Please run.

NetDad 738

Jammy NBN Glacier is back, and it's time to let the secret tech out of the bag.

In testing a variety of Prav strategies a few issues kept cropping up: Too many cards hungry for precious advancement counters, and an unfortunately divided gameplan. I took what works, scrapped what didn't, and focused the list into a classic "tagless" credit tax list that builds tempo from ID triggers and scoring while still having reasonable outs against everything in the endgame, including fully setup tree rigs.

I went back and forth on the counter-demanding местничество vs the expensive Tollbooth, but everything came together when I built around the True Champion of Prav, Akhet. This Weyland import is incredible here and should be a mandatory 3x for the ID. It's on triple duty as a cheap ETR with a useful facecheck, a target for your ID before you have assets out, and an endgame runner nightmare in combination with Mestnichestvo. This simple two ice combo costs a fully setup mighty Shaper rig 5 for the privilege of passing, and even boat can't cut that tax in half.

Early you want targets for your ID and ideally a DQ protected by some kind of tax. ICE placement is critical here, I'll often double ice HQ before committing to R&D just to give the runner an incentive to trigger the ID. If you manage to stick a DQ and the runner ignores the insane economy from this asset, ICE up everything and look for a Vlad Grid so you can maintain pressure after overwriting the DQ with an agenda. Just make sure you have have enough money to rez everything before giving up on the clickless cash. If DQ didn't encourage the runner to check out your beautiful remote, Vlad Grid should absolutely force them to, unless their plan is to blow up everything. If that's the case, this deck will have a very Bad Time. Seamless Launch will net you an extra click and advancement token at some point in the game, usually when the runner tries to be cute by not running after an install. It also combos with an empty Vlad Grid to fast advance a Headline, but that's not as relevant as it might seem.

Landing a Neurostasis is the silver bullet that rips open a final scoring window, but that dream doesn't come together too often in practice and the trap should be treated as the last resort. It's much easier to bluff out Beales or ship a Cryptocrash in the midgame while keeping the threat of the trap alive. Still it's an excellent endgame Plan B and fairly hilarious when planted on top of a Vlad Grid. Your primary targets with the stasis should be breakers, but shuffling back just a boat can be more than enough to win a game, and usually you can ship another card or two back home with it as well.

Possible tuning adjustments: I've been considering Reversed Accounts for a while, but haven't tried it yet. The ice is a bit flexible here as well, Magnet could be Mavirus, and the IP Block/Turnpike package could be something like Jua and Whitespace or Rime if AIs fall off the map. In general we're looking for things that cost the runner credits. My testing lead me to believe the encounter effect from Vasilisa was a bit less relevant than the credit tax from Turnpike, but the new Matrix Analyzer is definitely an option. Have fun with the tuning!

2 comments
17 Jan 2023 NamePending

Love the deck! Great work!

20 Jan 2023 wiriamu

this is awesome. Akhet makes so much sense!