Cloud 9(9) - 3rd in Bay Area SC / 1st in Swiss

pj20 1481

I've been playing Geist at high level tournaments pretty much exclusively the past 2 years, and I always enjoy coming up with new brews as the card pool changes and cards get removed.

This is my latest version, and I think it's a blast to play with answers against a lot of the things that can sometimes hurt Geist.

The two main problems I usually have are 1) a first turn Scarcity or 2) dealing with tags. This build is pretty immune to both.

By going off a super resource-heavy deck, you can get around scarcity by just playing tons of low-cost Hardware and Programs until you find a current, or even pay 2 to install a Technical Writer or 2, since you will surely get your money's worth.

The key cards to the deck:

1 - Cloud Breakers - taking it full circle! I played them in my first even Geist builds, then didn't for almost 2 years, bc they simply were not as good as Pirate or just having some real breakers. Paired with the next card plus tons of recursion (Levy, Clone Chip), these worked great to both get you money for breaking and drawing cards.

2 - District 99 - another cool, easy way to get back stuff you want. Whether it's a Flip Switch you trashed to take a Surveyor trace to 0, or a Corporate "Grant" or a Spy Cam, D99 is amazingly versatile, and lessens the need for 2 Levy's. Plus, it's extremely easy to pop something on the corp's turn (Sports Hopper, Spy Cam, Clone Chip), so once you get it down the counters will start to pile up.

3 - KHUSYUK - MVP of the deck easily, this card is bonkers in Geist. I must have played it 1-4 times every game, usually with a Freedom thru Equality out. With so many 0-1 cost installs, it literally gets your full value 95% of the time. It's a Win Condition in itself.

4 - Flip Switch - again, besides being a cheap hardware to install/trash for Technical Writer and D99, it's the tag removal you need to keep your Forgers on the board. Or you can jack out if you face-plant a nasty piece of ice you're not ready for, but want them to rez (Anansi?). My favorite use for it however, is taking giant Surveyor traces down to 0, especially since it'll get you money and you already have 2 link. I did this more than once during the tournament.

5 - The Class Act - another new card that fits in perfectly with Geist. Getting that burst draw on install helps you incredibly for the next turn, since you'll easily be able to install 4 cards. Also, the filtering on EVERY TURN, including the corp's turn is super valuable. 10/10, would play again.

The only cards I would change: -1 Lucky Charm, maybe -1 Falsified, possibly +1 Flip Switch.

All in all, the deck is super fun, tons of triggers and can function on basically no money, which is pretty cool. While it did let me down a little bit in the cut, almost every single game I played both in the tournament and testing felt extremely winnable.

Thanks to @atomikrin for running a great tournament!

10 comments
8 Apr 2019 Krasty

lol ... another Mighty Geist which ended 1th after swiss and 3rd in top cut ... congrats! :)
..mine version posted here if you want to see it ... :o)

8 Apr 2019 Kingzog

hey pj20, you do realize that you can't name 0 with khusyuk, other wise the deck looks like a bunch load of fun that im gonna diffidently pack to my next weekly netrunner night!

8 Apr 2019 pj20

@Kingzog usually you're naming 1 with 3x TT, some number of Crowbar/Spike/Tycoon + Clone Chip / Forger / Lucky Charm / Flip Switch

8 Apr 2019 pj20

@Krasty .... lol I don't want to talk about it. I have done the first in swiss / 3rd overall in 3 SC's and once in a Regional last year :///////

8 Apr 2019 Kingzog

@pj20I understand that most of the time you would name one with this deck. what I'm trying to say is that you can't name the install cost of zero with khusyuk period, like it says you can name "greater than 0". you mention in your write up that 0 install cost cards are a way to fire off khusyuk, which if you did fire a khusyuk name install cost zero it wouldn't fire because you cant name zero in the first place.

8 Apr 2019 pj20

@Kingzog gotcha, nice catch.

8 Apr 2019 koga

Not even 1 copy of Hostage for the early Tech Trader?

8 Apr 2019 pj20

@Koga honestly the draw is so good in Geist that I'd rather not waste the clicks. Plus, there was the card slot issue and like I mentioned, seeing an early Technical Writer is almost as good if not better sometimes. So you basically have twice the odds of seeing a card you want in your opening hand.

9 Apr 2019 Skeletons

I love seeing a fresh take on Geist! Two questions:

  1. Do you miss having a second Levy at all?

  2. Do you get enough value out of the single Falsified to justify its slot? I could see Legwork doing more.

Congrats on your success!

9 Apr 2019 pj20

@Skeletons 1 - no. I've gotten very used to playing with only one Levy, and that's when you have even less recursion than this. The Clone Chips and D99 bridge the way to the Levy.

2 - also no. I regretted putting both that and the Lucky Charm in. My deck would have been more consistent at 45-46 cards. Those would be the 2 I'd cut from here... also wouldn't HATE another Flip Switch