Stealth Jes v3

magikot 1992

Version 3 of the Stealth Jes deck I've been piloting since Jes released, now updated to 23 seconds!

Gameplan

With the new MWL and the errata to Astroscript, I've decided to go all in on the Account Siphon plan and removed the clot. As such you want to Siphon early and often. Once set up you can easily hit 2 or 3 servers a turn, getting Cloak credits back with Mirror as you lock down R&D. Between the R&D lock and siphon on HQ you should have no problems sniping cards out of remotes.

Breakers and Support

Cloak, Dagger, and Corroder are the typical breakers for a stealth Shaper deck and that's because they work very well. Atman over Dai V because I don't feel there is enough sources of stealth credits in the deck to make Dai V worth its slot. Cloak, Ghost Runner and Mirror are strong sources of stealth credits to power your runs. Clone Chip in a pinch if you miscalculate or need to double Self-modifying Code during a run.

Economy

Sure Gamble, Professional Contacts, Kati Jones, and Daily Casts. You will find that you are rarely wanting for credits with these sources of burst and drip economy. The earlier you see the ProCo and Kati the better. Disrupt the corp's economy and bolster your own with the full three Account Siphons. Jes' ability to take only one tag means you can usually Siphon on click 3 without worry. Modded acts as another economy card by saving three credits to put the Mirrors, Plascrete Carapace and Dagger into play for free and reducing RDI to only a single credit.

The Rest

Film Critic is mostly for playing against Jinteki's TFPs and punitive Weyland decks.

Same Old Thing and Levy AR Lab Access are to bring back your Siphons, Ghost Runners and any spent Daily Casts.

Diesel will let you dig deeper instead of just relying on ProCo for draw.

Plascrete Carapace is the final line of defense against scorch decks on the rare instance that you don't have enough credits to beat a Sea Source/Midseasons trace. Also to make Argus cry more when we multi access.

Threats

Zealous Judge. You don't often take tags, but when you do this guy can really ruin your day because your resource engine will quickly vanish. Check the remotes and kill on sight.

Jeeves. The evil purple butler from hell, kill on sight. Since we've ditched clot, HB fast advance has a really favorable match-up against this deck. Killing Jeeves as quickly as possible is the only real answer to the deck.

Sandburg. If you don't see a Siphon until it's or find ways to make them spend their money Sandburg can tax out your stealth credits. Prioritize any server you see Sandburg in to keep the strength of ice to a more manageable level.

Argus. LOL not a threat. Jes practically neuters the card ability.

Future Additions

Councilman and Political Operative are both cards to consider should Sandburg, Caprice, and other strong assets/upgrades prove to be too challenging. Swapping the Clone Chip for the PolOp and a Mirror for Sacrificial Construct would help keep the cards listed in threats under control while also protecting your programs from being trashed.

18 comments
19 Jul 2016 tzeentchling

Vamp is a thought too, though you'd have to drop the Corroder for something else. Or a Siphon for a Vamp and two Turning Wheel, or something.

19 Jul 2016 FarCryFromHuman

Since you are already running Film Critic, why not include New Angeles City Hall to solve the tag issue?

19 Jul 2016 FarCryFromHuman

Also I understand your point on Dai V... it's a weird card. I think it's mostly intended as an install-sometimes answer to Komainu, Tour Guide, Ashigaru and the like which are still rough encounters for the stealth suite. Most of these are easily covered by GS Shrike M2 though, if you don't mind spending the influence. It's also nice for trap ice like Special Offer.

19 Jul 2016 hi_impact

Like FarCry said, Dai V is a multi-sub sentry option if you choose Dagger over Switchblade.

Probably not a problem in this new MWL (yet), but if you keep getting rekt by multisub low STR ICE you might want to also toss in a Dai V

19 Jul 2016 JohnnyMilton

Love the Siphons! This is way better with Kate though. Without Maya, what kind of mileage are you getting out of Jes' ability?

19 Jul 2016 magikot

@tzeentchling I've tried a vamp or two on several occasions since I posted version 1 back in January or February. I haven't liked it in the deck. While the back to back siphon into vamp is a blast when it hits, it's not very reliable. I've played the Vampminder deck and it's a lot of fun, but it is a different play style than the one I have here.

@FarCryFromHuman I always forget NACH is a card, that's why. Swapping out a mirror for a singleton would be a good call and help with the CTM match. Also agreed on Dai V being a great answer to those cards. If i run into them more often or if another source of stealth credits becomes available, I'll definitely consider it.

@JohnnyMilton data ravens, snare, Argus, and many more instances of being able to ignore the tag. I haven't missed Maya yet but I'm finding I'm able to avoid at least 5 tags a game. That's 5 clicks and 10 credits saved which is very significant.

19 Jul 2016 RubbishyUsername

@JohnnyMilton well... the Siphons. Taking only a single tag means you can take Kati Jones money or Same Old Thing before checking the remote.

20 Jul 2016 Krasty

Very good deck at all, but do you think about Deuces Wild in this deck? I think very usefull here, because every single action on "Dan`s Wildness" helps you a lot... :o) So for me +1 Deuces Wild, -1 Clone Chip...

20 Jul 2016 JohnnyMilton

@magikot``@RubbishyUsername Awesome, if you're getting the mileage, that's brilliant. Meta-aware runners be taking care of business

20 Jul 2016 x-factor103

Curious, especially with all the Modded, what you see in 1x Maker's Eye instead of a third RDI.

It's a simple build, but I like the look of it. It won't need a ton of cash being built on stealth. But at the same time it looks like it can get quite flush with cash, which spells doom for asset spam. The replacement of Maya for Mirror is a nice touch that will suit stealth nicely.

With that level of pressure, I wonder if you couldn't just swap Corroder for an in-faction fracter and go for a Medium. You'd have to drop the Clone Chip, but if program trash is all you're worried about you could slot in those Sacrificial Constructs you were looking at quite easily (especially since with Medium you might be able to remove the Maker's/RDIs).

21 Jul 2016 magikot

@x-factor103 The Maker's Eye was to give me multiaccess after an early siphon. Or to dig 5 deep for when I'm at 4 or 5 points to usually win the game.

If I were to swap out the corroder the only viable in faction fracter would be Snowball, which wouldn't be the worst substitution. However, I would likely reinclude the HQ Interface I cut in this version for that two influence instead of going for Medium. It would give me another target for Modded while also putting even more pressure on HQ.

2 Aug 2016 #nixklapps

What do you do against an early never advanced supposedly Breaking News before you've found the single Film Critic? Trying to keep the Corp poor with Account Siphon so the Midseason Replacements can't land?

2 Aug 2016 magikot

If you think that there is a never advanced BN you attempt to siphon spam, or dig aggressively for plascrete or critic (better with ProCo on the board). The midseasons match up was easier when this deck included Maya, but as long as you keep your credits within 8 of the corp's with 5 cards in hand you can't be midseason, traffic, scorched in a turn. Run their pads, sensies, etc to keep their economy under control and use your ghost runners to trash their assets if need be. Between siphons, kati, and the rest of the econ cards the deck can become very flush with cash that landing the midseason can get quite tough for the opponent.

10 Aug 2016 Pustekuchen

Do you see a possibility to include Paperclip and Beth Kilrain-Chang or do you think they're worthless in this deck?

10 Aug 2016 Pustekuchen

Do you see a possibility to include Paperclip and Beth Kilrain-Chang or do you think they're worthless in this deck?

10 Aug 2016 FarCryFromHuman

,mmmmmm...mm m m k.m. byhybfggib.

13 Aug 2016 #nixklapps

Thanks for the tips! For the next tournament I'll attend Bloodmoney will be legal, so any thoughts on Beth Kilrain-Chang or Rumor Mill in this deck or any other changes due to Bloodmoney?

29 Aug 2016 magikot

@impyrunnerSorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, I was on vacation with no internet access.

I swapped the Corroder for Rumor Mill, putting in a Snowball (at least until blackstone comes out!!). It helps you get into that crucial server when you need it. I haven't done anything with Beth yet, but she's a great card that can work wonders in the deck.

I've made several of the suggested edits I was thinking of making (ProCo, SacCon, etc.) and Rumor Mill just worked perfectly with them.

@Pustekuchen Beth I will be adding soon. Paperclip is also doable. You can free up the influence for Paperclip by changing the Clone Chip to a Sacrificial Construct.