The RP Department V2

TonyStellato 783

Alright, so this has been a wild ride. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the deck, but I'd like to post my current version so clever people can make something out of it. ITD has changed since the last time I posted, and the new ruling can be found here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Netrunner/comments/2qu437/itdepartmentclarification/

So, with that in mind, here is the latest version of my deck. Its been slightly adjusted over time, and some changes were made because of the new ruling. The differences include the 2x Guards, the Rototurret, the Markus/Eli swap, the Mental Health Clinics, and the Hades Fragment.

Guard, as pretty much everybody has noted, is really good for ITD. Part of ITD's strength is that it protects itself, so you don't always wants to build a mega server for it alone. That makes Inside Job a very strong counter. Guard simply and obviously shuts that option down. Not much else to say about that. If you inside job, you still have to pay a bunch to break that ETR Sentry. Rototurret and Markus were put in for teethy central ice, and Rototurret works great with a strength boost. Obviously, Bioroids aren't great with ITD, but Markus is just so great in RP, I actually like it better than Eli in the deck. It is such an annoying bounce target, and stacking them makes for a fairly taxing central server. I was running Melange in the original deck, but now that ITD needs to be excessively clicked to give unreasonably high strength, I think passive and click-less economy might be the way to go with this deck. This means that I am now running Mental Health Clinic, which a lot of people feel comfortable with in RP. I don't run any kill-cards, so the extra handsize shouldn't be a big deal. I originally ran Melange because I found that experienced runners will find a way to kill the MHCs without taking a notable tempo hit. I am considering PAD Campaign instead, to make the trash cost a little more taxing, but I am open to suggestions. Lastly, Hades Fragment has replaced Utopia, and I find that it is a better include for anti-noise tech than Cerebral Static because it is never really a dead draw. That freed up a deck slot to add my much-desired 18th piece of ICE.

Anything else has probably been discussed on the other RP Department page, so feel free to check the comments there or just comment here for any questions and such. Enjoy!

Link to original deck: http://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/12634/the-rp-department

6 comments
30 Dec 2014 esutter479

This deck looks fun-tastic for sure. :) Was just wondering, though, what your thoughts are on perhaps fitting in at least 1, if not 2, Enhanced Login Protocols?

30 Dec 2014 TonyStellato

@esutter479 100% go for it. Take out the Tollbooth for an ELP. While I try to get in as many games with people online or in person as I can, the truth is I definitely play with one person more than I'll play with anyone else. And that person runs 2 Net Celebrity that sits in the grip, waiting for ELP. It just doesn't do anything in those casual games I play.

5 Jan 2015 Pinkwarrior

How are you finding Errand Boy? I've thought about it quite abit but never actually put it in a deck it seems a steep cost for such a weak str ICE.

13 Jan 2015 TonyStellato

@Pinkwarrior I love Errand Boy. IDo the runner doesn't have a parasite, it's just too much to break. If they do have a parasite, then my Tsurugi lives to see another day. It also has hilarious synergy with Ashigaru, which is often protecting ITD. It's a great RP card, but influence might prevent it from being included, since you want to run at least 2

18 Jan 2015 sruman

Given only the excaliburs cost less than 4, how do you find the early game plays out? If no operation money comes in, I'd imagine you might be stuck with only 1 or 0 ice you're able to rez. Have you been subjected to big early game hits in the form of Account Siphons, Makes Eye, etc. because of this?

18 Jan 2015 TonyStellato

@sruman the early game is certainly the decks weakest point, but it's never that big of a problem. I've been playing RP that way for a loooong time, so I guess I'm just familiar with the scenario. Sometimes I don't even get two ice in my opening hand (latest build has 16 ice) and I still manage to win the game. Even if they score 6 points, once ITD is set up, it's pretty much game from there.

So basically, It happens, and I feel like play style and rezzing habits will dictate how much the runner will get to abuse the early game. But don't let that scare you.