Zahya is Good, Play Zahya (6-2, 2nd @ July AMT)

This Zahya list absolutely carried me to 2nd place at the July AMT, going undefeated on the day and buoying my 2-2 Punitive RH list that got cyberbullied by a gang of Lats. We beat two very sharp and punishing R+ lists and a Punitive RH list in swiss and beating Glacier AgInfusion in the cut (replay links at bottom)

This list is built around the core of Whiteblade's Reg Zahya list that he keeps getting away with. Here, we take a cue from some Az ideas to leverage Poison Vial to shore up our breaker suite.

First, we play 3x Boomerang because w/ Poison Vial it fully breaks everything, even Vampyronassa and Envelopment. We always want one handy, especially for corps who get too froggy on turns 1-3.

Second, we play DJ Fenris to get Quetzal, which is totally cracked in Crim w/ Poison Vial. As a second fracter, its more vulnerable to removal but highly efficient, even without a Poison Vial on board. Many of the most popular meta barriers for all factions have single ETR subs: Ping, Tatu-Bola, Ablative Barrier, Ice Wall, Border Control, Hagen, Sandstone, Tree Line.

Against popular bigger barriers like Pharos, Logjam, and Boto, and Bran, we trade incredibly efficiently with Poison Vial, and without it we make still make face-checking spiky barriers less painful. Paying 5 credits to set-up PV/DJ gets us enough big breaks that would otherwise cost Curupira an arm and a leg.

Third, we cut Carmen and make room for 2x Revolver. It is the best-in-slot killer and Poison Vial helps as an extra battery for it, letting us break Anansi for 1 Revolver power counter instead of 3. Even so, I still felt much safer with 2x in here even if 1x is probably sufficient in most matchups. It is nice to see it much earlier against Jinteki

While we lose non-Twinning multi-access (and, inherently, some Zahya-based econ), we more than make-up for that in our ability to camp the remote and trade efficiently with the Corp on rezzes. Ultimately, Poison Vial is a flexible, anchoring piece that helps break the most taxing ice in the format with minimal overhead. Between DJ Fenris, Revolver, and triple Boomerang, it can do a lot of heavy lifting without breaking our bank.

As far as the AMT games go, I'm pretty sure I played 4 of the best runner games of my life in terms of pure calculation and timing in my matchups. Every game felt tense and close with all opponents getting to either 4 or 5 points, threatening game-deciding tag/damage punishment, or both. They all also required a patience that I rarely have when I'm flinging all my cards into my heap w/ an Anarch list.

Before I start sounding too Crim-pilled, NEXT Activation Command and 4+ strength code gates can kinda wreck us. While I have only seen NEXT Activation Command in PD, I could also see Weyland/Jinteki try to fit one to push out through turbine rigs. Shibboleth feels so bad sometimes I almost convince myself that Abagnale might be better for its mid-to-late-game upside.

Seriously though, 12/10 would play again.

Zahya is good, play Zahya.

REPLAYS

Rd 1 v Stwyde -- R+ https://jinteki.net/replay/c470018f-05b1-4b50-b2a6-b385642063a2

Rd 4 v Hectorest -- Punitive RH https://jinteki.net/replay/d779ed83-b454-44da-8abc-30d5b142faec

Rd 5 v Maninthemoon -- R+ https://jinteki.net/replay/c97f1863-e043-4f7d-b9d5-eccfc45f6a4d

Cut v Wikignometry -- Glacier AgInfusion https://jinteki.net/replay/fb88473c-56e9-49e5-aa9a-82d83e6f495d