Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel.

Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel.

Identity: Corp
Deck size: 45 • Influence: 15

Whenever you trash a rezzed card, except during installation, you may search R&D for 1 card with a printed rez cost exactly 1credit less than the trashed card's printed rez cost. Install and rez the card you found, ignoring credit costs. Use this ability only once per turn.

Take all that is offered, and more.
Illustrated by Vitalii Ostaschenko
Decklists with this card

Midnight Sun (ms)

#57 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Midnight Sun
Rulings

  • If the Corp trashes a Border Control to end the run and then uses Ob Superheavy Logistics to search for an Anemone, can they also trigger Anemone's rez ability?

    Yes, as long as the Anemone is installed protecting the attacked server. The search effect from Ob Superheavy Logistics and any resulting chain reactions are resolved immediately after paying the cost of Border Control's ability, before the "End the run." instruction resolves, so the condition on Anemone's ability can still be met.

  • Can the Corp use Ob Superheavy Logistics to search R&D for a card when they trash a card with rez cost 0?

    Yes, but since there are no cards with a printed rez cost less than 0, they will fail to find any cards and simply shuffle R&D. Note that the ability was still used, even if no card was installed, so it cannot be used again that turn.

  • If the Corp trashes Rashida Jaheem and triggers Ob Superheavy Logistics to shuffle R&D, does the shuffle happen before or after they draw 3 cards?

    The shuffle happens before drawing cards. Trashing Rashida Jaheem is a nested cost, which requires a checkpoint to occur after it is paid. Ob Superheavy Logistics triggers at this checkpoint and resolves before the rest of Rashida Jaheem’s ability resolves.

  • If the Corp uses Ob Superheavy Logistics to search for Spin Doctor, do they shuffle R&D before or after drawing cards with Spin Doctor’s first ability?

    The shuffle happens before drawing cards. When searching their deck, players set aside any cards found by the search and shuffle immediately, before resolving further instructions that act on the found cards. In particular, in this case the Corp shuffles before Spin Doctor is installed and rezzed.

  • Can the Corp use Ob Superheavy Logistics to search for Daily Quest when not in their action phase? What happens if the Corp tries to install and rez a card that cannot be rezzed?

    The Corp can search for and install Daily Quest, but if it is not their action phase, it will remain unrezzed. The Corp must reveal the card to show that it cannot be rezzed.

  • If the Corp trashes a card with a printed rez cost of 2 to pay the additional cost to score Azef Protocol, can they use Ob Superheavy Logistics to install Malapert Data Vault into the root of the same server as the Azef Protocol? Can they then resolve Malapert Data Vault’s ability?

    Yes and yes. When the Corp pays the additional cost to score Azef Protocol, a checkpoint occurs before the score effect itself is resolved. Ob Superheavy Logistics triggers at this checkpoint and resolves in time for Malapert Data Vault to be active when its trigger condition is met.

  • If the Corp uses Ob Superheavy Logistics to install a piece of ice, do they pay the install cost of that ice?

    No. Ob Superheavy Logistics directs the Corp to ignore credit costs, and this includes install costs.

  • Does rezzing a piece of ice with Ob Superheavy Logistics ignore effects like Tread Lightly and Hernando Cortez?

    Yes. “Ignoring credit costs” includes both increases to rez costs like the one imposed by Tread Lightly and additional costs consisting of credits like the one imposed by Hernando Cortez.

  • What does “except during installation” mean?

    The Corp has the opportunity to trash other cards as part of the process of installing a new card. This clause excludes this type of trashing from the trigger condition of Ob Superheavy Logistics. You cannot use its ability while in the process of installing a card.

  • Can the Corp use Ob Superheavy Logistics to install an agenda?

    No. Since agendas do not have rez costs, they can never meet the requirements of the search.

  • If the Corp has two rezzed copies of a unique (♦) card, the older copy will be trashed. Can the Corp use Ob Superheavy Logistics due to this trashing?

    No. The trigger condition on Ob Superheavy Logistics only looks for cards trashed by the Corp, and cards trashed because of uniqueness are trashed by the game rules, not by a player.

  • If the Corp uses Ob Superheavy Logistics to install a card that has an additional cost to rez, can they decline to pay the additional cost?

    If the additional cost is paying credits, that cost is already being ignored, so the Corp cannot decline to pay it. If the additional cost is anything other than credits, such as the additional cost on Archer, the Corp can decline to pay it. If they decline, the card will not be rezzed, but they must reveal the card to show why it was not rezzed.

  • If the Corp trashes a piece of ice (such as Envelopment) while the Runner is encountering it, then installs a new piece of ice protecting the same server with Ob Superheavy Logistics, where is the Runner’s position relative to the newly installed ice?

    The Runner is inward from the new ice, so they will not approach it. When ice is uninstalled during a run, the Runner and all ice protecting the server immediately “collapse” their positions toward the root of the server. Ice cannot “jump in front of ” the Runner by trashing and installing midrun.

  • If the Corp trashes Alexa Belsky with her ability, can they use Ob Superheavy Logistics to install a card shuffled from HQ into R&D by that ability?

    No. The Corp’s opportunity to use Ob Superheavy Logistics is immediately after the cost of Alexa Belsky’s ability is paid, before the ability resolves. No cards will have been shuffled from HQ into R&D yet.

  • Can the Corp trash Daruma to use its ability, install a card with Ob Superheavy Logistics, and then choose the newly installed card to swap when resolving Daruma’s ability?

    Yes. Trashing Daruma is paying a nested cost, so it is immediately followed by a checkpoint. The ability on Ob Superheavy Logistics resolves in full before the game continues to the instruction to swap cards in Daruma’s ability, so the newly installed card is available as a possible target for that instruction.

  • Can the Corp use Ob Superheavy Logistics while resolving the additional cost on Azef Protocol to install an asset in the root of the same server as Azef Protocol?

    It is not possible to do this and still score the Azef Protocol. When the Corp pays the additional cost to score Azef Protocol, a checkpoint occurs before the score effect itself is resolved. Ob Superheavy Logistics triggers at this checkpoint and resolves fully before the game continues attempting to resolve scoring. If the Corp chooses to install an asset in the root of the server that currently contains Azef Protocol, they must trash Azef Protocol as part of installing the asset. This is legal, but when the reaction window closes and the game proceeds, the score effect won't be able to find Azef Protocol because it is no longer installed.

  • Can the Corp trash Reconstruction Contract to use its paid ability, install a card with Ob Superheavy Logistics, and then resolve the ability to place an advancement counter on the card that was just installed?

    Yes, but there must be a card the Corp can advance installed before they begin this process. If there are no installed cards the Corp can advance, the game does not consider Reconstruction Contract’s ability to have the potential to change the game state.

  • Can the Corp trash Calibration Testing to use its ability, install a card with Ob Superheavy Logistics, and then resolve the ability to place an advancement counter on the card that was just installed? Does it matter what other cards are in the root of the server with Calibration Testing when they begin this process?

    Yes, the Corp can do this, as long as the new card is installed in the root of the same server from which Calibration Testing is trashed. It is not relevant whether other cards are installed in the root of the server. The game checks if Calibration Testing’s ability has the potential to change the game state before the card is trashed, so it sees Calibration Testing itself as a potential target and allows the Corp to use the ability.

  • During a run, if the attacked server has Reconstruction Contract and no other cards in its root and no ice protecting it, can the Corp trash Reconstruction Contract to use its ability and then use Ob Superheavy Logistics to install a new card in the root of the same server?

    No. The attacked server ceases to exist in the checkpoint immediately after Reconstruction Contract is trashed, before the ability on Ob Superheavy Logistics resolves. The non-existent server is not a valid destination for installing a card after this point.

  • The Corp trashes a card with Svyatogor Excavator and uses Ob Superheavy Logistics to install Rashida Jaheem. Can the Corp immediately use Rashida Jaheem’s ability?

    No, Rashida Jaheem has the same trigger condition as Svyatogor Excavator, and was not active when that trigger condition was met. Once a reaction window opens to handle pending conditional abilities for a particular trigger condition, new abilities cannot become pending for that trigger condition.

  • How big is Endurance compared to the ships depicted on Ob Superheavy Logistics?

    There are two tanker ships in the foreground of Ob Superheavy Logistics with large white cylindrical tanks. Endurance is about one-twelfth the length of those ships, smaller than the radius of one of the tanks.

Reviews

So I think this card exists so that people who like to make ridiculous decks have something to obsess over. It has a very powerful effect, but it's not immediately obvious how to make it useful. And I'm not going to pretend that I've cracked the code here either. I've made a few decks with it, and they've all been universally terrible.

But I do have a few observations, which will hopefully be of help to anyone trying to make this monstrosity work...

  • Getting free installs/rezzes when you trash your stuff is cool, but in most cases it probably should be viewed more of as a consolation prize, than a goal in itself. You're basically making one of your things worse instead of trashing it.
  • You can use this identity to install ice without paying the ice costs. This lets you make some very tall servers, if you're into that sort of thing.
  • One of the biggest strengths of this ID is the built in card-search on its ability. It's very feasible to put in one-off tech cards like Mavirus, and just fetch them when you need them, by trashing the correct-sized target.

Also, consider the following scenario:

  • You install Alexa Belsky for some reason.
  • You install and start advancing Oaktown Renovation.
  • The runner, predictably runs to steal it.
  • If they manage to get through your ice and commit to accessing Oaktown, you use Alexa's, ability to trash herself and trigger Ob's ability.
  • Using Ob's, you overwrite Oaktown with a Snare!. The runner has already committed to accessing, so instead of stealing your agenda, they get a face full of net damage and a tag.

There are probably better sets of cards to do this with. Alexa Belsky is not a card you'd normally want in your deck. It's surprisingly hard to find 1 cost self-trashers though! (Very unfortunate that Mark Yale just rotated.) But either way, the ability to trash an agenda mid-run is noteworthy. And the ability to replace it with something harmful after they commit to access is very interesting indeed.

Food for thought!

(Midnight Sun era)
602

Reconstruction Contract may be the card you're looking for instead of Alexa Belsky. You can trash to move 0 counters and trigger Ob. Saves influence if nothing else, and spare meat damage from, for example, a random Azef Protocol could potentially power it up.

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I'm not sure if Reconstruction Contract can be used with 0 counter, since it does not have the potential to change the game state.

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Incorrect. Trash effects intrinsically change the game state, as they move the trashed card to archives. Therefore, RC is ALWAYS trashable.

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This will probably be powerful, but not as crazy-strong as its early gameplay looks. Yes, Ob can rez an Envelopment for $5, cause the Runner to pay $4 to break/trash it, and then tutor/install/rez a Border Control for free. Later on, they can trash the Border Control to end a run and tutor/install/rez a $3 Maskirovka for free. Their $5 ended up paying for 3 ice (2 installed from R+D clicklessly), BUT in a funky series of pawnings where only one was ever on the table and in the exact opposite order I'd usually want to play these cards. This is an unusual economic flow with lots of on-paper income but I think runners might find reasonable counterplay over time. It might not be much harder to deal with than Blue Sun turning each Oversight AI or Building Blocks into a quick $7-14.

It might be too much ID value, though. Border Control is already one of the strongest ices ever printed and giving it the ability to also find/install/rez a $3 card pushes it into the stratosphere. Even average assets jump a tier or two when they gain 2-3 basic clicks worth of value. Launch Campaign's ability to tutor/install a Rashida takes it from an innocent "3 turns to net $5" to a high-priority "4 turns to net $8 and 3 cards". Ob has an unusually wide array of assets that have much more upside than normal if not killed. (Regolith Mining License, Marilyn Campaign, Nico Campaign, Launch Campaign, MCA Austerity Policy, etc). We're looking at a Weyland ID with an unusually strong card pool of $3-5 ice and much stronger-than-normal $1-2 assets, and a life-changing amount of tutoring flexibility/consistency. This looks like more ID value than most top IDs get, and its card pool is surprisingly flexible.

Obstacles:

  • Your Ob chains run from most expensive to least expensive. A couple of problems with this. A lot of your funds could be tied up for up to 4 turns in an Envelopment which the runner doesn't HAVE to trash. Ob chains will probably delay your cheaper ice, which usually would have been most cost-effective in the early game. Maskirovka looks like a good ice! But when you're trashing a Border Control on like turn 5 it's probably not the ice you'd love to have then.
  • You're building around an ID ability which can only be triggered once per turn. Runners can easily force a trash on Envelopment and it is only good at all while your ID ability is still available and a liability otherwise.
  • Pre-rezzed ice make it much easier for runners to budget and aim Boomerangs/etc. It also will make it easier to guess where Stavkas are hiding.
  • Besides Border Control and Stavka, most of Weyland's "trash a card" cards are not inherently great, and very few self-trashing cards are printed at $3, so Ob chains will probably mostly be limited to $5-4-3 (Envelopment -> Border Control -> any $3 card) or 2-1-0 (economic asset -> Launch Campaign -> Rashida).
  • The runner has a lot of influence over when the self-trashing ice are allowed to fire (or forced to fire). Architects of Tomorrow would be a really good ID if runners triggered it every turn, but they don't and it sucks.
  • In timed play, the amount of shuffling and deck-searching will probably be ridiculous. Tutoring is not a fast process. Thinking through which card to tutor takes some time too.

Card reference (*asterisk on items which cannot self-trash)

  • $0 - Rashida, Spin Doctor, Svyatogor Excavator, Sandburg, NGO Front
  • $1 - Launch Campaign, MCA Austerity Policy, Urban Renewal, Wall to Wall*
  • $2 - Regolith, Marilyn Campaign, Nico Campaign, Drudge Work.
  • $3 - Mavirus, Bass Chiriyoga, Crisium Grid*, Maskirovka*, Masvingo*, Afshar*, Akhet*
  • $4 - Border Control, Mausolus*
  • $5 - Envelopment
(Midnight Sun Booster Pack era)
201

Reduced Service is a normally fairly weak card which has interesting synergy possibilities. Being able to clicklessly tutor it makes it a lot stronger. Of course, if you can shell out the influence for Anoetic Void there's probably some comedy opportunities to ruin someone's run mid-run.

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Installing Anoetic Void mid-run would be hilarious. You could use Stavka to trash a $1 card, or use Alexa Belsky to trash herself.

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