Mayan Threads (1st Place, Petrie's Store Champ)

After months of iteration and practice, this deck went 5-1 at Petrie's to bring me my first Store Champ victory, also taking 2nd place at the Collectormania SC, both times alongside NEH Fastro. Special thanks to sirris for helping me fine-tune it.

It's a blast to pilot; Hayley is indeed the Queen of Shaper Bullshit, and I make heavy use of her five-click efficiency. Her ability allows for instant-installs from hand, whether for a breaker, a money burst with Cache, or a surprise Clot. Hayley triggers on the Corp turn as well; any time you're planning on using SMC/Clone Chip on your next turn, do it on the Corp's turn for a free install, sometimes at a profit from Aesop.

How To Play

The plan is to quickly assemble tools to answer rush plays, nuke assets, and occasionally poke HQ, while building an insane economy and the endgame R&D lock that is the Shaper specialty.

For a Shaper, the deck plays a little like an Anarch. Hayley's motto should be: "What have you done for me lately?" Pawn to Aesop aggressively; after a card has done its work (which is sometimes nothing), flush it for money immediately.

Mulligan for Professional Contacts or Aesop's; most of the games I've lost badly are ones where I didn't mulligan and couldn't find Aesop. Get one or both going as soon as possible, combo-installing Technical Writers along the way. But if you don't see Proco early, don't be afraid to bail on it completely, and lean on 15-credit tech writers instead.

Card Choices

Clone Chip: 3 is a must, even at 1 influence each. With no Levy, budgeting your three Clone pops is the most important part of piloting the deck.

Cache: Again, all three are vital. Cache is a core part of the econ engine, giving between 5 and 9 credits for a single click (or none). It's also a great surprise econ burst against a rush play: end of Corp's turn, Clone Chip it with a breaker/SMC from hand and then sell Cache to Aesop's, and you're ready to run.

Maya: I've run the deck with 1-2x Astrolabe or 1x Toolbox, and they're also effective, but I think Maya is the best choice. The deck likes a lot of memory for SMCs and utility programs; 6 is plenty for late-game, so as soon as I install Maya, I can start selling memchips for profit. While I don't use the tag ability often, it's won me games by deep-digging R&D, and against some decks, going tag-me is an option once you're sitting on 20+ credits.

Film Critic: Saves my bacon when I need it, two creds profit when I don't. Makes Corps sad.

Multithreader: Repeated R&D runs for cheap, leaving clicks to install more pawn-food. Synergizes with SMC and Study Guide; and with Scheherazade, the install pays for itself if you're running that turn anyway.

Technical Writer: Knowing when to pop it is a fine art. I occasionally sell them to Aesop's early if the need is dire, but holding out for 10-15 is ideal, especially for a long glacier slog. Without Levy, Tech Writers are the main econ plan for late-game. But if it'll get you an agenda now, don't hesitate to burn it immediately.

Parica: Hands-down MVP; adding a 2nd made a tremendous difference to the win rate. With so much asset spam in the meta, you auto-lose without an answer (it can be worth SMCing for against NEH). Best of all, it turns into 3 creds when it's not needed.

Clot: This deck is the Clot-masta, which is excellent while NEH Fastro continues to crush. I gave serious thought to adding Sacrificial Construct as #46 to get through CVS. Even though it wasn't needed, I think it would have been the right choice given the dominance of Fastro.

Datasucker: This flex slot has been a lot of things: Cyberfeeder, Dorm Computer, Hunting Grounds, Stimhack, Lady, Femme, third Multithreader. I ended up deciding on Datasucker due to high-strength sentries in the meta (Assassin, Ichi, Vikram); while I can usually answer with Atman and/or Sharpshooter, having another plan with Mimicsucker is pretty nice, while also saving money on repeated runs, and being another pawn target.

Sharpshooter: Usually pawned immediately for 2-3c profit, but it's been vital to survive face-checking Assassin or Archer on low credits, or the CVS Destroyer trick against Mimicsucker. With Clone Chip, it can often deter an Archer rez just by sitting in the trash.

Scheherazade: While the deck can get by without it, it's so efficient I'm loathe to cut it. If you see it early, great; if you see it late, pawn it. Obviously Power Shutdown or other program trashing/bouncing is a major problem; in matchups where you suspect it, leave your permanent breakers unhosted, or keep SMCs/Paricias installed as a shield against Shutdown. Even if you only use Scheherazade for disposables, you can easily net 10+ credits of value over the game.

Don't forget that you can install 'zade and then trigger Hayley to install on it immediately. This can make a huge difference to early game pressure with SMC, saving 1-2c if you need to pop it, or you can net an extra credit with Cache.

Cyber-Cypher: The secret weapon against big code gates. Use it to answer a threat in a scoring remote while you buy time to build up Study Guide with Multithreader; or, point it at R&D if it helps you get an early lock. In a pinch, you can always pawn CyCy and Clone Chip it to a new server.

Study Guide: Sometimes worthless, sometimes clutch; better in long glacier slogs then rush or fast-advance. Previous builds used ZU.13 instead, and a 2nd Cyber-Cypher is legit. But the synergy with Multithreader is beautiful, and with no Levy, you want an efficient late-game. (Also, when it hits 3-4 str, you're free to pawn CyCy.)

R&D Interface: I'd like to find room for a 3rd, mostly to see it earlier. I win a ton of games with only one RDI installed, though, and Maya can act as a ghetto 2nd/3rd RDI.

Corroder: One less slot and same influence as 2x Lady, leaving more freedom to use Clone Chips for other things. Still sucks versus Eli, but Atman4 can come to the rescue.

Gamble/Diesel: Previous builds used no events other than Levy, to maximize combo installs. However, I've found that 3 of each drastically improve early-game acceleration and consistency, and I'm always happy to see them.

Cuts

Levy AR Lab Access: Old builds ran Levy with SOT for backup, and it's good, but after adding three Tech Writers, I found it wasn't necessary. The recurring credits from 'threaders and the efficiency of Study Guide/Atman soften the blow in the event of running out of gas, which almost never happens.

Parasite: This is the card that got the axe post-MWL. I could probably find room for it, but it really wants two Datasuckers to use properly, and it also burns a lot of Clone Chips. I was sad to see it go; there are probably other ways to build Hayley that use Parasite effectively, but efficient breakers solve the problem well enough.

Harbinger: I've tried it, and it's not the worst, but I cut it for two reasons. First, it's worthless by itself, as opposed to Cache, which pays out immediately. Second, it burns Hayley's ability worthlessly when pawned, and at the start of the turn, so there's no chance to beat it to the punch. Not the worst include, but it fights against the way I play.

Daily Casts: It's hard enough surviving the Proco tempo hit, so this is no-go in my book without turning it into a very different deck. Clicking for a slow 5 or 6 credits is actually pretty weak tea compared to typical returns from Cache, Proco, or Tech Writer.

Bookmark: I ran Bookmark as a last-resort 2nd Plascrete, good for a quick 3 bucks otherwise, but it wasn't strictly necessary and I was sitting at 46 cards, so it got the axe. I'd put it back if there was more kill or PE in the meta (it doubles as Ronin/EMP protection).

Net-Ready Eyes: Fits with the late-game efficiency plan, but Hayley likes having answers in hand, and cards are her fuel, making it a sting to trash anything other than dupes of Proco/Aesop. Plascrete can help, but ultimately MRE is too high variance, and not really needed.

Chameleon: Potentially break-even or profitable with Scheherazade + Tech Writer, and a way to free up influence from Mimic, but too much of an anti-synergy with the five-click, run-every-turn plan.

Mongoose: Considered running it over Mimic, but it leaves a stacked sentry problem that the Corp can exploit, and is still very expensive for the big sentries.

Deus X: Not enough damage Jinteki (or Janus) in the meta to justify it, or I'd run one.

2nd Atman: It's an answer to the big sentry problem to have one at 4 and one at 5, but it's a pricy install, and they tend to clog up hand since you don't want to install before you need it.

D4v1d: Not a cut, just something I couldn't find influence for without making it a different deck. I wish I could fit one, though; the deck currently has no good answer to OAI/Curtain Wall, and Weyland is poised for a comeback.

Matchups

NEH Fastro: Hayley did well in finals largely due to a good fast advance matchup. (3 out of 4 in the finals were running Fastro, including me.) Get the Clot threat online ASAP, run everything and trash with Paricias, and aggressively run any server that threatens to have a CVS. Use your Clone Chips sparingly, so that the Clot threat never goes offline.

NEH/Haarpsichord Kill: Dig for Critic or Plascrete, try to outpace on money to avoid Midseasons if you can't find them. If you're close on credits after a steal, consider Clone Chipping Cache(s) to try to make up the difference (you don't get a window once Midseasons goes off). You have a good chance at blocking the 24/7 kill by preventing the 2nd 2/1 from hand with Clot. It's tough if you don't find the right cards early; if you have to, call their bluff and hope you don't die. And if you're a tag-heavy yellow meta, Dorm Computer can be a good include to shut off Data Raven+News Team, as it's a free install that also synergizes with Maya.

Blue Sun: A weakness of this deck is a poor answer to Curtain Wall. Assess as early as possible if the Corp is on a kill plan; if there's even a slight hint they're not, get aggressive and force rezzes. (Even though they can get their rez cost back, it's taxing of clicks to have to reinstall ICE every turn.) Don't forget that Clot also blocks a Hostile Takeover win.

RP: Not the greatest matchup, but Paricia deals with asset spam, and Film Critic gets around The Future Perfect. Use Paricia to knock down their Med Clinics, DBSs and Sundews, and be patient. It's a tough fight (I suck at psi games), but it can be won.

Personal Evolution: Yet again, Film Critic makes Corps sad. As with any other PE matchup, you have to shift strategies and think of your cards as hit points. Get anything you care about out of your hand ASAP, even if you lose your Hayley trigger, and hold on to your Diesels, Gambles, and spare Pawnshops/Procos. Hayley likes to draw, which puts you at serious risk of death by attrition. Go slow, get out breakers and Film Critic, and let them plink your hand as much as they want. In a more Jinteki meta, I'd pack a Deus X.

ETF: A tough matchup: big ice that taxes even Hayley's insane econ, combined with Caprice. Do your best to force rezzes and trash assets; it's worth spending the whole first turn clicking through Turing if it nets you an Adonis or a 3/2. At some point, they'll start to get their money anyway, and you'll have to focus on developing your own board and racing them to the score. NEXT ice is manageable, but between Eli and Vikram, bioroid HB has some of the most taxing ice for the breaker suite, and you may need to take advantage of getting through with clicks and traces. In an HB-heavy meta, I might run two Atman.

To Infinity And Beyond

One of the great things about Hayley is that there are a ton of ways to build the deck, and none of them are right or wrong. The spags Artist Colony build looks super fun, and there tons of great Stealth Hayley builds out there. I also think we're going to see some cool synergy during Mumbad between DaVinci and that fancy new Shaper resource.

All praise Lady Hayley, Queen of Bullshit!