Jinteki Med-School

I really really like the way this deck is turning out, I definitely see where our discussions have shaped the strategy of this deck. I like the ICE load-out I think that the rush aspect of it all will really work out for you.

If I were to be picky I would say that the Mushin-->Plan B play is not always going to work out, especially once people start to catch on to what you are doing. it has the potential to just fall apart if no one runs it... however, it might pull out some really clutch wins when you are at match point and you force the runner to run it.

I think I would drop the archived memories in favor of 1 more Giraffe and swap out 2x Grim for 2x rototurret. Roto has the benefit of an ETR sub that Grim does not, but it is your call whether or not you need to recur ToL again. Just don't let me catch you recurring Hedge Fund or I will slap you.

I think this deck is going to want Quandary over Enigma and I think you could drop the Yagura.

Lol @ "don't let me catch you recurring Hedge Fund or I will slap you."

I just played a friend last night who kept doing that. He loves his Hedge Funds. But I was there not long ago.

Great advice. I thought I had quandary in there already... Weird. I put yagura in there mainly to see what people would say about it but haven't had many comments yet ;).

I get what you're saying about the Mushin -> plan B. As I've been play testing, I've just been opening with Musin -> agenda. Turn 2, I score and if I'm lucky, I'll already have an ice wall I advance, if not, do it the old fashion way. Then I use the plan B and my remaining ToL to score the last one.

Quick question for you Elthane, can you advance ice wall while unrezzed?

I'd be tempted to run a couple of Junebugs with mushin no shin, just to keep them on their toes. You can still use TOL to get value off them.

Would also be tempted to find room for a couple of Caprice, she's going to be a powerhouse.

I have to agree that Plan B is a high risk combo. I see any Plan B working once, and then that's it. Mushin No Shin is still an excellent card choice.

I find myself disagreeing with your ICE choices here. Agreeing with Elthane, I don't think Yagura really adds value here, especially considering how little ice is present. If you are looking for a utility code gate, then Sensei would likely be a better choice. However, I would reach for either more ETR or a higher impact tax like Chum or Wall of Thorns, or Archer if you can spare the influence. On the subject of sentries, Guard also appears to be a poor choice. The bypass ability is great for stopping things like Inside Job, but at 4 creds for 2 strength any sentry breaker can get by easily by the time you can spare the creds to rez this without pain. Grim also feels like a poor fit due to it's cost, but I'll explain a little more when I discuss Agendas. To replace the Guard, I would look more for Himitsu-Bako or Bullfrog, or Wraparound if you can spare the influence.

The Harmony Medtech coupled with Medical Breakthrough aims to be a fast deck. Decreasing the Agenda point requirement ensures a shorter game length. With that in mind, high cost ICE like Grim does not fit well with this deck, since Braintrust will likely not be over-advanced for it's utility. Without the high cost ICE, Braintrust's only benefit is that it's a 3/2 Agenda. 3/2's only benefit without HB is that it can be Plan B'd out of hand or only requires a single Trick of Light to score out of hand. Let's take a step up and see what 4/2 brings to us? At 4/2, you've got Corporate War for an economy boost, NAPD Contract (without Grim) for an additional tax on the Runner, or an additional Nisei MK II. In my opinion, if the deck is retooled to emphasize the speed focus then any of those would be a preferable choice over Braintrust. One last issue is Philotic Entanglement. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Philotic Entanglement! However, it is a really bad fit in this deck. With only 6 Agenda points necessary to win, the most that Philotic Entanglement can ever hope to sting the Runner with is 5 points of Net damage. With no additional sources of damage in the current deck, this really does little besides set the runner back a turn.

Speaking of fast plays, Jackson Howard and Archived Memories feels like they will only see use if the Corp is being schooled by the Runner. Harmony Medtech wants to hit 6 points as fast as possible, which means we have little time for recursion. Anonymous Tip already satisfies card draw needs, so Jackson Howard just feels superfluous at this point. Instead of Jackson Howard and Archived Memories, I'd load in some Junebugs or import some Aggressive Secretaries or Cerebral Overwriters. With some traps in hand, you have an option for Runners that manage to outrun the Medtech advantage, which can buy you the breathing room you need to land this deck against fast Runners.

My recommendation is: -3 Braintrust, -1 Philotic Entanglement, +3 NAPD Contract, +1 Nisei Mk II, -2 Jackson Howard, -1 Plan B, -2 Archived Memories, +2 Aggressive Secretary, +1 Celebrity Gift, -1 Yagura, -2 Grim, -2 Guard, +1 Bullfrog, +2 Wraparound +2 Chum

@Yeoda, yes Ice Wall can be advanced while it is unrezzed, the only ICE that has to be rezzed first is Tyrant, Salvage, and Woodcutter.

@bubo, I think that Guard is a meta call against criminals and inside job. it is always nice to be able to score behind one piece of ICE. Grim is there to turn the "analogue ICE" back "on" once an icebreaker has been installed. I do think that Rototurret is superior in this case though. I agree that you might find Jackson to be redundant, unless you find that you are getting agenda flooded all of the time. Obviously, Braintrust and Philotic are blank agendas in this application which is regrettable, hopefully H&P will come with another 2/3 that is strong for Harmony medtech. We'll see. I still think that you are going to want 2/3s for when you don't have Mushin to advance ICE for you--another reason to leave the archived mems so that you can bring back Mushin. I don't know, I am still up in the air about whether or not 6-3 pointers or 10-2 point agendas is going to be best in Medtech.

I do think you should fit in at least 2x Junebug just so that you have some teeth in the deck. if they see Junebug in R&D for example, they will think twice about running that Muchin'd agenda.

Braintrusts are absolutely the last card I'd drop from the deck. 3/2 are begging to be the central feature of this deck, probably along with some clone retirements (but that's a personal choice).

As soon as I posted my comment, I suddenly realized that a 3/2 is truly what Braintrust is here for. hangs head in shame

One thing to keep in mind when putting traps into this deck is that Mushin No Shin puts Advancement Counters on any card, not just advanceable assets and agendas. This can be used to lure the runner into non-advanceable traps such as Edge of World.

Awesome suggestions. I do like the project junebugs and have added them in before. I'll go back to it because I really wanted them in there.

In place of Jackson... I have 2 influence left to fill. I really like my Archive mem... but I'm open to cerebral overwriter or other things. I've made some tune ups on the ICE (I really went fast with the ice...) and I added one more Giraffe.

I guess I have a choice between more traps or another archived memory.

Also Philotic Entanglement, if I understand right, only does damage per agenda card, not agenda points... so the highest amount of net damage possible should only be 2 from this deck. I've thought about putting in some clone retirements but I haven't decided yet. I'm really attached to the idea of 9 2-pointers.

I'm leaning to Archived Memories unless I find a different trap that will be better.

well our trap options are:

ghost branch...no

cerebral overwriter...not without other threats of net damage

aggressive secretary...this could work with the rush strategy and the analogue ICE

Snare!...but you are going to be drawing into them and you really want them to stay in R&D

Shock!...not strong enough for an include in this deck

Edge of World...could work but kind of the same problem as cerebral overwriter plus you're not really looking to build up giant remote servers.

Junebug...probably the best fit and could flatline if you Mushin it and they run their face into it.

Ronin...I dunno, a little more targeted I guess, if you Mushin it and then they don't run it at least it would be good for more than ToL fodder. If you had more net damage in the deck this could make a win, but in most circumstances they won't want to drop below 3 cards in hand.

I was wondering how the OP felt about Chimera, Chimera traditionally makes or breaks a rush deck.

I'm curious as to the tempo of this deck Yeoda. I agree with Elthane that it needs Ronin or Junebug (I'd lean towards Junebug because they can still trash Ronin after a Mushin if they decide to access and then you're out both cards...).

If they see either in R&D that's a good thing.

As for tempo, if you're indeed rushing this deck (installing in remotes for a next turn score), you're going to be counting 100% on your Mushin bluffs and trap fear. This ice suite won't hold up long, especially against parasites. Consider switching out Grim for Eli which will slow the runner down more. There are few ice I hate to see more than Eli as a runner. To get influence I would drop the archived memories...just use Jackson for that and run 3 of him. You're going to need to hurry to win because once their rig is up you have nothing to stop them on centrals.

I love the Mushin P,an B combo...will be hilariously awesome. But beware the Whizzard who goes into the centrals and trashes all of your assets...for free!

There are few ice I hate to see more than Eli as a runner.

That's why us cool people play Morningstar :P