It might work, somehow

iceqs 1

Haven't played a single Apex game, however I have seen some matches and reading the cards immediately shows the problems with the ID. Draw is hard and sometimes you want to keep cards in hand instead of using the ID's ability which is a huge dilemma. No recursion available unless you spend a tons of influences on them. Money is also hard because no Resources. Your breaker eats 4 freakin' memory and it does not even work as good as Faust most of the time.

But the thing is trying to make this type of ID works is fun, better than creating a cookie-cutter HB/Kate in 5 mins and still wreck.

So here is the idea of this untested deck:

  • No influences on program. This deck can't function with normal breakers. The economy is not there to support it and you don't have tutor. Memory is also a problem too. Your draw is not sustainable without resources so I don't think Faust is good enough.

  • Burst draw and Chop Bot. Quality Time takes 1 influence which is good and unlike other decks in which you want to keep most of your hand, there are a lot of not-needed cards like your 2nd and 3rd copies of hardware. Install or play a few, trash the Harbinger so they are installed on the board. Next turn install more dead cards facedown, then using the Chop Bot to draw. Best combination for the least amount of influences.

  • E3 is MANDATORY. And it's really good.

  • Only events are allowed mostly, so Day Job does a good job of being like a full-turn Opus and it costs so little to play. With Chop Bot and your ability, you might still be able to draw and then play Day Job, which is as good as MaxX to a certain extent. The package is then filled with no-influence Neutral cards.

  • Always be Running should be on the board with Endless Hunger at one point. The reason is obvious (EH+E3+ABR). However, even when I haven't played test the deck, I know that Day Job fucks with ABR and vice-versa. Both of the cards are the most viable choices imo, so I think we can still work around it. If you are not under too much pressure maybe play 2 Day Jobs first then start ABR-ing? If you need to install your ABR early but at one point you need that Day Job, I think Chop Bot can help. You still have the other 2 copies. It's hard I know, but I don't think you would keep too many precious cards on hand anyway, so keeping an extra ABR or holding to that Day Job is still reasonable. Also don't forget the extra handsize provided by Brain Cage!

  • Last mention to the single Sharpshooter. That's my filler for the 25th influence. It is cheap to install and very effective against Destroyers which are usually deadly against EH. This is the only card that I allow myself to play 1 copy since it is not your main plan, but it is rather an effective card in a lot of situations.

Some other explanations:

  • No Clone Chip. It just takes up too many influences and I don't think 1-2 copies would be a big deal for Apex.

  • No Levy/Trope. With 3 influences each, you are going to run 1 copy. Without recursion like SoT/Clone Chip, I don't like the idea of playing them with only 1 copy in your deck. The variance is too high.

My only doubts:

  • Apocalypse. I've seen too many Apex players say that they rarely use Apocalypse and I can understand why. You are not MaxX with Levy/SoT on hand along with Keyhole to capitalize on that Apocalypse and her draws/recursions are much better for it. I think its only practical use in this deck is to during the early game when you still have spare cards and are able to run on central easier. Against early asset spam it can be good too.

  • Prey. I have seen different opinions on this card and even though I don't like it too much, I can see its potential to get rid of annoyances like a casual Enigma or Pop-up Window. It works with ABR too so why not LOL

ALL IN ALL. IF SOMEBODY IS INTERESTED PLEASE PLAY TEST MY DECK AND/OR GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACKS. Cheers!

2 comments
11 Dec 2015 MrAaronSA

Cool concept, and I do think e3 Feedback Implants does really shine in Apex. That said, I'd take Faust over Always Be Running any day in this deck. Here's a few reasons.

The world is full of non etr ice. Someone playing against apex will surely guard their centrals with some. Once you're a slave to running as your first click, you will likely either find yourself losing three clicks a turn for a single access, or at least wasting one click for nothing. You'll never be able to use Infiltration to see if a remote is worth your time. You'll likely never be able to Apocalypse.

Faust certainly doesn't fix all of Apex's problems, but it is certainly more synergized with the rest of your deck than abr. You're already running Brain Cage, Quality Time and Chop Bot 3000. Faust of course also works with e3 Feedback Implants, so you'll still be able to get through multi-sub ice.

Speaking of multi-sub ice, don't forget that many popular multi-sub destroyers can already be broken more efficiently with e3 Feedback Implants than Sharpshooter. The ichi's are broken with a single click and a couple bucks, and Archer can be e3'ed through after one break from Endless Hunger.

11 Dec 2015 iceqs

@MrAaronSA You are right about the Apocalypse and ABR interaction. At the moment I can't really tell if ABR is worth it so let's just leave it here.

Faust has been tested in another Apex deck during King of Server tournament just before World. However it did not run E3 I think, and to me Faust just eats cards too much. It is much better for firing Apocalypse for sure, but I'm uncertain about it. Damn if only I have time to test it right now.