A Standard Association (SOCR4)

HiddenAway 1009

Final decklist for the Stimhack Online Cache Refresh 4 tournament, winning the tournament just after Council of the Crest was released.

ASA looked like an ID I could easily play in Cache Refresh and is also one of the few times I've tried a HB identity. The deck uses Data and Destiny as it's deluxe box for Global Food Initiative. This helps the Punitive line and also reduces the risk of big steals from centrals.

The original deck idea was to lean on MCA Austerity Policy to score a 5/3 and use ASA's ability to score 2 Vitruvius with Caibration Testing off ASA triggers. As it turns out, it changed to more of a glacier deck with taxing ice - at least after removing Najja 1.0...

Signal Jamming was a late addition to try and stop Self Modifying Code installs, and aiming to stop runners by leading them into Ichi 1.0 or Rototurret to stop the threat. NGO Front is used for it's original purpose of bluffing a 5/3 install in a high ice remote. Mason Bellamy helps with the scoring and protection of Ikawah as this one upgrade makes it impossible to steal Ikawah in a 3 rezzed ice remote, especially as there is no Film Critic to save the runner.

Another late addition was Punitive Counterstrike, as a surprise killer against runners who could steal Ikawah but run out of clicks and credits doing so.

Performance

Swiss Rounds

This deck went 3-2 in Swiss before I made some changes for the cut and the legality of Down the White Nile.

It uses Data and Destiny as it's deluxe because the problem of flooding is mitigated slightly by Global Food Initiative's ability, meaning that the runner needs 4 agendas unless they find Ikawah Project.

Calibration Testing is for fast advance shenanigans and with ASA's trigger, you can score a Vitruvius from hand for 5 credits (Install Vitruvius/Calibration Testing, advance, advance, rez Calibration Testing, trash Calibration Testing, score). Don't do what I did in my game against Aethusium and score a GFI with Biotic Labor, Calibration Testing from 11 credits. That's asking for trouble and cost me the game.

Cut

This deck won the 2 games it was required in plus the final dead rubber game at the end. The quarter final win was down to the use of Mason Bellamy and Ikawah to score out, though my opponent had the chance to trash it as well as Signal Jamming from the server in an initial run through.

The semi-final was looking bleak until the runner stole 5 points in HQ. I joked about where Punitive Counterstrike was and found it first click after the mandatory draw.

Changes between Swiss and Cut rounds

This version was tweaked after the Swiss rounds with the following changes:

  • -Bioroid Work Crew x2
  • -Genotyping x2
  • -Green Level Clearance x2
  • -Najja 1.0 x2
  • -Successful Field Test x1
  • +CFC Excavation Contract x1
  • +Eli 2.0 x1
  • +NGO Front x3
  • +Punitive Counterstrike x2
  • +Signal Jamming x2
3 comments
3 Mar 2018 BlackCherries

What were your thoughts on using Whampoa Reclamation? I don't know if the SOCR tourney was following MWL 2.1 but would you have considered it and swapped GFI out for let's say SSL Endorsement or something?

Love the deck!

3 Mar 2018 BlackCherries

Also, thoughts on Jinja City Grid?

4 Mar 2018 HiddenAway

@BlackCherries I felt Whampoa Reclamation wasn't a good fit for my deck as I tend to prefer scoring out as quick as I can, even if it means that I'd be lightly flooded. I did also consider using SSL Endorsement but as it's still 3 points to the runner and I had no cards I really wanted in the other deluxes (except maybe Mushin No Shin - think of the synergy with Bioroid Work Crew and Asa Group: Security Through Vigilance!), I think GFI is the better choice because it's only 2 points to the runner but it still switched on Punitive during the cut, and it won me 2 games there.

As for Jinja City Grid, I only really have Ultraviolet Clearance for major card draw so just drawing to switch on the card wasn't really worth it. It might have helped from an economic standpoint and it is a good upgrade to trigger ASA though and you could possibly take out the Signal Jamming for it. I would certainly not lean on it as the big win condition though as this could leave centrals vulnerable when you haven't got the ice to install.