Seven Years of Bad Luck (3-1 Winnipeg Regionals)

This deck is mean. That's fine with me, I wanted it to be a winner, but still. Considering that Mirrormorph isn't seen as all that threatening, this deck is a lot meaner than I was expecting it to be.

Instead of the usual strategy of doubling-down on taxing the runner's clicks with MCA Austerity Policy and Enhanced Login Protocol, this deck is designed to tax the runner's credits and disrupt their rig just enough to maintain a credit advantage that you can exploit with Ash. Start the game by playing efficiently and getting as many Mirrormorph clicks as you can. Even when you aren't doing anything fancy with the extra Mirrormorph click, and your turns just look like "draw a card, install a card, take a credit, take Mirrormorph credit," you've still essentially clicked for two credits which is a good enough deal and those extra credits will be enough to make Ash fire at the end of the game. If you aren't taking three different actions you should be installing three cards to empty your hand for Violet Level Clearance.

If you have the opportunity, and you often will, you should rush out an SSL Endorsement behind Hagen and put the runner at a major score and credit disadvantage right away. You can also rush Ikawah Project behind Fairchild 3.0 or Turing if you have the credits for it. Then, once the mid-game rolls around you can start threatening to fast-advance your 5/3 agendas with MCA Austerity Policy, and here's where the cruelty of the deck really starts to show. Clearing out a server with MCA, Ash and Warroid Tracker is exceptionally taxing to the runner, and when it's all over they won't even have any points to show for it. At that point you can typically install-advance-advance the agenda that you were about to fast-advance and the runner won't be able to come back. Finally, you can score your last point with relative ease by innocently installing Echo Chamber (or Tech Startup to fetch Echo Chamber) in your scoring remote. Again, the runner doesn't get any points for trashing it and they'll have to contend with Warroid Tracker if they do.

Some card choices here might look weird but they get results. Drudge Work is the right flood protection in this deck because it can be tutored and Mirrormorph loves spending clicks on asset actions. Echo Chamber is a rare splash but it does a ton of work and wins games in a deck that's already running asset tutors to grab MCA Austerity Policy, Drudge Work and Nanoetching Matrix. Jua is an even rarer splash - I could be the first person to run this card as far as I know - but it does what I want it to do. It's a three-strength sentry that's only 2 credits to rez. The runner doesn't want to let the sub fire and they also don't want to pay to break it. Put it on a central server and the runner will leave that server alone well into the mid-game. The on-encounter effect can also disrupt shapers if you have Jua installed in front of other unrezzed ice, forcing them to pop their SMCs early without full information.

As for the cards I didn't include: NGO is too cheap to trash out of R&D, it's anti-synergistic with Mirrormorph to install-advance-advance it, and it isn't an especially believable bluff when your main win condition is to fast-advance 5/3s with MCA Austerity Policy. Calvin B4L3Y, Red Level Clearance and Lateral Growth were considered but they don't provide enough of a tempo advantage to justify their slots. Also, I'm not running Border Control because as a 1-strength barrier it's too cheap to break, and in this deck you want every piece of ICE to tax the runner every single time they touch it.