🔥Swift-Stitching (1st in Swiss, 2nd @WORLDS'22STARTUP)

🔥 Swift Sable 🔥

This deck was undefeated on the day, and can be seen twice in action on Null Signal's twitch here (07:43:00 for R1 of cut, and 09:21:07 for lower bracket final):

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1619547525

🧠 Core game plan: steal 1 agenda (or more) in the early stages of the game, then snag 2-3 more on the Dive🤿 turn.

Strategy & key aspects:

• Stall until Dive🤿
• Run your Mark (preferably with Swift too)
• Pressure centrals early with Boomerang, Backstitching, and Cezve to cripple the Corp's economy, establish your own economy, AND scout their ice to know what you need for that Deep Dive🤿 magic turn
• Pressure remote with Boomerang, Inside Job, and Pinhole to interfere with the Corp's economy and reaching game-point (don't be afraid to let them score. Avoid overextending on the remote, and pressure only enough to force resources to be spent and/or reach 'Deep Dive🤿 game-point')
• Once you know what it takes to Dive🤿 AND you're on 'Deep Dive🤿 game-point', secure your win (...EXCEPT IF you suspect Vacherons, then Dive🤿 asap)
• Remember to have 5+ credits (preferably 10+) for Diving on NBN
• You need to get through a lot of your deck for it to perform, so you will have to click to draw a lot (welcome to Startup where your other options are less than worth it for Sable, unless you import Diesel. If Deep Dive🤿 didn't require 10/15 influence, ProCo is actually perfect for this deck - except RIP vs Drago...)
• Against asset spam, only control the board if your economy is better than the Corp's. Otherwise, just Dive🤿 for the win

Inspiration: Runner is strong in the current Startup cardpool, so I brought a deck that would be fun to pilot and be able to snag wins easily even if put in strained/hopeless situations. With Swift and Sable, Deep Dive🤿 is extraordinarily good at giving you early and decisive wins, or hijacking wins from behind (especially if you Dive🤿 twice in a turn allowing you to access 3 cards between 2 sets of 8).

🏆 PERFORMANCE:

Swiss (3-0):

• R1 (Clupea) - W vs Bladderwort NEH
• R2 (Patrick "Scorpi" Sklar) - W vs PD (tough match having both Deep Dives🤿 sniped turn ~3 to a lone and unrezzed Engram Flush while pressuring the remote)
• R3 (Banknote) - W vs NAPD Prav
• R4 (Tim, aka Worlds 2022 Startup Champ) - ID @ Table 1
• R5 (Functor) - N/A (241)

Cut (2-0):

• G1 (Rotage) - W vs Vacheron PD
• G3 (is44ru) - W vs Cerebral Nuerospike Prav

🃏 Card choices:

• 2x Deep Dive🤿... Winning is fun
• 1x Cleaver... Gold Farmer is good, you'll break it for less. If a barrier's higher than 4 strength, just break with Boomerang or Bypass
• 1x Hyperbaric... Like mentioned with Cleaver, I used to be on Cat's Cradle and break any high-strength code gates with Boomerang or Bypass, but Engram Flush is too devastating and easily the best and most common code gate. There's also enough other high-strength code gate threats to easily warrant a good decoder (and remember, you have to be running a lot to slow down the corp and stall them from reaching game-point so that you can Dive🤿 to win... You can't afford a bad decoder). Plus, you get to boost it with Cezve while running your Marks
• 3x Backstitching... Most people are sleeping on or trash-talking Backstitching. Let me be clear: I'm not saying that it's better than Inside Job in a vacuum. However, if you need the effect for things like Deep Dive🤿 or Apocalypse, or you just want to pressure centrals/economy (as Criminal does - especially Sable with other Mark cards), this effect is more than 'good'. At its worst, it's effectively a nestled Inside Job ability that can be used with run events (and not just on the outermost ICE). At its best, it could pave the way for several free and fearless runs on centrals. Since this deck intends to win off of a single or double Dive🤿 turn, Backstitching enables you to run and pressure the Corp's economy without subroutine interference or gear checks. Bonus Points if one's still installed on Dive turn!
• 1x Pinhole... I cut a 2nd Pinhole to slot a Security Testing for a bit more economy. Pinhole has high utility in this deck, and with only 1, you should save it for confiscating a Void, Drago, or another critical factor. Or even better, use Pinhole during a Dive🤿 turn to trash a Crisium or Cayambe, or another threat in the remote (just pause here for a moment and imagine having a 6-click turn during which you trashed a remote upgrade/asset from and never even ran it. Or better: click 1 Pinhole a Void, click 2 install Boomerang, click 3 run remote and spend clicks 4-5 for the Manegarm, AND STILL having a click left! 🤯)
• 1x Red Team... Don't think too much about Red Team. I don't think it's a good card, or even a card that's alright (though, it is 'alright' when you're Sable AND have 3 Career Fairs), but I did need 1 more economy slot that didn't tax my run events, so I have 1 (just know, you should never have more than 1)
• 1x Swift... Swift is amazing for this deck, but economy card slots are at a premium. You don't have to have Swift, it's just better if you do. Well, actually it's insane if you do... Gaining 2 clicks on your Mark run where you're probably also netting value already allows you the ability to click for credits/cards/runs and round out whatever the weakness of your matchup is, or even just suboptimal card draw

Now, Virtuoso is playing, and my PAN mods are hard at work, so I must go. Please remember 1 rule: CARPE DIEM! 🎻🤿