無爲 - The Tao of Kabonesa

The wisewoman was like a seed in the wind, moving from town to town, student to student, leaving nothing, taking nothing; leaving everything, taking everything. We sought her for stories, for miracles, for the magic she was reputed for.

We came away with something less. Something more.

She showed us nothing, and showed how valuable it was. She showed us stillness when we demanded motion, and it was the stillness that overcame us.

She showed us how to overcome our foes and our fears -- that all you had to do, all you really had to do, was let their own nature overtake them, and make one... perfect... step.

To transcend mere victory, and attain serenity.

Such was the wisewoman's tao.

Welcome to the age of defensive 5/3s, where everybody's scoring out of remotes and nobody wants to take four to the face just to get three points.

But that's fine. In fact, that's great.

It'll take them a few turns to get that 5/3 out. Plenty of time to drop a simple zero-cost Fan Site. Plenty of time to feed them extra cash with Peace in Our Time. Plenty of time to score out Obokata, or SSL Endorsement, or any of the fun stuff coming out of FFG's design department.

And that's where all of their problems begin.

Is keeping the 5/3 worth letting Liberated Chela through? Do you sacrifice it to keep the runner low? Do you burn credits to minimize the extra clicks?

Doing what the corp is wont to do -- what the corp is intended to do -- is to knowingly walk into traps. It is, in fact, to knowingly advance the runner instead, allowing them to grab exactly what they need, exactly what's most annoying for the situation, and nothing more or less. Whether it's to turn off Tollbooths and Komainus, neutralize Obokatas, or deftly dodge missiles, the very act of advancing the corporate conspiracy is what allows her to do exactly all that's needed to overcome them.