Chronos Tempo Control 1.0

This deck went 4-2 at my local GNK tournament today (I took 1st place). I think the concept of this deck is sound , but does need some tweaking. I'll explain the concepts , and then I'll go into what I would change and what I actually learned about playing Chronos Protocol.

So... this deck is all about tempo and slowing down the runner from being set up in any way. Getting the first net damage off early is extremely important. My most common enablers in the first few turns was either Data Mine or Yagura. Yagura is especially great in Chronos Protocol , as Code Gate breakers are generally installed on a reactionary basis. There are very few code gates that are actually threatening to the runner , and most of them are easy to see coming (Merlin and Victor 1 and 2 come to mind). Yagura ALWAYS fired when it was first rezzed , and that enabled my whole control game.

After seeing the runner's hand for the first time , you should be able to get a sense of what type of deck your opponent is playing. With some experience and intuition , you should be able to plan the remainder of your game fairly well. This is where Targeted Marketing comes in. Disclaimer , you will NEVER get the 10 bucks off of it unless the runner is desperate or reckless. Targeted Marketing is another control card that is meant to deny the runner playing a particular card. There are two types of TM calls. The generalized calls , and the .. umm... Targeted calls.

Generalized calls are like calling SMC/Clone Chip against Shaper , or Special Order against Criminal. These are obvious calls that are meant to slow the runner down , and force them to play in an uncomfortable situation.

Targeted calls are a lot more nuanced. It's purely contextual to what you've seen in their hand. You generally call the card that you left in the runner's hand that would benefit them the most. You cannot EVER think that you're going to get the money off of TM ... you will never. Don't bank on it.

Going on .. You'll want to snipe out a breaker first if you can (or a tutor option of some sort) with your ability. If none are available , then just take away their best setup card. This will slow the runner down just enough for you to do your thing.

But what is your thing ? It's playing faster than the runner can. You want to use a modified supermodernism approach. Push out agendas ASAP behind some ETR ice. The ETR ice on the remote doesn't have to be cheap , it just has to ETR. Your central ice is cheap enough that you can afford having solid ice on a remote. Your first piece of solid ice (Tollboth/Wall of Thorns) always goes on the remote. After that , play contextually.

Ichi and Rototurret are there for Batty. Ichi is also just great ice in general. Too many runners just drop a mimic/chameleon (side note... Targeted Marketing is FANTASTIC against chameleon decks) and think they're fine. Ichi will ruin that bad habit. Ichi is also good against faust decks , as it's 3-4 cards each time through. Rototurret is there for obvious reasons.

Data Mine ... yeah.. it's actually pretty good in this deck. It's good bluff ice , fine ice to throw down in the midgame , and ice to throw down just to cherry pick a card when you want. I'm not sure I'd run 3 anymore though . There were a lot of times I wished that the Data Mine was another Yagura or some form of ETR. 2 Seems like the number I'd go with.

Quicksand.. oh this card is great... unless they have an instant speed way to parasite it. But I'll trade my 3 dollars for their 2 and a clone chip. Fine trade with me , considering I'm cherry picking their hand the whole game. That's one less clone chip they have to get back a value program that I might have hit with damage. I feel the same way with Yagura as well. I'll trade that for a parasite. I don't like my Rototurrets getting blown up though , but no deck is perfect ,eh ?

Hokusai is a good money swing. Hokusai was always a solid card , but it's even better when you pick the damage. Try it in CP , you'll be impressed with it.

I think this deck is on the right track , but isn't quite there yet. I would definitely change the Data Mines. Go down to two , or maybe even one and up Yagura to 3. I'd also love to have 3 Jacksons , and I do feel that 3 TMs is too much. So change a TM to a Jackson. Squeezing in a 3rd Caprice is tough , but she's invaluable as we all know. I'd probably drop a Hokusai Grid for a 3rd Caprice and see how that feels. Early Hokusai is such a good tempo swing though.

Finding a way to slot in more economy would also be great. Fast money would be best. Maybe Medical Research Fundraiser ? Maybe Restructure ? Melange ? Something to test out and find room for.

tl;dr :

This deck is a sound concept. You take away all their good stuff , and play fast until they get other good stuff. Then you blow up their good stuff with batty and try and win the game. Changes would be :

-1 Data Mine , -1 Targeted Marketing , -1 Hokusai Grid ; +1 Yagura , +1 Jackson , +1 Caprice.

Find a way to add more money in.