sEAmless GETs GUD results (Top of Swiss, 2nd @ Cambridge CO)

(warning: this is my first public write up, apologies for the fluff)

Preamble

This was the Ob deck I took to the Cambridge CO this weekend, claiming 1st in Swiss and 2nd in Top Cut

I very nearly didn't attend the event — it was 4hrs away, I hadn't played IRL in 6 months, and Corp just feels rough right now; most have 1 or 2 near-unwinnable matchups into certain Runners (including Ob!), and I've never enjoyed NBN asset decks so frankly didn't want to subject anyone to more tag purgatory!

But against my better judgment and the advice of my peers, I went back to my roots as the "Only Plays Ob" guy, and shipped a list that miraculously didn't leak points off R&D! It's only loss was in the finals, to HalfHusky's masterful display on SokkaShiko

The List

There's nothing particularly special about this list, it's very similar to other good Ob lists we've seen recently (I highly recommend reading those writeups)

The big decision points on slots for me were:

• 2x Descent, 1x Magnet — while I absolutely love playing Thimblerig in Ob for an "Oops, All Border Controls!"-level of central protection, Descent and Magnet are good speedbumps against Botulus in the Loup/mulch matchup, and Descent can ease the pressure on your Spin Doctors if R&D sabotages betray you vs. Esâ. I played against neither on the day, so Magnet could have been another 3c code gate to allow for Thimble, season to taste

• 1x The Holo Man, 1x Seamless Launch — I nearly submitted a similar version of this list that swaps Mr. Holo out for Thimblerig and a second Seamless, and while both felt good, the ability to score a Basalt Spire in one turn or get a bunch of Atlas counters is key to how this deck wants to win. If you aren't doing at least one of these, you will struggle to win before most Runners overwhelm you

• 0x Too Big to Fail — though this was a cute include in CobraBubbles' list, giving bad pub to a Hoshiko or Arissana can be game losing, and it's the exact reason I never liked scoring Hostile Takeover in the past. You can fetch an Extract off Malapert if you really need econ, but the 'old' adage of "your first Mavirus is usually a Regolith" still rings true

• 0x Drafter, 0x Hafrún - both serviceable alternatives for the Seamless influence slot, but the current strength of Runners makes acceleration feel more important. Your opponent still needs to respect Hafrún in a closed-list format, but most runners have very good answers to the combo anyway

My runner was a mulch Hoshiko deck with questionable tech choices that constantly went to time, no-one needs to see that list (HOOO MAMA do all those triggers eat up time playing IRL!)

Special Thanks

• All my opponents on the day, especially HalfHusky for being the most enthusiastic sponge of information you could ever imagine — I shared some matchup tips against NBN while walking to the event and later watched in awe as they calmly steamrolled johno's NEH in the semi-finals, and my Hosh advice after our round 1 split reflected in some credit-perfect lines they found in the finals. I felt like a proud mother hen watching their fledgling just absolutely crushing it 💪

• The TAI Breakers crew for being an amazing team — special shout outs to AugustusCaeser for convincing me to play the Holo Man version, and to The King for being a great mulch tutor ❤️

• The Aldershot meta for showing up in force and bringing their A-games 🙌

• kikai for running a kickass tournament, and the entirety of EA Sports for being a lovely, welcoming bunch that were extremely humble about us gatekeeping the Top 4 on their home turf (your move, EAS 😘)