Semi-Rogue Argus V3 - Telling Time What to Do

slobad31 584

"Mastery is achieved when 'telling time' becomes 'telling time what to do.'"

The latest incarnation of my Semi-Rogue Argus. I've upped the Hourglass to 2, dropped Private Security Force for Geothermal Fracking, and dropped 2 Caduceus for a Taurus and Dedicated Response Team.

I opted for a higher agenda count to maximize the ID triggers. I like continually giving the runner choices, which slow down their game and (hopefully) throw off their strategy. Data Raven is in another choice-based effect that can go south quickly. Data Raven in front of a hidden Hourglass is brutal, especially if there's a Dedicated Response Team waiting in the wings (which is why my next build will likely include 3 DRT!). Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

6 comments
12 Mar 2015 FarCryFromHuman

Ireress is really fun to hit the runner with, but I'm not sure she's as valuable as Elizabeth Mills. I guess if you are already dropping a ton of tags on the runner her secondary ability is rather pointless, but it's a thought.

Superior Cyberwalls might be a funny agenda to splash one of since you want the runner to steal them... it might convince the runner to dig for a fracter when you are only running three barriers (same thing your Wraparound is doing).

Traffic Accident seems like a natural choice if you are tagging enough, especially with the prevalence of Account Siphon.

Are you using Melange Mining Corp. to force a run or for actual econ? It doesn't seem like you can protect it, but running your servers in the hopes to steal an unadvanced agenda seems prohibitive anyway, so you are likely always getting a single turn off of it.

More DRT and maybe even another Checkpoint seems like a great adjustment.

Does Hourglass work for or against your goal of forcing the runner to jack out? I wonder if Inazuma would be a better fit; staring the runner right in the face with 3 - 5 or more meat damage on a successful run (hitting an unbreakable Checkpoint + DRT) plus whatever tag exploitation you have in hand is... well I don't want to run against that.

12 Mar 2015 slobad31

@FarCryFromHuman I think I'll take you up on that 1-of Superior Cyberwalls. Weyland mind games are frightfully amusing. Every time I tweak this build, I consider Traffic Accident, so I'm sure it'll find its way in eventually. As for Ireress, I prefer to park it in front of a tracer. Since bad pub occasionally stacks considerably with this deck, I'd rather neutralize it all, rather than simply remove one.

As for Melange Mining Corp., you're correct in your estimation that I typically get one turn from it, though depending on the situation, it is also sometimes used to force a run. If it happens to be behind something with ETR, it also serves as a means to make them dig for a breaker, since I'm happy to keep mining for creds. I'll likely drop one for a second Dedicated Response Team in the next version.

The only reason I didn't run triple Checkpoint was the amount of bad pub production that can trigger. Ireress can circumvent that, but I only have the two to fall back on. I'll give it a shot with a third Checkpoint, though. I won't rule it out, and it may be worthwhile after all.

As for Hourglass, I absolutely love it! My favorite play is Data Raven, Hourglass, with a Dedicated Response Team. I find that runners will more often consider running without a decoder (if they have a killer and fracter), since they assume sentries and barriers are the biggest concerns from Weyland. I hadn't considered Inazuma, though, so I'll give that a try, as well, to see which works out better. Thanks so much!

12 Mar 2015 FarCryFromHuman

One last thing: you might consider Thomas Haas over GRNDL Refinery if you find it getting trashed too often, unless you just don't care about that. Looking at the rest of your economy this might be a non-issue. An alternative is Shell Corporation; as an upgrade you can stick it in a server with an agenda (or even better, your Cerebral Overwriter) and see a directly proportional amount of sweat appear on the runner's brow. You like Weyland mindgames? Shell corp is where it's at.

12 Mar 2015 slobad31

I can't believe I forgot about Shell Corporation! That's definitely happening. I tip my hat to you :)

As for Thomas Haas, if I could justify the influence, I would run him. As it is, it seems like a downgrade to cut my other influence cards for him. Typically, I don't mind GRNDL Refinery getting trashed, since the runner had to pay to get to it, and it's in faction.

12 Mar 2015 Oisin

Yeah, this looks a lot tighter. I would still get those other 2 DRT's in there, since they are going to win a bunch of games. What to cut is tricky. 15 agendas just seems incredibly high for a deck not running Midseasons, so I would probably cut 2 one point agendas for one 2 pointer. That would open one slot.

And then cut either one code gate or one melange mining? Tough call.

12 Mar 2015 slobad31

@Oisin Glad to hear it's looking better! My biggest problem, as the deck has developed, has been picking what to cut. I'm thinking one Melange Mining Corp. can go, though I would like to include a Shell Corporation, too. The influence for Midseason Replacements is taken up by Hourglass, so I'll reevaluate the agendas. DRT is definitely getting increased in the next rendition, as well. Tough call, indeed.