A deal with the Doctor (4-1 in testing)

HolyMackerel 1466

So, I will confidently state that Adam has the strongest earlygame in the game. He gets free HQ multiaccess, can break any ICE subroutine from the word GO, and gets free clickless draw. Yes, he may suffer some drawbacks, but you can work around them. Stay low-econ to never have to worry about NAT, you're going to be running anyway, and Safety First simply encourages you to play your cards. You know, how you play the game.

The idea here is to not give a shit about lategame, but instead exploit Adams absurdly powerful earlygame. Faust combined with clickless draw is the pefect fit for a low-money runner like Adam, and fits neatly witn E3, which helps ABR, whic helps us extend our reach card, Overmind.

Your lategame reach if Overmind-tokens and Same Old Thing for your multiaccess. You also have Independent Thinking to make a hail-mary run with Faust and Maker's Eye, or on a scoring remote. When they think you're out of gas, it's a nasty surprise.

Inside Job is awesome, since most corps will feel safe scoring behind a double-iced server if you don't have Faust out.

I'm currently 4-1 on Jinteki. Wins against Blue Sun, Titan, and Cybernetics Division kill and HB Foodcoats, loss against Chronos protocol after possibly the tightest game ever.

12 comments
24 Nov 2015 FarCryFromHuman

Do you think it's worth changing in one TME for a Parasite? It would be a really nice answer to have for Swordsman, Turing and Wraparound during the late game and you don't need it early on (but never hate seeing it).

24 Nov 2015 vesper

Since it's still a fresh ID, can you comment on how you deal with the Directives? When to keep, when to use the Doctor? Thanks!

24 Nov 2015 HolyMackerel

@FarCryFromHuman: I like having the full slew of TME to be able to recularly smash R&D. I ran 2 before, and it felt like I was missing something. I don't rather cut Legwork, since I have HQ multiaccess anyway, but the truth is I haven't found Turing or Wraparound to be big issues. ABR is just that good.

@vesper: In general, I don't have to "deal with" my directives at all. Against decks you suspect have kill, get sympathies online fast to boost your hand size. Against assetspam, get Kati to hold your credits for you. Doctor is used when I can't make an efficient run, or when I'm going to Maker's Eye, since I don't want to trash.

24 Nov 2015 Benjen

@vesper I agree with @pang4. You don't "deal with" the directives. You maximize them. Always Be Running + e3 Feedback Implants means you can break 1 ice every turn without any programs out. The draw off Safety First is amazing when paired with Brain Chip and Public Sympathy and I can't tell you how many Nisei MK II or Accelerated Beta Tests I've found with Neutralize All Threats. I got killed by a haarpsichord kill deck as a result of a small hand size, but that would have killed anyone.

Question, do you need 3 Faust? I figure you have enough card draw to get it. There might be a better use of 2-4 influence.

But I agree with you on early game aggression. I love pounding HQ turn one.

24 Nov 2015 HolyMackerel

@Benjen: 3 Faust may be overdoing it, but I need to draw either that or multiple Overmind to transition into the midgame. If you don't find it, you're pressure dwindles quickly.

What would you add instead?

24 Nov 2015 Benjen

@pang4 Not entirely sure. I punted the Faust plan after realizing I had no way to break a Turing. Some ideas could be Career Fair or Modded, both of which I am really enjoying. Nothing like getting two cards out of your hand for that first turn. You could go hardcore on R&D and put in an R&D Interface.

I also like Inside Job that is two ice on a remote. I just can't spare the influence for it in y deck.

24 Nov 2015 HolyMackerel

Career Fair is a strong option. I might even cut Legwork for two copies. A pair of additional Drug Dealers could also be powerful options, as they'll help with pressure and synergise with Lovegood.

Modded has too few targets in this deck for it to be worth it, no?

25 Nov 2015 Greywind

@pang4 So how do you deal with Turing after all? I've been struggling myself with Adam and I lately am leaving the AI road, settling for a more conservative approach.

25 Nov 2015 HolyMackerel

@Greywind: Yep, I've had to deal with it once. Against HB (nobody splashes Turing), you'll want to keep your breaker suite a mystery for as long as possible. If they put it on a remote, great. Keep punching centrals, and when they move in to score, use Inside Job or ABR to get through it. If they put Turing on a central, you settle in for a slugfest. Pressure the other central and make surgical runs on the Turing server with ABR as your breaker. Make sure to draw a bunch, you'll need to find your multiaccess events.

25 Nov 2015 Diegofsv

Tried a little modified version of this deck yesterday on jinteki.net and its a prettu good Adam deck. Thx a lot for this.

25 Nov 2015 HolyMackerel

@Diegofsv: What modifications did you make? Would love to see your list.

25 Nov 2015 Diegofsv

@pang4 mey decklist is public I guess, so you can see it right here: netrunnerdb.com

I think I over did it with the 3 e3..will probably get back to 3 makers instead. 2 drug dealers is plain awesome but Levy is needed for that.