Euros Palana - 3rd at Euros

This is an updated Palana list of the same archetype I took to Euros last year. It's a significant downgrade on the MTI list I've been playing for most of the time in between, but Palana is still a strong generic ID. In a meta full of Anarchs and Criminals making value runs for all sorts of different reasons, I decided to max out on cheap taxing ice as far as possible. Between 419/Corporate Grant and the return of ice destruction, you need the value for money offered by Eli, IP Block and Slot Machine, all of which are excellent at stopping repeat runs to farm Turtles and Datasuckers. I went down to 2 Border Controls to accommodate this - while it is above the curve, it's poor in the aformentioned situations, where the pressure is sustained rather than the occasional big runs more commonly seen when Shapers are good.

The Jinteki ice-suite isn't quite what it was, with Engolo and Amina now breaking DNA Tracker efficiently, and even Anansi being easier to deal with than before, so having a majority of splashed ice is no problem. I changed my previous 2 Thimblerig / 2 Enigma setup to 1 Thimblerig / 3 Enigma, as I found Thimblerig to be a liability against Turtle in too many games. The other weak link is probably Cortex Lock, which tends to fall off too quickly and isn't a reliable way of stopping central farming - it had to be overwritten several times during the tournament. I think for ice balance reasons it really wants to be a sentry in that slot, so Saisentan or Swordsman might be alternatives.

The deck went 5-2 in Swiss but let me down in the cut. Wins were against 419, Val, Maxx, Hayley and Liza, with losses against Jesminder, Maxx, Freedom and later Maxx again. Two of the losses were largely down to absurd early floods, but of course this can happen to any Corp. My conclusion about this deck is very similar to what I said last year - it's nothing special, but there are no truly great Corps at the moment, so play whatever you're comfortable with. For a lot of people this was Weyland kill, for me it was Jinteki glacier. Thanks to everyone for making it a great event, both players and organisers. Hopefully it happens again next year.