Ele-lusive (1st Place Arizona SC)

ChairmanHiro 460

This is the runner deck I took to the Arizona SC and won the tournament with. It went undefeated 4-0. I really like the use of Beth + Peace + Tapwrm, and the flexibility that Clone Chip allows is quite a liberating feeling. Even if I have no reason to use clone chip on clot or misdirection, etc., it still has a lot of value as just more copies of Tapwrm, which gives me a full 9 installs of Tappy.

Tappy Tappy makes me Happy.

The Atman was added last minute just in case someone (cough CI) was going to try to lock me out with Mythic ice, fortunately that didn't happen, otherwise I'd take it out or swap it for Mad Dash/Interdiction. The REAL hero of this tournament, though, was Clot. This deck does hard anti-FA by giving clot as much staying power as possible, and it absolutely was a major player in 3 of the 4 games that day. I will NEVER go back to non-clot-lock Smoke until rotation pries it out of my hands. Other than that this is a fast smoke deck based on setting up quick and applying pressure while using Equivocation + Mirror to close out the game. The one leftover influence could be used on Turning Wheel or Hunting Grounds, but I felt little need for it.

1st Match - CI Bullshit. Oh look, a CI deck leaning on MCA Austerity Policy. What a surprise. Clot/Beth made MCAAP useless, and Tappy LOVED the 20+ credits they sat on the whole game, but while the deck ran only 3 pointers, I eventually closed out with Equivocation.

2nd Match - Titan FA. Would have been a much harder game if not for clot lock shutting them down pretty hard. Best play was using an indexing just to get them to burn an Atlas Token (for another Atlas) then running their hand to steal the Atlas.

3rd Match - NEXT Rush. Rush is surprisingly good right now since so many runner decks are slow, this guy's NEXT deck had won 3 straight so far, but while he did get to 4 points quickly, he couldn't close out the game because I mulliganed for a breaker, then used Peace + Clone Chip + SMC to get the other breakers out ASAP. After that he couldn't keep me out.

4th Match - More CI Bullshit. Different player, near identical deck. Again Tappy/Beth and Clot were all-stars. The game almost went to time because they were running Vanity Project for minimal agendas, but they got desperate and tried to hail mary a 5 ice server to win by having more points at time out, but I had farmed too many Net Mercur bucks for it to matter. The tournament ended with CI on 3 credits, tossing some 20 cards into archives and then I ran it win the game. #FeelsF**kinGoodMan. #EatItCI

8 comments
4 Feb 2018 dawspawn

Did you have enough draw? With no Astro or ProCo, that would be my only concern. Otherwise, awesome Smoke deck and grats on the wins!

5 Feb 2018 Grimwalker

Is Mirror really that good? I would almost rather a combination of 2 Astrolabe and 1 Cyberdelia.

5 Feb 2018 Grimwalker

I'm not sold on Mirror. I know it's the cheapest 2 MU, but I almost would wonder if 2 Astrolabe and 1 Cyberdelia might be a better use of slots?

10 Feb 2018 ChairmanHiro

@Grimwalker2 Astrolabe + 1 Cyberdelia would not be a good combination for this deck. Mirror is there because it's the cheapest 2 MU but also because of it's synergy with Equivocation, which should not be underestimated. Having to find 2 cards (including a singleton) to be able to have your full rig out is not viable, and Cyberdelia is just not worth putting in a deck if you are not running 3 of them. You'd have to find the 1 copy of it, install it, install the last part of your rig, then wait at least 4 turns for it to make you a single credit of net value. The consistency of Mirror helps keep early pressure up better as well as strengthens your ability to close the game. I previously had Gauntlet and no Equivocation, but after switching found the deck ran much smoother.

14 Feb 2018 Fl3xbyts

I've played a few games with this deck, and I've frequently been locked out of servers because of layers of ICE, or advancing ICE. Without a mirror trigger, there are 3 stealth credits available per turn, right? With a mirror trigger, there are 4 credits. Can you share any advice on this issue? Thank you!

14 Feb 2018 Fl3xbyts

I have played this deck a few games, and I have lost due to advanceable ICE and 2+ ICE-deep servers. Without a Mirror trigger, there are 3 stealth credits available for the whole turn, right? Has this been enough for you? Can you please share your experience/advice regarding this issue. Thank you.

14 Feb 2018 Fl3xbyts

I have played this deck a few games, and I have lost due to advanceable ICE and 2+ ICE-deep servers. Without a #Mirror trigger, there are 3 stealth credits available for the whole turn, right? Has this been enough for you? Can you please share your experience/advice regarding this issue. Thank you.

14 Mar 2018 internet_potato

@Fl3xbyts Net Mercur provides extra stealth credits. If there is an open remote or open archives and you don't have a better action available, you can run and spend the recurring credit from Ele "Smoke" Scovak: Cynosure of the Net's ID to raise the strength of a breaker, which will add a credit to NM.