Lord Skorpios, God of Code

severininfurs 48

I think with the ubiquity of Sacrificial Construct right now, that the Hatchet Job/Salem's Hospitality build of Skorpios is the way to go, at least if you're on rush.

For this purpose, I decided to go Priority Construction with the combo of Mausolus/Hortum. Granted the mono Code Gate build is weak to one of the main breakers of our current runner gods with Shaper's Gordian Blade, but once you are able to take it out of comission, it's smooth sailing. I chose Code Gate for those 2 because Hortum shuts out AI support when you have taken care of their decoder, and running into a 3 advanced Mausolus can be devastating. That being said, even an unadvanced Mausolus early can be tempo swinging due to Skorpios' ID ability.

MCA Informant is to deal with Film Critic, Anonymous Tip is to help support the rush tactic, and Scarcity of Resources is just too good not to play in the current meta, plus it shuts down Emp Strikes for those who are still on it.

I am only running Hedge Fund/IPO for my econ package (though Priority Construction is psuedo-econ) at the moment, but so far it seems like it works OK. It only becomes a larger issue when you need to make a trace off Hatchet Job later in the game. I am debating adding in a Stinson or 2, but I am worried that I would need to add in more support to turn him on and I don't really have the card slots. Plus, if I draw him and the runner is far above 6, it is about as good as drawing a blank card, whereas most of my other cards would at least be playable if I were to draw them at any point in the game.

Use your ID ability to scare the runner and score out as quickly as possible! It's the Skorpios way.

Edit: Took this to a Dallas SC recently (2018) and went 0-3 with it. I think part of it was me being rusty, but either way I didn't do so hot. I still think that this is a valid build for Skorpios, as one of my losses was partially due to awful timing of my draws (all 3 PriCon with 0 ice in hand, Hunter Seeker when the runner was on match point) and the other two matches were very close. In fact, one match came down to time and I only lost because I had given up 4 points early. The last match I lost because he was able to snipe the winning point off the top one turn before I was able to ice up and lock out R&D. So, while I still like the build, I think the consistency (or lack thereof) of Skorpios makes it hard for me to endorse it at the moment, even though getting the lockout isn't too hard with Hortum locking out the ever-present Aumakua.

If I were to take it to another SC, I think I would remove MCA Informant due to being less useful in the current meta and replace it with Hard-Hitting News for some early game pressure and potentially dealing with problem cards like Maxwell James and Kongamato. I would also find space for Distract the Masses to deal with flooding and add back in econ, probably taking out 1 or 2 Priority Constructions, as the restriction for only installing it on a remote made it a worse econ card than I first thought.

3 comments
28 Oct 2017 RvdH83

I don't like the 3x Mausolus, since it doesn't end the run. It's only good with 3 advancement counters, which takes time if you don't have Priority Construction in hand or if you want it over a central.

28 Oct 2017 severininfurs

@RvdH83 I do think that Mausolus is still quite taxing, but you are correct in that without Priority Construction it is not ideal for putting on your scoring server for rushing. What would you put in its stead? I was debating Wormhole, but it does nothing when it is the only piece of ice ressed.

2 Nov 2017 RvdH83

I think the Code Gate build is less good with Hatchet Job, since the ice is more expensive than if you play only Barriers. I would drop the Tollbooth and go for 2 Magnets. They are cheaper and also immune to Egret.

With Quandary and NEXT Bronze gone, the Code Gate build looks fragile.