A shaper console in blue disguise! For the low cost of 2 credits, hardware you install after this will give you a free card. This is especially strong in Geist in combination with Spy Camera. Other hardware to combo with this console include Sports Hopper, Clone Chip, HQ Interface and Lucky Charm.

The second ability obviously works very well with Az McCaffrey, whose ability negates the +1 cost so that you can install one piece of hardware for no click each turn.

While this card will definitely see play, run-oriented criminals might still prefer Paragon. Probably won't see play out of faction either due to the 4 influence pips.

1955
Don't forget Flip Switch! Very interesting to see if big-rig Criminals come out of this. —
I am definitely gonna try my hand at that! —
Can you use stimhack money for the second ability? —
Don't see why not, the run has already started. —
Cool, so bad pub money is on the table as well? —
Yes, bad pub credits are gained at 1c of the NISEI Timing Structure of a Run and "the run begins" at 1d. —

While doing research on this identity. I found that most cards that have the word "reveal" on them involve psi games. And of the ones that are left, a large chunk have the runner revealing something (traps, cards like Tyson Observatory or Oracle May ), which doesn't trigger Hyobou's ability. Good to know.

So, what DOES get you that sweet corp money? For starters, Celebrity Gift gains you 8 credits instead of 7. Pretty sweet. Attitude Adjustment gives you a buck even if you shuffle just 1 agenda back into R&D. Drudge Work will gain you +1 on top of the value of the agenda. Fast Track and Political Dealings reward you for going fast.

Also, since the ability works on the runner's turn as well, the grail ice suit is particularly suited for Hyobou. Lancelot, Merlin, Galahad, they all make you dough if you have ice to reveal in HQ.

Apart from that, Hyobou's build-in click ability is ideal to get a sense of what is in the runner's hand. Instead of just clicking for a credit, this allows you to play cards like Targeted Marketing and Salem's Hospitality. And if you have a good memory, you can easily leverage this ability into a potential kill with newcomers Saisentan and Complete Image. Do keep in mind that while you can reveal several cards per turn, you will only gain a credit the first time.

Last but not least, this card has fun synergy with some janky cards. Bamboo Dome and Open Forum are now credit neutral, Recruiting Trip is cheaper, you can install and rez Chiyashi for 4 credits, use The freakin Twins... If only Angel Arena were an asset, a clickless scrying and credit seems ridiculous.

This ID is very versatile and I am excited to see what people will cook up during deckbuilding.

1955
Could you explain the Chiyashi for 4c? I'm drawing a blank on this. —
they're talking about using Building Blocks to install Chiaysi out of hand and get the credit back for the reveal. —
Ah, thank you. —
Nice bonus for using Jinja Grid as well. —
On the topic of revealing cards from on the Runner's turn: Slot Machine is great in this deck, and it's a 1-influence NBN card for hitting alliance with Salem's Hospitality —
Is it correct that this card does not work with Breached Dome because that says "The runner must reveal" (even though it is the Corp's card being revealed)? —
That's correct. In addition, Hyoubu will not proc on any of the Ambush assets as they all have the text "the Runner must reveal". With the exception of Plan B lol —

This review is great but it hasn't mentioned probably the best interaction for this ID: Jinja City Grid. A free credit for most ICE installs is an excellent sell for a glacier deck. Flower Sermon is also a nice addition (and came out after thew review, in fairness to the OP), giving runner's turn triggers of the ID AND even more Jinja synergy.

The corp reveals Subliminal Messaging when retrieving it from archives. (Wasn't in rotation at time of review.)

Small and innocent looking but honestly quite a beastly card. You install this in a huge scoring remote and make the ice in it stronger. Combos extremely well with Jinja City Grid,Surveyor and Mti Mwekundu. You can also rez this during any paid ability window. So no worries if you have this as your last ice with 3 others in front of it, just flip it right away. And as icing on the cake it is a mini Pop-up Window. Has potential to make glacier an even bigger powerhouse. It does die instantly to Chisel though.

1955
It doesn't die instantly to chisel. It'll be str 1.it gets boosted by its own ability. —
I think the real problem with this card is the install cost, which to be fair, you already mentioned using Jinja City Grid to offset this. Without Jinja though, even at a rez cost of 0, you almost have to think that you've actually paid X whereas X is the number of ICE on the server that is not Rime (since Rime increases the install cost of subsequent ICE by 1 for each ICE). Then, you have to ask yourself, is +1 Strength for each ICE valuable? Eh... probably. Although in some circumstances, it won't matter, such as when a runner's breaker would need to be boosted anyway, but there is leftover Strength. I suppose the reverse situation (+1 Str requiring a second boost) is true as well though. —

As someone who played during the format when Keyhole anarch was predominant, I was very happy to see that card rotate. It led to very tiresome games where as a corp you were locked out of any line of play, as well as having to shuffle your deck dozens of times over the course of a match. So when I saw we're getting a replacement for Keyhole, I was hesitant at best and ready to bring out my pitchfork and torch at worst.

Will Stargate be as prone to being a NPE as Keyhole though? Maybe? Let's look at the card with an open mind.

First off, the numbers on it are identical to its predecesor. 4 to install, 2 MU program, 3 influence, look at 3 cards and trash 1. This does require you to have some spare MU, possibly even build around it. In the past, anarchs tended to play Eater in their decks as a way to complement the "instead of accessing" part. But anti-ai ice is more popular now than ever due to Aumakua, and with Account Siphon rotated, Eater decks have fewer tools to be oppressive.

On that topic, let's look at the ways this card is more balanced than Keyhole. The big one is obviously that Stargate can only be used once per turn. No more running R&D 4 times and trashing 4 cards, or shenigans with additonal clicks (such as when Hyperdriver was legal). The runner gets 1 shot per turn. On top of that, the 2 cards that aren't trashed are returned to the top of R&D in the same order. This actually benefits the corp, as they will know which card is coming up after due to the absence of a shuffle. This gives them more knowledge on whether it is worth to rez ice or not.

This lack of shuffling does actually make Stargate stronger in a way. While constant randomizing of cards was very annoying, the corp still had a chance to top deck the one card they needed to get them out of a precarious situation. Stargate makes this more difficult. The runner runs, sees 2 bad cards and 1 amazing, trashes the latter, the rest go back. Now the corp has to draw those cards and make the most of it, cause the runner can just go again on their turn.

Keeping all this in mind, this is definitely a card to fear going forward and I am not a huge fan of it. But I will say, it is a good act of balancing by Nisei, which I respect.

1955

So, this card has some similarities to Mr. Li, which never saw any play, and this is more expensive. So why do I think The Class Act will be way more popular in criminal decks?

First off, the math is just way more favorable for this new connection. Mr Li has a total cost of 5 (3 credits, click to install and the card itself), while TCA only has a cost of 2 (4 credits + 1 card + 1 click - the 4 cards you draw). This is significantly better, and getting to start your next turn like Andromeda gives you a ton of tempo. Remember, since this triggers at the end of your turn, after hand size is checked, you don't discard the cards.

Furthermore, TCA is way more versatile than Mr Li. The latter only gave you one line of play: spend a click to look at 2 cards, and draw the one you need. The former works with ALL draw engines. Earthrise Hotel, Deuces Wild, Diesel, Build Script, the newly spoiled blue Diesel, all of them will trigger TCA and allow you to draw even more efficiently.

The only disadvantage TCA has is that it only triggers the first time you draw, while Mr Li could be used as often as you'd like. But I consider this a very minor minus.

At 5 influence, this will not see any out-of-faction use, except maybe in Sunny. But expect it out of many criminals!

1955