the dearth of influence with this identity, breakers that are reasonably efficient and in-faction seemed to be the way to go. This suite allows you to focus on the centrals, keeping a low, steady pressure on them, especially in the mid-game when the bulk of your network is in place (and, hopefully, the steady stream of credits is flowing).

6 May 2014 TheRyanBurke

[Donut] can be trashed in the late-game

How?

Why go Rabbit Hole / Satellite over Access to Global Sec? Save money and influence.

Don't underestimate Logos. It's an incredibly powerful and synergistic card with Stirling. I would go 3x Logos in Stirling.