Titan Evolution + notes

Changes/notes:

Going harder for the rush->FA->glacier setup: dropped jackson and tollbooth for another biotic, profiteering, and sandburg. GO GO GO. Changes from last published version are:

ICE:

−1 Guard +1 Changeling

Guard is good against inside job, bad against mimic. I kept 1 since ETR sentry is good for rushing, but the higher strength of changeling and requiring 2 breakers seems good.

Econ agendas:

−1 Chronos Project +1 Hostile Takeover +1 Profiteering

Hostile Takeover is awesome and worth going to 21 points for. I was never able to pull off Chronos Project when I needed to. Profiteering is still in testing. Having a 3/1 to finish the game (or more Archer fodder) seems handy, and being able to FA this and still end up cash positive (either Biotic Labor + score for net of +8 or SanSan City Grid + score for net +6 seems great, even with the additional bad pub.

Econ operations

−2 Restructure +1 Beanstalk Royalties +1 Stock Buy-Back

Being able to quickly bounce back from the first atlas score is important, and this frequently ends up putting you down around 4-ish credits (say, IAA hostile turn 1, then ice + atlas, then AAA). Buy-back is a new experiment- a decent amount of my wins are comebacks from an early deficit, and this seems like a good way to pull off wins from behind.

Improving the FA->Glacier plan:

−1 Tollbooth −2 Jackson Howard (ouch) +1 Biotic Labor

Had to free up some influence for Biotic Labor. The addition of a 3/1 makes it easier to get a 7th point in the late game if you are digging for it due to early steals or rezzing archer), and at that point your SanSan City Grids are probably either trashed or vulnerable. Losing JHow sucks, but I'd rather lose them than the GFI. Tollbooth was just too expensive to rez and was anti-synergistic with the late-game Sandburg plan.

+1 Sandburg

Oh hey a free slot, let's put another one of these in.

Misc:

−1 Consulting Visit +1 Fast Track

The flexibility in using Consulting Visit for Fast Track or Interns just didn't seem worth it for the extra 2 credits + click (especially since fast track is frequently followed with either IA or install + ice). I was using it for fast track most of the time, so swapped it.

Testing notes

Game 1: Lose to Null 7-5.

Really fun game-- archer took out yog and mimic, he parasited archer.. I put up a sandburg to keep archer alive, he double-parasited it. I guess it dies, then. I had a rezzed sansan up and a scored atlas with 5 points. Lost with a guaranteed score on the next turn with a deep medium dig.

Game 2: win vs. au revoir andy, 7-3

They bottomed out with drug dealer before setting up their combo. Was able to force them to install a killer and run my remote with fast track atlas + install sandburg to fake them out. This bottomed them out again when I was on 5 points with an atlas and biotic in hand, though low on credits. I installed mark yale and clicked for credits, then next turn burned some tokens and FA'ed the biotic. Misplay- I should have installed Mark Yale over sandburg, which would have made him potentially more likely to try to run it again and still given me the credits I needed for the next turn.

Game 3: win vs. sunny (probably nexus), 7-3

Sunny is just unbelievably slow to set up, I think I just scored most of my points behind an enigma.

Game 4: win vs. good stuff whizzard 8-6

Opened with hedge fund, install enigma, install atlas. He pulled 4 points off of R&D with turn 1 medium + run 3x. Managed to kill the medium next turn with a cobra. He parasited it and let that marinate for a turn, which allowed me to draw and score a hostile. I didn't see any other ice until a guard (which he saw first, and had mimic for). Got the turn 1 atlas scored eventually, then scored the second with Interns CVS, install atlas (AAA next turn). Managed to get enough econ scraped up to IA GFI (which I'd held in un-ICED HQ all game) behind the enigma and then biotic AAAA for the win next turn. yeesh.

Game 5: win vs. null 7-3

Seems like a new player/deck, made a lot of mistakes and had some odd card choices (dyson fractal generater, no fracter to be seen). Scored out behind archer in remote 2 (sandburg + vanilla in remote 1). He should have hammered R&D when he had medium out and the ability to trash vanilla with parasite / null / sucker. He should have used null to kill the vanilla on R&D when I used CVS to clear parasite / datasucker but it just had strength 2. He should have killed the sandburg as soon as he had the chance. My biggest misplay was installing oaktown behind unrezzed archer when I was on game point and he had the requisite sucker tokens to get it into mimic range. Should have held onto the oaktown and used interns to recur CVS, then go for the score next turn. Turns out CVS is super, super useful.

---

This deck aims to evolve its strategy throughout the game and depending on board state. It sometimes works! At any rate, this deck gives you the flexibility to adapt your play throughout the game, so the key is anticipating when the runner is threatening enough that you have to turtle up and when you have chances to get quick scores.

The Game Plan

Phase 1: Rush.

In the early game, you rush agendas behind gear-check ice and build econ. IAA Hostile Takeover, score Oaktown Renovation behind Vanilla, whatever. Get to a few points and build up some money while you do it. Once you have scored your first Project Atlas (frequently Fast Tracked, installed, advanced), we enter phase 2.

Phase 2: Atlas Train

Great, ideally you are at 3 or 4 points with at least one atlas token available. If you have the econ for it (through some combination of HTs, operations, using Mark Yale to burn counters from your phase-1 agendas, and clicking for credits), then you'll want to start windmilling atlases at SanSan City Grid. If you can't make that happen DO NOT WORRY. EVERYTHING IS COOL.

Phase 3: Glacier (wut)

Drop a Sandburg in your scoring remote and money up for safety. This will hopefully slow the runner down for a bit while you build your bank (with operations, hostiles, etc). When you get the chance, put an SSCG in your scoring remote alongside Sandburg and over-install/score out. Or, build a second server with one or two beast-level ice and score out there. Or create a new server for sandburg with one or two ice in it. Whatever seems workable.

Some semi-coherent thoughts

Ice placement is really important. Chimera is a lot worse when it's not the innermost ice. General rush placement applies: stack sentry/code gate/barrier on the scoring remote when you can, know when it's OK to leave HQ or R&D on the weaker side. It's probably better to just leave Cobra in your hand for a while than it is to make it the innermost ice on your scoring remote, for instance. Also Caduceus becomes a lot worse late in the game when you are swimming in BP.

Executive Boot Camp is nice for grabbing Mark Yale if you need cash, Sandburg if you need defense, or Jackson Howard if you need draw. Great card.

Consulting Visit is used for either fast track or interns, depending on which one you need more at the moment. It feels a little bit like an under-performer at the moment, and maybe it should just be a second fast track.

If Rumor mill turns out to be a thing:

• Dang. it.
• Add in some combination of Paywall Implementation and Housekeeping, which can be fetched up with Consulting Visit as needed.

I don't love Global Food Initiative here, but it keeps density from getting out of control and the runner needs at least 4 steals to win. I suppose it's always possible that you could plop it on an SSCG and then advance + biotic it out to win the next turn, though I've never pulled that off.

Here are cards that I sometimes wish I had:

• Elizabeth Mills : for taking out loaded off-campus apartments and Wyldsides
• Exposé : something that isn't an agenda that can be IA'ed to force runs, and we tend to generate quite a bit of bad pub. I don't know, it's certainly neat.
• Corporate Troubleshooter : sticking an archer unexpectedly is really satisfying.
• Snare!: this card is dope and may help you be able to ease off the R&D ice a bit.
• Hatchet Job see you in hell, off-campus apartment.