Fifty-five km/s

Time stays long enough for those that use it - Leonardo Da Vinci

'Run Fast, Run Often' was the first advice I was given as a Runner, and based on the thrill of those early days, I do keep veering back to trying aggro- or perhaps rush-runner decks.

A little while ago, CodeMarvelous came up with this fun deck: P.h.D. If you haven't tried it, do so. It's really good fun.

I loved the speed that it played at, and I loved the theme of ICE destruction in Shaper. However, I found certain aspects of it difficult. Earthrise Hotel seemed too big an up-front tempo hit. Cache works really, really well, but I didn't like how it seemed to chew through my Clone Chips getting myself enough money. I need those for the Parasites! And I'm not a huge fan of Daily Casts in these decks. It seems clunky.

But! It's a solid deck, I enjoyed playing it, and it's a damn sight better than any Shaper Aggro ICE destruction deck I've managed to date. Thus, I'm going to use it as a basis going forwards.

So, my first baby steps:

Changes

I have dropped 3 of each of Cache, Earthrise Hotel and Daily Casts, and replaced them with Drug Dealer. DaVinci, and Armitage Codebusting.

So why drop Cache? It's just about the best card in tandem with Aesop's Pawnshop, except perhaps the upcoming Harbinger. But I needed the influence for the Drug Dealers, and Cache was the only thing that seemed even a bit expendable if I was keeping to the ICE destruction aim.

Drug Dealer over Earthrise Hotel is pretty much entirely a costings analysis. If you trash the DD to the Pawnshop, you'll be in the same place ( and card-wise) after 6 turns as ERH put you in 3. But you can run multiple DDs simultaneously, you can sometimes dodge the tax, and the card is drawn at a more convenient point for both damage protection and off-turn ID triggers.

Armitage Codebusting over Daily Casts was simple. If I'm running as often as I can, I need money. I'd rather click twice to afford a run than have to wait 2 turns. Also, the lower cost is super helpful in the early game, and is also better when the Drug Dealer are nipping at your credits.

DaVinci is the bit that made me start thinking about this deck. It's freaking glorious. It does work in so many ways I'm going to give it it's own section:

The Renaissance Card

So DaVinci has nabbed that program slot from Cache, eh? Is it that good?

Yes.

Back in the original PhD deck, CodeMarvelous was asked if he'd considered Personal Workshop over the Ice Analyzers. His response was that IA cut down on costs, got programs out quicker, and helped Hayley with a lack of early pressure.

DaVinci doubles down on this, and then some. I've cut the costs of almost everything in the deck to bare-bones. Making a single successful run with this guy allows me to play up to 28 of the cards in this deck at paid-ability speed, for free. If I complete 4 runs, I can play any installable card in the deck. This, of course, can be used to trigger Hayley's ability.

It also completes the Shaper Trifecta: Between Clone Chip, DaVinci, and Self-modifying Code, I can play a program from anywhere at any time.

It really is good in a build like this. Early pressure, cost reductions, and instant-speed installs. Fantastic.

Where from here?

As it is, this deck is running pretty well, although it took me some time to get the hang of. So I intend to use this as a starting point to refine the deck. There are some cards I'd love to try out:

Film Critic: With so many ways of messing with a runner via agendas, I think this needs to be conisdered. The review of it outlines how many common triggers it avoids. It does, however, slow me down.

Scheherazade: Seems great! I feel that an early Shezzy could be +5-10, including an Aesop's Pawnshop. But influence and space are issues.

Technical Writer: A half-thought. If it was a connection, I would really consider running it along with Off-Campus Apartment.

John Masanori: Cheap, influence-free way of getting cards, but I really don't want the tags. Goes nicely with the theme of pressuring runs, but I really don't want the tags!

Crescentus: This one needs some solid consideration, I feel. It fits well with the theme of pressure, and is great at taxing bigger ICE.

Indexing and/or The Maker's Eye: Cheap, brutal R&D pressure.

Stimhack: Suddenly, money! Brilliant for runs out of nowhere, and can work well with the trifecta of instant plays.

Feedback Filter/Net Shield: Probably too expensive in the former case, but the latter could be a lifesaver. Again, space is the issue.

Plascrete Carapace: Do I need a second? I run very poor in the early game, making me vulnerable to suddenly exploding.

Tl;Dr: DaVinci is brilliant for Shaper Aggro, and I'm taking advantage of that with Hayley and a whole bunch of cheap things.

Thanks for reading! As ever, comments, critiques and suggestions are always welcome.

P.S. The title is a reference to the relative velocity of Halley's Comet at perhelion during its last pass. The aim is for this deck to be that fast! ;)