Tithe

Tithe 1[credit]

Ice: Sentry - AP
Strength: 1
Influence: 0

[subroutine] Do 1 net damage.

[subroutine] Gain 1[credit].

“Youʼll give till it hurts… then itʼll reach for more.”
–Red Comyn
Illustrated by Scott Uminga
Decklists with this card

System Gateway (sg)

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

No rulings yet for this card.

Reviews

Cheap and annoying neutral ice. If will force the runner to install a sentry breaker (killer). Any sentry breaker will break it for 2, except Bukhgalter, for which it will be free.

Does it mean this ice is useless? No. But it means that you will probably not want to install a second, once the killer is on the board, unless you want to bluff a stronger ice.

Of note, shaper who use Ika will find this ice the most annoying. Also, it is recommended to just not install it against Tāo Salonga: Telepresence Magician, because it would then be placed where it defend the least.

Because it is cheap, it is a good outer ice, letting you be protected from Hippo. Unrezzed, it could potentially attract a Botulus or Boomerang. In which case, just never rez it and trash it, trashing the runner card with it.

While the ice will not protect your server, it will tax the runner for a marginal cost for you. Fair trade.

The quote, art and effect are are totally in line with one another. Good design.

(System Update 2021 era)
3864

In Startup, you also can put these on the outside to defend against the ubiquitous Inside Job, (especially effective in Jinteki and HB, where there is no 1 cost ice), as well as Rielle "Kit" Peddler: Transhuman.

@Spaulding: Rime is usually better for that purpose; it's Startup-legal, costs 0, and is mythic, meaning that you can't get rid of it to reach the ICE inside even using two Hippos. It also costs more to break if the Runner is using Bukhgalter. Tithe is better against other <b>killer</b>s, though.

In an Anarch meta where MK Ultra is the Killer of choice this card is value town as it's 1 to rez, 3 to break. Also, against Bukhgalter you can stack this cheaply with other sentries to mitigate the 2 credit refund.

Terrible. It reliably causes a ~$2 credit swing. It doesn't create short-term value and isn't very good on long-term value. On the most important plays of the game, this ice might as well not exist -- 1 net damage won't hold back a runner when they decide to go for it and "gain $1" is one of the weakest subroutines in Netrunner, even weaker now that PAD Tap is back.

Pros:

  • Jinteki ice is so bad that Tithe might not be the worst option available.
  • In Jinteki (and only in Jinteki), inflicting 1-3 net damage early might be forward progress. If you're in a faction without Obokata Protocol, a point of net damage is not.
  • If you're teaching a new player, Tithe is a good way to build up their self-confidence. And help them practice PAD Tap triggers.

Cons:

  • There are few ices in the game that cause a $2 credit swing with no redeeming ability, and they're at best situational. If most ice were this unimpactful, I don't think most people would play ice.
  • Anyone financially strapped enough to want Tithe probably can't afford to trash every PAD Tap.
  • It'll probably take ~5 runs on advanced cards to win a game. On Jinteki.net, over most games the runner generates ~$60-100. It's almost mathematically impossible to stop their ~5 key plays with $2-impact ice.
  • The runner has the option to either take a net damage or pay $2-3 to break. Every time a player elects to take 1 net damage rather than use a breaker, they're signaling your ice isn't even worth $2-3 in damage. Outside of Jinteki, Tithe usually isn't.
(System Update 2021 era)

Yeah, but Jinteki PE can get things ouf ot it, also you may be prevented of stealing and Obokata Protocol. It's not a good ice, but it's cheap and let the runner through with a tax (a tithe)

I like to think of it as a Pop-up Window that is just annoying enough on central servers to force out a sentry breaker, which pop-up window rarely does (for code gate breakers).

I think it's a little worse than Pop-Up Window in that Tithe's cost can be short-term ignored if it's the only way to make a turn work. And the first Tithe is free to Bukhgalter.