Vampire Hunter (5-2 Gencon, 19th)

JuneCuervo 2592

This is my version of Lock Hayley updated for the current meta (and updated with a better name lol)

The deck is better than I played it. I lost one game to facechecking a chiyashi (in my mind I thought I had AC installed, but I had sold it a turn before) and I think its probably the strongest overall shaper you can play.

I missed the cut on on bad beats with CI (5 accesses = 8 points I guess! ;P ) but I am extremely confident in both of my choices for the event.

Unfortunately I did not have a ton of support from the SF players this time around as they were not going to Gencon. But, shoutouts to @phette23 and @westonodom for putting up with my whining about being bad at playing real netrunner and suffering through a bunch of moons vs hayley games with me.

The Deck:

Lots of people were saying Hayley is "dead" for whatever reasons. This is not true. The deck is basically all tech cards anyway - just play different tech cards.

This version of Hayley is defined by transitioning your traditional lock hayley rig into a big-rig style shaper in the late game. You accomplish this through several one-of cards, namely aesops, tapwrm, and Bloo Moose. It is not uncomming to be making 5-10 credits per turn in the mid game, and as a result, you can actually play a full rig, rather than just Faust + support breakers.

Faust of course is still a wonderful card in a deck with Laguna, but is not as crucial to victory as before. Faust still helps against decks who attempt to rush you out, and break a lot of barriers in the late game (since our fracter is Inti). You'll never ditch the faust, but you break many less ice with it.

Inversificator is the main advantage of having a larger and more robust econ engine, as it is your answer to the toughest ice you'll face. Swapping opposing Chiyashi // Fairchild 3.0 is as powerful as it is in any other deck, and lets you nicely set up your late game multi-access.

Na'Not'K supports Faust wonderfully, and breaks many sentries quite easily. Single Architect severs can be easily broken with faust, while Na'Not"K punishes corps for stacking ice to try and tax you out. This card also has Synergy with Inversificator, allowing you to craft cheaper to break servers.

Since you are a big rig deck at heart, DDM no longer is functional multi-access. Instead we play the ever-powerful Indexing + Mad Dash, along with 2x RDI to make games easier against crisium grid, and give you long-term R&D pressure.

The last major difference in this list is the inclusion of the Fan Site package in both Shadow Net and Artist Colony. The insane flexibility of these cards cannot be understated. Playing only one of each means you often draw them at variable points in the game, but they serve their purpose in unique ways. For Example:

Artist Colony allows the tutoring of lock pieces post levy, tutors during setup, and allowed for very strong hayley efficiency (instal bloo moose out of deck at EOT, hayley trigger, etc., or, install a card from deck to install clot from hand,)

Shadow Net turns Fan Sites into 9c, allowed for efficient E. Strike locks, and guarantees a cheap levy (thus reducing the overall tempo hit, and keeping your threat levels high throughout the game)

In addition, either card can be sold and moose'd when not relevant, and like all the other cards in the deck, while not good in every game, always serve you as faust, aesop, and moose food throughout it.

If anyone has questions about the deck let me know. I think it might be my favorite deck I've worked on. It is insanely complex, punishing, thrilling, and overall just an oppressively strong mess of a deck to play. Bare in mind it does take more practice and knowledge of the deck to function that previous lock hayleys, but it has very strong matchups in the current meta. I'd slice it like this:

Moons 51/49 - While insanely close, I felt that Hayley's late game lock serves you as well as always. This matchup often boils down to opening draws on each side, but will drag out long enough to diminish the importance of those draws. Having a big rig setup and inversificator prevents moons from setting up a meaningful scoring remote, a problem older versions of lock Hayley had.

Sync/CtM/Sol - 80/20 - NACH FC is insanely strong, and you have a massive econ engine to support it.

Draw Deck CI - 20//80 - Best defense basically just ruins you. Strikes are easy to clear and your lack of recursion in SoT hurts you.

Penguins CI - 80/20 - they are very bad against multiple sac cons, and artist colony + Fan site kinda just ruins their life. 1/5 games you'll lose on turn4 to variance, but overall you're in good shape.

Ag Infusion - 60/40 - accounting for a variety of lists and versions of ag, you are still overall the favorite. Your late game econ is a constant drip from the entire game, while Ag Runs out of steam. Tapwrm is essentially 5+ free credits a turn for large swaths of the game. Beth rakes in clicks, and aesop+moose do their work as usual. You have Pol Op, 2x Film Critic, and Strikes as well, giving you ample tools to win against Ag. You will lose some games to multiple rushed Nisei's, but otherwise you are well off if you play tight.

Of course, the other main advantage to playing Vampire Hunter Hayley is that you are basically jank proof. Shaper tech cards largely outclass less reliable strategies. Playing careful and thoughtfully is heavily rewarded as usual, but you usually have the tools to lock random stuff out. Especially given how punishing the deck is to startup times, if the corp stumbles or fail to pressure you adequately in the early game, you will generally just outright win the game. You do have a rougher matchup against IGKill (though honestly its not that bad, you just are not allotted any mistakes to have a chance at winning) if these kinds of kill asset spam or museum decks are prevalent in your meta, playing Paricia gets you most of the way there.

Thanks to everyone who rooted for me! Hopefully I can make a stronger showing at worlds.

-Joseki

6 comments
20 Aug 2017 rotage

Great list, I totally agreed with this comment "This version of Hayley is defined by transitioning your traditional lock hayley rig into a big-rig style shaper in the late game" I have been working on a Kate/Hayley list and although mine is quite different the concept of using Faust early then switching to big rig is the same

What changes are you looking at going forward?

21 Aug 2017 triorph

No Dean Listers? Seems like a must with relying on inti?

21 Aug 2017 scd

Is Tapwrm really the best use for those two influence? That's the one thing that seems a bit weird about this list to me, but maybe I'm just not understanding when/how it comes into play.

21 Aug 2017 JuneCuervo

@rotageI actually just really liked this list overall. I think the thing about playing Hayley is that the basic shell is pretty straightforward, its just about preparing for what you expect to face, and playing the cards you need for those matchups. If I had played all IG49, I definitely would have regretted cutting my Paricias, for example.

@triorphI don't hate playing Dean, but it isn't really a tech card for anything in particular, and since the corp meta is so broad I wanted more answers than the average Hayley deck had. I considered Snowball over the inti as well, but unfortunately the tempo loss is often too great. Inti is great for getting through cheap crappy barriers, and turning off Wraparound.

21 Aug 2017 JuneCuervo

@scdIts two influence that significantly improves your matchup vs Ag Infusion, or really any slower corp that moneys up with operations over the first few turns of the game. You don't too often install it otherwise, but occasionally its a runner PAD Campaign, for a turn or two then you aesop it, so it always has some economic value.

I'd say its the most flexible influence, but the work it does vs Ag I don't know can be achieved better by any other two influence card.

23 Aug 2017 cyberewok

@Joseki Great deck. What are your thoughts on personal workshop as drip econ + more install triggers (on corp turn if needed)? Also would you put in dummy box going forward? Lastly, what impact do you feel MCA austerity measures will have on the deck in the moons matchup?

Sorry for all the questions. :P.