PanchaPex

EnderA 501

Simply put, this deck uses the combo of Gingerbread + Panchatantra and Endless Hunger to reliably break anything for cheap, and hopefully play Apocalypse at a decisive moment. This breaker combination is what makes the deck playable. I think it's as good a deck as you can build for Apex at the moment, even though it's not particularly strong.

The main choice in any of the neutral factions is what you spend your influence on, so let's cover that first:

  • Gingerbread + Panchatantra: Here's half the influence. Gingerbread alone is a great supplement to Endless Hunger, and Panchatantra is in turn a great supplement to Gingerbread. Depending on which breaker you get first, you can either start with Endless Hunger, and then add Gingerbread + Panchatantra later, or you can start with Gingerbread and expand into either more Panchas or Endless Hunger.

  • Quality Time: The most efficient card draw available to Apex. It costs 1 influence, which is key.

  • Levy AR Lab Access: You need one. However, without Same Old Thing, you're likely to need another piece to recur it, meaning mainly either Déjà Vu or another Levy. I chose another levy because I'd likely be saving the Deja Vu for Levy anyways, and this saves 2 credits and a click.

  • e3 Feedback Implants: Works wonders with Endless Hunger, as well as on Bioroids, which is often relevant. This lets EH break enigma fully, and enables a great long game if you have to.

  • Easy Mark: For 1 influence, and a deck that often runs poor, I'm happy to draw it. It's especially nice for boosting into Sure Gamble. This is the flexible influence. You could switch 2 of these out for another e3, if you so choose. Alternatively, you could run Chop Bot 3000, but remember that you already have cards to spend face-down stuff on (Prey, Heartbeat, Endless Hunger.) Or, in the future you could turn them into The Turning Wheels for multiaccess.

Core Apex:

  • Apocalypse: If you're Apex, you're running this, because it defines you.

  • Prey: Also critical for Apex. Get past something then trash it.

  • Heartbeat: +1 and damage prevention - fantastic.

  • Hunting Grounds: Helps with Tollbooth, or Data Raven, or Komainu when you'd otherwise be taxed heavily, or it can just become 3 face down cards while triggering Wasteland. Careful about risking hitting Levy, though, with no real recursion.

  • Wasteland: Sometimes I install this, sometimes I just face-down it. Depends on how soon I expect to Apocalypse.

  • Endless Hunger: If you're Apex, you're running this. Breaks lots of things for super cheap, while failing to break lots of others. With Gingerbread + Panchatantra, you can get through most servers.

Other choices:

  • Q-Coherence Chip: This doesn't go well with Harbinger, but Dyson Mem Chip is far too expensive for the deck to run. You can always just play it and trash it to EH. Often if a breaker dies, won't need the memory anymore anyways.

  • Dirty Laundry: Influence-free economy. Feels good.

  • Kraken/Infiltration: These are honestly cards #42-45. There are definitely occasions where they are good, but often they're just put face down. Perhaps if Apex had more influence or there were more neutral cards, there would be a better choice, but you live with what you have.

3 comments
18 Apr 2016 SHIEL

Is it really worth running Apocalypse when you're going for the PanchaBread breaker suite? It's a great card and ruins many a corp's day, but it explodes your own rig as well, and with no way to get your Panchas back once they're face-down... Do you find yourself hesitating at all, or does it do work for you?

18 Apr 2016 MisterLovejoy

If you can trash the face down cards with a new Endless Hunger or Heartbeat, they're accessible again when Levy goes off.

26 Apr 2016 EnderA

@Rhaplanca1001 I'm usually playing with the explicit purpose of getting off an apocalypse, whatever it takes. As @MisterLovejoy mentioned, you can (and will) trash your facedown cards with EH & Heartbeat, making them available for Levy. As such, I won't hesitate playing a Gingerbread + Pancha, but might hold onto a spare Pancha if I think I don't need it (Prey is great for extending the reach of your breakers, use it on the ones that you need to get rid of to Apoc.)

All that being said, I've made a new Apex build focused on Magnum Opus, with Faust & Crypsis as backup breakers, and it's probably better. It gives better econ, and more flexible breaking (with e3 Feedback Implants to supplement EH/Faust, and Brain Cage to extend hand size - remember you can prevent the brain damage with Heartbeat, so it's +3 hand size.) I added some Akamatsu Mem Chips for extra memory on top of the Q-chips. Still kinda janky, but that's Apex for you.