I scored 7 points in 1 turn w/ mushin & made top 8 at worlds

have you heard about the biotech deck that made top 8 at worlds? hello. that was this deck. i was the one to play it. thank you for visiting its netrunner db page. let me tell you about ＢＩＯＴＥＣＨ.

this twitch comment from my game against abram jopp is probably the best introduction to the deck there is.

but first thing's first: this deck did not originate with me. it was created and piloted by my friend dan, @MaximumSushi, to great success this past store champs season. the list he posted differs from mine by only half a dozen slots or so but i thought i would do another rundown for those curious about how this deck made top 8 at worlds. he was not able to make worlds this year, unfortunately, but his legacy is secured in this deck's performance. this deck went 7-2 in swiss and then won 1 of 2 games in the cut. its most infamous win was in round 2 of the cut. i mushin'd a card on turn 3 or 4. the runner did not check it. i went on to IAA a couple junebugs and overwriters. a couple dozen turns later, i mushin'd another a card. the runner did not check that one either. the following turn, i advanced both of those mushin'd cards, played clones, and scored 7 points in one turn.

i brought this deck (along with APOC VAL) because i find it extremely fun to play and i thought it would be advantageous to play something off-meta. rather than forcing runners to play the CTM shell game of "is this an MVT or an AR-Enhanced Security?", i force them to wonder "is this the winning agenda or am i about to die?" this strategy is based on a combination of snap mushins and plenty of IAA (way more of the latter than you might think). what mix of the two you use, which cards you choose for each, and when you do these things is based on your reading of the runner. some runners will never run a remote. others will always check the first one you install. and finally, many runners will check a remote only when they feel cornered. by piloting this deck a lot, you'll grow to recognise these patterns and to understand how to deal with each of them effectively. you will win when you either give the runner 4 brain damage and you flip, they kill themselves on errant net damage, or you score 7 points using your 3-pointers and clones.

a beginner's mistake with this deck is to rely too heavily on mushin. while mushin is excellent and clearly crucial to the deck, relying on it solely makes the game basically a coin toss. instead, i would recommend waiting for a moment when the runner is uncomfortable and then either IAA or mushin—whichever is more valuable at the time. i won games in swiss without ever drawing a copy of mushin (e.g., have the runner check two IAA'd overwriters). by getting better at applying pressure to your opponents, you will increase this deck's win rate markedly.

also be sure to maintain your poker face, even when your opponent says something like "You could win next turn, that's the crazy thing about this stupid deck." i recommend wearing glasses to push up.

i won't belabour each and every card choice but i am happy to explain any of the slots if anyone has any questions. one unusual choice should be explained though: localised product line. it's the first card people take out of this deck when they sleeve it but they shouldn't. do not take this card out of the deck. it will win you games. the most obvious play is to use LPL to fetch 2-3 copies of mushin. this is fine but often not the optimal call, in my opinion. instead, you can use it to shore up whatever weakness you are currently experiencing. for example, against 419 apocalypse, i used LPL to grab 3 copies of kakugo to cover my centrals. that net damage won me that game. against maxx, i used it to grab ark lockdown and get rid of 2 copies of levy. it won me that game. against wilfy horig in the final round of swiss, i used it to fetch clones and score the final 4 points to win the game.

to those who opine that this deck wins based entirely on luck, i would suggest you consider the astronomical amount of luck needed to get to top 8 at worlds with it. i did get extremely lucky at worlds though—i got to play this deck (instead of my runner) in three different 2-for-1s. it won all of them. i would also suggest you watch my game against abram. he plays it perfectly, taking calculated risks, checking a remote only when he's confident that i am about to win. sure enough, he won that game. he did not win through luck.

finally, a few shoutouts. first, a huge thank you to dan for creating such a ferocious deck and giving me plenty of advice on how to pilot it. he should be put in prison, and i along with him. next, thank you to my opponents for playing against this bananas deck without throttling me. i hope you found it to be a pleasant break from CTM, as i did. a special shoutout to the other two biotech players, both of whom were near top tables with me at the end of swiss. and finally, a huge thank you to the TorSaug community, who helped me hone my piloting skills with this deck and collaborated in building my runner deck. my worlds success is shared with dan and the rest of the toronto netrunner community, as it is thanks to them that i have become half-decent at this children's card game.

finally, fuck CTM. thank you.