🔥 2 Big 2 Deal (🥉 @ 2023 Vancouver H1 CO)

🔥 2 Big Deal Azmari 🔥

Are you also an enthusiast for all things Dragons and Fire?

At Worlds'22, I received a beautiful set of alt art Hydras🐉 that have been demanding to be sleeved. I had also just gotten my hands on a set of NBN Black ICE... So naturally, I now have to play me some Hydra🐉.

Shortly after Worlds'22, my daughter was born and I largely took a hiatus from being an active, playing participant in the Netrunner community (let alone meta chatter) while I became familiar with our new family life. With the very impactful 23.03 banlist update, I had no idea what to expect. So, about a month ago, I asked the Seattle crew "I want an excuse to play 3x Hydra🐉... What's a great deck with this nonsense?" And then I was reminded that:

• "30 for 3x ICE is too much"
• "Azmari had been released from its chains, if you must"

And then, this monster was awoken!

How I landed on Big Deal Azmari: From what I could tell, Boat had been replaced by Turbine in many decks (& Bankhar in some, Botulus in many). That or runners were just going back to their normal icebreaker suites with good and fast economy. So, Corps who don't rush (and more specifically, pressure the Runner to run the remote early and often) would struggle with affording anything more/larger than early simple gear checking, and thus fold not-so-late game to the Runner's powerful icebreaking rigs.

After taking this into consideration, and since my goal was to play 3x Hydra🐉, I considered what other ICE would be obnoxious for 2x Turbine rigs to deal🤝 with. It's not much, but here's what I found:

• 1) Hydra🐉... That 6th strength is often just enough to be a bit more taxing (see Bukhgalter), and with 3 subs, it's tough to break cheaply with anything
• 2) Tollbooth... That 3 tax on encounter hurts any rig (YMMV with Hunting Grounds or Hush)
• 3) Archangel... While 6-strength, most Runners have a good solution for this. However, it does help with slowing down their setup (in particular, when uninstalled)
• 4) Endless EULA... Good enough early, and doesn't worsen unless the Runner Chisels. Only 3 for Cleaver though (without even needing its Turbine support)
• 5) Turnpike... For only 2, you get a 2+ tax
• ...6?) The Mestnichestvo 3 tax on encounter is good if you have advancing support
• ...7?) If Acme: Data Ward
• ...8?) If you're playing tagstorm: Thoth, Funhouse, and Data Ward
• ...9) Other candidates if you pay influence
• And with the support of Magnet and Border Control (and SAM), I believe these to be sufficient to irritate even the most efficient Turbine rigs

This glaciery ICE suite requires a significant amount of , so I embraced it to the max, added all the , and threw in 1x Big Deal🤝 for fun. After a couple of games, it was clear that I had underestimated its ability to generate , so I added a 2nd Big Deal🤝, and rebranded to "2 Big 2 Deal"!

🧠 Core game plan: Get fast. Rush points. Be too expensive for the Runner to interact with agendas while you accrue infinite for Big Deal🤝.

Strategy & key aspects:

• Ideally, rush out 2 agendas
  • Or, rush out 1, then Big Deal🤝 the 2nd asap
  • Then Echo Chamber or Big Deal🤝 the 3rd
• Ideally, let Daily Quest sit in the remote, while you spend s playing transactions for Big Deal🤝
• Magnets are ONLY for protecting ICE from Hippo and Botulus, etc
• Typically, don't hide agendas back into R&D (especially vs Esa or Deep Dive, or if you're weak to Stargate somehow). You need to score them which requires them to be in HQ! If you get them early, just stack HQ ICE to keep the Runner out. YOU MUST DRAW ENOUGH AGENDAS TO WIN, and the Runner must score 3x (or 2x with Mad Dash... which is usually more difficult into HQ!)

🏆 PERFORMANCE:

Single-Sided-Swiss & cut to top 4 double-elimination (3-2):

• R2 - L vs Pelangi Freedom
• R3 - W vs Akiko
• R5 - W vs Fermenter Tao
• Top Cut, R2 - W vs Pelangi Freedom
• Top Cut, R3, lower-bracket Finals - L vs Esa

Match moments:

• R3: I had big🤝 early (thanks, Azmari!), ICE on centrals, and turn 2 put Rashida behind Hydra🐉. It was contested, so I got to rez my Hydra🐉 for only 5. Turn 4, I scored a SAM behind it, rezzing another Hydra🐉 on R&D. Turn 6 and 8, I scored Bellonas behind the single Hydra🐉 remote, scoring 9 points in 8 turns 🥵
• R5: I not-as-quickly-as-R3 rushed to 6-0 behind 2x Hydra🐉. The game was stalled at this point thanks to the hyper-efficient 2x Turbine Bukhgalter supported by shaper bolstered by Fermenter . Unfortunately for Tao, I played slam and jam behind this monstrous remote (which eventually became Border Control > Turnpike > Tollbooth > Hydra🐉 > Hydra🐉) for what must've been - I wish I had counted - 8+ turns in a row 🤪, keeping Tao's and board state in check. Eventually, I put a SAM in it and the previously-mentioned Border Control to top it off. I did not have the means in the moment to push it out AND keep Tao out, so I bluffed it as an asset. After not running it and discovering it was not an Echo Chamber, Tao wrote it off and I began acquiring my , waiting to Big Deal🤝 it just a couple short turns later!
• Various moments: ~"He just scored with Big Deal🤝 and still has 15" 🤯

🃏 Card choices:

• 2x Big Deal🤝... What better way to win when Clot is rarely around, and Runners can remote lock by midgame?
• 1x Regolith... Regolith AND DAILY QUEST?! Yes! Big Deal🤝! The is insane for the absurd amount of needed. Honestly, I think it should be 2x, and I've even considered going to 3x. Plus, Runners have Pinhole, so just have unlimited targets 🙂. Trust me, you need it all
• 1x Special Report... Your emergency button. Floods, can't find agendas or Big Deals🤝, or just need something different? Bonus points for using after a Rashida/Spin. I've Special Reported for 8 to secure a win on the next turn
• 3x Nonequivalent... You can put that 2 to use way better than the Runner can. This card is also nuts when you go to 0, or when rushing to Big Deal🤝 . Previously, these were Subsidys (also great), but the 2nd Big Deal🤝 hogs all the influence (and the low cost is nice anyway)

❤️ BIG🤝 thanks to my crew (& hype on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finish! 🥳) for letting me tag along literally last minute, the Vancouver crew for hosting this tournament (and for waiting for us when we had a >1hr border crossing!), and to @Whiteblade111 for chaperoning us Seattleites to great lunch and dinner. It was a pleasure to spend the day with y’all!