Assimilator

Assimilator

If I am reading it right, this card will let Apex use non-virtual resources.

Apex is not prevented from including non-virtual resources in his deck, he is only prevented from installing them:

You cannot install non-virtual resources.

And per the FAQ, facedown cards have no type or subtype:

Facedown Runner Cards

Runner cards that are installed or turned facedown do not have a name, type or a subtype, and their abilities are not active.

So it seems Apex can install virtual resources facedown with his ability, then use Assimilator to flip them faceup, bypassing costs and install restrictions. I definitely want to use this to get an Aesop's Pawnshop into play!

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Yeah, but to get it face down on the table, you need to install it with either Apex or Hunting Grounds. I don't think it loses its subtype until after the install. So it is like the one Region per server rule. You could do it, and no one would neccessarily know, but it would be against the rules. I think anyway. —
Well according to the UFAC above, I guess Apex can use this for non-virtual resources. That's pretty cool I guess. Apex needs help because he sucks. More exciting to me though is the ability to use Cyber-Cypher on any server! —
Not sure why Cryber-Cypher is that exciting given that you don't pay the install cost. Gordian Blade would seem to be strictly better, —
Forgot the 4 strength, still imagine other cards will be more impactful in the hardware/resource sphere. —
Top Hat

Top Hat

"you may choose 1 of the top 5 cards of R&D and access it."

Can you guess what is missing from this card? Two words are conspicuously absent, what are they?

Give up? The answer is "look at". (I also would have accepted "reveal", although that's not how the templating normally goes) That's right, folks, without looking at the cards, you get to decide which of the top 5 cards you'd like to look at. "I'll look at.... number 4"

Is this good? Maybe, but not without some support. Accessing the top card of R&D is not much different from accessing a random card from R&D, if anything it's slightly worse, as the top card goes into the corp's hand, so that's extra info. So, when is this ability good?

If you have some info about the top few cards of R&D, accessing a particular one may be beneficial. Perhaps a digital friend or your bioroid programming have already told you that the top card isn't anything you want. Maybe you've already got R&D locked down, and your R&D Interface can only dig you so far. Looking one card further may help you grab that pesky final agenda.

Is this worth a card slot? Not in most decks, but it does have advantages. It's hardware, making it resistant to trashing, and it's install cost is priced just right, so it just may find a place in decks that already like hardware

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Does Top Hat work with Eater so that you can access the card? It's an access replacement effect, right? —
It seems like this would be amazing with Indexing + Doppelganger. ***It's been so long since I've been on this site, I've forgotten how to hyperlink to the card page. —
@DGB123 Without an official ruling, I would have to say no. While replacing the access step normally allows synergy with Eater (i.e. account siphon, keyhole), top hat replaces it with an access effect. I believe Eater would prevent this access as well. "You cannot access more than 0 cards for the remainder of this run." —
I think it should be noted that this can also, turn off Prisec, Product Placement, Mumbad Virtual Tour, Disposable HQ, and Cyberdex Virus Suite when they are installed in the root of R&D. Still a niche card at the moment. However, if we see more upgrades with 'on access' effects get released, this card may become worth a slot. —
@Gilgamesh_KoH This is worded just like any other access replacement effect (qv Account Siphon). In this case, ee replace "accessing cards" with an access effect. It's counter-intuitive, but I feel that this does in fact work with Eater —
Eater should not work with this for the same reason it does not work with I formation Sifting. Just because the nature of the access has been changed does not change the restriction of Eater, which is that you access 'no more than ZERO'. In the case of Information Sifting, the official ruling of a 'pile' is that it contains at least one card. You would pick a pile, than access ZERO, and no more. The same would occur for Hat Trick, the normal access is overwritten, sure, but you end up accessing tje card you pick, which Eater then nullifies. —
Just a thought here. If I have 3 Top Hats installed, can I access more than one card from the top 5 of R&D? If I've seen the top card of R&D through another card effect (& there's enough of those), can I opt to access 3 of the other 4 cards instead? 'I'll look at cards 2, 3 and 5, please!' —
@MarkyG: only one replacement effect can be applied, so there's no point in 3 Top Hats installed (as only one of them can be used). —
Archives Interface

Archives Interface

With oppressive Industrial Genomics: Growing Solutions cracking down on the fun, now is a very good time to slot a few of these into your deck. It's usefulness is two-fold:

• Break the endless recursion of Museum of History.

• Protect yourself from scary Archives traps like Shi.Kyū Shock! and Cyberdex Virus Suite. The CVS interaction is specifically useful for Anarchs running this card, asit protects your Datasuckers, making it safe to run on Archives again.

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It's also probably the only real way to keep a current off the table v. New Angeles Sol. That's pretty good as News Hound is pretty much the best ICE ever if a current is on the table. —
Oh, someone already put that in a review, nvm. —
Progenitor

Progenitor

Progenitor may seem scary when you're sitting across the table from it, but there is an answer.

Runner has a Hivemind or Medium hosted on a Progenitor?

Repeat after me: "Power Shutdown for 1 and 0 cards, please."

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Best Defense is another one the runner will need to worry about. —
The issue is that any virus runner worth their salt will have easy recursion, allowing them to swing those cards right back. And anyone carrying Power Shutdown will almost always want it for the combos, rather than the elimination. —
Salem's Hospitality

Salem's Hospitality