Yeah, screw Hermes! (1-2 @ Netbrummers Startup)

Strategy?

This deck is a meta call that I took to the second Netbrummers Startup tournament to try and deal with Hermes and Endurance. Given that I faced neither of these cards in 3 rounds, this was a bad meta call.

The idea of this deck is that AoT allows us to rez ice when we normally wouldn't be able to, so runners that run Hermes can't run any servers if they hope to get value out of our console. Between Brân and Ansel, we also have quite a bit of 3 subroutine ice to tax out Endurance counters quite quickly, and our rushy agenda suite paired with Seamless Launch helps to outpace Turbine.

In AoT, you generally want to run at least a playset of non-bioroids so that the runner doesn't just click through the remote ice when you want to score early. Here, we're running 2 copies of Magnet and 2 copies of M.I.C.. Magnet helps to deal with Loup thinking he can Botulus through our 2 subroutine ice like its no thang, and M.I.C. is excellent to pair with a bioroid on the remote as, if the runner tries clicking through the bioroid, M.I.C. can just shut them down from accessing, and if they try running us first click, then we can show them that there's only 1 facecheck in the format worse than Enigma.

With both Regolith and Government Subsidy, we are hoping to get a lot of credits in order to start the chain of Bioroid rezzing. We can easily get to ~15-20 credits, and we can also easily spend it very quickly if the runner pressures us to rez outside of AoT triggers, which good runners generally will.

Changes?

If I were to make changes to this deck, I'd probably drop the Tucana and maybe 1-2 ice for some nicer econ options; I just never had the money to score an agenda, rez Tucana, and use its ability for much more than a Magnet on archives. The deck also has plenty of ways to ensure things are rezzed so it's really not needed as yet more anti Hermes tech. I'd also likely either go to 1 Hákarl or cut it entirely. It's here because it does better than Eli does against Banner specifically. However, this deck has Brân, which also sticks it to Banner, and we really don't have much to take advantage of its derez ability.

Results?

Round 1: Win Against Arissana

This deck is amazing against Arissana! Slap Vandal does very little against most of our ice, with the right bioroids protecting centrals it's almost impossible to Deep Dive us, and they spend so long setting up their silly shenanigans that they don't have the clicks to deny us early Offworld Offices or Send a Messages. This matchup is unloseable!

Round 2: Loss against Arissana

This matchup is terrible. Pichação makes our click taxing much less valuable, a fully charged Hyperbaric laughs at M.I.C. and Magnet, and once the runner sets up their serious strategy, it's only a matter of time before they can get through just enough to score 4 points off of a Deep Dive. This is truly an unwinnable matchup.

Round 3: Loss against Zahya Sadeghi

Sometimes, the runner believes they can first click run and just click through your remote ice like it's nothing. Most of the time, you'll show them M.I.C. and make them regret that decision. However, sometimes you'll hope it's the looming fear of losing time itself that'll deter the runner from running that server, stick an Offworld Office in there, and incidentally reward the runner for their pluckiness. Where do you go from there? Well, I can tell you what you shouldn't do. Install an ice you can't afford to rez on its own, install another agenda in the server, and advance it. You might think the runner would question whether you'd be that stupid to do it twice in a row, but, turns out, sometimes that fact is obviously true.

Conclusion?

If nothing else, the up and down of credits in this deck and the intimidating nature of having a board full of rezzed bioroids make it a blast to play. I don't think it's a meta killer like I hoped it was, but with a better pilot against a field of Hermes and Endurance who knows what might have happened. There's only one thing I know for sure: the matchup against Arissana is about even.