Flyswatter (🪰) is “Ping for purge’ing” (IE. gearchcecks with hostile rez-triggers).

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Design-wise, ice as dynamic interaction is more fun (IMHO) than ice as just arithmetic breakpoints.

For example, if the Runner doesn't have any viruses installed yet (or only a few virus counters hosted), then even if you would want to end the run, you may let them pass an unrezzed Flyswatter to purge them out later. “Dynamic” non-subroutine abilities include:

• On-Rez (When you rez this ice during a run against this server, …): like Ping, Ablative Barrier, Anemone, even Stavka.

• Trashcans ([trash]: … Use this ability only during a run on this server.): like M.I.C..

For example, how many counters/purgeables in play do you want, to rez it? (Should you just purge two counters off a single Fermenter? How much do you want to keep the Runner out? How likely is it for the Runner to let it cook, install another virus, and re-run that server? It depends.)

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Blank Flyswatter (against no Viruses) is much worse than blank Magnet (against no Trojans); you really need the purging to be worth enough credits (given the current metagame / average boardstate). But exactly how many/good Viruses do you need to expect in a Runner's deck, to slot it in? (Out of Jitneki?) IDK. LMK what you think.

Open Market (🌆), I love its “Slow Drip, Fast Spend” design. IE. by:

• Spending-only: it takes about ~2–4 installs to earn +4[$] (a Sure Gamble profit).
• Dripping-only: it'd take six whole turns to cash out.
• Doing both: you can install OM, install a resource (or two), then take the last credit (or two) next turn (or two).

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Notes:

• It can “Career Fair out” any expensive resource: especially The Class Act (with the “un-OM’able” Earthrise Hotel rotating). CF. a [$0] Event: Double to Install 1 resource from your grip, paying 4[$] less.. For example, Q1–OM into Q2–TCA is already (more or less) a Lie Low, with two credits and a card-filtering effect leftover; then Andy’s “Draw 4-of-5” can find a [$2+]-drop for next turn, like Side Hustle or another Open Market.

• It subsidizes connections or jobs: exactly like Az. (Including itself, being a job and non-unique too.)

• Its non-interactive Criminal econ: You earn credits by installing (CF. a faster-but-narrower Environmental Testing), and/or just waiting (CF. a slower-and-poorer Daily Casts). NB. whereas ET wants four cheap installs to cash out (ASAP), OM wants two pricy installs.

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Cards:

• The Class Act (4[$]).
• Open Market itself (2[$]).
• Side Hustle (2[$]).
• “Baklan” Bochkin (2[$]).
• Info Bounty (2[$]).
• Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra (2[$], 2inf).
• Tsakhia "Bankhar" Gantulga (1[$], 3inf).
• Dr. Nuka Vrolyck (1[$], 2inf).
• ¿Fransofia Ward? (3[$])?
• ¿¿Red Team (5[$])??

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See s:connection|job t:resource o>0 z:standard b:active .

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PS. I'm hoping for a tech card with this mechanic, that pairs very slow drip with a very large sum of hosted credits (an “Open Market-ified Miss Bones”). For my Crim mini-set, I had jotted down a No Free Lunch–esque custom card like the following (numbers untested), since I hadn't thought of this mechanic. But implementing it as an Open Market-esque card should(?) push its value more towards the “hate matchup” than a general matchup, which I prefer.

Charlotte Libertador
[$0] ♦ RESOURCE: Connection - Clone
[criminal 3/5]
When you install this resource, load 6[$] onto it. When empty, trash it.
You can spend hosted credits to trash installed cards.
[trash]: Gain 1[$] for every 2[$] hosted (rounding down). Use this ability only if there are at least 2[$] hosted.

Maglectric (💣) is the “new Emergency Shutdown”!

But:

• It's pre-installed (not “post-played”): so it won't tax your hand-size if you draw it a turn early (before there's something impactful enough to unrez, or before you have prepped for the successful-run, or when you have a click to spare, or so on). CF. Maxwell James.
• It's immediate: so you can derez an ice (on-success), then bounce that ice with Hermes (on-breach), if you steal an agenda from HQ.
• It can derez assets/upgrades too. Especially expensive ones, like: Hostile Architecture (5[$]-to-rez), Djupstad Grid (4[$]-to-rez), and any badpubbing/forfeiting ones. (Though ice are still the most expensive card-type in rez-cost, as well as the most constrained in (re-)rez-timing.)
• It's unique: so you can't spam two after a single HQ-success, let alone double-derezzing during the same click. (But you can still install a second in between HQ-runs.)
• It's Hardware: for Az (creditlessly installed) and, esp., Baz (clicklessly installed). Baz can even derez the ice that “installed” Maglectric with Maglectric (afterwards).
• It's a Weapon: for Asmund Pudlat jank. (This is the most important difference.)

Illumination (💡) is “Joy Ride for installation”!

Notes

• At best: If you are holding 3 programs/resources/hardware each costing at least 1 credit, then you will get 6 “units-of-value”, while still breaching R&D. In particular, you will compress 4 clicks (3 installs + 1 run) into one.

• At worst… Mass Install is fun?

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For example, you can “illuminate out”:

• a Coalescence, Knickknack, and Simulchip) (2[$] total). Then cash it out Coalescence (for Gain 4[$].). After which (next turn), Knickknack can sac the Coalescence (for Gain 2[$]. Draw 1 card., despite its actual-cost being reduced below its printed-cost).
• a Devadatta Drone, Dr. Nuka Vrolyck, and Telework Contract (0[$] total). Then immediately multi-access R&D (without the Corp expecting it, like they would with The Maker’s Eye). After which (next action), you can refill your emptied hand with Nuka.
• an Environmental Testing and two programs/hardware.

Design

Unlike FFG’s “breach-replacing” Run’s (EG. Code Siphon), more of NSG’s targeted-Run’s are only “success-triggered”. Which sustains your momentum and escalates the game-clock like threat level.

On other card-types, this is why Gourmand can only trash non-agendas. And on the other player-side, this is why Saisentan (which can easily flatline you) is both a Sentry and a [jinteki 3/5] card (rez-cost aside).

The old Run _. If successful, instead of breaching, … behavior being (generally) limited to “pseudo-breach” effects: “quasi-multiaccess” (like Chastushka, Stargate, Cataloguer, etc), “re-breaching” (like Eru Ayase-Pessoa), “re-accessing” (like Pinhole Threading), or so on.

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From the early-game, this card threatens an effect that's high-impact and faction-specific, which is why it's server-locked and 3/5 inf. If you as the Corp want to stop a turn-one triple-install, then against Shaper IDs you can just ice up R&D.

In fact, phase-wise, Illumination may be best from a full hand (dumping it), especially on the very first turn of the game (3+ install-ables in grip, 0–1 ice protecting R&D). Un-like Joy Ride, which (despite an identical structure & influence) is at its worst with an already-full hand (overdrawing). Which is why the former's design makes more sense (IMO).

Custom

However, we could also take Illumination and (after weakening its effect) “soften”:

• how narrowly-targeted the run is to a single server.
• how successful the run is required to be.

Fo(u)r example:

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Illumination¹ [smaller_effect]:

Run R&D or HQ.
If successful, install up to X cards from your grip (one at a time). X is 3 if the run succeeded against R&D and is 1 against HQ.

Illumination² [higher_cost]:

This event costs an additional 3[$] to play if you run HQ.

Run R&D or HQ.
If successful, install up to 3 cards from your grip (one at a time).

Illumination³ [consolation]:

Run R&D.
If successful, install up to 3 cards from your grip (one at a time).
When that run ends, if it wasn't successful, install up to 1 card from your grip.

Illumination⁴ [passage]:

Run R&D.  
When that run ends, install up to X cards from your grip (one at a time). X is 1 plus the amount of ice you passed during that run.

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Rules

The Elevation box includes this “refcard”:

Cards like Illumination and Top-Down Solutions allow a player to install multiple cards in a row. When resolving these effects, the player must always resolve 1 installation at a time. The player does not have to decide which or how many cards they will install in advance. Any "when installed" abilities from the previous installation also resolve before the next installation begins, but no paid ability windows open in between the installations.

Ritual (☕) is a “quasi-Priority Diesel”, IE.:

Morning Energy Drink
0 EVENT: Priority
Play only as your first .
Draw 3 cards.

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It's the same cost/inf/effect, but you can't basic-draw to topdeck it and then triple-draw the same turn, like Diesel can.

I love its “lenticular” design for a core-set, it both:

• pushes newer players into the correct sequencing heuristic, IE. you should draw before you play/install anything from hand, because you might draw into something better (and you want to draw all three cards, right?); and
• excites them later with the possibility of gaining extra clicks, like with Hannah (to draw a fourth card).

Thus, Ritual is the complete opposite of VRcation (a “quasi-Terminal Draw”).

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However, Diesel’s obvious “Pay 0[$]→Draw 3” is extremely exciting for players coming from card games like Hearthstone/Magic the Gathering (Ancestral Recall!, Yu-Gi-Oh (Pot of Greed), or even from other action-based games like *Dominion (Smithy). I still remember my own "No way!" when I first saw it. See “How Good is Drawing 2 Cards in Every Card Game?” | @SodaTCG (YouTube).

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