Time Is Running Out

wkz 27

This is my first attempt at deck building that I think might work and would like some feedback from people who know they way around this tricky subject.

(If feel like Ash 2X3ZB9CY would be a better overall card, but Strongbox is a better fit in terms of flavor)

3 comments
7 Apr 2015 Jashay

First things first, unless you have a very specific reason not to, you should try and get decks down to 45-49 cards. Consistency is key, and having less cards helps massively with that.

For specifics, Whirlpool, Howler and Awakening Center are bad choices here. The latter two are only really of any use with Janus and Heimdall, and the Centre trashes them when you're done. Bad business. If you still want something like that, try Bioroid Efficiency Research.

Whirlpool is only good if you have some killer server behind it. They can still break the subroutines, and most of your ICE isn't really that painful. Inazuma might be a better choice for things like that.

Zed 1.0 is bad. Too weak and too situational. And you are correct in your assumption; Ash 2X3ZB9CY is better than Strongbox.

The basis of the deck seems fine. You've got a decent amount of econ, plenty of good ICE... The agendas could use tweaking, as Corporate War can backfire badly and I don't think you have the brain-damage capabilities for Sentinel Defense Program. Accelerated Beta Test and Project Vitruvius are always solid options.

Your main problem is simply that you've got about 10 cards too many. Dropping Whirlpool, Howler, Awakening Center and Zed 1.0 immediately takes 9 cards out. You'd need to lower the agenda count, too; dropping 1 Project Wotan brings you to the right number of cards and agenda points.

You should look for something to spend the influence on, too. There's a lot of powerful options out there.

If you want some more ideas, there are some Stronger Together decks in my profile, and a podcast called SanSan South has made some too (look for theodorelogan on this site). Their next episode is supposed to feature an ST deck, so keep your ears peeled.

Hope that helps!

7 Apr 2015 sruman

A few quick glance thoughts:

  • Why 59 cards? You generally want to shoot for 49 and focus the deck
  • with 8 influence left I would definitely look at caprice. You're trying to score out agendas that need one advance (and thus fairly obvious to the runner) so you need serious protection on your remote even beyond big ice.
  • Ash is definitely better than strongbox. Costing them 3/4 credits (min) is better than a click. Plus Ash has higher trash cost and lower rez so makes R&D less porous.
7 Apr 2015 wkz

@Jashay Thank you for taking time to write such detailed response. I'm still struggling with understanding things like consistency - how many copies of what to put in the deck, everything is just so shiny.

The server dream in my head looked something like Whirpool into Bioroid ICE/Howler followed by Zed 1.0, or Awakening Center with Janus 1.0. There was a flaw however in that the runner can actually have some breakers, and overall it is too hard to get all the pieces together in the first place.

I'll take a look at your decks and try to figure out how to make Stronger Togerher work. Also, can't wait for the next episode of SanSan =)

@sruman Thanks for your thoughts. The idea behind Strongbox over Ash 2X3ZB9CY was that the server would have some click-through bioroid ICE and the runner won't have clicks to steal agenda.