HB Next Recursion (1st Place York SC)

This is the HB deck I took to York Store Championship. Went 6-2 on the day (1 loss a forfeit). Finishing 3rd seed, 1st in top-8. Whilst I'm very proud of my Whizzard Deck, I cannot build good corp decks for the life in me, this is a direct copy of the Corp deck that won the Iserlohn (GER) Warehousegames SC. Runner (Whizzard) can be found here.

I chose the deck the day before, simply for two reasons. 1) I wanted two Crisium Grids, far too often I just want to stop some effect on a central run. And 2) I expected lots of ICE trashing, and Whizzard killing assets, so wanted recursion.

The deck can be surprisingly fast. You can often score a 3/2 very early. sometimes you spot a window and score a 5/3 straight after, and then just a matter of getting your last 3/2 down to win. It can also go long game, which I really like. It's weaknesses are that you usually want to run 3 or 4 remotes, and you have to juggle where to put ICE as often you want to place them optimally, but usually only have 1 or 2 to spread over 3 or 4 places, R&D often leaks agendas off top early - and then late game again.

There was one change on the day. Because I chucked it together the night before, I happened to put in a Heimdall 1.0 rather than a Heimdall 2.0. As I couldn't correct this, I had to play with a "blank" card in it's place. #BlankCardNewMeta!

Round 1: Gangsign Leela (Won); Central and AI breakers are not a good match up against this deck. Knowing they'd really struggle to get to my advanced agendas, I play slowly, often choosing to overdraw with Jackson Howard to toss agendas in bin to score out next turn. Using Team Sponsorship and Director Haas' Pet Project to misdirect Leela bounces. Result was Gangsign only triggered once when I had an agenda in hand. Very luckily, they tried to Account Siphon me, thinking the Crisium Grid was a Caprice Nisei, the Crisium turned off the Apocalypse they showed me after the game, which would have changed the game completely. Maybe if they not tried to siphon, I wouldn't have rezed Crisium and it'd be a different situation.

Round 2: Noise (Won); Despite them getting Aesops out early, they strangle kept running out of money, and a misplay to Deja Vu 2 Cache rather than a Wyldside meant they couldn't draw the cards needed to make Faust do it's work. Just scored out behind a Turing (they couldn't find a D4a1d) and some ICE I never needed to rez. Almost all their mills missed agendas, and having Jackson Howard on board to protect Accelerated Beta Test meant I didn't bleed agendas. Quick game.

Round 3: Noise (Won); This was a very close game. Don't remember much of the early or middle, but the last turn. Typical netrunner story; both on 6 points. I install, advance, advance. Both know they need to win next turn or I do. They do upkeep, assume they can't get into my remote (they might, but not twice to counter the Ash 2X3ZB9CY. Click 1 credit, Click 2 run R&D, on third ICE they realise they're 1 short. All were rezed before run, so I let take back, Click 2 credit, Click 3 run, whiffs. I sigh, thinking I've won. "Click 4, run HQ" 4 cards, 1 agenda, and them enough cards to powder Faust. They whiff again. Turns out if they'd Click 2 Cache, they'd have top decked a Project Vitruvius. I count my lucky stars, and move onto the next game.

Round 4: Stealth Kit (Lost - forfeit); I saw Rielle "Kit" Peddler: Transhuman and was a little sad. This deck likes to put code gates at the base of servers. Muliganed into Turing and NEXT Bronze, so was extra annoyed. Despite this, things started off good, managed to draw barriers to ICE centrals, and started building econ before then starting putting on pressure. However, I drew my Heimdall 2.0, and for the first time that day I actually stopped to look at it. I notice the rez cost is 8, not 11, and then realise its in fact a Heimdall 1.0. I install it, and try to remember if the deck list was a 1.0 or 2.0 (I chosen the deck the day before remember). I call over the TO, and ask them to check my decklist. Yeap, it should be a 2.0. So I have to forfeit the game, and unable to put 2.0 in, have to have a blank card.

Finish Swiss on 12 points, 6-0-2, finished 3rd Seed. Into double elimination.

1st Round: I Run and Win.

2nd Round: Stimshop Chaos Theory (Lost); I muligan into a terrible opening hand; Turing, Director Haas' Pet Project, Global Food Initiative, other two not helpful. I draw, get nothing, so decide to gamble and Turing remote and drop upgrade in hope to bait remote to waste a click. They hit both agendas on HQ runs next turn. Take a Project Vitruvius off top of R&D a turn or two later. I manage to score and trigger 3 Accelerated Beta Test, but they get 2 or 3 R&D Interface out to lock me, and I can never get an agenda at a point to tax out a scoring window.

3rd Round: I Run and Win.

4th Round: RegAss Maxx (Win); They get unlucky early, and I'm able to build up position. A Crick over archives, with Jackson Howard on table means I get to dump agendas in archives safely whilst they keep using Legwork and The Maker's Eye into nothing.

5th Round: Stealth Hayley (Win); Get to 6 points quickly. They have 2 points. I install advance advance a Global Food Initiative on a deep scoring server. They calculate they can't get in (I think I have stacked code gates to tax out the stealth credits for Refractor. They click 1, 2, and 3 to take money and install 2nd R&D Interface, run last click knowing they need to get agendas on all 3 accesses. They get to third ICE and realise they're short (this time, I rez ICE, so not a miscaluation), and I believe I've won and wait for them to say well done. But to their credit they stop and think for a long time. They declare "time for some shaper bullshit" and clone chip in a Cloak and use Hayley ability to bring in a Cerberus "Lady" H1 (I realise as I write this they couldn't because of the Hardware install earlier that turn). They get agenda, miss, agenda. and I score out.

6th Round: I Run and Win.

7th Round: Stimshop Chaos Theory (Won); I get great start, scoring Accelerated Beta Test and getting good econ going. I go for a Global Food Initiative knowing they'd need to opus 3 times and run to be able to get in, which they do. Which gives me a window to go for a another one. score that. And then wait to have enough econ and to draw Biotic Labor and a 3/2 to win.