Mushin Mti (2nd @ NorCal Regionals 2018)

allofthemarbles 153

This is the Mti Mwekundu deck I took to NorCal regionals. It was the worse-performing of my two decks, but so much fun to pilot. I knew I was in trouble when I took a look at Red Planet Couriers and decided I had make room for it.

The goal of the deck is to leverage the rush potential of Mti’s ID ability and the click savings of Mushin No Shin to up the pressure on a PE-style shell game. If you can successfully Mushin an early agenda with an ETR-ice in hand or an Obokata Protocol with a Cortex Lock or Komainu, every other multi-advanced card could be game point. Since the deck’s agendas are seven 3-pointers, you can afford to take a few more risks; for you, two agendas plus “Clones Are Not People” is enough while a Mad Dash-less runner needs to score three.

The general game plan is to throw out traps and agendas as fast as possible. The number and types of traps/non-traps are up to personal preference, but I try to have enough threats at each advancement level.

The Mushin No Shin + advance play is the heart of the deck, doubling as a lethal Junebug and an agenda you can score alongside “Clones” with the extra clicks. Mushin + other action can look a bit more like an agenda you’re trying to rush with Mti, but it could also be a crippling Overwriter or an “advanced” Psychic Field that might not otherwise get run. An install-advance-advanced card could be 3 points, NGO Front, or a taxing trap. Some runners are more inclined to check these, which is a good way to run them through a Data Loop/Kakugo server, opening a scoring window for Obokata. Unfortunately, this agenda spread isn’t able to directly threaten a no-advance score against a Snare or Psychic Field, but Mti’s ability means that it's uncommon for a runner to check Rashida Jaheem or an unadvanced 3-pointer (waiting to be RPC’d).

Things I tried to keep in mind while playing: Never give up on traps! Bringing a failed Junebug up to 3 or 4 advancements still looks like a Ronin or an agenda that you’re waiting to draw “Clones” before scoring. When short on Mushins, installing a trap or agenda then triple advancing it on a future turn can be a strong play. If you suspect Employee Strike, you have the option of either Mushin-icing your agenda or Mushining an unprotected Junebug.

Red Planet Couriers only fired once on the day, but it was incredibly satisfying when it did. The game was against an Ayla who looked like she needed some time to set up. On my first turn, I installed an unadvanced Obokata. Not long after, I Mushined an SSL Endorsement and Archive-Mushined a Junebug, neither of which were run. Feeling like the SSL was safe, I waited a few turns to draw “Clones” before scoring it for 4 points. I continued to play shell games in my remotes, giving up one agenda, while Miraju protected R&D against an Indexing into Mad Dash. Finally, I drew into Red Planet Couriers, moving tokens from the Junebug and a double-advanced NGO to the Obokata for the win.

When putting this deck together, I drew heavily from decks by simili, Powar, and Flekk, all of which I recommend taking look at. I’ve always loved building decks and reading NetrunnerDB write-ups, so I’m really glad I’m getting the chance to post my own!

2 comments
25 Jul 2018 Powar

Congrats on the solid finish! I saw this on stream and was pulling for you to take it. Great to see people experimenting with mti mushin. :)

27 Jul 2018 allofthemarbles

@Powar That’s awesome to hear. It was so helpful to have a successful Mushin-Clones deck to build off of!