Always Sunny Cards - Undefeated in Swiss, 2nd place SC

published by AlwaysBeRunning.net

Here's Sunny!

Went undefeated (4-0) in Swiss, against Titan, Titan, PE, AoT.

In Elimination, beat CtM, then lost to CtM in grand finals.

Tournament report first, then some pointers at the end.

Round 1 (Titan Rush)

Won 7-6

Opening hand was Career Fair + Proco, snap keep. He sets up the Atlas Train on turn two, but has some stumbles getting his money to flow, dipping very low on credits quite often. I challenge to force Ice Wall rez, but otherwise focus on Proco'ing out my delicious, delicious drip. (I believe this one was where I had all 3 Data Folding, two of them Career Fair'd in, by turn 5 or 6.)

Once I got drip established (which is three pieces, if you care) I got Nexus online and started contesting his installs, finding a Striker and a Sherman quickly after, to break Hortums and Ice Walls. One DDM whiffed entirely, but Globalsec lock kept me in the game. At one point, I saw a 3-point on top (SSL or High-Risk Investment), so I went after it. He had to pause and think whether it was an actual agenda, if he should use his Atlas token to dodge it... He did, which kept him from losing the game on the spot, but Titan with no Atlas token in the lategame is no match for Sunny. I fired another DDM with a fresh R&D, and snagged points on the third card down to win.

Round 2 (Titan Rush)

Won 7-4

Seriously? Alright, well... Okay then. This was a build of Titan I hadn't seen, he was using advanceable ICE, Shipment from Kaguya, and Mass Commercialization to get his money up. The Ice Walls at strength 2 were annoying, but otherwise it wasn't that difficult. The main thing was that he presented a Trick of Light threat later, which made it very difficult to stop his Atlas train. Still, the game went pretty similar to the first, though when I threw a DDM at him, with ADAP backup, I actually hit two agendas to get my credit pool back to a healthy amount. He also used an Atlas token to fetch his last Atlas when I did that, as he also had Hostile Takeovers and wanted to get 3x Atlas + Takeover for the win. However, I got Oaktowns out of HQ while he put down the Atlas, and got the win.

Round 3 (PE 1000-cuts)

Won 7-2

This was against a player from my local store, so I knew his playstyle very well. This helped in the matchup. Turn one, he installed two facedowns, and after dropping Gamble + ProCo, I hit one of them and got the House of Knives. Proco kept me at a decent healthpool for the rest of the game as we traded blows. A couple of things that stand out on this matchup are that Sure Gamble are generally cards you don't want to play, here, as your other drip cards are better, and Money doesn't matter that much anyway. Sports Hopper is also very good for refilling for the Access phase after you go through Kakugo. The win came on a DDM where he declined to rez a DNA Tracker, so I broke Kakugo, took a damage, and then Nexus'd Mirāju (though if he'd rezzed DNA Tracker, I would've bypassed that one and let Miraju fire, since a fresh R&D is fine for a DDM run.)

He expressed incredulity that I didn't hit a Snare! on that run, which I was either on 2 or 3 cards for. Could've been bad, but I didn't see a snare all game so thought he might not be on them.

Round 4 (AoT Jinja)

Won 7-3

Memory is fuzzy, but I believe this was a game where I didn't have ProCo out very quickly. I did have my drip installed quickly, though. Fired a DDM on a facedown 1-ICE R&D, and gladly paid 3 clicks for the Fairchild 3.0 waiting for me. Got two agendas on that pull, so that was pretty good. The other highlight of this match was successfully running a five-ICE-deep Jinja City Grid server. Security Chip > Stimhack, it's official. That run gave me the win, as it was an Ikawah Project and I had plenty of money and two clicks remaining.

One thing to note is that there's about three different play patterns that this Sunny deck wants to do, and this deck showcased DDM early, Globalsec+Corporate Defector late. Without either of these cards, Sunny struggles against Bioroid-heavy decks. Jak Sinclair, of course, is also key for defeating Bioroids.

Undefeated in Swiss

Top Cut, Winners Bracket 2 (CtM Classic)

Won 7-4

(I had the choice in first round, as I was the only 7-1 in Swiss. Against Skorp/Null, I chose to run my NEH against Null. I knew that the other two were on Valencia, which my NEH has serious problems with, so wanted to Corp first.)

It was a Sunny vs CtM game. It went about how you'd expect. Once I put down Power Tap + Citadel Sanctuary, he elected to stop using CtM's ability. Free Employee Strikes are the best! This deck happens to be made to make CtM miserable specifically, as I started working on it once CtM came out and I knew how good it would be...

Of note, I didn't bother to install Globalsec Security Clearance here, as two DDMs were sufficient. It actually went very very well for me, as he didn't find money for a little while until I had 3-drip set up and ready to start dismantling his board. He did HHN me once, but Power Tap gave me the credit needed to wipe all the tags away. That's one of the only ways to lose to CtM, getting HHN'd without being ready to clear it.

Grand Finals, take two. (CtM's revenge)

(I got some food and waited for Loser's Bracket to finish. Apparently it went quickly because I got back 20 minutes later and they were done. Something about 11 points in top five cards of R&D...? Anyway. He took Valencia and smashed my NEH. Same person as before, so same CtM matchup.)

This game was a clinic on how to beat Sunny as CtM. I got Proco set up pretty quickly and started drawing, forced to let him have a Bankers since I didn't have the economy to both trash it, dodge the trace/tag, and clear tags from HHN. About 3 turns after that, I got enough money to properly contest, along with a Power Tap. In the meantime, I put out The Source with Fall Guy backup, to make sure he'd take his time while I set up. He iced an MVT server and used that to score a Beale first (advancing it to 5, which is correct play vs The Source...), then iced a second time when he went for a GFI. I contested the GFI and ate an Enigma to the face. Played Striker and came back in when he tried for the next agenda, got it... But he rezzed the first ICE that was on that server, my nightmare: Tollbooth. It now took me 13 credits to break that server.

Worse, he could Never-Advance a 15 Minutes for the win. (I still had The Source out, with no Fall Guys left. I was using a Film Critic to keep him alive from my side, since I wasn't finding any ADAP and keeping him from NA'ing any non-15 Minutes agenda was a Good Thing for me.) He put a new facedown, and I counted my money... 12... I could get in, if I chose to lose my only Security Chip... But, since that isn't very useful in this matchup anyway, I figure it's worth it to go for it. And the facedown is... 15 Minutes! Called it correctly, and kept him from winning... That time. At this point, I was getting free Sure Gambles every turn because of Drip econ, but I still hadn't seen my Nexus, only Striker and Sherman. Well, maybe I could still win even without Nexus...? He installs a new ICE, then installs and advances a card, so I know it's an agenda. With 18 credits this time, I go again, pretty sure I could break an Enigma if that's what he'd just installed. Nope, he goes broke to rez... Another Tollbooth. That's both of them in his entire deck. I definitely don't have the 22 credits it would take to beat that, but he's broke now so he can't win.

Next turn, I count up... I need 21 credits to Nexus the first Tollbooth (two power taps give me a free bypass...) and then paying 13 for the other two ICE. I have 20 credits and four clicks, with a Sports Hopper in my hand. Unfortunately, can't use the Hopper to dig deep, so have to use ProCo instead. On the second click, the very last one I could, I finally found my first Nexus of the game. Installed and got that agenda (QPM), placing it on the Film Critic gratefully. I was still in the game.

He's already shuffled the 15 Minutes a couple turns ago, and he installs a new facedown. I don't have the 13 credits needed to get through the server this time, as it's only been two turns since I barely kept from dying for the second time. I put the odds of him having it again as relatively low, and besides, I couldn't break that server if I tried, so I use one of my two DDMs instead, with ADAP out because I want to get paid, dangit. Also because DDM keeps him from having Agendas to draw for a while anyway. (I'd been Jak'ing open HQ for a while, so I knew he didn't have anything there.) I get two steals, paying 3 to trash The Source in the process. I gain 21 credits total, counting the two Power Taps and both of the successful (for me) Traces.

And then he advances twice and scores the 15 Minutes he had installed the previous turn. GG, Well Played.

Overview

At its core, this deck is about getting Security Nexus out as quickly as possible, and then using it as much as possible. There are two primary strategies the deck pursues: - R&D Lock via Globalsec Security Clearance and Corporate Defector. (And DDM if you can't find the singleton Globalsec...) - Remote Lock via Congress econ, Security Nexus, and The Source to force the Corp to install and advance agendas.

Why ProCo?

Several cards work for both of these strategies, and some work only for one or the other. Firstly, both of those strategies require quite a few cards installed to get them to work. To fund these installs, Career Fair and Professional Contacts are the key pieces. The only time you wouldn't want to install ProCo is if you've somehow gotten to the late game without seeing any of them, and have 3+ Drip pieces already installed.

What's the plan against Rush?

The biggest issue Sunny has is any Corp that wants to can just rush out behind ICE and score before she's set up. Some will answer this rush with Stimhack and Inside Job, but I dislike this strategy because it delays your inevitability to gain short-term advantages. Instead, I prefer to use The Source to force the Corp to spend more money and more time advancing their agendas. The Source then pulls double-duty if drawn late in the game, by forcing the Corp to telegraph the location of their agendas when they go to score them. It's like you're Leela, but force the Corp's tempo to change even on the last point.

Is Deep Data Mining worth it?

Deep Data Mining also supports this strategy. If you can get in a single run on R&D, you can guarantee the next five cards won't be agendas. Late in the game, Deep Data Mining can be game-ending instead of game-delaying. In this way, whiffing an early DDM isn't actually that bad of a thing for Sunny. It also combines very well with Another Day, Another Paycheck.

Isn't that a terrible current?

Another Day, Another Paycheck is primarily here as a 0-cost current to clear opposing Scarcity of Resources. However, it also works to maintain your pressure, as long as you steal an agenda on that expensive run you made. ADAP's at its best when used after the Corp has some points already, which again points away from the usage of 'tricks' to contest early like Inside Job and Stimhack. Interdiction and Employee Strike are also valid currents to use for slightly different strategies. (Interdiction gives you more game against Jinteki glaciers, Employee Strike is a giant middle finger to basically every deck except CtM, at the expense of consuming your Unicorn slot.)

Doesn't Film Critic nonbo with ADAP?

Some People who will remain unmentioned use their Unicorn slot on Clone Chip, bringing in Clot to prevent the fast advance. However, I prefer to use it on Film Critic. Firstly, Clone Chip-Clot is heavily telegraphed and all it does is make every deck NA its agendas instead of FA'ing them. Sunny's not terribly interested in this, when every deck has plenty of good Assets to use instead to bait you into running fruitlessly. Secondly, Film Critic helps against matchups that Sunny has some trouble with (PE, Obokata, Ikawah Project, Argus, Skorpios) Finally, Film Critic combines well with The Source, at the expense of losing ADAP triggers. (Though, again, ADAP's primary usage is clearing Scarcity; getting paid from it is always an unexpected benefit.)

Final Thoughts

Once you have accepted most of these premises, the deck builds itself. A few quick notes:

• 2x of each breaker, primarily so that you can discard one early if you need to without it giving your rig a glaring weakness in the lategame. Sunny should install Nexus before any breaker, in an ideal scenario.
• 3x Security Nexus because you must have Nexus. The entire point of playing Sunny is getting access to that sweet, sweet 1/turn Inside Job 2.0
• In general, Power Tap is conditional drip. It acts as drip pieces 10-12, and should generally be installed at lowest priority, unless you're against someone who's actually rezzing Tracer ICE. In which case, demonstrate why that's a terrible, terrible idea (for them).
• During the early game, UWC > Data Folding > Daily Casts. Daily Casts moves from least important to most important around the midgame, where you start being able to end the game within four turns. (If asked for a hard number, I'd say turn 10, you should install DC before any other drip piece.)
• Don't get attached to the Lock plans with GSC; it's not necessary to win, just one of the best ways to win once everyone's exhausted all of their draws and the Corp is just waiting for an installable to drag you through the remote again.
• Similarly, don't get attached to ADAP triggers. It's there to clear Scarcity, and sometimes pays you.
• Security Chip is better than Stimhack in the lategame, and in the early game you shouldn't be running. Leave the early game running to Adam, he does it way better.

The only card that didn't perform on the day was Mad Dash, so that's where I'd look for cuts.

Finally, the most important piece of advice for playing this deck:

You Do Not Have To Win The Game 7-0.

It's okay to let the Corp have some points, because you can guarantee that they won't get any in the lategame.