Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale 9[credit]

Program: Icebreaker - Killer
Memory: 1 • Strength: 2
Influence: 1

Interface → 1[credit]: Break 1 sentry subroutine.

2[credit]: +1 strength.

When you install this program, choose 1 installed piece of ice.

Whenever you encounter the chosen ice, you may pay 1[credit] for each subroutine it has. If you do, bypass that ice.

Illustrated by Anna Christenson
Decklists with this card

System Core 2019 (sc19)

#36 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Core Set
Revised Core Set
System Core 2019
System Update 2021
Rulings
  • Updated 2023-03-25

    Does Femme Fatale need to match strength to use its bypass ability?

    No, the bypass ability does not have an interface flag, so there is no prerequisite of matching the strength of the encountered ice in order to use that ability.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    Can you use the credits hosted on Cyberfeeder to pay for Femme Fatale’s bypass ability?

    Yes. Since the bypass ability is an optional ability, you are considered to be using the ability. The credits from Cyberfeeder can be spent to pay for the use of that ability.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    When Femme Fatale is reinstalled, can the ice chosen when Femme Fatale was first installed be bypassed with Femme Fatale’s ability?

    No, the choice of ice is only retained for as long as Femme Fatale is installed. When it is uninstalled, the choice is forgotten. When you reinstall Femme Fatale, it can only bypass the ice chosen during its most recent installation.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    When an ice chosen for Femme Fatale's ability is uninstalled, can it be bypassed with Femme Fatale's ability after it has been reinstalled later in the game?

    No. The newly installed ice is a different game object than the originally installed ice. The chosen ice in Femme Fatale’s ability only applies to the original object, which doesn’t exist anymore.

Reviews

Pros

  • her bypass ability makes her very flexible because you can target a non-Sentry
  • her bypass ability also circumvents "when encountered" abilities, so Tollbooth, Data Raven, and Komainu make prime targets.
  • you can also target unrezzed Ice, if you have a strong read on your opponent what kind of ICE he is hiding there.
  • easily splashable with only one influence point.

Cons

  • most expensive breaker in the game as far as installing cost
  • quite expensive to boost her strength
  • Be aware that the corp can "revive" a femmed piece of Ice with Chum. Now you've got to break Chum, if you intend to bypass the Ice without taking Net damage.

Thoughts

  • seems to be a very strong breaker for Shapers. Not only do they have the "weakest" Killers, they have plenty of tools to take advantage of Femme:
    • Test Run allows you to bypass a certain piece of Ice without paying the 9 credits upfront and you can then choose a different target once you install her "for real"
    • Personal Workshop allows you to take advantage of the timing structure as you can install your Femme during a run after an approached piece of ICE gets rezzed
    • With her high pumping, but good breaking cost makes her a prime target for Shapers strength boosting equipment, e.g. a Femme Fatale on a Dinosaurus is a very efficient breaker against most sentries.
  • Could work in an Anarch deck with Personal Workshop to get into a certain central server you want to hammer
(Up and Over era)
223
You can scavenge a femme to choose a new piece of ice with er ability, not a good enough combo to specifically include one in a deck with the other, but if you happen to have both its useful when you really need to change your target server. —
"Be aware that the corp can "revive" a femmed piece of Ice with Chum" —
Is komainu a good target for femme? Its only subs are from its when encountered. As I understand it from the FAQ and other discussions, the 'when encountered' ability triggers but is not resolved because the runner bypasses. So would you not still have to pay for each sub? Or am I missing something and it has no subs so you dont need to pay anything? —
Sorry, found it now. It costs nothing. Its in the FAQ where it answers what happens when chum is unbroken infront of komainu. It doesnt really say why you dont need to pay for each sub, only that it costs 0. —
This is because, like Troll, Komainu has no subs until encountered. Chum doesn't work with ICE without subs aside from adding strength. —

Along with Bukhgalter, Femme Fatale is the second iconic sentry breaker of the game.

Yes, it is the MOST expensive breaker in the game also. Upon installation, it will make an ice trivial to pass. Some ice can remain expensive to pass (Mausolus and Ansel 1.0 would cost 3 and Masvingo can be made way too expensive). But it make some ice worthless (Tollbooth and Funhouse for example).

The best support card for Femme Fatale is Rejig. Allowing you to change its ice placement (or to reinstall it after the corp trashed the ice it was on).

Other good support for its sentry breaking ability are Takobi and Leech. Each point of strength that you lower is essentialy 2 saved, that is good value.

But the fact remain that for the install cost, it is seldom worth it to play (aside from the fact that it cost 1 influence).

Of note, Tāo Salonga: Telepresence Magician can create immense value out of this card, since the ice on which it has been installed can be placed in the most advantageous position.

Don't despair, there are plenty of support for that part.

For shaper, Compile and Test Run will let you use it for cheap. Compile is especially good here, since you need only a single copy of Femme Fatale to be able to bypass for cheap any ice and still be able to break a sentry. This give you something like Inside Job but without the influence cost.

For anarch (and other runner), Retrieval Run will allow you to install it for free. The value here is tremendous!

Fro criminal, there is Credit Kiting, allowing you to get great value out of it also.

As can be seen, using Femme Fatale require you to think more about your deckbuilding decision, since the card need support. But anytime it comes on the board, you'll see the corp eyes pop open and sweat start to drip.

Iconic art, iconic quote, just iconic to the game.

(System Update 2021 era)
4224

I don't think Compile/Femme Fatale works. Compile triggers when you encounter the ice, installing FF. FF's bypass would trigger on encounter, but it's too late by the time it comes into play.

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Compile/Femme only works on a server with multiple ICE; you Compile the Femme on the inside ICE when you encounter the outside ICE. So the combo's like a really bad Spear Phishing.

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