The Not-So-Subtle Spy

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. I've often locked down access to servers, but mostly been waiting for something to score. Legwork is great, but I'd love some R&D dig. 1x R&D interface might be enough, but influence is eternally tight with Mr. Stirling.

I like this, been working on something similar. Here's what I'd do:

• Ditch the Garrote, its efficiency is a myth (and will cause you memory issues, since you're also running MorningStar). Compare to Femme, especially since you're running Datasuckers and have Crypsis as a backup. Probably replace with another Femme
• Drop a Dyson, two is plenty (you have Mr. Li filtering)
• Drop a Legwork, you won't need more than two per game
• Drop a Bank Job, it's a dead card in too many matchups. If it isn't, two is plenty
• Add a Plascrete, everyone has valid reasons to run Scorch these days (Cerebral Casts!). You might not have an opportunity to tutor it with Logos
• I'd probably drop one Siphon, because you're resource-dependent and thus can't tag-float. You can always tutor for it, draw-filter for it, and we're looking for space for SoT here - those can be Siphons if super-necessary. Also plays better with the two Lawyer-Ups you have

All this space could become SoTs and some central-only breakers. That way, you get both redundancy and early speed.

Oh, and I'd ditch the Easy Marks completely. That way, you can fit in both a full set of SoTs and a full set of the central breakers, just in case.

(damn, sorry for triple-posting)

Since you're already running a full set of Hostages, I'd consider running 1x Decoy, instead of the third SoT. In some matchups you still need a Carapace, but sometimes a Decoy is completely fine, even preferrable.

If you wanted e3, I'd consider adding it instead of the second Security Testing. ST is mostly tech against shock-filled Archives, e3 is tech against Bioroid spam. You usually won't find both in the same match (except for maybe Eli and Ichi, which are solved by Morning Star and Alias, respectively).

Thanks for the feedback, @PeekaySK. A lot of good stuff to work with. You're completely right on the Bank Job, Plascrete and Security Testing fronts. Central-only breakers are a nice idea for redundancy and rush. Hostage is usually reserved for Mr. Li and UC, but Decoy might be a good idea. I'll test it out.

l'm not sure I agree with you about Garrote v Femme. Another Femme might be a good idea -- 3x Tollbooth is my nemesis -- but most of the stuff I'm afraid of, like the Ichis, Archer, and Grim, is noticeably cheaper with Garrote. It's also the reason why I want 3x Dyson. 1x gets my Underworld Contacts going, and allows for a full rig with Logos. After that, the extra memory is offering more Femmes, a Crypsis backup, or more Datasuckers. Nothing bad. Besides, I don't want to risk using tutors for memory on top of breakers and econ. As I write this, I realize that Alias is basically just as efficient as Garrote. I guess I'll swap those two, and see how it goes.

I might test 2x AC, as it has occasionally been dead weight, but I really like having it available often. I don't necessarily tag float, but I'm willing to leave them up for a turn if it gets me an agenda. If I lose Mr. Li and an UC halfway through the game, it's not the end of the world. Whether I'm using it as burst to pay for Morning Star, denial, or just forcing them to rez ICE on HQ to see what I should install before playing Legwork, it's a great tool. Again, as I write I realize I'm trying to find SoT room, so I'll make that change.

Easy Mark is great econ before everything else is set up, IE: when Iain really needs it. I really smooths out the credit curve if I can't get a Bank Job off or AS my way to start up money. I'll give it a try, though. If I change up to a more fluid set with these extra breakers, it may be less necessary.

Do you have your list available anywhere? I'd love to take a look.

Iain Big Rig looks niiiice. I've been mentally tinkering with something like this. I think it's time to play with netrunnerdb's new "derived from" feature.

@Thike well, if you insist...I published my version. Here's to hoping I don't steal all of your glory or something :P

If you'll notice, I did a couple things - first, the optimizations I wrote about here. The other important thing is that I changed Gordian into Zu - there's two reasons for it. One, it further improves the memory situation (because cloud-based solutions are the future of computing!), and it also frees up one influence (this will be relevant later). Zu isn't that much more inefficient than Gordian is, actually - you don't see stacked high-strength Code Gates often enough to justify that increased up-front cost, and the lower base strength doesn't matter terribly because you're running suckers. Speaking of which... Two Datasuckers is plenty, you don't really need more than one out anyway. Dropping the third one both opens up deck space used for more important things, and frees a second influence point, to get an RnD Interface in. That was one of the biggest weaknesses of earlier drafts of this deck that I've played - not enough RnD pressure. Now you have an Interface you can tutor with Logos, that should improve the situation considerably.

And now, let me explain the Garrote thing a little more. Garrote has three kinds of cost - upfront install, deck space, and memory.

• deck space: let's face it, you're a Crim. You'll be wanting to run Femmes anyway. Femme is also a Killer. Taking another Killer on top of that means that it has to either do some extra stuff for you, or it has to be wonderfully super-efficient, much more so than Femme is (at least for certain problems). Faerie does this, Garrote doesn't. If its base strength were 3, it would warrant inclusion, because then you'd break a Katana for 1 instead of 3, and a Caduceus for 2 instead of 4. That's reasonable savings. As it stands, that's not the case (because of the other costs of running Garrote)
• upfront install cost: If I'm paying 7 credits, wouldn't I rather pay 2 extra and get a Femme bypass on top of it? What's the sentry you're installing Garrote for? Is it a Grim? Bypass it instead. Is it an Archer? I'd still bypass it. Is it some cheap ETR sentry? Femme does just as well, and you can bypass a Bastion or something.
• memory: Two memory means you have to run additional Memory boosters, especially since you're also running Suckers (and MorningStar!). That means Garrote takes up even more deck space, and is actually fiddly to get into play. For those two MU, I could have two more Femmes out (bypasses ahoy!), or I could have a backup Crypsis ready to go in case I meet a Howler or a Chummed Data Mine, or I could have another Sucker out, or I could be ready for when Bad Times hits the card pool.

For these reasons, I have a hard time justifying Garrote in Criminal. It's awesome in Shaper, where you can tutor for it, slap it into a Dino and call it a day... but that's just Garrote becoming what it should have been in the first place - a high base-strength Killer.

All of the above reasoning is further compounded by the fact that you're running Datasuckers, which means you'll be able to alleviate Femme's only weakness - the expensive pumping.

Ichi, Archer, Grim - they're more of a problem on a central server, where you'll presumably need to run repeatedly. For those, you have Alias. Do the math on how efficient Alias is for all those pieces (especially since you have one sucker counter to handle the weird 1-point differences), you'll be surprised. If you're doing your job properly, you won't be needing to run ICEd-up remotes as often, so you should have sucker tokens to significantly cheapen Femme's breakage there.

Just to clarify, is this the version you were playing around with before, or your modifications to mine?

I really like the drop to ZU, it does fit nicely with everything else. I always forget about the cloud ability, and it is really perfect here. I was considering dropping 2x Datasuckers for R&D Interface, but this is a much better solution. The lack of R&D pressure you mentioned on your version really is a problem. This is a nice solution.

I've played a few games without Garrote, and all your points are good ones. Overall, this reduces the cost of the rig's setup greatly, which is quite nice.

This is how I tweaked your list. The version I was playing with before had more events and less programs, though the core idea was the same (UWC, Link, MorningStar).

Looking over that list, one element of that deck I'd consider trying here was the usage of Crash Space instead of Carapace - it has good synergy with Logos and Decoy, and it makes the Siphoning that much more efficient. It would also free up two slots, as running Lawyer Up doesn't make sense if you're running Crash Space. Those two slots would be used for a third Siphon and third SoT (in my version), or alternatively to grab two Inside Jobs for improved remote pressure.

Hi Thike,

You might be interested by my own version, here : netrunnerdb.com