Kabonesa Wu: Netspace Thrillseeker

Kabonesa Wu: Netspace Thrillseeker

Identity: G-mod
Deck size: 45 • Influence: 15 • Link: 1

[click]: Search your stack for a non-virus program and install it, lowering its install cost by 1[credit], then shuffle your stack. If that program is still installed when your turn ends, remove it from the game.

Illustrated by Antonio De Luca
Decklists with this card

Down the White Nile (dtwn)

#25 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Rulings
  • Updated 2018-02-02

    ANCUR UFAQ 20 [Michael Boggs]

    If the Runner plays Scavenge to trash and reinstall the program installed with Kabonesa Wu, do they still have to remove that program from the game at the end of the turn?

    No. After the program is uninstalled, it is considered a new copy of that card.

    If the Runner uses Kabonesa Wu to find and install a Chameleon, what happens at the end of the turn?

    Both Chameleon's ability and the delayed conditional ability created by Wu meet their trigger conditions at the same time. Since the Runner controls both abilities, they can choose the order in which to trigger them. Once Chameleon is uninstalled by either ability, the other ability will not be able to find it anymore. Thus, the Runner can choose whether to add Chameleon to the grip or to remove it from the game.

Reviews

Guaranteed Magnum Opus turn one? Yes please. I can think of the following scenarios:

  1. Get Mopus in your opening draw. Installing click one and clicking Mopus 3x lets you end the turn at 6

  2. Draw a Scavenge in your opening hand. Click 1, use the ID ability to tutor Mopus, install for 4, click 2 Scavenge it to permanently install it, clicks 3 & 4 get paid and end the turn at 5

  3. Draw neither a Scavenge or Mopus in your opening hand. Use her ability to tutor an SMC and install Mopus. If you have to click for 2 then you can end turn 1 at 2, if you have a Dirty Laundry/Easy Mark or Sure Gamble to play click one, you can end turn 1 at 5 or 6, respectively. This works out the same if you draw an SMC in your opening hand.

Assuming a 45 card deck with 3 Mopus and 3 Scavenge, you have around a 50% chance of hitting either scenario 1 or 2, (I think, it's been a while since I calculated probability). If you have 6 econ events you can play turn 1, then you have a similar chance of avoiding the 2 outcome of scenario 3.

(Down the White Nile era)
If you have 6 turn-one-playable econ events of any kind (Peace In Our Time and Sure Gamble?), 3 scavenge, and 1 Mopus, you have a >75% chance of not having the 2-credit outcome - there'd be 10 cards you can draw turn one that save you. (and even your worst outcome...) —
How about having Mopus and Scavenge in hand and Paperclip in deck? Tutor-Install Paperclip for 3, Scavenge Mopus for 1 —
@Sotek I'm really excited about the consistency with this ID. —
@Deo That's not a bad play either, you'd end the turn at 5 credits and have Paperclip ready to go in the heap. —
Unfortunately, the program is removed from play and does not go to the heap. I think chameleon and the bird breakers are better —
Silly me ignore my post —

So originally I, and others I believe, were excited about Kabonesa with Scavenge. This is actually not a very good interaction. If you want to install a Magnum Opus with this combo you will need the following: A Magnum in hand or your heap, Scavenge in your hand, and a Magnum in your stack. 1 to activate Kabonesa and install the Magnum, spending 4 - 1 to Scavenge and install the second Magnum. If you then use Magnum twice, you'll end your turn with the same number of s you started with. Whereas if you just install it directly from your hand, and then use it three times, you'll end up with one more credit than you started with. Same goes for installing high cost programs like Femme. You need the necessary cards in hand/heap/stack and you'll only save one versus hard installing it; this while spending an extra . So Scavenge isn't really a great card for her.

--EDIT:

So apparently a single Scavenge can trash a program, and then reinstall the exact same copy of that program. And it isn't considered the same program. Seems a bit weird to me but that does change things. It is still more efficient to just hard install a program. The you save is worth more than the you save. But if all you have in your hand is a Scavenge, it is definitely nice to install any program and keep it. --

Chameleon is of course a nice interaction as it can avoid the "remove from game" clause. But this will only happen probably three times a game if you use three Chameleons. But that is about it. The only program I can think of that you only need for one turn is Cache, but that is not a valid target. So to me, her ability has significant limitations. But the ability to find that program you absolutely need right now and install in at a discount in one can save you the game sometimes.

Now there is one other interaction which seems to be pretty solid to me. Using Kabonesa with Brahman. Brahman will continually send your programs back to your stack where it is a pain to pick them up and reinstall them. Kabonesa will save you time and money so you can keep your Brahman fed. Using Brahman as your main breaker with a few cheap programs and The Personal Touch as backup might work quite well. Throw in a D4v1d too.

--EDIT:

People have been going crazy using Kabonesa with Origami and Ekomind. Its a pretty cool concept and I plan to try it out. I wonder if anyone has tried her with Au Revoir. That is another card that is unbelievably good, if you can find all three of them early. I'm anxious to try this; stupid work :/

(Down the White Nile era)
I don't believe you have the interaction correct, as per the new FAQ. You only need a Magnum in your deck and a Scavenge in your hand to make the combo work. The efficiency comes from having this as a card ability, as you can pull out any program you want turn 1, given that you have scavenge in your hand. —
I'm certain you're getting the interaction wrong with Scavenge. You only need Scavenge turn 1 to fetch Magnum. You use Kabonesa's ability, grab Magnum for 4$, click twice for the money back, then Scavenge. It only asks you to trash an installed program (Magnum), then install one from the heap. So you get to keep it. —
As for Chameleon, it doesn't work for the same reason Citadel Sanctuary and Joshua B. doesn't work. Kabonesa's ability checks before Chameleon's, as far as I can tell, so it gets removed. —
I think (and others should feel free to correct me) that you have the Scavenge interaction misunderstood. As the UFAQ answers, you can Scavenge the same Mopus (or any program) that you can clicked for and Wu's RFG clause won't kick in at the end of the turn. This really ups how strong her ability is. —
The UFAQ above states that she works with Chameleon. And I realize you get to keep the Magnum if you use Scavenge. I'm saying it isn't worth it. It is more efficient to just hard install it. —
Okay, looking at the Scavenge FAQs-you can trash Magnum with Scavenge, then reinstall the exact same copy with Scavenge? That is weird to me that that would work. If so, it isn't as efficient, but you could at least install it turn 1 if you have a Scavenge. —
That's what makes her strong; who doesn't want to have a great chance at turn 1 Magnum? You fill the deck with Laguna and other utility while getting whatever resource you need at the time. Good thing you won't be able to include Levy in the same deck. :) —
It's funny, every time someone used Test Run/Scavenge, I assumed they had a second copy of the program in their hand. It is hard to tell on jinteki.net —

Kabonesa Wu is literally wearing the cat on the coffee mug from Record Reconstructor. Okay...the eyes on the coffee mug are open, but still! Backstory flavor ideas? Have we finally gotten the Princess Space Kitten ID we've all been waiting for?!!!

(Down the White Nile era)

This review isn't an actual analysis - I believe the other reviews sum up Kabonesa's potential quite well.

What I do want to point out is the return of the "Panda Perpetrator" (yes, I just made that term up) we first saw in Record Reconstructor and then Data Breach and that we get to see again in the spoiled card Because I Can from Kitara's 4th datapack The Devil and the Dragon.

What is the story behind Kabonesa and her animal alter-ego? Is it as black-and-white as NBN will make it out to be? And the most important question of all, when can we expect Princess Space Kitten???

(Down the White Nile era)
I believe it was first seen in the art of Record Reconstructor. —
Man that card is so bad I totally forgot. Thank you, I have edited accordingly! —
So one thing we know about the image is that it appears on worse version of other cards... —
As long as we are offering minor corrections to what is otherwise a very good review, I would point out that Kabonesa Wu's animal calling card is a civet, not a panda. —
Another fun Wu fact is, that we've seen Wu in flavour text on Lean and Mean (and on picture). Also on DareDevil and Network Exchange —
@Sanjay My mistake, that animal was not in my diction until today! Although I have to admit, "Civet Criminal" is a bit misleading for Ms. Wu haha —

Everyone else has spoken already, but I want to join the praise. Kabonesa is very fun, very different kind of shaper -- regardless of her overall power (which seems high to me, but what do I know). Her innate, self-destruct-discount-tutoring opens up a range of cards that were previously seen as pretty unwieldy. While Self Modifying Code is obvious and an old standby, Customized Secretary gets a turn as a killer-ish app -- it's 1 credit! As others have identified, Origami and Ekomind have a reason to exist. This also might allow her to use some of the specialty breakers from Terminal Directive ( i.e. Adept and Savant )that require excess memory. Alternatively, she works well with her console Daredevil as 2 card infusion when running big servers can help get events into your hand. Otherwise, my challenge with Kabonesa memory limits when trying to install the trashable programs that install the programs you actually want -- although this can be overcome with careful planning.

So she's good at setting up -- but to be honest, many Shapers are good at that. What I have found to be so interesting about her is the speed at which she can recover. In a recent game, I wiped my whole rig out stealing a pair of Degree Mills. Next turn, after I summoned a Customized Secretary from my stack, I was back up and running. I feel that this supports her flavour/feel of a fast moving thrill seeker. If everything blows up on a run, oh well, I'll worry about that next turn.

(Council of the Crest era)
ekomind and daredevil are both console tho —
Whoops good point. I will adjust. —

stares at other reviews

Who'd'a thunk this would've ended up with multiple cards being restricted or banned? Au Revior at the very least, then the prime Laamb Surfer ID which resulted in that going in the bin. Good stuff, Wu. You managed to live up to the hype! 😍

(Uprising Booster Pack era)
297

I was trying to build a deck with her and just looking at the programs list and I came across some cards that seem interesting with her that I think nobody has mentioned so far.

Kyuban might be fine to search and let get RFGd if you are about to do multiple runs on R&D in the same turn (Indexing + going back in for the agendas, perhaps). That could reimburse a fair bit of money for the one turn you need it. Can potentially get two of them, then Indexing, then run and get 1 agenda out of the top 5. That would be worth $8 for two clicks, or $4 per click.

Somebody commented on a Kabonesa Wu deck that they have done a 3x Nyashia drop and then ran at R&D for a +9 dig for $3. Can potentially combine this with previously mentioned Indexing and Kyuban profitably.

I mentioned in the Flame-out card that using Kabonesa to drop Misdirection on it is a good play. Misdirection is still a good card for her even if she is just pulling it out for one turn to clear HHN tags and then letting it get RFGd.

Hyperdriver is a good search early game for sure. Honestly, this seems totally busted to me. I could totally see myself searching it on turns 1, 2, and 3 every game, using free clicks to search for yet more hyperdrivers. Now that I figured out this is legal, I feel like I have to find a way to take out 3 cards and put in 3 of these in my Kabonesa Wu deck. For some reason, I thought this was banned until I just tried to add it to a deck on JNet. It's not.

(Salvaged Memories era)

Any programs used on Flame-out can be trashed before getting RFGd. It's the idea behind the deck by @Xandorius - Fire Sale Wu 2.0 : A Flaming Star

Hyperdriver will have to stay on board for another turn, which you cannot do with Kabonesa Wu: Netspace Thrillseeker without additional support like Self-modifying Code, Rejig, Simulchip.

3x Nyashia is not +9 accesses since you can't use more than 1 token per run.