Monolithprechaun! (don't knock it till you try it!)

voltorocks 201

First off, all credit to PeekaySK for the core concept of this deck (found here: http://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/808/big-girls-play-with-monoliths) It's an awesome deck that plays fundamentally different from any other runner deck I know of, and it's a lot of fun.

(For detailed info on the basic mechanics of the deck, please check out the original deck; he goes into a lot of detail, especially in the first few few comments, and debunks a lot of the "improvements" people suggest that actually go against the core concept of the deck.)

I've been playing this deck a lot, and with a lot of variations on the idea, and having varying levels of success. I've been looking for a viable alternative to Siphons, and Leprechaun finally provided the opening I needed; while I don't even play it some games, it opens up your options immensely

New cards in the mix:

Self modifying code makes it all possible, as usual. Great for early aggression if needed (though don't spend all your money on it!), great for pulling up your singleton copies of splashed cards, and synergizes great late game with leprechaun (where its two memory cost isn't a problem anymore!). Basically it artificially "thins" this already very thin deck so you always have the card you need when you need it.

Sneakdoor Beta: a singleton I've wanted in this deck since I first played it, I never had the memory space for it before leprechaun solved that problem. I love to pull this late game with a SMC and get 4 free nerve agent runs on HQ before they even know what hit them!

Knight: with cloak-and-dagger gone mimic was having trouble with all the heavy lifting, sentry-wise. While I often use atman for real trouble sentries, knight fill this role perfectly (especially if I don't have 9 to spend on a flare atman), and is very cheap and flexible besides.

What's gone:

Account Siphon: I don't know about y'all, but in my area people seem to plan for siphon no matter the runner ID; and why wouldn't they? I just realized I was able to use it so rarely, and even when I did I usually wished I has drawn something else anyways. dropping freed more card slots for programs (ideal for this deck) and a mountain of influence to spend on new toys! As a side bonus, I now rarely need to go tag-me, meaning the second plascrete may be unnecessary; maybe another leprechaun? I've also had fantasies of making Chakana work; probably not though.

Cloak and Dagger: I wanted to like these cards, I really did! In the end it was just so many card slots and memory for a fairly mediocre sentry breaker. SMC and a suite of more flexible programs has served me so much better.

unnecessary cards: with SMC in the deck, I could afford to slim down on magnum opii, and net shield was an eternal under-performer with all the draw and monolith protection already built in.

7 comments
4 Aug 2014 PeekaySK

Thanks for the props, let's dive right in :)

I'd definitely go with 3 Atmen and 2 Gordians. Especially without Datasuckers, you often want several Atmen out.

Speaking of which... I'd consider going down to 1 Knight in order to fit 2 Suckers. You definitely have the memory for it, and they enable you to transition into an Atman deck if needed. I'd probably drop the Opus #2 to fit them in (or alternatively, stay at 2 Atmen and 2 Gordians, and turn the third Gordian into the second Sucker).

Leprechaun definitely changes the deck's dynamic, I'll have to play around with it. Thanks for the tip!

4 Aug 2014 PeekaySK

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - like the look of this version, definitely looks solid and consistent. Kudos!

4 Aug 2014 voltorocks

Thanks so much for the feedback! I've been having great success in league with it; it is a genuine joy to watch an opponents face light up with laughter when you say "I install monolith" and then watch it drain away seconds later as you lay out your bulldozer of a rig!

definitely dropping Gordian down to 2; not sure why I still had it at 3, as with SMC 2 is plenty.

I've tried this with datasuckers (replacing a knight and a gordian; 2 MOs is really nice, I think) ; it definitely plays great against many decks, but I really like having knights; they're very cheap to play out early, and really open some holes in a corps defenses while you build up to your full suite. Atman, by comparison, is highly efficient when matched correctly (and a total dream machine with datasuckers in play), but suffers from a very high play cost early in the game.

I actually really like both versions; it's an early game/late game tradeoff in my mind, and my preference is the early game since this deck is already such a late game boss.

My current favorite play with Lep is to throw down 2 SMCs on him and just sit on them till the right moment; mid-run atman or a no-click sneakdoor followed by 4 free HQ runs (for even more hilarity, SMC nerve agent and sneakdoor at the start of the same turn), the sky is really the limit.

27 Aug 2014 PackBenPack

Why Mimic and not, say, Femme? Worst case scenario you're paying 2 more to break a 3str sentry, otherwise youc an boost the strength past 3 (not to mention Femme's secondary ability and the fact that you'll be making plenty of money with this deck.)

27 Aug 2014 PackBenPack

Why Mimic and not, say, Femme? Worst case scenario you're paying 2 more to break a 3str sentry, otherwise youc an boost the strength past 3 (not to mention Femme's secondary ability and the fact that you'll be making plenty of money with this deck.)

27 Aug 2014 voltorocks

Hey, thanks for the comment!

the main reason is that femme is extremely expensive, both to play out and to boost/break with. Mimic is extremely easy to get out and breaks the vast majority of sentries un-boosted.

That said, Femme could have a role in this deck if you preferred it, but not over mimic imho; rather, you could trade it out for datasucker or knight as a "silver bullet" card to bypass tough ICE your other breakers can't handle. I find, though, that without scavenge or test runs, Femmes are pretty inflexible, especially when compared to the very versatile atman and knight.

25 Oct 2014 aero

This deck is really awesome. I wanted to try it with Origamis instead of plascretes, could you check it out sometime and let me know your thoughts? I'm pretty new to deckbuilding.

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