Ambushes Iceless

Watching the runner burn themselves is a special kind of fun.

This is the continuation of the iceless experiment. The first one ("Trap iceless") was with Saraswati. While it worked, I found it did not have enough bite.

From the previous experiment came some interesting fact. 1. Preemptive Action really shine here. Bringing back Snare!, sometime econ cards and bringing Mushin back in the deck really help. On top of that, it keep the agendas more diluted. Forcing the runner to make more run, for more pain :-) 2. Punitive Counterstrike is not good for this deck. The runner will easily build a huge pile of creds, since there is almost no cost to trash anything and nothing to spend credit on, once they figure out that there is no ices. The trace(5) will probably never land. 3. Back Channels and Stock Buy-Back are amazing econ card. By mid game, Stock Buy-Back can net you 21 creds and more. For Back Channels, just push a Project Junebug up, use it for Hangeki, and once you have Back Channels in hand, make a pile of creds. 4. Having 9 negatives agendas really make this deck function. Without it, you almost automatically lose. With it, the pain for getting the Obotoka is compounded by the fact that the runner just got to 1 agenda point total, even with 5 agendas in hand ;-)

The reason for switching from Saraswati to PE is simple : pain! With the ID, you can actually flatline the runner by scoring a Sting! Also, finding any Snare mean no more run for the runner, since the runner has to build the grip back, in case of Obotoka (which cost 5 cards). Also, Obotoka + Prisec mean the runner need 6 cards in hand, and must run first click, or risk being flatlined by scoring a Sting. And if a House of Knives is in play, then good luck to the runner.

The newer thing here is Ronin and Dedication Ceremony. The goal is to punish the runner for not running. If the runner run, they must take risks and probably lose cards. If they do not run, they can lose cards or die from Ronin.

Finally, let's not forget to mention that you might get the shortest win with this deck. Running with 3 cards on a Junebug, first turn, will give you a quick win and bring back that old souvenir from your early day, the first thing you learn when playing against Jinteki : Always Run With Minimum Four Cards In Hand.

Other things that can be experimented : Mwanza Ciy Grid, for econ and triggering more ambushes. Neural EMP, to kill the runner from hand.

There is a that special fealing from playing iceless. It is almost a permanent dare to your opponent : "Are you feeling lucky... punk?"

And then you smile... and wink ;-)