Surprise!... A Blue Flower!..?

This card is for the trash! No literally it's not a bad card, far from it, unlike Snare! and other Ambush cards Shock!'s ability remains active even when accessed in Archives so it can actually be used to effectively make Archives a very nasty place for the runner to visit.

Combos

Trash it: 3 copies of Shock! in archives can land 3 net damage onto the runner when Archives is accessed. 1-3 copies of Shi.Kyū could threaten even more forcing the runner to eat negative agenda points rather than take the flatline. Did the runner score some agendas? Jinteki: Personal Evolution would could make a flatline event even more likely.

Flatline with assist from ice: With 3 copies of Shock! in archives some net-damage inducing ice like Komainu, Neural Katana etc protecting Archives may open up a flat-line opportunity. Certainly use a House of Knives token if available! (Not quite flat-lined? Perhaps finish the runner off with a couple Neural EMP when corps turn rolls around)

Uncooperative runner?: Got a runner with a light grip and archives all setup for the kill? Bait the runner with an agenda in a remote server then put Susanoo-No-Mikoto on the server (particularly if the corp sees the runner only has Mimic or no killer able to handle a heavy sentry) If the runner doesn't go for the bait, keep advancing agendas!

Quickly fill archives: Using Jackson Howard the corp can quickly mill through R&D increasing the likelyhood of finding Shock! & Shi.Kyū etc with the express purpose of discarding them. Meanwhile using operations and other cards that Jackson Howard is bringing into HQ to full effect. Not fast enough?: Power Shutdown can really trash cards from R&D in a hurry (probably will want to think about having 1 point agendas-only, really nice trick if the corp can have The Board installed when runner accesses Archives to mitigate all those one-pointers!, very likely game over if the corp is able to follow-up by scoring Philotic Entanglement.
Haarpsichord Studios: Entertainment Unleashed could certainly work here too slowing the runner's scoring ability down while each time while at the same time possibly opening a flatline opportunity every time the runner runs on Archives.

Intolerable Cruelty: With 3x copies of Shock! in archives, The Future Perfect could be a fun agenda to bait the runner with, again accopanyied with a House of Knives token or followed up with Neural EMP could make for a game ending scenario that the runner may be tempted to gambit multiple times if the psi-game fails

Showing a little leg: with Celebrity Gift for can actually serve multiple objectives if all the corp shows are Shock!, Snare! etc heavily discouraging the runner for going after any agendas that the corp didn't show in addition to the .

Advance: Even though Shock! isn't advance-able, cards like Tennin Institute: The Secrets Within Mushin No Shin can give the runner the appearance that it's an agenda goading the runner to waste time and resources only to pickup a net damage.

Protect Assets & Upgrades: Since Shock! is most powerful when 3 copies of it are in Archives, in combo with Industrial Genomics: Growing Solutions gives the corp a bonus for doing what it already wants to do in discarding Shock! thereby helping to make Ash 2X3ZB9CY, Caprice Nisei ect a little more costly to .

(Did I miss something obvious, I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments below, I may add it to this review)

Pros

Archive Poison: Active even when in Archives may negate the need for corp to even expend resources to protect Archives. Better yet possibly can open up a flatline opportunity.

Trashing Tax: Unlike Snare! and other ambush cards Shock!'s costs 2 to as opposed to 0, this is particularly helpful if accessed while in R&D or HQ

Catch 22 If runner does trash Shock! it ends up in archives which is where the corp may have wanted to put it anyway.

Cheap: unlike Snare! for example, for 0 at the corp can fire for Shock!'s 1 net damage even when broke

Cons

Weak by itself: As an asset Shock! is rather mild at only 1 net damage and no tags etc

Limited Bluffing: Since Shock! is not advance-able it can be difficult to bluff the runner into running onto it as an asset

Summary

Shock! is right at home with Jinteki at two influence point and needing 3 copies to be maximally effective in Archives it's rarely seen out of faction. Still with it's ability to poison Archives it stands out even among other Archive active cards such as Shi.Kyū, Cyberdex Virus Suite etc particularly in when it comes to dealing out the net-damage hurt.

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See you in Court

"So in closing your honor, hacking, corporate espionage, terrorism... seriously! Ladies & gentlemen with such flimsy evidence the plaintiff could accuse anyone in this room of such crimes just for owning a voice pad! I move that this court throw this case out and award pain & suffering damages to the defendant!" With it's ability to remove up to 2 tags and pull 3 cards for the cost of 2s & 2s there are many times a runner may wish that Lawyer Up was in his or her grip.

Combos

Clean getaway: Safe in the knowledge that tags can be cleared away with Lawyer Up, runners can run Account Siphon, Code Siphon or Vamp then remove the evidence on the way out. Likewise cleaning up tags from resources like John Masanori, Tallie Perrault or clearing the way for Zona Sul Shipping etc, perhaps making such combos more viable and providing the runner with more tactical options.

Cheaper Lawyers: Cards like Prepaid VoicePAD for example can make playing Lawyer Up more affordable

Double synergy: With up to 13 different Double cards for the runner currently available, Starlight Crusade Funding (say with Adjusted Chronotype?) encourages the runner to "double-down" on Doubles cards possibly mitigating the cost if playing 2-3 double cards in a single turn. With such a strategy the runner is likely to accrue a number of Doubles in the heap making Power Nap potentially a very effective

(Did I miss something obvious, I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments below, I may add it to this review)

Pros

Save : Get rid of 2 tags for the price of one!

Save 's: Even though Lawyer Up is a double costing an extra to use, 3 cards for 2 can be meaningful (net +1 ) Further combined with tag removal, the runner essentially gains an additional for each tag, for a possible net total of 5's worth of work for two s

Quick recovery: If the runner survives getting caught by Snare!, Lawyer Up offers an excellent opportunity for the runner to get back on his or her feet. Likewise getting caught (say on the last turn) with no money after accessing Ghost Branch or any other multiple-tag inducing method results in the runner probably spending up to 3 per turn (if required to for ) and yet for all that effort the runner is possibly still tagged. Lawyer Up can get rid of twice as many tags in such a scenario which in many cases allows the runner to escape tag punishment.

Cons

As a Double using Lawyer Up usually consumes half of the runners turn

Too many cards: Sometimes the runner may need to use Lawyer Up to remove tags but already having a full hand, the extra 3 cards may cause the runner to lose important cards before having an opportunity to use them.

Summary

There are undoubtedly times when runners wish they could pull a copy of Lawyer Up out of their sleeve, there are fewer times when building a deck that the runner imagines it pulling it's weight in any given deck. Using in combo with Account Siphon & Code Siphon are probably the most compelling reasons to include it. Additionally some strong Double-based strategies are emerging so it's not hard to see Lawyer Up getting some more love.

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Give & Take

Activist Support attempts to put a lot of attention upon a badly behaving corporation, such efforts make the activists stand out more possibly gaining the attention of the corp. With the give & take that Activist Support offers first to the corp (unless the runner can avoid the tag) it could potentially be a significant financial boon to the runner offering up to a possible 4s per turn (bad publicity produces 1 to be spent during a run, x4 = 4), while opening up the runner to the whatever the corp can do with the tags.

Combos

Tag-me & Tax the corp Reina Roja: Freedom Fighter is an example of an ID that could especially benefit from Activist Support. With her ability to tax the corp when rezzing ice along with perhaps Rook for even more tax etc a runner could run to make the corp poor install Activist Support and perhaps some other resources like Data Leak Reversal, Raymond Flint Joshua B. etc) then eat the tag and watch the corp struggle to recover, does the corp spend 2 for then trash a resource (if he chooses Activist Support? Great! (cost to runner? & 1) if Activist Support isn't trashed, well then bring on the bad publicity.

Tag-me-not: Alternatively if the runner is not prepared to pursue a tag-me strategy Decoy, Forger, New Angeles City Hall or Qianju PT can be used to keep the tag away so that Activist Support can confer it's benefit while it's negatives are negated.

Exploit: If the corp starts accruing bad publicity, Raymond Flint can do his business and Blackmail can now come out to play ( Investigative Journalism too but probably not)

(Did I miss something obvious, I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments below, I may add it to this review)

Pros

Can potentially supplement the runner's economy up to 4 per turn if Activist Support is able to land bad publicity on to the corp

It typically costs the corp more to Activist Support than the runner has invested in it.

Tags can be avoided via certain combos (see Tag-me-not above)

Cons

First tag can be assigned which in turn lets the corp trash Activist Support, potentially the runner may never see the corp get the bad publicity that Activist Support was installed to cause. So unless the runner has a way to avoid the tag(s), Activist Support puts the corp in the drivers seat

If corp is prepared to take advantage of tags, the runner might be in for some trouble

Summary

Playing tag-me corporate tax agent can be fun but comes specifically at the risk of being flatlined or having some other tag-induced disaster befall the runner. Go tag-me or tag-me not, either-way Activist Support is an econ card that can fit into certain decks but certainly not all.

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Save Credits, Pay with Time instead

From the White House to Wall Street Interns are a valuable asset to many organizations, often the trade off is providing time, training & sometimes some hand-holding in return for their services. Translated into Android Netrunner, Interns is a Double operation that allow some flexibility to the corp to recur & install a card or specifically save when installing yet more ice on already defended servers

Recursion Compared

Install from archives, saving all costs: The following cards allow the corp to install a card from archives ignoring costs (most notably for adding ice to an already defended server): Director Haas' Pet Project, License Acquisition, Team Sponsorship, Architect, Howler & Interns. While each of these have their own unique niche, Interns stands alone as being the easiest to use, as an operation itself, it's ready to fire without needing an agenda to be scored or waiting for the runner to do something.

Recursion Double operations Ad Blitz, Reclamation Order & Interns are each Double operations that offer recursion. Interns stand out from the other two in respect to it's ability to install cards ignoring all costs. (Interns also can be used for a wider array of targets when compared with Ad Blitz)

Other recursion: Jackson Howard, Archived Memories, Allele Repression, Crick, Project Vitruvius, Shannon Claire are all examples of other recursion methods, each of which offer unique strengths, Interns may at times be preferable in cases where it's flexibility offers the corp the option to use either it's savings (when installing additional ice) or for it's recursion ability when installing cards.

Combos

Recursion synergy: Used in combo with Jackson Howard (or some other recursion method) may allow the corp to recur one specific card and thereby reserve Jackson Howard for later when there are enough useful cards in Archives for the timing to make sense.

Recur or install ice: Installing yet more ice onto servers which already have ice on them can get increasingly more expensive, for Interns gets ice out there saving for other priorities. Recuring ice is particularly important if the corp is facing a runner using Parasite or other ice-trashing methods

Recur Assets & Upgrades: Increasingly upgrades such as Caprice Nisei o Ash 2X3ZB9CY etc or critical assets can become so threatening to the runner that the runner must target them. Using Interns to recur & re-install such an asset immediately after a runner went through considerable expense (perhaps getting through taxing ice) to it could potentially make the runner rather sad.

Recur Agendas: There may be times when an agenda gets sent to Archives where the corp would really prefer to be advancing it in a server. Interns provide one option to do so, however due to it's "Install a card" wording the corps options are a bit more limited when compared to other recursion methods.

Economy boost: Combined with Haas-Bioroid: Engineering the Future in addition to using Interns to get a card installed, bank a little cash.

(Did I miss something obvious, I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments below, I may add it to this review)

Pros

Ice installation Savings: Potentially significant savings on installing yet another piece of ice onto a server.

Flexibility: Interns allows the corp to recur & install any install-able card from Archives or simply go for savings by installing ice out of HQ.

Cons

timing: cost cannot be broken up over multiple turns unlike with other recursion methods

Flexibility: Interns cannot recur Operations, and cards must be installed, not simply added to HQ

Summary

Interns sees some use in popular decks, notably as a Noise: Hacker Extraordinaire counter or to keep the pressure on the runner with assets. There are certainly other cards that can hit one aspect of what Interns dual abilities offer and many of them do so to greater affect, however if you need it's flexibility specifically rather than targeted power Interns does what it says.

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Tax, Tag... or Trash?

Keeping an eye on the runners credit pool can provide the corp with the corp with good timing to rez City Surveillance. Since it can result in either or taxing the runner 1 or giving a tax each turn, City Surveillance can possibly open the corp to some decent synergy options.

Combos

Rezz timing: essentially the runner's credit pool is a combo. If timed right rezzing City Surveillance when he has no credit in hand can be a devastating tempo hit basically taking away 3 of 4 s for the runner to get rid of the tag.

Keep the runner poor: More often then not the runner will maintain credit to pay the 1 tax, that in itself can make the runner sad, putting a Sure Gamble just out of reach requiring yet more clicks! Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach is an interesting combo that puts a lot of control over the runners credit pool into the hands of the corp (possibly generating income for the corp at the same time) as the corp can rez any number of advertisements throughout the game when most inconvenient for the runner. Taxing ice such as Tollbooth etc can be placed judiciously where the runner needs to run the most.

Punish with tags Late-mid game it is conceivable to have 2-3 City Surveillance installed taxing the runner up to 3s per turn, this would be difficult for many runners to overcome eventually pressuring the runner into eating tags. It's helpful to have some tag-based options to punish the runner, SYNC: Everything, Everywhere is an identity custom made for adding salt into the runner's wound whose been tagged, additionally to possibly finish the game off, cards like Dedicated Response Team which can potentially shut the runner down from running at all, Psychographics to score agendas rapidly or Private Security Force to grind the runners grip down etc, really any number of tag-based options can really make life miserable for the runner if the credit isn't there to defend against them. (Not to mention other methods to tag the runner sooner SEA Source, Breaking News etc)

Anti-trashing: 1-3 rezzed instances of Encryption Protocol can potentially make City Surveillance's affordable 3 cost out of reach making it more likely that all assets stick around and continue to confer their benefits.

(Did I miss something obvious, I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments below, I may add it to this review)

Pros

Credit denial There is not doubt that City Surveillance can be a integral part of a denial strategy helping to keep the runner poor up to 3 per turn.

Timing: Control of the rez timing can make a significant difference in a game possibly denying the runner momentum.

Tags There also no doubt that getting a tag (or even the threat of getting a tag) can really mess with a runner and possibly open a number of game-ending scenarios in the corps favor.

Cons

Costly: At 5, City Surveillance can usually only be guaranteed to affect the runner for one turn, if the runner trashes that first turn, corp loses net 1 (perhaps not so bad if the runner took a tag instead)

Trashable As an asset, City Surveillance with its 3 is a no-brainer for Whizzard: Master Gamer (or perhaps Imp etc). Basically each instance of City Surveillance needs to be in play for at least 2 turns before the corp can see a return on investment.

Summary

So for the runner the choice affecting the next turn is, accept the tax, take a tag or trash it now, in either case it's going to cost. Denying the runner credit can be a fun strategy but fraught with risk. City Surveillance can be an integral part of a denial strategy that obviously benefits the corp the sooner it is setup rather than later. A rich runner however may even thank you for putting in City Surveillance instead of using the deck slot for some other card.

--It just saddens me when I see cards with no reviews. If you appreciated this review, please give a heart and I'll be encouraged to write more.