Dummy Box

Dummy Box 1[credit]

Resource: Virtual
Influence: 2

Trash a card from your grip: Prevent an installed card of the same type from being trashed by the Corp.

"Aptly named." -g00ru
Illustrated by A. Jones
Decklists with this card

Crimson Dust (cd)

#108 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Crimson Dust
Rulings
  • Updated 2024-04-05

    ANCUR UFAQ [Michael Boggs]

    If the Corp trashes a NetChip hosting a program, can the Runner trash a program from grip to use Dummy Box to save the hosted program?

    No. The program hosted on NetChip is trashed by the hosting rules and not by the Corp. Trashing hosted cards when the host is uninstalled cannot be prevented.

    If the first subroutine on Conundrum resolves, can the Runner use Dummy Box to save the chosen program?

    No. Conundrum instructs the Runner to trash a program, not the Corp.

Reviews

Dummy Box is essentially a huge middle finger to Skorpios. One thing they like to do is Best Defense one of your Sacrificial Constructs, because it has a play cost of zero credits, followed up by a Hunter Seeker to trash and remove your programs from the game. Dummy Box says "bollocks" to that by costing 1 credit, so it is not susceptible to the same line of play.

But even when not facing Skorpios, this card is extremely versatile. Got all your breakers installed and have a spare SMC or Magnum Opus in hand? Keep your programs safe from cards like Ichi 2.0 or Tithonium! Corp is trying to use Voter Intimidation to trash a highly valued resource like Beth or Film Critic? Trash a resource you don't need from your hand and you have Fall Guy for days!

Does that make it worth a place in your deck? Eeeeeeh, possibly? If you expect a lot of Skorpios, this is definitely a solid include and if you like to play safe, one Dummy Box never hurts. But I would not say it is a must include in most circumstances. 2 influence is also enough to make non-shapers think twice about including this, especially since deck spaces are super tight. Also, since this is a resource, it is not very good at protecting your resources if you have trouble shaking tags or plan on being tagged. Wireless Net Pavilion might be better in this case.

One more thing to keep in mind is that Dummy Box does not help you protect Clot, Tapwrm or other viruses when the corp purges. Counter-intuitively, the runner is actually the one who trashes cards from a purge, while Dummy Box clearly states the corp has to be the one to trash something.

(Crimson Dust era)
1948
To add on top of this, it prevents tagged resource trashing, protecting itself and other resources. So it's amazing versus rigshooter (mostly Skorp) and useful against taggers. And if you're going Tag-me, it's very strong. The only problem is the 2 influence versus 1 influence for Fall Guy. —
Fall guy and Net Pavilion are definitely better for those types of decks. Or just play with as little resources as possible. All seeing I is a card. —
Wireless Net Pavilion works just as well with Dummy Box as it does with Fall Guy, and if you're hoarding cards in hand with Obelus, Dummy Box becomes a nightmare to deal with. As for All-Seeing I, just play as Valencia for the bad pub. —
That is an extremely specific case. —