The time for rotation has come, and with that, it's time to say goodbye old friend.

The Professor is a teacher. He taught me a great many things about Netrunner.

The Professor's ID ability is a test. The questions are "What is the best Breaker suite?", "What are the best support programs?" and "How do you answer what corps throw at you?"

The Professor taught me the true extent of what a Shaper toolbox can do, by pushing the limits of what you could put in it. He taught me the limitations and strengths of Shaper in general. He taught me how to tune decks like no runner before him, thanks to his unique influence setup. He allows you infinite options for exploring new ideas, even as he forces you to evaluate every card you put in his curiculum.

No, The Professor will never turn any metas on their heads. He will never be the most powerful thing, featured on DotW for winning Nationals. He doesn't exist for the power players. He exists for the dreamers, the ones who want to try things rarely tried before. He exists for the underdogs, the ones who find satisfaction in taking bad cards and making them work, against all odds. He exists for the hopeful hearts, and creates inspiration in anyone who looks at the ID for the first time. And that's valuable.

I hope The Professor won't fall into the wastebasket of history. Maybe NISEI will let him enter the Hacker Hall of Fame, or give him a retrain in some fashion. Maybe he will find a place among the juggernauts of Eternal, though I doubt it. Or maybe he will simply grace the kitchen tables of fools like me who will struggle to let him go.

And so it has come to pass that rotation makes true what the flavor text writers wrote on you, all those years ago.

New technology destroys the old.