Metamaterials (3-2 GNK, MWL2)

I don't like bringing degenerate decks to GNKs. I don't really enjoy playing them. So I decided to take on a moderately tested Gagarin deck that I really thought wasn't that bad to play against. For my runner I had a slightly modified Silver Bullet Kate.

Boy have I been wrong.

I think first of all that practice against this deck on the internet games only goes so far. When I was playing it online, I lost probably 60% of my games because of people generally figuring out the board state much more easily than in a RL match.

Secondly, the two losses that I had were just unlucky. The first one the Runner sniped an agenda in the LAST CLICK OF THE GAME. The second I didn't draw any agendas to force runs and Kate just kept on setting up, refusing to run and letting me gain over a 100 credits (this was the first match ever for me when I went to triple digits).

Also this deck is 52 cards because I was missing 2 sleeves and had to cut something. If you were to change around stuff, definitely replace oaktowns with Atlases, add one more ice and one more Salem's.

Okay, so what is this.

Basically it's a slightly more modern spin on Hot Tub Time Machine (with the Museums unique'd, Temples MWLed and the interaction with Heritage Committee removed). It gets Mumbad City Hall on the board and proceeds to make insurmountable mountains of assets which the Runner should not get through. If they just give up and let you build your board state you can generate 20+ credits every two turns with MCH+Consulting Visit+Diversified Portfolio. You then tax the Runner with Hard-Hitting News+Zealous Judge and eventually kill them with Scorches.

Game 1: Adamek - Andromeda - Modified Loss

He didn't manage to get his Temujin early (it was 20th or so card in the deck) so I had my boardstate up and running all the time, shuffling Consulting Visits and Portfolios, making loadsamoney. Eventually I managed to tag him with HHN... just as the time was called. He did 3 Sneakdoor runs on my hand and on his last click he accessed the single Executive Retreat that I had in my hand which gave me the sads.

(Runner win against SYNC.)

Game 2: Zombiak - Edward Kim - Win

This was a really tense game because I didn't get to draw into any ICE early on and he spent his first two turns doing Medium digs during which he snagged 5 points of agendas. Eventually I managed to ice up R&D with Tour Guide and started to build my boardstate with MCH and other assets. He was constantly on relatively high money but was afraid to run because he knew i had HHN. Eventually he started running my hand, got tagged with HHN+Zealous Judge and died to Scorches the next turn.

(Runner loss against Builder of Nations).

Game 3: Doman - Kate - Win

Doman was playing some kind of a variation of Silver Bullet Kate. He kept mentioning Apocalypse the entire game but I'm not even sure he had it in. He did several mistakes during the game (including not trashing politicals) and eventually got taxed out with HHN and Scorched.

(Runner win against Controlling the Message).

Game 4: donmakaron - Kate - Loss

He was also playing a variation of Silver Bullet Kate, but he, as opposed to Doman, played his game very safely. I think he only made three runs the entire game, both during the last turn. He just let me have the money and while I was flooded early game, mid-late game I had absolutely no agendas to incentivise him to run to get tagged. Eventually he pulled out Shrike and waltzed into my R&D, stealing 7 points over two runs.

(Runner loss against Controlling the Message).

Game 5: Dawciu - Sunny - Win

Dawciu has been playing Sunny almost exclusively the last few months and I gotta say he created an incredibly good build of her that could perhaps at some point go mainstream. This was a sad game for me because two times I missed a guaranteed trace on HHN. First time I missed two of his installed Power Taps, the second I forgot the Runner also has a credit pool. I'm gonna just blame it on him using tokens as opposed to dice (dice power!) and also because it was a really long day. After that second HHN he just refused to run until I started scoring and when he did, HHN+Judge ended his day.

(Runner win against Tennin Institute).

I hate playing this deck but I feel like it's relatively powerful if it gets going. Unfortunately hardly ever will it get going in matches against actually powerful Runners like Andy or Whizzard. Kate is also really good but her case is much more hit-and-miss.

I'd say try this deck if nobody in your meta plays Weyland and you have an element of surprise.