Chronos Tempo Control 1.0

Brototurret 570

This deck went 4-2 at my local GNK tournament today (I took 1st place). I think the concept of this deck is sound , but does need some tweaking. I'll explain the concepts , and then I'll go into what I would change and what I actually learned about playing Chronos Protocol.

So... this deck is all about tempo and slowing down the runner from being set up in any way. Getting the first net damage off early is extremely important. My most common enablers in the first few turns was either Data Mine or Yagura. Yagura is especially great in Chronos Protocol , as Code Gate breakers are generally installed on a reactionary basis. There are very few code gates that are actually threatening to the runner , and most of them are easy to see coming (Merlin and Victor 1 and 2 come to mind). Yagura ALWAYS fired when it was first rezzed , and that enabled my whole control game.

After seeing the runner's hand for the first time , you should be able to get a sense of what type of deck your opponent is playing. With some experience and intuition , you should be able to plan the remainder of your game fairly well. This is where Targeted Marketing comes in. Disclaimer , you will NEVER get the 10 bucks off of it unless the runner is desperate or reckless. Targeted Marketing is another control card that is meant to deny the runner playing a particular card. There are two types of TM calls. The generalized calls , and the .. umm... Targeted calls.

Generalized calls are like calling SMC/Clone Chip against Shaper , or Special Order against Criminal. These are obvious calls that are meant to slow the runner down , and force them to play in an uncomfortable situation.

Targeted calls are a lot more nuanced. It's purely contextual to what you've seen in their hand. You generally call the card that you left in the runner's hand that would benefit them the most. You cannot EVER think that you're going to get the money off of TM ... you will never. Don't bank on it.

Going on .. You'll want to snipe out a breaker first if you can (or a tutor option of some sort) with your ability. If none are available , then just take away their best setup card. This will slow the runner down just enough for you to do your thing.

But what is your thing ? It's playing faster than the runner can. You want to use a modified supermodernism approach. Push out agendas ASAP behind some ETR ice. The ETR ice on the remote doesn't have to be cheap , it just has to ETR. Your central ice is cheap enough that you can afford having solid ice on a remote. Your first piece of solid ice (Tollboth/Wall of Thorns) always goes on the remote. After that , play contextually.

Ichi and Rototurret are there for Batty. Ichi is also just great ice in general. Too many runners just drop a mimic/chameleon (side note... Targeted Marketing is FANTASTIC against chameleon decks) and think they're fine. Ichi will ruin that bad habit. Ichi is also good against faust decks , as it's 3-4 cards each time through. Rototurret is there for obvious reasons.

Data Mine ... yeah.. it's actually pretty good in this deck. It's good bluff ice , fine ice to throw down in the midgame , and ice to throw down just to cherry pick a card when you want. I'm not sure I'd run 3 anymore though . There were a lot of times I wished that the Data Mine was another Yagura or some form of ETR. 2 Seems like the number I'd go with.

Quicksand.. oh this card is great... unless they have an instant speed way to parasite it. But I'll trade my 3 dollars for their 2 and a clone chip. Fine trade with me , considering I'm cherry picking their hand the whole game. That's one less clone chip they have to get back a value program that I might have hit with damage. I feel the same way with Yagura as well. I'll trade that for a parasite. I don't like my Rototurrets getting blown up though , but no deck is perfect ,eh ?

Hokusai is a good money swing. Hokusai was always a solid card , but it's even better when you pick the damage. Try it in CP , you'll be impressed with it.

I think this deck is on the right track , but isn't quite there yet. I would definitely change the Data Mines. Go down to two , or maybe even one and up Yagura to 3. I'd also love to have 3 Jacksons , and I do feel that 3 TMs is too much. So change a TM to a Jackson. Squeezing in a 3rd Caprice is tough , but she's invaluable as we all know. I'd probably drop a Hokusai Grid for a 3rd Caprice and see how that feels. Early Hokusai is such a good tempo swing though.

Finding a way to slot in more economy would also be great. Fast money would be best. Maybe Medical Research Fundraiser ? Maybe Restructure ? Melange ? Something to test out and find room for.

tl;dr :

This deck is a sound concept. You take away all their good stuff , and play fast until they get other good stuff. Then you blow up their good stuff with batty and try and win the game. Changes would be :

-1 Data Mine , -1 Targeted Marketing , -1 Hokusai Grid ; +1 Yagura , +1 Jackson , +1 Caprice.

Find a way to add more money in.

11 comments
14 Sep 2015 Dydra

I've got a questions ... you say that you'll never see the 10c from TM ... but even if you see them - So what? What exactly you will do with your 10c? Rezz some expensive ICE which 4 out of 5 decks have some 1-way to rush through it when they need it?

There are no large-money tracers like Midseason Replacements , Punitive Counterstrike etc. etc.

Maybe an interesting way to spin the deck is go Punitive Counterstrike play fat agendas and then punish them for resolving TM?

I, as a runner, knowing that you currently don't have any way to punish me with those 10c except rezzing a fat ICE will let you get the 10c - if I'm 1 or 2 agendas from victory. Most skilled players will do.

14 Sep 2015 esutter479

Wow, I like this...as Lloyd Christmas would say "I like it a lot." As someone who's been wracking his brain trying to build a decent, functional CP deck, I have to say that this one impresses me. :)

I'm not going to deviate from my present agenda suite, but most of the other stuff in your decklist has me scratching my chin a bit, looking for ways to rethink my own. If you like, you can check it out here - netrunnerdb.com I'm always a sucker for additional feedback. :)

14 Sep 2015 Dydra

I guess the point which I want to add is - controlling a single card from the runner's grip ( an Icebreaker for example) and him not playing it is a lot stronger than giving the corp 10c. Therefore most skilled players would choose to give the 10c, rather than being locked out from a key card.

14 Sep 2015 Bigguyforyou518

Fantastic deck write-up, very interested to try this!

@Dydra

  • The only other economy cards he has are Hedge Funds and Celebrity Gifts, so unless you think he can easily install and rez his entire ICE suite (it's not even especially cheap), play multiple psi games, and advance/score agendas with just those 6 cards, then the money from TM would be hugely helpful.
  • Unlike you, reading his decklist, the runner has no idea what's in his deck. They don't know he's not running any huge econ-leverage cards, so triggering TM is still a dilemma for them
  • The Marcus Batty + Ichi 1.0/Rototurret combo will stop most runners dead in their tracks, and is not cheap if you want to play a non-predictable psi game.
14 Sep 2015 LynxMegaCorp

Power Shutdown.

14 Sep 2015 LynxMegaCorp

I love this ID, and TM is a great control card considering the Corp gets to see the grip. My idea involves trashing installed cards, but adding TM might complete the cycle... Please let me know what you think.

netrunnerdb.com

14 Sep 2015 Dydra

@Bigguyforyou518

Macrus + Trash program is a 6-7c ... is that expensive for you?

Also, obviously I'm not speaking of a 1 encounter at a tournament match, because if we go there - I can make the argument for tons of decks being good.

True power is for the opponent to know what your deck is and still smash them in the face -> RP Tax, NEH butchershop, Prepaid Kait, Noise Pancakes etc. etc.

14 Sep 2015 Brototurret

@Dydra

I agree with your counterpoints for the most part , however if the deck is functioning properly , then the card I'm 'targeting' with TM is the 2nd best card the runner had in their hand to deal with an immediate situation. That's when it gets into fuzzy territory. A skilled player would have to weight the pros and cons to playing the card. Keeping in mind that information is hidden , and there are enough cards in this deck to masquerade as potential agendas to make the runner THINK about all the options.

There is a fantastic piece of advice that Go GMs will give you. Put your opponent in a situation where he has to make a choice , because there's always a chance that he will make the wrong choice. If you make play linear and forced , then there is no chance for a skilled opponent to make the wrong play. This is extremely applicable against this type of control deck.

Something else to point out that this is nowhere near a final product. This was the list I took to a GNK to test proof of concept against strong players (I play in NJ with the PA and NY meta if that means anything to you). The CONCEPT works , so I know it's worth pursuing now.

Cards that would be pretty solid in a control archetype like this :

Power Shutdown , Blacklist , Shock , Assassin (when that comes out) , Sherlock (not kidding).

Right now , I'm going down the power shutdown/trashing/batty route without the Targeted Marketings and seeing the validity of that concept. That list also runs two SanSan City Grids. It's exasperating the whole "Play faster than the runner" pseudo supermodernism approach. I'll see how that comes out.

I feel like I'm on the right track though

14 Sep 2015 Bigguyforyou518

@Dydra In a deck that has almost no other econ, having 7's lying around unspent is a lot, yes. Also, the closer "activating" the combo gets you to 0's, the more predictable the psi game becomes for the runner, so having 10-15s makes it much stronger.

Also, obviously I'm not speaking of a 1 encounter at a tournament match

Obviously not! Oh wait...

True power is...P Tax, NEH butchershop, Prepaid Kait, Noise Pancakes etc. etc.

So you're not talking about a tournament match, but you're comparing his deck to the most commonly played archetypes in tournaments? What?

16 Sep 2015 DJINNandJUICE

ever consider An Offer You Can't Refuse? seems good with Data Mine and House of Knives in this ID

18 Sep 2015 lolpaca

I like the look of this a lot. Have you thought about Blacklist though? Given the goal is to slow the runner down while you play at a quick clip, it seems like it'd fit in very nicely.