Depth & Taxes III: Hell on Earth

The Old World is Dying

The old D&T builds were largely based around attacking the Runner's tempo by forcing a lot of 3/1s into their score area, then getting yourself a fat pile of value with SBB. It was also the only natural home for the harmonics suite, This made for an extremely competent midrange deck, and I miss it dearly.

But it's dead now.

First - the Agenda suite doesn't work post-rotation. Having 13 is such a huge risk with Hermes floating around, and it no longer makes sense to be primarily a never-advance deck that jobs out 3/1s to chip away at tempo. We need to reduce density and grab more proactive Agendas that you actually want to score.

Second - if we're not trying to feed the runner, the traps start making less sense. Nightmare Archives and Hendrik are great, and I'll miss a cheeky Snare!, but the threat profile is so different without Buy-Backs it can no longer support them.

Third - harmonics just gotta go. We were graced with extremely efficient in-faction Ice, especially in the current meta, and harmonics are a liability with the sheer number of popular ways to get around them cleanly.

So, where do we go from here?

The New World Struggles to be Born

Early builds were hanging on to Riot Suppression, with the theory that playing it alongside Oppo Research was a fucked up thing to do to someone. And, it is, but where do you go from there? EOTL is a good one-of with Pivot being so cheap, but the list was too focused on the flatline and ended with a useless plan B.

They also began showing an economy problem, and there was an attempt to solve it with Vovo and Cybersand, but games started lasting thirty years and the engine was pretty flimsy. Not worth salvaging, though I think a Vovo could find its way onto the list at some point.

As continentals went on, we started to get glimpses of other noble souls playing Thule at high level, and the lightbulb went off - we're not diet Sports anymore, we're store-brand Asa!

First Step, Score a 3/1; Second Step, Score a 5/3

The biggest change here revolves around the Agenda suite. Gone are the days of running only one Agenda we want to score - now we have three. Stegodon is incredibly strong alongside Formicary and Skunkworks, allowing you to redeploy your bullshit every time they are forced to run a different server. Salvo Testing changes the texture of the game - now every facedown is a tangible threat. Still, it's a bad card, and even I could only stomach a 2-pack. Luminal is Luminal, 3 clicks is a lot! The Ikawah is really nice as a defensive to close out the game, or at the very least to make them pay a pretty hefty price.

The other big change is where your money comes from. You can't be a single-remote never-advance menace anymore, you need to have a few servers popping to get more Stegodon value. On that note, having plenty of incentive is key. Bladderworts and Wage Workers really draw the Runner's eye, and the Tranquilities and Fully Ops glue your plan together.

Since harmonics were mid before and the opportunity cost went through the roof, not even Pulse survived. Instead you run 15 of the best-positioned Ice in the meta and just hope for the best.

You're ideally ending the game on turn 10-12 by scoring - flatlining is even rarer now than ever. Please try your best and have fun playing fairly.

The Reviews are In!

This guy loves it!

Another satisfied customer!

Raw power!

FAQ

Don't you just lose on centrals?

Shut up. I would recommend you not do that.

Does Pinhole Threading worry you?

Shut up. Just rez an Ablative and get whatever they trashed back. Card is busted.

Wouldn't this be much better in Asa?

Shut up. Click compression is a fake idea, and Asa doesn't tax the runner at all. Mid as hell.

Should I play this deck at Worlds?

Yes. It's good and more than capable of carrying you to top 16 if you pilot it well.

Really? I frankly don't think a deck with Salvo Testing can carry anyone to top 86, much less...

Shut up.