Grailand, or The Twins Effect

Card draw simulator
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Repartition by Strength
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HolyMackerel 1468

First, let me thank codemarvellous and D1en, for bringing this archetype to my eyes.

So, let's talk Grail.

What is the greatest strength of Grail? In my mind, it's gearchecking. Forcing the runner to have all their tools up and running before they can run safely. A Faerie won't break a damaging Galahad, and Merlin laughs at your Corroder.

What is the greatest weakness of Grail? Low strength. They are cheap to break, and once the runner is properly set up, they couldn't care less about your Galahad.

So, how do we maximise their strengths? By playing a fast deck that demands risky runs. Never-advancing Atlas is dangerous, and can fetch more grail pieces. Having Capital Investors for more than a turn gets stupidly good. The only way a runner can beat this is by checking you early and often, right when grail is the strongest.

How do we minimise their weakness? By playing Corporate Troubleshooter, and making your Lancelots and Merlins unbreakable.

The Twins is beautiful, as Grail actively encourages you to store ICE in HQ, and comboes well with the aforementioned Troubleshooter. You can make an unexpected kill with Merlins, and pitch redundant copies of Archer to make your remote nigh unbreakable.

General tips would be to play fast. Do not wait for the runner. Put the pressure on them with agendas and upgrades piling on, and force them to run when they're not comfortable. Investing is not for the faint of heart, but only for the staunchest of corporates. Can you handle the Grailand initiative?

Questions and critique always appreciated.

6 comments
26 Dec 2015 Shishu

Having played this archetype out of ETF, I immediately knew what it was and I LOVE it. Corporate Troubleshooter was something I was told to fit it, but I couldn't because I was also trying to jam in the whole NEXT suite, and, well, it generally didn't work.

You might want to be careful about spreading yourself thing on ICE with all those remotes. Even with Corporate Troubleshooter, there's still a risk of Parasite recursion, which has always been the number one enemy of grail. I suppose that's what Interns is for but you could try swapping a Hostile Takeover for Chronos Project just to make things easier.

Not much I can think of other than that. I'd love to see grail become a top tier deck.

26 Dec 2015 HolyMackerel

I actually rarely build more than two remotes, plus the occasional Jackson. Sometimes just the one. Public Support is there to tax mostly. Put in your scoring remote and let them pine over it. Either it becomes Archer-food or it becomes a huge tax.

I agree that parasucking is a big nuisance. I've honestly considered Isabel McGuire to pick up grail I need, or to beat parasites. Although Cyberdex Virus Suite is probably just better...

29 Dec 2015 aero

How's about out of Blue Sun? 2 less influence, but the ability to pick up grail each turn is nice.

29 Dec 2015 HolyMackerel

Two reasons for Titan atm:

1: The extra Influence REALLY matters. Grail eats up 9, Jacksons 3, and Troubleshooters 3. Titan lets me play 2 Food, which I would otherwise have to replace with "real" 3/5s.

2: Instantaneous Atlas counters. Being able to, mid-run, fetch a critical Grail piece is rrally strong.

I'm going to try building a Blue Sun version as well, though it would probably run another econ package. Any recommendations?

29 Dec 2015 Sysp

Love this deck, will try it myself. Agenda suite looks a bit funky though, I would be tempted to run 3 Atlas, 3 Oaktown, 2 GFI, 2 Hostile.

Do you need 20 ice? I'm guessing Twins eats a few as well.

30 Dec 2015 HolyMackerel

@Sysp: Oaktown is a great idea. Force the quad-agenda steal and rush down even more.

Tbh, it's not the Twins that eats ICE, it's the grail suite. You kind of only run 15-16 ICE, as you can't install all the ice you draw. Might cut a Meru Mati for the Oaktown package, though.