Turntable

♦ Turntable 2[credit]

Hardware: Console
Influence: 2

+1[memory unit]

Whenever you steal an agenda, you may swap that agenda with an agenda in the Corp's score area.

Limit 1 console per player.

Illustrated by Sara K. Diesel
Decklists with this card

Chrome City (cc)

#43 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Chrome City
Rulings
  • Updated 2017-04-09

    Agendas switched with Turntable keep any hosted counters or cards on them, but their text is not active. [Official FAQ]

Reviews

I'm very happy that this card exists. But I don't think it will see much play.

I'm glad that Noise finally has his own console in the Android universe. (Remember that Grimoire is technically Whizzard's console, even though it synergizes so well with Noise)

I'm also glad that the runners have a new way to challenge the corp's deckbuilding. Just like how Atman and D4v1d forced the corp to consider their ICE strength mix more carefully, this card forces corps to consider their mix of 1-, 2-, and 3-point agendas in a new angle. I think this makes the game more interesting for both sides.

But...this isn't a strong card. It's so inconsistent as to be nearly unusable.

This card has a very clear purpose. You want to let the corp score 2- and 3-point agendas, then snatch 1-point agendas, trading them for the more valuable agendas. Used in this way, a runner could easily turn a losing score of corp 5/runner 2 into a winning score of corp 3/runner 5, simply by nabbing a Hostile Takeover off R&D and swapping for an already-scored Priority Requisition.

On top of that, by stealing utility agendas like Mandatory Upgrades, or cards with stacked counters like Nisei MK II or AstroScript Pilot Program and giving them useless "when scored" abilities like Accelerated Beta Test or Breaking News, you can destroy a lead the corp they thought they already had; remember, stolen agendas are considered blank.

But this is best-case scenario. And it requires a number of conditions:
1. The corp is running a mix of different valued agendas
2. The corp has already scored a high-value agenda
3. The runner has this console installed
4. The runner is able to steal a low-value agenda

If any of these conditions fail, Turntable is useless. If the corp's agendas are all the same value, then swapping them around provides very little benefit. If the runner takes an early lead and the corp is only scoring 1-point agendas, then Turntable gives you no way to press that advantage. If the corp rushes out 5 points before you find your Turntable, then you have to decide whether to run without it (and just stealing agendas normally) or wait and try to find it (potentially letting them get out another 3/2 and win). And of course, if you can't get in at all, or get lucky (unlucky?) and only manage to steal 3-point agendas, then Turntable is just an expensive Akamatsu Mem Chip.

So while it's entirely possible for Turntable to cause a four-point swing in one turn, it can only do so in circumstances that are very difficult to predict or control. This is the exact definition of "jank".

Compare that to Vigil. Both are 2 anarch consoles with 2 influence and +1. But Vigil will almost always draw you at least 1 or 2 cards over the course of a game, and depending on the game can get you far more than that. Drawing cards is unconditionally good: no matter what the matchup, drawing cards will help you build and maintain the tempo you need.

I would love to be proven wrong about this, but I feel like Turntable is going to go the same way as #Monolith; a fascinating piece of design that just never seems to work in practice.

(Chrome City era)
I agree with this for the most part but I feel it should be tested. There are way to many agendas out there that have detrimental effects on the runner when they are scored and even if I just switch some one point agenda for a Gila Hands to deny econ it could have it's uses. It is definitely more situational than Vigil but since it's at the 2 cred slot it's not super expensive and does still give me a memory. Like you said I hope it's great but I think it does deserve testing. —
Good analysis, but i think it will see more play than you expect. It wouldn't be the first card to see play while its use is limited to certain matchups and situations. See Plascrete Carapace. See Clot. And this last one is, i think, the best card to compare to Turntable. Both can mess up fast-ad Deck. But Clot, even though being an Anarch card, sees more play in Shaper decks, as they can use it in a more efficient way. Turntable doesn't need the kind of trick Clot needs, has use in other situation (Nisei token, swinging balance with the right agendas stolen and scored) and, in the end, offers 1 MU instead of costing 1, for an honest price. It will probably stay in Anarch Deck, though. —
I disagree for the most part. This console isn't for everyone but it could find a place in Reina decks and more traditional anarch runners. Good players usually can play easily around Vigil. Turntable can make things pretty awkward, especially for corp decks who rely on speficic agendas for their core strategy (nisei/astroscript). Even if it does nothing, a 2 cost console with 1 memory is solid. —
I agree with this, but I'd like to add one thing about how it could (theoretically) be useful. In a standard Noise deck, you're generally looking at dumping a bunch of agendas into archives, then sweeping them out late game. The fact that Noise's gameplan is long term and revolves around accessing a load of random cards in archives is the reason that this console is good for him - he's naturally inclined to be scoring a mix of agendas at a time when the corp has already scored. There's a similar synergy with medium dig combos. Not as good as Grimoire though. —
I've lost games to this console. I think it is pretty solid. In decks that don't demand a grimoire, or a dino, or a specific console, throw this in. Its a good price for the memory and the ability can be a very nasty surprise for the corp. You might pull off a surprise win. —
How the times have changed. Global Food Initiative, I'm looking at you! —

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I <3 Turntable. Maybe I'll make that a t-shirt or something. Still, I believe that in certain decks (which means usually non-Noise) Turntable is a superbly solid option. I'll state my case here, but take it with a grain of salt, I am biased.

Let's check the best case scenarios: Turntabling Astros / Atlas / Nisei / House of Knives / generic 5/3 agenda against something you cannot use. This will sometimes win you the game directly, but at least it will disturb the Corps boardstate tremendously.

Worst case scenario: you do not have the benefits of Grimoire. Now, if you do not need the extra MU or do not play sufficiently many viruses to justify that console, that is not a real drawback. In that cases, Turntable is an expensive Mem Chip.

Turntable allows you to sit down and relax when the Corp IAAs in the early game. Let him score the 5/3 and invest a hell lot of time and money into it, just so that you once you find an agenda elsewhere can turntable it away for profit. No pressure there. Instead, you can use the two turns the Corp invests to score in order to create scoring opportunities elsewhere. Look at NEH. In app. 80% of the cases, they score Astro as their first agenda, as that is their game plan. You'll never be so happy to steal NAPDs ever, as when you trade them for Astros with tokens. Similar thing is valid for RP: They want to score the early Nisei and then chain it. Also they need two turns to score it, and if you figure you can't get into that remote, build up for a pressure turn, find something else and Turntable the Nisei away (or alternatively force the Corp to use the Nisei token for something else than protecting the remote). Weyland often plays a 1/2/3 point agenda mix. Hostiles for easy money and Archer fodder, 5/3 in order to not play too many agendas. That allows for point swaps compared with the utility swaps mentioned above. Just yesterday I was facing Blue Sun with 5 points scored and an Oaktown Renovation in an inpenetrable remote. Luckily, an Indexing found another Oaktown that I stole and swapped with the 5/3. Matchpoint denial! At the end I won.

What Turntable does from an overall perspective, is that it can turn around sure loss positions into games with either a fighting chance or even wins. It creates variance compared with Grimoire, that is adding a safe, but only small benefit. I am never sad when Turntable did nothing in a particular game (sometimes I don't even bother installing it), because I know of how many games it has won me and will win me from subpar positions.

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(The Universe of Tomorrow era)

Ok, after reading the reviews of this card, I think it's being completely overlooked for the wrong reasons, so I decided to write my own review. Everyone keeps focusing on the aspect of, "well it's only good if they have a higher point agenda and you steal a lower point one. Or maybe to get a Nisei MK II" Incorrect!

This card's strength lies in the ability to deny the corp an agenda with a really good ability! I would happily give up my 5/3 for their 2 point Mandatory Upgrades, or my 3/2 for their Gila Hands Arcology. This card gives you options, options that are good for different reasons in different situations.

Whizzard being able to trash assets AND snaged their scored Gila Hands Arcology is crippling!

I think this card is great and has a lot of use in many situations.

I disagree with people who say this is Noise's console, because I think Grimoire holds that title completely. But for any other denial type runner, this just gives you more options to disrupt the corp and a splash of , all for 2

(Chrome City era)
Might be a potent tool for stopping the NBN Astro Train. By stealing even a bad agenda like NAPD you can stop the train by swapping it with a scored and unused Astro. —
It is literally Noise's console - as in this is the console that Noise uses in the lore, and has him in the picture. Grimoire is officially Whizzard's console. —
Yeah, they're talking about in the lore. But I agree that this is a good use of it, beyond just upgrading point values —

I started off writing a comment and it was getting wordy so I decided to go for a review instead!

I think this really needs some testing. It could be worthless, but I do feel that while it seems inconsistent, it will have the end effect of making your deck overall MORE consistent. When you steal an agenda, there are four broad possibilities:

  • a) You steal a 'small' (1 or fewer points) agenda, and corp hasn't scored anything/has only scored small agendas
  • b) You steal a 'large' (2 or higher points) agenda, and the corp hasn't scored/has only scored small agendas
  • c) You steal a small agenda, corp has scored a large agenda
  • d) You steal a large agenda, corp has scored a small agenda

We can break these down into agendas that are worth 1, 2, or 3 points (or the edge case of 6 points...). But broadly, just to make the point... In these situations, a and b are fine, you're winning. d you're in a tight game, and you've stolen what you need to, turntable doesn't help. In c, you're in a position where you need to catch up, and Turntable is exactly the card you need; buys you points and time.

Overall, it will tend to slightly increase the average value of agendas you score.

There is also, of course, the edge benefit that Turntable works against all counter agendas, which is a list that includes some pretty potent cards

Round it off with a low install cost, a low influence cost making it eminently splashable, and a dot of MU. I can see it maybe making a home for itself in slower, rig building decks that want to catch up late game if the corp has scored an agenda (I like this as a splash in that situation too, the corp feeling safe on a three pointer or two, you can drop it late game and dig for a one pointer in RnD). Also it would maybe fit in combo decks that want to make the most of the accesses they DO get.

I get that a lot of people aren't feeling this card, that it doesn't do you much to help you win. But I feel like many of the arguments are similar to those we heard about Leela when she appeared; it can be played around, it doesn't trigger often, it's a 'win more' (alternatively, it's just a catch up). It took a good long while for her to be respected! I'm not saying the console is as good as Leela, I think though that this is a card which needs some experience on the table before we can fully judge.

(Chrome City era)
468
This is Noise's console, and if you think about it, provides him with an interesting 1-turn win opportunity. As a no-run Noise, you sit back and install viruses, typically milling out several agendas in the process. In the meantime, you've created scoring windows for the corp, which they are hopefully using to score big agendas. You let them get to 5-6 points, then install Turntable and hit archives. You swap two 1-point agendas for whatever the corp has scored, and you probably just won. —
And if you didn't just win, the corp now has only a couple of points; the extra effort they spent scoring the 5/3 agendas has been wasted. If I'm playing a Turntable deck, I don't want to score an early big agenda or I risk losing it, but what do I do in the meantime? I also know I need to play around the console, but unlike, say, Leela's ID power, I don't necessarily *know* I need to play around it as they don't have to drop the console onto the table straight away. —
I think this card's utility actually lies in denying the corp the abilities it gets from it's agendas. I would be more than happy to give up my NAPD I just stole to deny them Gila Hands for the rest of the game. Or get rid of the that annoying Utopia/Hades Fragment —
Does anybody know how this card interacts with Punitive? Because technically the agenda you "stole" was only worth 1 point, and you swapped it with a higher point using a card ability. So does Punitive only do 1 damage or 2/3? —

Turntable seems to be one of those consoles that feels brilliant and game changing, but really makes you sad.

There will certainly be games where you are amazingly glad you had it - when you're making that last turn run against R&D, hoping that you can pull enough Agendas to turn your 6-4 pending loss in to a win, you'll certainly remember the turns where you snagged a 3/1, and turned it immediately in to a 5/3, winning the game. The time you snagged their ABT, then swapped it for their double advanced Vitruvius. Etc.

But in practice, there are very few times that will fire. The two biggest agendas this would seem to target - Nisei MK II and AstroScript- aren't going to worry a bit. If you're stealing something the corp wants more than the Nisei, off comes the counter. And you're not going to get any agendas stolen when the corp's Astroscript has a counter - they're just going to use the counter up.

The one niche where this card shines is in decks that rely on giant or repeated digs in to R&D for scoring. That's the situation where you're going to be occasionally pulling out a 3/1 when the corp has a 4/2 or a 5/3 scored. If you're playing a highly R&D focused deck against decks with high agenda density, this may be useful. If the corp scores a 5/3 before you steal a 3/1.

But even then, you're probably better off getting a console that lets you get in to R&D (Fan favorites Virus? Okay and Auto-Include Blue in particular) for this.

I think Turntable will feature strongly in "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!" stories, because it will lead to those huge swings that everyone remembers. But those stories will come far far less often than the "And then I ran his server and took my 7th point" stories that better consoles get you....

(Chrome City era)
90