The Hostile Protocol v1.3

I've had about a month of practice with this deck. It's doing pretty well, andhas increased in consistency from earlier versions. This deck is a lot of fun; it is not quite ready for competitive play yet, as experienced players can often juggle the risks and rewards of accesses more reliably and score points without flatlining. The goal of my process with this deck is to increase consistency in both getting to match point and setting up a score server if needed. As people aren't used to playing against Hostile Infrastructure yet, it often lets you get your HI/Encryption Protocol combo up and running.

The Idea

The shiny centerpieces of the deck are Hostile Infrastructure and Encryption Protocol. Together, these two cards make trashing cards hellish. If you can get three of them in any combination rezzed, you've put the runner in a bad spot for trashing pretty much anything. If the runner does not trash your stuff you can ensure each run is painful.

Additionally, I've discovered how nasty Hokusai Grid is with this combo, as you've got to pay for a successful run on Hokusai with a net damage. I'll be looking for a way to up the list to 3 of them.

Agendas

All agendas can be laid down and scored the next turn except Fetal AI and the first Medical Breakthrough. The previous version had more 3/2s, but I wanted more risk for the Runner and a more reliable Philotic Entanglement killshot; additionally, as soon as I've got a Clone Retirement in hand I'm a point closer to victory if I want to be.

Economy and Assets

My only econ operation is Celebrity Gift, as I want to maximize the pressure on the runner to start trashing things. Shell Corporation is beautiful. You can stack them under a Snare!, or even on top of a Hokusai Grid that happens to have a Fetal AI sitting on top of it! There truly is beauty still left in this world. I will usually take 6cr off of it, but if I want to really pressure the runner into a server I'll pile it on further. No scumbag hacker wants to see the Corp get 9 or 12 credits in one click.

PAD Campaign and Ronin tempts the runner into being proactive about trashing things, which is what we want. Strangely, one of the biggest threats to this deck is a runner who doesn't mess with me at all until the late game, when they can break ice and draw up after each steal. That's why points pressure is important, along with some motivational tools like Swordsman to ensure some pain.

Daily Business Show is just straight up consistency and lets me adjust better to the board state with what I choose.

Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics

Pretty light. We want the runner to come to us, but pay through the nose on the way in and once she arrives. Eli 1.0 is there to eat clicks, along with the surprising Hourglass. Heimdall 2.0 only gets rezzed once in a while, but he's deadly when he does. He's often unexpected, so it's not unheard of to land the 2 brain damage, and if they want to click through him, that brain damage is way more dangerous against this deck than others.

Viktor 2.0 is there as he's not only taxing, but has the possibility of brain damage on demand, which is lovely. I'm considering finding space for a Mamba for similar reasons.

If the gamestate calls for it, it is possible to build a taxing server if you prioritize what ICE goes there. Sometimes that is needed to get that runner spending credits for late-game scoring windows.

Swordsman to deal with those pesky Atman, Darwin and Overmind that show up.

Half of the ICE costs 3 or less to rez. Only Komainu, Hourglass, Viktor 2.0, Heimdall 2.0 and Neural Katana cost more.

Options

The ICE can be shifted around, and I likely will do this. I have Neural Katana because when it lands, it hurts bad, though it is a bit of a gamble if they can break it easily.

I find that any less ICE in these deck is usually a mistake, as repeated runner turns of "run, draw draw draw" become a very reliable way to beat you.

The asset selection can be messed with. The main point is that it is a threat to the runner. If there are traps, they need to be active: Ronin, Reversed Accounts, maybe even Docklands Crackdown. The runner needs to have a reason to run your stuff, and if they don't, you need somewhere to dump that money so you can turn it into points or a kill.

If you made it this far, thanks! I would love feedback, especially if you're able to run it yourself. Stay frosty.