Nga

♦ Nga 2[credit]

Program
Memory: 1 • Strength: -
Influence: 2

When you install this program, load 3 power counters onto it. When it is empty, trash it.

The first time each turn you make a successful run, you may remove 1 hosted power counter to sabotage 1. (The Corp trashes 1 card of their choice from HQ or the top of R&D.)

Relinquish your foolish notions of control.
Illustrated by Bruno Balixa
Decklists with this card

Parhelion (ph)

#72 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Parhelion
Rulings
  • Updated 2023-03-25

    Can the Corp look at the cards that are being trashed while resolving sabotage?

    No, the Corp must choose which cards to trash first, and then all cards are trashed simultaneously. The Corp can look at the trashed cards from R&D in Archives after all trashes from sabotage have been resolved.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    If the Corp has only 1 card in HQ and must sabotage 2, can they choose to “trash 2 cards from HQ” in order to only trash the 1 card in HQ?

    No, the Corp must trash 2 cards if possible. The Corp must trash the remaining card from R&D.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    If the Corp has only 1 card in R&D and must sabotage 2, can they choose to “trash 2 cards from R&D” in order to only trash the 1 card in R&D?

    No, the Corp must trash 2 cards if possible. The Corp must trash the remaining card from HQ.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    What if the Corp has only 1 card total in HQ and R&D and must sabotage 2?

    The Corp trashes all cards from HQ and R&D.

  • Updated 2023-03-25

    Does the Runner gain a credit when they sabotage and have Demolisher installed?

    No, the Corp is trashing the cards when resolving a sabotage effect.

Reviews

If you are wondering about the flavor of this card, Nga (in the Nenets mythology) is the son of Num (the god of sky and heavens) and the god of death (thankfully, it's bringing death to the corp and not to you).

Under normal circumstances, Nga is kind of like a Time Bomb 4-6 :
Time Bomb:
* costs 1
* requires 1 run on centrals
* normally takes 3 turns minimum and maximum to deliver it's sabotage 3
* Rigging Up would make you lose 2 on install discount but speed up the doom clock by one turn
Nga:
* costs 2 and 1 MU (harder to acquire, especially for anarchs)
* requires 3 runs anywhere (if you want to, you can use Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra to trigger Nga without losing a )
* normally takes 3 turns minimum to deliver it's 3 * sabotage 1 (slightly weaker since it gives the corp more control over the trashed cards as they can draw in-between the milling, but also slightly stronger since sabotage can happen even on the turn of installation)
* Rigging Up would make you lose 1 on discount but add another turn of sabotaging

All of this, however, changes with charge. The most efficient killer ever and The Time Travel Trojan - both can infinitely recharge your Nga during its milling run, and turn it into an endless milling machine (no wonder they made Nga unique), whereas Time Bomb would get a faster doom clock at best... Just remember to leave at least 1 counter on it so it doesn't trash itself!

Overall, I think Time Bomb is better for runners who are not as concentrated on sabotaging, while Nga is better for runners who can get a little bit of setup to make it the true god of death (of course, running both is the best choice if you have the deck slots)

[written after the release of Liberation]

(The Automata Initiative era)
5

NSG threw away traces as a mechanic... Don't you remember?

With this program, you get the equivalent of having Maw or being Alice Merchant: Clan Agitator, but much easier to use. That is how powerful this is. In the 2021 meta, Maw was one of the best console and Alice Merchant: Clan Agitator has an ability that is considered strong enough to warrant having a 50 cards size (at least, when the ID was created).

Of course, Nga would be using card slots. And the question is : is it worth? Let's compare it to the closest alternative, Time Bomb. Both are unique and both will cause a total of Sabotage 3. Time Bomb cost 1 instead of 2 and is a one time install. I think Time Bomb is better than Nga.

But, if you build you deck around Sabotage, it is yet another source of Sabotage that will add up, after using Time Bomb and Chastushka.

Otherwise, out of faction, it is a great card! At 2 influences, it is easy to put in any deck. It is better in deck that specialize at doing a single run per turn, like Rielle "Kit" Peddler: Transhuman and decks using Virtuoso or Stargate. It will add value to ANY runs (not just on centrals). The nice part is that you do not need to build your deck around the card, it just add value to any runs.

So, in Anarch, it would be the third Sabotage card, with Time Bomb being the best (in my opinion). For Criminals and Shapers, it is the best Sabotage card, but because of the 1 MU cost, it would probably be easier to use in Shapers.

Note that since it trashes itself, it would trigger Apex cards like Reaver and Wasteland.

The art is evocative and is reinforced by the quote, both of them remind us of the effect of the card and the name of the card (a siberian god of death). Very good design all around!

(Parhelion era)
4175

Maw is a random card though which is significantly more powerful than Sabotage. Wonder if it's worth including Flux Capacitor to keep the constant Sabotage going.

@butzopower : Orca (while expensive) can both recharge Nga and be an efficient killer, so I think that with enough econ it may be a better choice than flux capacitor