The Kwisatz Haderach - Worlds 2015

Zeromus 3116

This is my runner deck from Worlds 2015. It went 5/3 on the day. Two of those losses were due to bad piloting. The third probably was too. I was very satisfied with how the deck performed. My piloting is the reason it didn't do even better.

This is clearly a Vamp Kit. Full control is the goal. Get Magnum Opus out quickly, and don't give them a scoring window. Knowing when to not do the things you are thinking of doing and just taking credits is one of the main skills needed for this deck. Can't rely on surprise Vamps at a World Championship.

Last year I played a crappy version of this that was heavily tweaked for NEH FA. I really didn't want to have to do that this year again, but I needed to make changes for the matchup. I'll go over some of the significant card choices I made.

Sure Gamble - Yes, this was a card choice. Ideally I would play 0, but the need to quickly set up had me go to 2, and then 3. Sure Gamble in my opening hand is a huge boost. This is particularly good with the next card.

John Masanori - This was probably the single best inclusion I made for dealing with NEH. Normally I simply can't check many remotes without falling significantly behind. But I still need to draw in this deck, and this card lets me draw while checking. And when I draw a Sure Gamble, I can play it and not lose tempo at all.

Plascrete Carapace - Bah. I went two years without having to play this card. But 24/7 now makes it necessary. I'm very sad about this.

Utopia Shard - For countering Fast Track and murder. Didn't really like it. Running HQ is too much of a problem, especially if my opponent knows I'm on Vamp. (The good ones always do.)

Mimic - It was to deal with Architect cheaply versus NEH FA. Never played it on the day. It will probably go.

Torch - I ran 3x Gordian Blade for the longest time. Decided to try Torch and it is super amazing. I can often save 2 credits on the very first use. I often cheat it in with Test Run and Scavenge. So far only a single copy has been fine.

Lady - Always amazing. With 3x Test Run, 3x Scavenge, and 2x Lady I have never run out of counters.

Femme - I'll probably never drop below 2. Sometimes I even install them both. Sometimes I gotta boost it to break Architect or Ichi, which sucks, but it is still the best option for a single killer. (Because I can cheat it in.)

The Maker's Eye - I used to run 2 of these, but I started to dislike them, and needed card slots. There is so much draw in this deck now that I can get to an R&DI or 2 pretty quickly.

Quality Time - Only 2. I will probably put the 3rd back in. It is so good versus glacier. One game I would have not lost if I had drawn a Vamp. A 3rd QT could have helped with that.

Astrolabe - Vital versus NEH. I must get one early. Plus I run a perfect rig, so I need that 5th MU as quickly as possible.

Personal Workshop - Since my deck had been tweaked towards aggro with heavy draw, I decided to drop to 2 copies. 3 would help a little with glacier, but 2 is probably fine.

I still feel I have room to grow piloting this deck. I made significant mistakes that show I haven't mastered this deck yet. We'll see if Mumbad provides anything good for me to try for next year! =-)

9 comments
11 Nov 2015 haywire

Kudos for the Title!!
The Deck looks really good. Played Kit myself a long time. This looks solid and Fun. :)

12 Nov 2015 sruman

Nice deck, always been a kit fan, thanks for posting. I'm sure you tested all these variations but a few questions:

3 x Vamp -- Surprisingly given Kit's influence tragedy (why not 12 FFG, why?) It would seem that clot (via smc or on personal workshop) would help the NEH matchup consiserably. Although this would require slotting some clone chips I suppose. Any thoughts on that?

Sure Gamble -- I know it's an old debate, but you have many ways to get magnum early, it would seem that sure gamble's becomes redundant with a magnum out (the old, 1 click to draw, 1 to play = 4 credits = magnum). Any thoughts on worth dropping them for other cards?

12 Nov 2015 Zeromus

@sruman I tested Clot extensively. The main issue is MU. The floating SMC takes two and you've already got MO for two. Also it uses up one of your SMCs, and then they probably CVS anyways. That being said, it is sometimes useful and I definitely considered it for my two floating influence. It would have helped me in one game versus an ice light NEH FA deck.

Sure Gamble is there specifically for NEH FA. I need that explosive start. SG + SMC > MO is significantly better than credit + credit + SMC > MO. Also, SG + Masanori and run is a good first turn. And also, it is a little free burst when I draw it from Masanori or Astrolabe.

12 Nov 2015 CodeMarvelous

@Zeromus as someone who has always been interested in Kit but hasn't had much success piloting her I want to ask you how you decide to flip the vamp switch and how you know when to set up

13 Nov 2015 Zeromus

@CodeMarvelous Knowing when to Vamp is actually pretty difficult! Ideally, you want to Vamp when they go to score, so that they can't rez any remote ice, and then have to spend the next few turns building up. You just want to set up the bare minimum to maintain control. Once ice needs your decoder, two ice needs that and a Femme. If you have Vamp in hand and can reach HQ, then you should probably just be taking 8.

This is something I still struggle with. Every click you use could be gaining two credits. Often, you should be doing that instead.

17 Nov 2015 jmbostwick

Why Utopia Shard? Also, what do you tend to put on Personal Workshop? You mention using Scavenge/Test Run quite a bit, which seems at first blush to be ant-synergy with Personal Workshop.

18 Nov 2015 Zeromus

@jmbostwick Utopia Shard can stop kill combos and hinder Fast Track.

Anything that fits on Personal Workshop goes on it. I can't always have Test Run / Scavenge or Modded available. The best target is Femme, so you make them rez their ice before you decide if you need to Femme it.

21 Nov 2015 Crunchums

@Zeromus If you cut Utopia Shard + Mimic, what would you play instead? 1 QT 1 Legwork?

21 Nov 2015 Zeromus

I'm going to test two Stimhack. I know I like at least one Stimhack.