Dies to Open Decklists (Circuit Breaker 2025)

Kikai 2706

1st at CBI 2025

4-0 in Swiss, 2-0 in the Top Cut

Wins vs bemi on Reg Hosh, Borisz on Mercury, l0velace on Esâ, Ollie on Freedom, J0N4LD on Arissana and Amarum on Mulch


I started playing netrunner (badly) about twelve years ago during the Spin Cycle. It wasn't until 2017 (Red Sands) that I figured out how to play Corp. Hockley regional seems, at the same time, both a long time ago and also like it was only yesterday.

Without doubt, 2024 has been my best and most favourite year of playing, and that's 100% because of the friendship and support of everyone in EA Sports, for which I am very grateful.

Being introduced to affogato in Bergamo, having to suddenly and quietly pack away this very deck mid-game because someone had left the door to the AirBnB wide open and a couple of TAI breakers had just wandered in, travelling around the UK for regionals, that time that some of us had to hastily relocate UK nationals to the set of antiques roadshow, that other time that we played netrunner at two different pubs in Norwich before getting pizza delivered to the Plasterers Arms, these were all wonderful events that I remember very fondly. I really look forward to more of the same this year.

In conclusion: come to UK Regionals (2025). I promise to play Weyland at least once.

On to the technical stuff, although, surely we're all tired of talking about this deck by this point?


Slots

Degree Mill is better than Send A Message (now that Trick Shot has been banned).

3 x Wrap + 1 x Mavirus is the minimum requirement for defending against Crew.

Neurospike gives you the reach to kill through Class Act.

Magnet and Rototurret are both excellent into Mulch.

The 2nd Unsmiling is because I had a suspicion that that ICE is the only actually relevant ICE in the shaper matchup (I never rezzed it once), and because I suspected that Lat would be popular in the EMEA pod (it wasn't).

Despite all of this, I can still see dropping the Roto for a 2nd magnet and playing 3 x Unsmiling (instead of the Mestnichestvo) improving the Shaper matchup, at the expense of a little bit of equity vs Anarch (but not much).


How to Play Against EAzmari

What to do

Practice.

Have a strategy. As a default, aim to break the remote and still have enough credits (and cards) to survive double punitive. If you can steal reeducation out of the remote (and not die to punitive) then you have almost certainly won.

Practice.

Stay focused. You have 16 clicks (4 turns) to crack the remote. Do not waste clicks installing cards that are not helping you to break ICE, or to survive punitive. Do not get distracted with running centrals.

Practice

Deny the Azmari trigger. At a bare minimum, let the events build up in hand and then play them all in the same turn. If you can manage it, don't play any events at all. This will buy you at least an extra turn, if not 2.

Practice

There may be cards in your deck that will slow the Corp down, such as Pinhole Threading, Class Act orBurner. These will buy you an extra turn, but you still need to crack the remote (and survive punitive).

Practice

Learn to recognise the threats on the board. The Corp needs 10 credits, holo man, and an advanced Reeducation in order to win, or 15 credits, and 2 x holo man. If you run the remote, will the Corp still have enough credits to kill you after rezzing a piece of ICE? If not, then running the remote (and jacking out) might buy you a turn.

Practice

Or, if you can't be bothered to practice, just play Lat instead*.

*you will still need to practice

What not to do

Don't bother with tech cards. You won't have time to draw them, and they will just worsen your other matchups.

8 comments
27 Jan 2025 Council

I'm here for this - been a long time coming

There was a reason I didn't want to go to CBI without 2+ copies of Eye for an Eye

27 Jan 2025 not_yeti

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see this deck take top spot at a major tournament ❤️ Congrats mate!

28 Jan 2025 cursor

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see you take top spot at a major tournament. Congrats mate!

28 Jan 2025 Amarum

Congrats and WP! I definitely should more practice next time ❤

28 Jan 2025 Ollie

The biggest surprise here is learning you hadn't had affogato before 2024.

29 Jan 2025 sebastiank

Very well deserved and WP! I wanted to share that one of the biggest netrunner things that lives rent free in my head now is you during fite club saying you practiced your matchup against my team 13 times before winning when we just assumed it was a free win for us after a couple tests of it. Remembering that always pushes me to try harder.

30 Jan 2025 davz131

Hope no one listens to you and we see Calderas everywhere. Congrats!

10 Feb 2025 Charmaine

I know what you guys say about the meta, about how Corp can push Runner to the edge. But I don't believe in pre-determined matches. If you really practice, really understand how each card works, you always have a chance. I'm not a long-time That's Not My Neighbor player, but I know how to capitalize on every click, every credit, every opportunity. I don't go to UK Regionals to watch - I go to win. So if you're playing Weyland, Jinteki or Azmari, be prepared. I've practiced. What about you?