[Startup] Hoshi-Q-Loop (A2A 4-0 in swiss, 1-1 in the cut)

coldlava 235

This is my Runner deck for GLC's Ashes to Ashes tournament. My Corp deck which is much worse can be found here. This Hoshiko deck has been slowly in the works nearly since I started playing Netrunner in December 2021. After seeing a Simulchip-Botulus Hoshiko in the GLC weekly tournaments I decided to give simulchips a try and I've been slowly adjusting what is in this since then. While there are no botulus the chisels in my opinion make even better targets. This deck went undefeated in Swiss of the GLC Ashes to Ashes tournament and carried my 2-2 corp deck to 4th in Swiss. Sadly this lost it's first match in the tiebreaker of the first round of the cut.

The main goal of this deck is to have efficient breakers for low to medium cost ice and use the Chisel and Devil Charm combo to remove all the large ice where these breakers fair a bit worse. Dream Net Pair's well with Hoshiko's flip side to draw an additional card and make up the credit that is lost from Hoshiko's ID when flipped. It also pairs excellently with Q-Loop as it allows you to install the first card you see during the run if you like it, but if you like the second one, the first will automatically be drawn by DreamNet for you so you can Q-Loop that one instead, Gachapon is key to get down, If i find a Devil Charm and install it early I can confidently run a server with a Ghachapon installed knowing I have a good shot at finding the Chisel if i really need it or possibly the breaker itself. With a ton of Gachapon targets as well as a ton of great targets to RFG (clot if not needed, second keiko, second q-loop, etc) you can quickly find what you need by aggressively Gachaponing. The last update I made to this deck before the tournament was dropping the second stargate for the 3rd gachaponto just make the deck more consistent as occasionally before I was just getting locked out without finding what i need to get in.

Buffer Drive is a notable inclusion hear as in general it is not thought of as a great card. It's mainly here as a 3rd simulchip (when combined with Q-Loop) as I was tight on influence but it also helps smooth out the PE matchup. It also helps with the best skateboard trick in the deck, using 2 Devil Charms on a single run since Buffer Drives's RFG ability can also target hardware. It is not often that happens and I don't think I did it in the entire tournament but it is a fun trick.

Clot: I thought the Fast Advance Weyland deck was going to be more prevalent in the tournament and I almost played it myself, but throughout swiss I only ran into one fast advance NEH and a trap based NEH in the cut that could threaten FA

Thanks to everyone who ran the A2A tournament It was a ton of fun

2 comments
29 Jun 2022 crowphie

What a fascinating idea for a deck! Congratulations on making top cut. Have you found the 3rd Paladin/2nd Taka to be necessary? If I was looking for cuts I think they'd be the first place I'd look.

29 Jun 2022 coldlava

For the Paladin, I like it as I used to run this with 2 and I'd often not find a Paladin until late. They're so central to your econ if you don't find Paladin you can often feel dead in the water. I'll often remove the extras through Gachapon so I don't see it as too big a hit to have the 3rd. I think going down to 1 Taka would be tough as finding 3 virtuals to turn on Odore would hurt and if you ever make a mistake and end with a Taka on 3 credits, being able to trash it and knowing you have a backup is nice. I personally find Leech to be the worst card in the deck. With ice Carver and Devil Charm/Chisel it's not often I have to break ice that is very strong. It often gets installed just as a sacrifice to Simulchip.