My Spirit Animal v2

Including these at the top for the sake of completeness: Always Be Running, Neutralize All Threats, and Safety First.

So, right after I posted the first version of my deck, Tag Storm exploded in popularity, so I had to shelve my poor, beleaguered Spirit Animal, but now there is a glimmer of hope since Tag Storm seems to be shifting from Midseason Replacements to Hard-Hitting News.

Cards that I still feel that are Automatic Includes into an Adam deck that need no explanation: Dirty Laundry, Sure Gamble, Brain Chip, Multithreader, Armitage Codebusting, Daily Casts, Data Folding, Public Sympathy, and The Turning Wheel.

EVENTS

Career Fair is still an awesome way of getting Data Folding and Daily Casts into play for cheaper, as with Safety First, Adam will automatically replenish the card played this way. It lets you save the credits for more important targets and allows you to cycle through your deck faster

Paper Tripping is now a card of utmost important and with some more testing, I hope to be able to fit a second copy in while remaining under 45 cards. The prior mention of Tag Storm's switch from Midseason Replacements to Hard-Hitting News means that Paper Tripping is now a viable counter to Tag Storm's shenanigans, especially SYNC: Everything, Everywhere's horse-hockey as there is no good way to recover otherwise.

Test Run is now being run in favor over Special Order for a simple reason: About 1 game in 10 I completely screw up. I run myself smack into a Destroyer and it eats my important program. Test Run is a good way of retrieving those lost programs, and it combos well with the newly included Overmind as it allows a turn of reckless counter using abandon.

HARDWARE

e3 Feedback Implants was almost on the list of automatic includes, but I feel like I do need to mention just how well this combos with Always Be Running, allowing you to break through ice very early for a fraction of the price. It also combos well with Overmind, elaborate more on below.

Plascrete Carapace as a one of, because until you get your massive hand size increase online after stealing a couple of agendas, you need some way to not die to tag 'n' bag.

RESOURCES

Dr. Lovegood is a tempo card. There will be times when Always Be Running will force you to run at inopportune moments, or when Safety First's hand limit reduction will prevent you from keeping a safe number of cards in hand. Make a visit to the good doctor to temporarily disable certain cards, but be warned, keep in mind both the good and the bad when you do this.

Kati Jones is included in this deck because of her potential for giant bursts of economy, and because she costs 0 influence to add to the deck.

Street Magic is an amazing include. Does the ice have an "End the Run" subroutine ANYWHERE on the card? That ice cannot hurt you now if you can't break it. Everything from Wall of Thorns to Archer will now just kick you out. Combined with e3 Feedback Implants, you will feel pretty safe regardless of where you run.

ICEBREAKERS

Corroder for Barriers. For 2 influence, there really isn't a better option to import save MAYBE GS Sherman M3 if your local meta is full of NEXT Silver, Ashigaru, and Hive.

Gordian Blade won out over a couple of other serious contenders. ZU.13 Key Master simply takes too many credits to operate for Adam to successfully keep up with them. Study Guide takes too much time to set up and relies on you having a Multithreader before or at the same time.

GS Shrike M2 was used to tech against Tour Guide and Komainu, but it also beats out the other contenders of Garrote (because it requires 2 MU and edges out other things you need), Mongoose (because you need to run multiple copies of it for it to work well), and the ever popular Mimic (as it requires Datasucker support and your influence and MU are already at enough of a premium that the setup and the sacrifices aren't worth it.

Overmind was added to the deck to help with some late-game issues that had become very apparent as a problem. It combos very well with the aforementioned e3 Feedback Implants, vastly increasing the card's longevity. It also makes drawing an icebreaker slightly more common, which is a bonus.

PLAYING THE DECK

The old mantra here rings true: "Run Early. Run Often. Keep the Corp Poor." I have won so many games simply by applying enough pressure to the Corp to the point where they can't keep up. I start the game effectively with HQ Interface installed. I will find agendas in your hand with enough perseverance. Single layers of ice will not stop Adam, especially early, single subroutine ice. And if you get e3 Feedback Implants early enough, NO single piece of ice will be able to stop you.

Now for the bad news: You need to be extraordinarily careful if you suspect that the Corp can kill you. Unless you install Dr. Lovegood VERY early, you will be subjecting yourself to Neural EMP, SEA Source, and the like, as well as the bad things that can accompany those things, like Chronos Protocol: Selective Mind-mapping's ability or the ever popular Scorched Earth.

Adam is VERY fragile at the beginning of the game, but he works like a Dynamo: if you can build up an agenda or two, get your critical cards installed (Public Sympathy, Brain Chip, e3 Feedback Implants, and your Icebreakers), then Adam is supremely difficult to slow down, let alone stop.

One final note, and something that occasionally trips me up: Do not challenge face-down ice on 3rd or 4th click unless you have ALL of your breakers AND a supremely large pile of credits (10+). You NEED Always Be Running's break ability to be safe, so unless you think a run on those clicks will WIN YOU THE GAME, avoid doing it.

CHANGES FROM V1

Dropped Employee Strike, Independent Thinking, Special Order, and R&D Interface. They have been supplanted by Paper Tripping, Overmind, Street Magic, and The Turning Wheel.