[Startup] Why deep dive when you can just swim in money?

Gameplay footage:

Took this to the first place in Helsinki startup GNK. Went 3-1 on the day (Wins: NEH, RH and BtL, loss PD).

There are many variants of the same basic core: Aniccam and Identity for draw, events, Prepaid VoicePAD and Rezekis for money. Build the rig fast, money up, lock remote and finish with Khusyuk. Harrass corp in the meanwhile as much as convenient.

Deck felt quite strong on the day. The PD matchup was certainly winnable, but I couldn't find the right lines. My opponent played the match better so that was a deserved win.

There is some room for tweaking, but I think most of the core is locked. Mainly you can decide what you spend your influence on.

There is six influence to spare between Carmen, Clot and Light the Fire!. Before the day I had - 1 LtF +1 Docklands Pass for increased HQ pressure. At some point I also had Bukhgalter instead of Carmen, but that means you can have only 1 out of Docklands Pass, Clot and Light the Fire!.

Since this deck mostly loses, if your opponent is able to end the game before you're ready and fastest startup corps tend to be remote rush or FA, I decided to tech against those wincons at the expense of better sentry breaker or HQ pressure. Even though I actively dislike Carmen when I could play Bukhgalter, this felt like the right choice. Usually you swim in the money so much, it does not make a lot of difference. Also locking remote makes agendas pile up in HQ which makes even single accesses useful.

If you take the Bukhgalter, you can fill final slot with Overclock or Harmony AR Therapy. I'd recommend overclock, since you can combo it with SMC. You also rarely need to play even the second HART, so third copy feels like hand-cluttering overkill unless everyone is playing net damage decks and there is a risk of binning both copies. Still 2x feels like enough.

Bravado takes six influence, but I do like it here, it gives you nice econ with voicepads and makes it easier to pressure corp early like an honest criminal.

Corroder could have been better than Cleaver on the day. But that really depends on what ICE you expect to face. If you switch to corroder, Leech becomes a flex slot. Corroder synergies with your most common khusyuk number 2 so you can possibly pull good ones a bit earlier.

Khusyuk over Deep Dive since you can play the former several times in same turn. That discussion ofc turns moot once Khusyuk rotates from startup.

It was nice to have a live tournament in Helsinki in who knows how long. Thanks for everyone!