Ikawah Project

Ikawah Project 5/3

Agenda: Security

As an additional cost to steal Ikawah Project, the Runner must spend [click] and 2[credit].

"The average citizen of Nairobi speaks six languages. Every culture, language, ethnicity of the east of Africa collides here, collapses together. What happens slowly by nature can happen quickly in our lab. We will bring peace." - Dr. Muchina, Project Lead
Illustrated by Michał Miłkowski
Decklists with this card

Sovereign Sight (ss)

#10 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Rulings

No rulings yet for this card.

Reviews

This is the HB Obokata Protocol. But of course HB being HB it's less about hurting you and more about stopping you. HB has quite an arsenal of tricks to make you run out of clicks during a run such as the ubiquitous bioroids and Mr Stone.

So let's see what combines well with this. Obviously I'm a sucker for punishment as I always make some dumb mistake when making these lists so be sure to check the comments for what I got wrong this time.

  • Bioroids, bioroids, bioroids. If you can trick the runner into spending their last click this agenda is unstealable.
  • Strongbox is good with Ikawah Project and the other options by virtue of boosting the steal cost to two clicks. Btw, you may install multiple (though they'll probably be trashed).
  • Mason Bellamy ensures the runner loses clicks when breaking ice. Mason Bellamy + Ikawah Project in a 3 ice server where all ice is encountered and must be broken means the runner cannot steal the agenda without extra clicks.
  • Enhanced Login Protocol can further reduce the clicks available to a runner. It can be avoided through event based runs though.
  • Heinlein Grid works with the other options by making the runner so broke they can't pay 2 to steal. I don't think it works with Strongbox and the click cost on Ikawah Project since that would require the click cost to be paid first and the credit cost after that instead of simultaneously. Note that if the runner steals Ikawah Project first they'll still lose all their remaining credits. So they have to trash Heinlein first, which costs 3 (in practice this means that a runner with 5 or less will end up with 0 credits one way or another).
  • MCA Austerity Policy lets you reduce the clicks available to the runner. However it requires you to spend a click on your turn first, which is not really what you want to do when scoring a 5/3 as expands the scoring window for the runner from 1 to 2 turns.
  • False Lead when scored lets you remove 2 clicks mid run. Scoring it is a bit of a downer of course but False Lead + Strongbox + Ikawah leads to a pretty safe scoring window.
  • Ryon Knight doesn't do anything to protect Ikawah Project but it can add a bit of vengeance.
  • Manta Grid could set up up with another click the next turn, though it rules out the (stronger in my opinion) Heinlein Grid.

The 2 cost is unlikely to be much of a hindrance to the runner, but occasionally it will trip a runner up. As mentioned it does set up a combo with Heinlein Grid that could be interesting.

What the name refers to is not quite as clear as with some cards. I suspect it's a reference to a writer: Alexander Ikawah who's an Kenyan (note Nairobi in the flavour text) SF writer, at least some of his work (from skimming posts I found on the internet) seems to fit the cyberpunk style.

(Sovereign Sight era)
393
Another thing to consider is that if the runner steals it, you can get a card from archives onto the top of R&D with Seidr's ability (assuming it's stolen before Seidr has already triggered) —
I don't think Ryon Knight actually would be of any help--by the point the runner has accessed Ikawah Project and paid the click cost to steal it, there is no longer a window to use his trash ability. —
https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArtByAlexanderIkawah/photos/?ref=page_internal —