[SOCR7] Nothing is certain but 13 transactions - Top 8

mbzrl 144

This was my choice of Corp deck for the 7th Stimhack Online Cache Refresh tournament. It went undefeated in swiss before losing 2 games in round 1 of top 8 for a final record of 6-2. Going into the tournament, it looked like Corp/Runner balance was tipped to the Corp, so I tried to lean into that with a straightforward deck that prioritized consistency and strong starts.

As for card choices, GFI is the main reason to run this. I didn't want to lose to any sick rips! Death and Taxes + News Hound follows pretty easily from there, given the ID ability and that you're already in D&D - DnT into News Hound on both centrals turn 1 and you can still rez both, which is a very comfortable way to start. I never won from meat damage but the threat helped me score out, and K. P. Lynn is a fun card, so I had to squeeze her in. Drudge Work is fine, it's necessary for bad starts but otherwise is just a blank install that most people liked to trash. Hiding agendas helps DnT make lots of money as well, but seriously don't do it if you already have ice on the remote.

I made very few changes during the tournament because I kept winning. When Surveyor was restricted I went to Blockchain instead, and I never had problems with the cost. I didn't have very deep servers anyway, just 3 ice or so was usually enough on the remote, less on centrals, you're trying to rush. I also switched from 1 Too Big to Fail to 1 Beanstalk Royalties because the games where I drew it I never dropped below 10 credits, and 4 credits is enough for other IDs right? I think there are definitely games for each card where the difference will matter, but with no common cases it's hard to say which is better. Green beans are better early, so that's my choice.

Anyway, a really fun tournament overall! I'm happy to have made the top cut again. Thanks to @FightingWalloon for hosting, he's done a spectacular job and deserves many props for having the initiative to start the tournament format and carry it through 7 iterations. It's perfect for someone like me who only has time for a couple games a week, and the emphasis on deckbuilding in a changing and underexplored format brings me a lot of joy.

These tournaments have accounted for the majority of my gametime over the past year, and though FightingWalloon is stepping down as organizer, I'm extremely pleased that the groundwork has been laid for the tournaments to continue with @Sanjay at the lead. The changes in the works for SOCR8 are very exciting, and though I plan to move on from this deck, I'm happy to discuss how I'd transition it past the Terminal Directive split with anyone who is interested!

A final thanks to all my opponents for the excellent games and dialogue. I hope to see you all again in the next tournament!

2 comments
7 Oct 2018 internet_potato

Looks good! I've been looking at something similar for SOCR8, but I'm worried that Blockchain would underperform against Laamb (costing the same to break as Masvingo or Wall of Static). Laamb was super popular in SOCR7 and I don't really expect that to change in SOCR8.

As you point out, the big choice for BABW is whether you take TD (for IPO and Hortum ) or whether you take DnD (for Global Food Initiative and News Hound ). I'm currently leaning towards TD and running SSL Endorsement because Surveyor is still super-good. You lose some of your late-game punitive opportunities (since game point comes up faster), but probably have better early game shots and maybe a stronger econ for taxing the runner out on your remote, especially with 3x Ash 2X3ZB9CY and Border Control in the pool.

Anyway, congrats on making the cut!

8 Oct 2018 mbzrl

Yeah, Blockchain is not enough on its own. It did work in a few matches alongside Masvingo so that runners had to choose which they wanted to break efficiently.

And losing IPO is also really rough, I think your plan for TD is a really strong direction. Probably the best pure glacier in the format with Mti's changes