Master Assassin [Full Write-up]

⚠️⚠️⚠️ This deck is very technical, proceed at your own risk ⚠️⚠️⚠️

I am now somewhat convinced this deck is genuinely good instead of just a meme, it has a huge amount of efficiency in its package. Very similar to Bankhar Steve.

Why is this deck good?

I think there are two very clear reasons why this deck is good.

1) Pure Efficiency

Masterwork (especially with Q-Loop) is a very click efficient card that gives criminal card draw, something it otherwise lacks, but the drawback is that it requires you to play lots of hardware, if there isn't enough good hardware then it's not worth it. Currently there is enough good hardware.

2) Winning Without Accessing Cards

This is the bit that some players may find distasteful...

There are currently a lot of corps that punish you for accessing cards and especially for stealing agendas. Even just decks with deliberately low agenda density cause a major problem for a runner without another way to win...

Jeitinho allows us to put a clock on any game but it is also what allows us to play Sec Testing, the defensive nature of this can totally turn off a corp's game plan whilst making our runs tempo forward.

A version of this deck playing WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ and Docklands Pass instead of Jeitinho could make use of the efficiency of the engine but could not abuse Sec Testing.

Game Plan

This deck has 2 win conditions, stealing agendas and 🔪. Neither of them is Plan A or Plan B, often you won't know which route you are going to follow until turn 4 or 5, sometimes you'll change your mind after turn 16 when you realise things have changed.

Flexibility with your win con is very important but it is a careful balancing act, if the games ends and you have 2 knives and 6 points you still lose.

The Deck

Draw Engine

3x Masterwork (v37)
2x Prognostic Q-Loop
3x The Class Act
3x Diesel

It turns out that secretly Criminal had good draw the entire time (we're still splashing for diesel).

You need to play to maximise your card draw with this deck, masterwork can draw you a card on either player's turn. Q-Looping a card from the top is almost always correct as it is much more efficient than drawing it.

Getting through the deck so you have the full rig so it's just boomerangs in the deck is your best chance of winning.

Almost always trigger Masterwork before peaking with Q-Loop to ensure you have info about the top of the deck.

I almost always over install both of these just to get another card draw as they are very affordable.

Class Act may seem a bit nonbo-y with Q-Loop but the filtered draw is really nice and you need it for quickly clearing away dead draw.

You've got enough clicks they diesel is often playable late into the turn.

Q-Looping on your opponents turn is really high value if you can get masterwork and class act triggers. If you have more than 8 credits or a Env testing installed or your gut just says it'll work then you should do blind Q-Loops.

Pay 1 credit to install the top card of the deck saves 2 clicks, getting masterwork trigger saves you another click, getting class act trigger is about half a click of value. 1 credit to gain 3.5 clicks is a good deal.

Event Economy

3x Bravado.
3x Carpe Diem.
3x Dirty Laundry.
3x Diversion of Funds.

You may notice these are all run events, getting the hardware triggers is super valuable.

The low credit cost of all of these makes them really playable as well. Deciding to cut the Gambles was a weirdly good choice.

I've heard people question the DoF in this deck but it's just very good, either for melting away a scoring window, just buying time or bullying the corp. Cezve means you often get the full value from it.

Big Economy

1x Environmental Testing.
2x Security Testing.
3x Cezve.
1x Paladin Poemu.
1x Mystic Maemi.

These are all really fun imo.

Env testing is just faster and better daily casts, you can pop it within a turn cycle if you are running hot, you need money to install cards after spending the three on sec. It can be tempting to put this down before and hardware or programs and that can be a big upfront cost, it is okay to hold it for a turn or two and play as normal if you need to liquid credits.

Sec testing is great as it allows us to avoid interacting and activating corp traps like Oppo or Snare as we go for the 🔪

Cezve is kind of the beating heart of the deck, you will not believe how many credits this will get you in the course of a game. Install as a matter of urgency. Plan your turn around maximising these credits.

Paladin in just easy money, if you have the choice between spending Cezve and Paladin credits it can be a hard choice, think about your turn as much in advance as you can.

Mystic is also just easy money, you could play another Env Testing here which might be better in some metas but this is just too easy.

Breakers

1x Cat's Cradle.
2x Revolver.
1x Curupira.

We make do.

Cat's Cradle is sadly just better than Shibboleth.

The Real Breakers

3x Boomerang.
2x Poison Vial.

The best card in Netrunner just got better.

Boomerangs can be used for all sorts, in the early game you will have to make decisions between using these to land DoFs, sniping points from the remote and playing these for tempo to get testing triggers and draw.

You can use two boomerang in a single run if one's on top of the deck, this is the sickest thing ever.

Losing or stranding boomerangs early can be a real tempo hit if you can't find the second one, Border Control and Ag require careful decision making. That said losing one or two over the course of a long game is manageable.

Poison vial is low key kinda great, having it down makes the boomerang plays much more confident into three and four sub ice, they have play into bioroids, help with revolver counters and sometimes just save you credits and helps us in all of our difficult matchups.

The Rest

1x Alarm Clock.
3x Jeitinho.
1x Simulchip.

When making changes to the list try not to cut the overall number of hardware below like 13 minimum.

Alarm Clock is really essential, it is your only way of recurring knife, it's a clickless run which means all of your run triggers happen and you can bypass nasty ice.

Jeitinho you should know why this is here. Even if you're not planning to win by knife install one for the card draw. There are a lot of board states where it is correct to over install the knife for a masterwork trigger, especially if you're trying to win on points or if you are past threat 3 and have alarm Clock down.

You could probably play WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ, Docklands Pass and Miss Bones instead of Knife and it'd be fine but the big advantage of Knife this that you don't have to interact, you can think of it as a tech card for Oppo, Snare!, etc

Simulchip is tech for the Weyland matchup, you can use it to recover from program trashing. It can also be helpful to flicker revolvers and even Cezve if it's the game winning play.

Notable Absences

• Bahia Bands the prospect of turning Cezve credits into installs is nice but we already have cards for that. It's also just 1 credit too expensive.
• Pinhole Threading we often don't want to interact with the board so these are dead too often. If you can't crack a remote you have a second option.
• Miss Bones people haven't quite got round to cutting their crisium grids and this would still be helpful there as well as for cleaning up HB remotes but it's not necessary, we have enough money generically.
• WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ and Docklands Pass, you could play these instead of the knives but the deck would be more fair and less fun.
• Lucky Charm, it's the 46th card, totally fine but worse than most stuff here.

Mulligans

I tend to find it is pretty forgiving, the best installables to have early and masterwork and Q-Loop. Generally you want a draw piece and some event econ. Breakers are generally slow.

Matchups

You have the element of surprise in almost all regards, it is a bit like Ben playing Steve, you know the matchup better than them.

• NBN Assets (NEH, Prav, Epiphany): FAVOURED - This is probably our most favoured matchup. Do not trash anything from centrals or the remote, go for a knife kill by turn 8. Draw aggressively.
• Kill Ob: FAVOURED - This like all asset matchups is favoured. It is important to be aware of Public Trail and staying above 8 credits can be tricky but you should be fine.
• Asa: NETURAL - This deck is very click rich which defuses a lot of Asa threats. They are mostly immune to economic pressure. If they heavily ice centrals it can be hard to land a knife but often is is hard for them to create a scoring remote.
• PD: FAVOURED - Boomerang and DoF are both great cards against PD and Poison Vial is great against their ice suite. You need to confident in your mulligan decisions as PD can outpace anyone. I normally try and win on points.
• Glacier BtL: NEUTRAL - Surprisingly I often try and go for knife against this kind of weyland, we have tricks to get past their ice very cheaply and you can close out the game on your terms.
• BCP Azmari: NEUTRAL - Env Testing is the only card that you are worried about getting bounced basically at any time and avoiding that is very important. Sometimes they rush out faster than you can challenge but often you can win if you are able to steal out of the remote.
• Ag: UNFAVOURED - This is by far and a way the most skill testing matchup for the deck. You need to find ways to get them to spend resources and survive. Poison Vial is enormous in this matchup and careful use of it is important. They will often trade unrezzed ice for a boomerang and you afford to do that twice in a game when it is good for you. Curupira can be used to recur Jeitinho and I find it comes up most often in this matchup.
• Loud PE: NEUTRAL - This deck feels incredibly vulnerable to DoF and it is worth mulliganing for a hand that can land one. If you install masterwork you can clicklessly install cards without reducing your hand size and stay at 5 cards in hand. Always always go for the knife kill in the matchup and install Sec Testing as a priority.
• EAzmari: UNFAVOURED - You cannot reliably go fast enough or survive punitive, Q-Loop is a tool that can help you survive the steal but it is hard to do consistently. Often you are looking to steal the first agenda from the remote and then either in by points or knife if you have it. Deny Azmari triggers at all costs.