Tae Bo Roundhouse(Top 8 Sunny, Day 1A Worlds 2018)

haxle 31

Yes, I know there were less than eight Sunny players. Let me have this!

Momma's been working on her cardio, and the newest trend in high-impact aerobics vids has got her throwing strikes that would make even the most highly Trained Pragmatist flinch!

Magnum Opus was my first and only Worlds, and sadly a change in my work situation in the months prior prevented me from getting the practice I needed to succeed in the 2.2 meta. For this reason I decided to simply bring my favorite decks and do the best I could, and despite my extremely modest 170th overall placing, I don't regret my choices for a second. Sunny might not be the most exciting runner, but she has access to some of the most direct and powerful tools in the game, and the Hats are by far my favorite cards in all of Netrunner.

This deck began its life as a variation of Aerosaucer's Sunny Tempeau, but over time it mutated into its own beast, with only the draw suite and breakers surviving intact. The core strategy involves drawing and moneying up like crazy in the early game and allowing the Corp to score a few points, then using Emergent Creativity to get your Nexus online as soon as possible. Don't be afraid to toss your breakers if you see them too early, you've got spare copies and plenty of draw power to dig for them if the need arises. If you suspect fast-advance or HHN shenanigans, poke Archives with a Dirty Laundry then use White Hat to toss those important pieces back into R&D. If you're lucky you might see a flooded HQ, giving you an early target for Black Hat runs.

Once you're warmed up, it's time to start throwing roundhouses! Windmill-slam a Paycheck, tip your Black Hat, then go Mining for a massive seven-card R&D dig! Against many corp decks this will net you multiple agendas in a single run, resulting in a massive cash infusion from Paycheck and placing you in a hugely dominant position, giving you the inevitability needed to close out the game. If you haven't won by the time they draw through your R&D dig, just do it again with Same Old Thing, or use White Hat to force a shuffle and go digging again next turn! Work those thunder thighs! Feel the burn!

Originally this deck ran one DDM and one Divide and Conquer. Combined with Black Hat, D&C can usually net you a total of six accesses out of R&D and HQ for five or six credits, which is amazing value. Unfortunately this led to some serious inconsistency in my multi-access draws, and in the end I chose to double up on DDMs. I feel like this was the right choice despite my low placement, but if your meta is full of heavy glacier decks who double up on Central ICE, D&C might be the better choice. If you're feeling especially janky, Black Hat also works well with an oft-overlooked card called Showing Off. If your opponent is tossing all their agendas to the bottom of R&D with Daily Business Shows, a well-timed Showing Off can win you the game outright.

Unfortunately for me this deck was a poor meta call, as most of the Corps I faced counted on low agenda density to keep R&D safe from my digs; I can't count the number of times I whiffed or stole a single SSL/GFI on my big breakout turns. Still, I had a blast, and the number of people who were genuinely happy to see a Sunny player at Worlds served to highlight how awesome the Netrunner community is. If your local meta is light on 3-point agendas, give Sunny's new aerobics routine a try. You won't regret it!

6 comments
12 Sep 2018 BlackCherries

Were the Maxwell James worth their spot, especially post-MWL 2.2?

12 Sep 2018 Sanjay

Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't cite accurate but misleading achievements of your deck in a deck write-up!

That's all some of us have.

Congrats on the top 8, and nice thoughtful write-up too.

12 Sep 2018 haxle

@BlackCherries I would say yes, partly for the link and remote threat they pose but also because I honestly couldn't think of a better way to spend those two influence. If you have suggestions I'd love to hear about them.

@Sanjay Thank you! You were great this weekend, and I and the whole community appreciate the hard work you put in during MO, along with your fellow judges. :D

12 Sep 2018 BlackCherries

Yeah, I think overall the link's just worth more than other alternatives. If I had to give suggestions, perhaps more Peace or a few copies of Stimhack?

Maybe Career Fair and some Data Folding? It's a tough call, for sure.

14 Sep 2018 JamesWinters

3 symmetrical visage???

18 Sep 2018 haxle

@BlackCherries Peace is there as early burst econ if you're lucky, or emergency funds if you see it later. Stimhack would be a great replacement to threaten late-game remotes, or to use in combination with Black Hat if their centrals are heavily defended.

@Winterspring I found even with Earthrise, Deuces and Office Supplies I was still clicking to draw a lot, so I slotted Visages in order to make some money at the same time. 3 because Sunny's a 50-card minimum and I wanted to see them as early as possible.