(Only 1x Core Set) Noise

This is my 1x core set only Noise build, made for a "learn to play Netrunner" event where I thought attendees were likely to have limited access to the card pool.

I never got to play much core set only because I started in early 2015, dived into local causal nights, and bought the big box expansions quickly. But in the few games I played this deck, it proved to be an absolute beast in core set matchups. It has decent econ (surprisingly hard in the core set!), breakers for every occasion (thanks, Crypsis!), and the ability to pressure all central servers. I never felt like the game was out of my control. It certainly lacks the power of modern Noise builds but it isn't a terrible deck to play if you're starting with a single box and want to compete.

Card Choices

Yes, I spent 100% of the influence importing Criminal economy cards. What of it?

Account Siphon is so strong and should probably be in any core-only deck. It's also the only HQ pressure available in the core, other than Gabe's ability, so it nicely rounds out Noise's well-balanced pressure. The deck is capable of floating tags if necessary, too, since only Ice Carver is a prime target for resource trashing.

The operation-based economy gives us a lot of burst such that rebounding from zero credits is easy (Mark) and Stimhack ensures no remote is locked off. Stimhack and Wyldside have some anti-synergy but we don't care. Do drugs, hack servers, damage brains.

Cyberfeeder is so good and so necessary. Again, helps the deck work even with low economy and plays well with tags. Bank Job can be tough to pull off at times, e.g. late game when we're tagged and have only 3 because we been partying at the club, but we are money hungry anarchists so we use it.

The anarch core set breakers are, to this day, played because of their great efficiency. Other than Femme Fatale and Gordian Blade, they're the only playable breakers out of the core, even. The suite here blanks a lot of ICE, especially in core (Neural Katana, Viktor 1.0, Rototurret all go from great to useless), and has Crypsis to fill in the gaps. Hopefully the econ means we actually have s to pay for using Crypsis, too.

Djinn is there because the MU is tight with only a single copy of Grimoire, not really for tutoring our few viruses. Medium provides the R&D pressure, rounding out our ability to strike all the centrals hard.

The 3x Infiltration is literally because I ran out of useful cards. I'm loathe to add Demolition Run, which is of such niche usage, or Wyrm, which just costs entirely too much to be fruitful. At least with Infiltration you can a) win the Jinteki matchup easily, & b) take credits as a backup plan.

Notable Exclusions

Aesop's Pawnshop is the economic backbone of modern Noise, so you might expect to see it here. I found that it was hard to use and, with only one copy in the core set, hard to find. We're not churning through viruses like Cache and Lamprey with only core set cards, so it just doesn't make sense. I might sell a single Datasucker or Wyldside, but at that rate Bank Job is better and more consistently usable economy. Aesop's also doesn't work well with floating tags.

The other way to build this would be to drop the Wyldside draw engine and go for 3x Diesel, ditching 1x Siphon & 1x Bank Job. While Wyldside without pancakes feels awful, I couldn't give it up as an influence-free draw engine. If the game state demands it, we can always just for cards the good ol' fashioned way.