Timely Holo Pool (4-0 - 5th @ 2024 West Canada Nationals)

Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Repartition by Cost
Repartition by Strength
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
ATeia Holoman Aldershot Summer CO
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Encoded != Encrypted 125

This is an evolution of my Timely Moon Launch deck, using The Holo Man instead of Seamless Launch to great effect.

Scoring

It's a fast advance deck with several ways to score agendas:

  1. The Holo Man - score one of the three 3/2 agendas in the deck out of hand. This also combos with both of the methods below to score up to a 5/3.
  2. Moon Pool - Install the agenda and use A Teia's ability to to install the Moon Pool on the same turn. You need two agendas in hand to score a 3/2, or three to score a 4/2. If you also have The Holo Man on the table, you can score a 5/3 out of hand if you have two other agendas. Use Spin Doctor, Rashida Jaheem, and Charlotte Caçador to draw enough cards at the start of your turn to achieve this if you've got a Moon Pool and an agenda in hand.
  3. Timely Public Launch - Install a piece of ICE in a remote at the end of the Runner's turn to score a 3/2. If you also have The Holo Man on the table, you can score a 4/2 or 5/3 instead. Clot can't do anything about this method because the agenda isn't installed on the same turn it's scored.
  4. Rush an early agenda out with Enigma and Tatu-Bola
  5. Install a 3/2 (or a bigger agenda if The Holo Man is on the table) if the Runner goes through a Tatu-Bola on a remote and doesn't have enough clicks/credits to get into the other remote that turn

Generally, you want to prioritize scoring Timely Public Release since it lets you score another agenda. It's typically best not to score a 3/2 with it unless it's the last agenda of the game - another Timely Public Release or a Bacterial Programming will make scoring the last agenda much easier.

Server Composition

Centrals

Your central servers should get most of your ICE. Boto is best on HQ (or Archives if playing against Esâ and you're worried about what's going in there), Anansi is great anywhere. Sadaka should be prioritized for R&D, but HQ is a good place if the Runner has The Twinning and you have a lot of agendas in hand or they are using DJ Steve.

If you don't have one of these but you do have a Tatu-Bola you can put it where you want another ICE eventually.

Remotes

Try to set up Tranquility Home Grids in both remotes and protect them with Tatu-Bolas. If the Runner goes through the Tatu-Bola, you can install in the other remote and profit, potentially even setting up a Rashida or an agenda to score next turn. I usually put Boto and/or Anansi on one of the remotes to protect Holo Man or an economic asset.

Play Patterns

Try to keep above 10 credits at all times so all of your ICE and scoring options are available to you. Taking two turns to empty a Regolith Mining License can often provide enough money to set you up if you can protect your remotes enough to keep your Tranquility Home Grids and assets relatively safe.

Once you have your remotes set up with Tranquility Home Grids and an ICE, don't be afraid to install one of the other upgrades when you install an asset and use it to profit. You draw lots of cards, so install lots of cards.

Use Simulation Reset if you haven't protected your centrals well enough yet or need the money to rez the ICE there. Ideally, ditch an agenda or two and leave them in Archives when you have a Spin Doctor and keep a single agenda (and/or Moon Pool) in your hand. This gives you a possible window to score with Moon Pool in the next couple of turns. If you have a 3/2 or Moon Pool in hand, Simulation Reset can also be a last ditch effort to score out if you end up drawing two more agendas.

4 comments
20 Jun 2024 Spiph

This deck is so clean! I saw it and knew I had to take it for a spin.

I love all the crazy tricks you get to do with the A Teia: IP Recovery ability. Getting two Tranquility Home Grid triggers in a single click feels SO good! The Snare! is super fun to use with Timely Public Release to catch the runner off guard when breaching remotes.

I have a few questions if you don't mind indulging me <3

  1. I find that I have a hard time protecting The Holo Man after advancing out an early agenda. Do you typically have him chill on centrals when he's not advancing out? Or is the plan to have enough money to rapid-fire him 2+ turns in a row?

  2. Have you considered going up to 3 Boto? It seems from your write-up that you want it for central and remotes. I'm struggling to find any cuts to make

  3. What do you think about Bacterial Programming in the list? I'm considering taking out a Bacterial Programming for another Project Yagi-Uda to have another fast advance agenda and get down to 20 agenda points.

21 Jun 2024 Encoded != Encrypted

Thanks for your feedback, @Spiph! I'm glad you're enjoying the deck.

  1. I often use The Holo Man as a one-time effect. Sometimes if I have enough agendas to use Moon Pool and Holo Man is on the table unrezzed I will leave it alone to save it for later. I make sure to put ICE over Archives and ideally a Tatu-Bola over The Holo Man to make it a little harder for the Runner to get through without giving me a benefit. In one case I did over advance the Project Yagi-Uda to have a token which I used to swap out The Holo Man to save it, but usually I just use recursion and get it back for a later scoring window. There are enough other ways to score out.

  2. I don't see anything I would want to cut for Boto, and I am usually okay in games where I don't draw it (though it's rare with so much card draw). I think 2 feels right, but if you play around and find the third makes a big difference I'd love to hear about it.

  3. I think Bacterial Programming is one of the changes from my last iteration that really elevated this deck. With this, Anansi, and Sadaka you have a lot of control over R&D. Because of Moon Pool, that is often where your agendas are. You can fast advance it in two ways (or never advance with The Holo Man), so it can sometimes be a surprise close to the game, and if it's stolen, you can often grab what you need to score an agenda on your turn (especially important since Timely Public Release + A Teia only lets you score if you install on the Runner's turn). I've been pretty happy with it. I could see going down to two of them, feels like a "season to taste" kind of change.

I will note that I don't think 20 vs 21 points matters in this case - you both need 3-4 agendas and you are unlikely to score two 3 pointers. Considering the Runner stealing one of these usually sets you up to score soon afterwards, protects you from multi-access, and lets you set up economy / know when you need to rez ICE over R&D, I think it's actually a big tempo swing that is worth keeping over another blank 3/2.

Lastly, here's a fun Snare! + Timely Public Release trick I pulled off during the tournament: The Runner hit my HQ on their third click with a Legwork. I had five cards, including Snare, an ICE, and a 3/2. When their run was successful, I used Timely Public Release to install the ICE in a remote and put the 3/2 down behind an Anansi they couldn't afford to break. They were now guaranteed to access Snare and would flatline if they tried to grab the game-winning agenda on their last click. That single Snare has definitely earned its keep.

21 Jun 2024 Encoded != Encrypted

Maybe the card to cut for another Boto would be Simulation Reset? It's useful, but I don't think I've ever played both.

27 Jun 2024 Vennpaul

The key is leveraging the various scoring methods to quickly get agendas on the table, especially using The Holo Man as a force multiplier. @papa's scooperia