See Wu, Net Cowboy

Ensu 279

This deck wants to do one thing:

:click: : draw 2 cards, gain $5, and place a counter on The Turning Wheel.

Let's break down this core action to its component pieces and see how the synergies here work.

Daredevil: Draw 2 cards when you make a run on a server with 2 or more pieces of ICE.

Au Revoir: Gain $1 (or $3, with all three installed) when you jack out

Kyuban: Gain $2 when you pass host ICE during a run.

We're running the bird suite, so we can derez ICE to ensure we can keep pushing this combo, and when you're able to gain $5/click, you can afford to continuously derez the same ICE over and over if you need to.

Kabonesa Wu and Compile also work great with the birds. You drop it on the table, make your run, and derez a piece of ICE for cheap, dodging both Compile's "return this card to the bottom of your stack" and Wu's "remove this program from the game." Bonus points if you drop the program on Flame-out. Nothing feels quite as good as compiling into an Anansi and derezzing it for $2.

Early on, get your 3x Au Revoir on the table. Use SMC if you have to, but it's best to use Wu + Scavenge/Rejig to put stuff on the table permanently. Hammer whatever uniced server you can for $3/click until they ICE everything up. Load up Algo now, you'll need the money later.

Once they ICE up all the centrals, you'll need to start building your rig. Get some mem on the table, then click 1: Wu SMC, click 2 3 4 run and facecheck stuff. If they rez, great, get your breaker. If not, great, jack out and gain $3.

Pressure the corp HARD. Make scary facechecks. You need to keep them as poor as possible so you can derez a piece of ICE, then hammer it with Au Revoir + Kyuban for big bucks.

Atman is your answer to the big space ICE. If they rez an Asteroid Belt or Wormhole or whatever with three counters on it, just pull Atman with the appropriate counters and break it for $1. It's still $2/click, plus a TTW counter if it's on HQ or R&D, so it'll prompt them to install more ICE, which you can pressure them into rezzing.

Be aggressive. Force inopportune rezzes. Make the corp poor, then jack out over and over to rub their nose in it. Good luck!

3 comments
29 Apr 2019 EnderA

There has to be a better slot use than Algo Trading. Reshape also seems a rather poor choice.

Consider: Modded, Cold Read, Beth Kilrain-Chang, Diesel, a third Flame-out, "Freedom Through Equality", and Clone Chip.

1 May 2019 Trinity_

Neat concept! I'd also suggest finding some non-Algo Trading economy - maybe The Artist given the large number of programs and pieces of hardware?

3 May 2019 Ensu

Algo is REALLY GOOD in this. This deck can make a ton of money early before the corp is able to ICE everything up, but in the mid-to-late game I have to play a lot more cautiously. If I can load up an Algo or two in the first few turns, I routinely crack it for $16 or so when the money really matters.

2 Flame-Outs seems fine, especially now that I can reload them with Rejig.

Beth doesn't do much, because I'm explicitly working to make the corp as poor as possible. She just doesn't tick much.

The Artist is bad in this deck. A click for $2 just isn't worth it when my standard Au Revoir interaction is worth $3. I'd slot Armitage first for the times when I'm locked out and flat broke, but that's what Algo does.

Modded is actually really good for reinstalling birds after a derez, but I'm just too tight on slots.

I added the Reshape as a bit of a gambit - say I derez an Archer/Tollbooth/Chiyashi/whatever, and the corp installs another piece of ICE in front of it. I could use Reshape to move the expensive ICE back to the outside. It didn't really work though, and I cut it back out in favor of a Paricia, which helps a lot against asset spam decks.