The Vanity Trap

Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Repartition by Cost
Repartition by Strength
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
None yet
Include in your page (help)

ksym77 34

The game plan for this deck is fairly straightforward - bait the Runner into scoring a Vanity Project and then kill them via a mix of Punitive Counterstrike and Archived Memories. Vanity Project - despite its unfortunate one influence cost - is the perfect Agenda for a Cybernetics Division to use to pull off a Punitive kill as in combination with the reduced hand size two hits for four damage will flatline the Runner even if it hits an I've Had Worse. The Ice is a selection of small, cheap 'End The Run' Ice whose primary purpose is to defend R&D from attack in the early game. This should cause the Runner to head for your undefended HQ and straight into the real star of the deck - Panic Button. When the Runner makes their play HQ, the Corp draws as many cards as possible via Panic Button, then in their next turn discards down with Reuse to double their original credit total. As Cybernetics Division allows for a mere 40 card deck size, drawing five cards from Panic Button is a full eighth of the deck and should either provide the tools to flatline the Runner immediately or the ability to set up for the kill in the next turn. If the Runner refuses to fall for the HQ trap, the deck contains Jackson Howard and both Green and Blue Level Clearance which can help dig through R&D for the kill pieces.

5 comments
1 Apr 2016 RiverLethe

Love the idea of this!

1 Apr 2016 PureFlight

I've been trying to get a CD damage deck to work for some time, but hadn't thought of Punitive. Seems very solid. What's your win rate with this? Do you ever score out?

I really like the Panic-Reuse combo. That seems like it would totally lock down the 2x punitive traces.

How do you use IQ? I assume you put it over HQ, rez it, then Panic away to keep them out. So how do they steal the Vanity? Maybe the following turns?

Sorry for all the? 's - I just really like your deck! :-D

1 Apr 2016 SourSweet

So its a dead end if they Score one Vanity trap? very nice setup!...but once they know the deck, its pretty hard to make it work

1 Apr 2016 haywire

Nice Idea.
The Problems I see:
1. If you don't have the Punitives ready, when the first Agenda is stolen, you're finished, because when the runner gets a 2. Agenda, he wins.
2. There's on widely played Card, that kills this Combo: Film Critic

4 Apr 2016 ksym77

@PureFlight: I haven't really played a statistically significant number of games yet (only 6 so far - though I did win 4, mostly I think because nobody was expecting it). Scoring out with the deck is pretty much impossible since the Ice is so weak and - as @haywire and @Anjen have pointed out - if the runner manages to score an agenda before the set-up is complete the kill becomes impossible so your chances of winning are basically zero. This makes me think I should put something in as a back-up in case things don't go to plan - this would also help with the deck's other big problem which is that it becomes much worse when your opponent expects it. Perhaps including an Aggressive Secretary to create a scoring window or Cerebral Overwriter to threaten a kill would help. With all the recursion in the deck it would also make for a nice mind-game to return a trap and next turn install-advance-advance something.

Normally IQ works to keep the runner out of R&D or HQ (depending on which is more vulnerable) after getting the set-up going. Whilst it does combine with Panic Button, HQ isn't normally in any danger other than from Account Siphon whilst them pulling multiple agendas from R&D will cost you the game. Just playing a naked Vanity Project without advancing usually causes the runner to come in and steal it since they mostly assume it's an asset that doesn't need defending like an Eve Campaign or Cybernetics Court.