Toy Department Blue Sun

rubyvr00m 882

The idea was simple:

Take Hydra AgInfusion and combine it with Bootcamp Glacier.

The result isn't perfect and you definitely miss having better defensive agendas like MKII and Obokata, but I think the deck is interesting, so I decided to share it. If you like playing something a bit different, I think you'll find something to enjoy here.

Agendas

Nothing too crazy here, just standard Weyland score 7 points package with fairly low density.

Assets

As in Hydra, Tech Startups let you conveniently pull any of your 1-ofs.

Toy Box let's you rez big ICE for free. It almost makes you forget how much better the deck would probably be with Oversight AI. It also allows you to ignore additional costs on ICE like Archer, meaning you don't have to forfeit an agenda to rez it.

Marilyn Campaign actually does a lot here. For one, most runners won't bother trashing a rezzed one, much less so if it's behind a piece of ICE, but beyond just giving reasonable economy on it's own, you get to pick it up after it's dripped 6 bucks and reinstall it. Other times you can overwrite it to proc an R&D Shuffle. Pretty cool.

IT Department is basically the card that defines the ICE suite and let's you lock out the late game. Obviously you have to watch out for answers (Bypass Effects, D4v1d, Pol Op, etc.), but when played correctly it really makes the deck sing. The Crisium Grid is mostly to support IT Dept. and will normally go on HQ to prevent PolOp and Maxwell James proc.

Public Support can help you close on a scoring plan with 3 2 pointers, but it can also be sacked to rez Archer in a pinch.

Mills clears BP from Hostile Takeover or things like Mining Accident/Valencia.

Whampoa keeps you from flooding up if you commit to the IT Dept. late game plan.

Blacklist punishes Anarchs for trashing all their breakers.

Operations

Money and Recursion, about all you have room for.

ICE

The ICE suite is designed so that almost none of it can be bounced off of without consequence. The only exception being Hive because it's so good for setting up your assets in the early game. Avoid leaving them on the outside of R&D or HQ, lest you give your opponent free Turning Wheel counters.

For most of the ICE, the most important thing is having a nasty sub like a trash program along with an ETR. Not only does this make face checking extremely risky, but it makes almost all of your ICE a valid IT Dept. target. Obviously, Tithonium is a primary target as in Hydra, but Weyland also has access to some other great ICE for the job including Archer and Orion. Pump the strength out of range and watch your opponent groan as they lose important cards.

Other Cards Worth Considering

Navi Mumbai City Grid, Corporate Town, MCA Austerity Policy, Jeeves Model Bioroids, Tribunal, Hailstorm

5 comments
13 Dec 2017 Pinkwarrior

Have you thought about trying Armored Servers as a fill in for the Nisei MK2 slot?

13 Dec 2017 Pinkwarrior

Have you thought about Armored Servers as a fill in for the Nisei MKII slot?

13 Dec 2017 rubyvr00m

I considered it, and it might be worth trying. I was really concerned about having money though, cause it can be tough to defend an IT Dept. and score at the same time.

14 Dec 2017 ANRguybrush

Yeah I had the exact same idea before rotation, but I couldn't make it work because people kept pestering me with Estrike and Parasifr.

Plus IT department can lead to very onesided sluggish games.

Have you thought about MCA austerity policy?

14 Dec 2017 rubyvr00m

I considered Austerity Policy, but influence seems pretty tight, and I don't know that it gets you quite as much value here as it would in hydra (where scoring an MKII from hand can be game winning). Still, it's a tutorable, high-impact asset, so it obviously fits if you can find room for it.

You're right about ITD making for long sluggish games though, I had a game the other night on JNET that I actually had to concede because it was on the 35th turn and I was running late for something. I'm fairly sure I could have won that one, cause I was up 5-2 and had the ITD rolling along nicely (somewhere around 10 counters against conspiracy breakers -- good luck).

I'm not sure I would take this deck to a tournament just because it's so slow, but I actually think it's fairly strong and might be worth considering if time weren't a factor.