Two to Tango

tiedyedvortex 4801

This is a deck I threw together on a whim and has actually been performing pretty well, so I thought I'd share.

This is a Greenhouse Rush deck. Like all rush decks, the idea is to set up a scoring remote and score out before the runner is able to set up their own rig.

Key features of the build:

  1. Mushin No Shin + Braintrust + Greenhouse. This was a combo I used previously in F is for Flip, but here it is fundamental to the way the deck functions. This lets you score out with 7 advancements, which gives you a permanent 2-credit discount on all future ice rezzes.
  2. Recruiting Trip + Akitaro Watanabe + Midori. Akitaro is there as a backup plan for when you can't find your Braintrusts fast enough. Midori is actually perfect in this deck--once you get to the position where it's free to rez everything, you can swap the ICE in your scoring remote around to keep them out just a little bit longer, or pull off a kill combo.
  3. Chimera. With a two-counter Braintrust or Akitaro behind it, this is a pain in the ass for any runner not using AI.
  4. Wraparound, a pain in the ass for any runner who IS using AI.
  5. Chum. Put it in front of a Cortex Lock, a Chimera, or a Kitsune+Snare! aka the Speedy Snare! Delivery Service. I've seen more than a couple aggressive runners go splat.
  6. Braintrusts, Medical Breakthrough, Philotic Entanglement. Typical Jinteki rush spread.
  7. Eden Fragment. Rezzing ice is free, this makes installing free too. Good secondary Mushin No Shin target.
  8. Clone Retirement. Serves a couple purposes. First, you can disable Valencia's Blackmail. Second, if they get stolen, they make a Philotic Entanglement kill possible. Third, they can be fast advanced out with no help, earning you those last couple points you need.
  9. Biotic Labor. For the end game, when you just need to score one more Braintrust to win.

You will notice there is no Jackson Howard in this deck. I found that he doesn't work well with the rush strategy--reshuffling agendas back into R&D draws the game out, but this deck cannot sustain through a slow game, so you're just delaying the inevitable.

I'm trying to see if I can fit a Fast Track in here somewhere--it's annoying when you have a scoring window but no agendas in hand. I'm pretty happy with it as it is, though. Feel free to try it out and offer suggestions.

8 comments
30 Oct 2015 moistloaf

Have you considered another recruiting and only 1 copy of each sysop? You'd free up a slot for fast track that way. I really like the feasible 7 advance brain trust here, neat idea.

30 Oct 2015 tiedyedvortex

You could, but then you run the risk of getting Akitaro trashed and not having a backup copy. If you get your over scored Braintrust it doesn't matter, but if you have to actually pay for your Chimeras it gets expensive fast.

30 Oct 2015 Number1gun

Have you tried Genetic Resequencing as your one pointer? Could work as a backup to counter for Braintrust

30 Oct 2015 tiedyedvortex

@Number1gun: I did just that in F is for Flip, but that deck was also running Nisei MK II to give Genetic Resequencing another target.

I don't think it works here--if I've overscored a Braintrust, I don't really need a third counter, and the switch from 2/1s to a 3/1s would slow this deck down a lot. And if I haven't scored a Braintrust, then there isn't a good target for the Resequencing.

30 Oct 2015 tenderbranson301

Seems like you could use an advanceable trap like Cerebral Overwriter or Project Junebug or else they'll run on whatever you Mushin No Shin...

30 Oct 2015 gumonshoe

This is an excellent deck.

I commend your efforts in blazing a trail to a world where people accept overadvanced braintrusts as viably competitive.

What's you're win rate vs the tier 1 decks? Seriously considering taking this to worlds.

30 Oct 2015 Rek

@tenderbranson301 I imagine the idea is to rush a Mushin out behind a gearcheck ice.

30 Oct 2015 tiedyedvortex

@Rek is half correct. Yes, I always Mushin+install ice over it. But here's the thing. When an aggressive Jinteki player throws down a Mushin while the score is still 0-0, runners will almost never check it. Would you risk losing the game on a Project Junebug or a Cerebral Overwriter? Especially with a piece of ice in front of it--maybe it's gearcheck, but maybe it's a Cortex Lock, and you'll just die.

So unless you are playing someone who knows for a fact that you aren't running advanceable traps, you can basically guarantee they won't check it if it's behind ice. On more than one occasion I've put a lone Chum in front of it and just used that fear to score it out.

@gumonshoe It's pretty decent, actually, although I haven't tested it against several popular decks so I don't think I can give you an accurate number. My gut feeling is that Faust Noise is probably a pretty good matchup--by the time he's got Wyldside, Adjusted Chronotype, and Faust down you've probably scored out 4 or 5 points, and can use either Biotic Labor or Wraparound to score out.

If someone played my deck at worlds I would be so happy, though, so by all means do some playtesting of your own and see what you think.