Built to IAAst (2nd @ January Startup Tournament)

This deck went undefeated during the January Startup Tournament this weekend, getting me to the 2nd place in the event.

The list relies on the fact that we do not have a single expose effect in the format, meaning that the only way a runner can check a potential trap is with their face.

In the past, a double-advanced trap that went unchecked usually ended up being useless to the corp. Now that we have Clearinghouse, though, we can keep advancing our traps up to 6 advancement tokens (or 7, if we are against that one runner in the world who plays Supercorridor instead of Aniccam), forcing the runner to make the Shakespearean choice - to run, or not to run. If their choice is incorrect - they die. If it is correct - we keep playing.

The casino always wins.

The 9 advanceable assets are just enough to keep the runner guessing every other turn. As soon as the runner is done with one of them, we IAA another. Our identity makes sure that it costs us no money.

The good doctors are here specifically to recur your advanceables - just make sure you keep a good mix of Cerebral Overwriters and Clearinghouses.

As this deck loses from central servers, these are the only ones that require icing up. Cayambe Grid is a better upgrade than Crisium Grid as it generates value with each turn that it sits on the server. In general, you want your first advancement token on an ice to be placed manually, for Built to Last value, and others to come from Cayambe (unless you feel like you need your Pharos or Akhet to become a powerhouse of an ice earlier.

What does this deck lose to?

1) Khusyuk is very powerful, as not only is it the most reliable way to find our agendas despite their insanely low density, but also it gives the runner a glimpse into what is left in RnD - every Clearinghouse they see in with their Khusyuk is not a ticking bomb on the table.

2) Stargate is less likely to get your agendas quickly, but it deprives you of your toys. In most games RnD is the server that needs the heaviest protection, and also the place where your first Cayambe goes.

3) Sneakdoor Beta is a little less common, but by midgame you are going to have quite a few agendas in your HQ, as your are rarely building an iced remote server to score in, and your Spin Doctors are more often used for recurring advanceables than for burying agendas. An Afshar or two on HQ usually discourages the runners from checking HQ on a regular basis, but a timely Sneakdoor usually gets at least one agenda of HQ before you can secure the Archives.

4) Runners being really good at mind games. These are a serious problem. When you see the number of your advanceables dwindling, by the runner either making all the right choices or getting them off centrals, you might want to switch to a secondary tactic and IAA an SDS Drone Deployment in order to kill their fracter and build an actual remote server, using any advanceables you might have left to bait out the odd Inside Job/Boomerang/Botulus that they might have left. It is not an ideal plan, but a plan nonetheless.

Feel free to play around with this list - just do not expect to make any friends in the process, as from the runner's perspective going against this is like diffusing an explosive device - not exactly your dream idea for spending an afternoon.

I would like to thank YsengrinSC for organizing an awesome event and all the great people who participated. Rock on!