What A Guy!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Laramy Fisk!

I have been having quite a lot of fun with this ID lately, despite it having an opinion of being just not very good. I'd like to disagree - with proper execution, Laramy can be a really harsh opponent, especially against decks with high agenda density. He is meant to be played aggressively - and if you manage to sustain this aggro for long enough, any Corp will eventually collapse. The thing is, running this ID really takes a lot of analysis in terms of what deck you are currently against - if you detect any low point agendas, there is a good chance you'll potentially manage to cause some serious flooding. If not - and mostly 3- or 4-pointers are in, you're in for some trouble.

Vigil seems to work extremely well as a console, with proper management giving you a free card draw every turn - use your ID ability to keep the steady pressure.

As per this ability, it is obviously best used when the Corporate already has his hand full. Otherwise, most times you shouldn't bother. Might be worth a shot before accessing with Legwork, for a chance of additional agendas appearing and getting stolen, or when running R&D. Why? Well, if there is an agenda going to the Corp's hand, it's gonna be yours one way or another. If that wasn't an agenda, it's good to get it out of your way.

Honestly, using this mandatory card draw takes some common sense - it all depends on who you're up against, how is the other deck built and several other factors. Fisk is seen as a weak ID just because it really takes some practice and consideration to execute his gimmick properly!

Example? Sure. You're sat against Cybernetics Division. They appear to have their hand size reduced by one. Most times, you are going to keep them drawing, because this is the one thing that deck just can't handle - the overdraw. Unless they happen to spit out their hand like some wicked gunslingers, which happens, although rarely.

Counterexample? Cerebral Imaging. This is a bit tricky - the most times you don't want them to draw, because this ID can contain all its R&D in HQ. Unless, of course, you somehow force them to spend good amounts of money with their hand almost full, manage a Siphon or DDoS-Siphon (Planned Assault is here to help). Hell, you could even use the extra draw as a kind of leverage - they might not rez their ICE, because this would force them to discard a lot of cards later. But then, some folks would rather discard, others not so much. It all depends on the person behind the ID - if you can figure the person out, you're going to know what to do with your ability.

Faust seems like a natural choice of a breaker, due to extra card draw you get from your signature move, Fisk Investment Seminar, and from your console. There are barely any places this won't get you into, and if there are, you can always use the rest of your suite.

While we're at it, this deck really needs better secondary breakers, but I'm currently a bit out of ideas as to what should be in here and how to fit it in.

The hardest part is picking the right moment to fire the Apocalypse. If the opponent has ICEd himself too hard, you will not manage to get through (unless you happen to grab together your Feint, Inside Job and DDoS), and if he didn't, there is no real point in executing this action. Unless, for example, an asset spam is due. If this is the case, fire your nukes without one doubt or worry.

This ID is going to be much stronger in a year or so, when Jackson Howard's ugly corpse finally rots away. Until then it still remains pretty solid, but its milling potential is currently highly limited. This is why it's not always a good idea to force drawing.

This decklist will certainly see some updates very soon. I'm thinking additional recursion - maybe a single Deja Vu? - switch some breakers, maybe some extra Criminal fuckery to make breaking in easier? Right now, it might not be the highest tier, well, it might not be a tournament thing at all, but it certainly is a lot of fun!