On the surface, this card doesn't give amazing value. Spending 4 cards and 1 click to gain 3 credits and 3 cards means you only get an actual value of +1, which is worse than many runner staples. Also, since you are required to pay the trash cost upfront, playing this will require you to get rid of most of a 5 card hand, including anything you'd rather keep.

Of course, anarchs are the masters of not giving a flying F. That's why Faust used to be so popular. They can afford to dump some cards to gain speed. Especially since the heap breakers are still very populair. Dumping a Paperclip, MKUltra and a second copy of your console in exchange for 3 cards/credits is very cash money.

I think this card will be best when played in combination with Earthrise Hotel or I've Had Worse. Draw into a large hand first, then dump the trash and keep drawing, and use the credits to install fancy new stuff. All in all, a very solid card. No Inject but that card is too strong, so it doesn't need to be.

Jeeeeez, talk about a punishing facecheck...

Tyr is the newest addition to ice based on the Norse pantheon, with others being Wotan, Loki and Heimdall. Like its siblings, Tyr is big and expensive, with scary subroutines but also the ability to click through them.

Not that you would want that in this case. Unlike other bioroids, any click you spend on Tyr will go to the corp, which is a very raw deal for the runner. Even just giving the corp 1 extra click could mean they could be fast advancing a Vitruvius on their next turn. Giving the corp 3 clicks is potentially game ending, as 6 clicks allows them to score a 5/3 from hand, or do other shenanigans.

Letting the subroutines fire isn't really option either though. Two brain damage is nothing to sneeze at, as a permanent handsize of 3 is a big hinderance. Having the corp gain 3 credits AND trash any card they want is extremely powerful and especially in the mid or late game could cause a huge swing. The final sub is a good ol' ETR, always welcome on a big ice, and the only one you can afford to let fire in most circumstances.

I think this bioroid is definitely worth its cash, and a great new tool for purple glacier. 5 influence means it is difficult to slot in other factions but I think that's a good thing. This ice has HB written all over it.

Also, take a moment to appreciate the art on this one. It is gorgeous.

Basically the poor man's Caprice Nisei. And I mean that in a good way, because Caprice could be absolutely absurd.

The main similarity between the two sisters is in the actual psi game. Both upgrades have a (theoretical) 67% chance of denying the runner access to a server. There are two MAJOR differences though. First, Letheia trashes herself if she fires successfully. This means the runner will only have to suffer the consequences once. So no bs turns with Caprice where you run a remote 4 times and get thrown out because you suck at psi games. And secondly, even if Letheia fires, she will cause the runner to approach the server again. This means they can either choose to jack out or just continue through all ice again, if they're rich. Caprice would actually tax the runner clicks, a more important resource than money in many Jinteki glacier games.

Letheia does cost 1 to rez while Caprice costs 2, and their trash costs are 2 and 1 respectively, meaning Letheia is marginally cheaper and less bad in R&D/HQ. Since she trashes herself for her ability though, this isn't a super relevant distinction. Also, gotta love that Nisei Division support.

If you want more ways than ice to protect your servers, you should first consider Marcus Batty and Bio Vault over this, imo. Letheia is definitely not a bad card but especially in Jinteki, the masters of bouncing runners out of servers, I think this isn't strong enough to warrant competitive play.

Sorta mediocre in most decks, since you are basically just trading your clicks for your opponent clicks with an additional credit on top. You could just play Border Control, which costs you influence and more credits, but will cost the runner A LOT more since they will have to break all ice on a server, get flicked out, and they spend a click to run through it again. HB specifically also has Enhanced Login Protocol, which sticks around till an agenda is stolen and works on any server.

However, this is very obviously meant for MirrorMorph, who ideally will also have 4 clicks to work with. They need ways to trigger their ability, and this is a perfect way to accomplish that. For example, install Architect Deployment Test, advance, click Nanoetching Matrix for money, trigger ID, click Cold Site Servers. Now you essentially taxed the runner a click and credit for free.

I think it is a great card for one ID, but that's fine. Plenty of cards like that. Gold standard rez/trash cost as well.

This is a really solid piece of ice. Not only does it have an etr subroutine, meaning it functions as a gear check, the program trash sub can definitely take runners by surprise. It doesn't work on 'classic' ice breakers, but it does work on AI's, making it perfect against runners who mostly or even solely rely on Aumakua. It can also hit non-icebreakers like D4v1d, Rezeki, RNG Key, etc etc. A base strength of 6 for a rez cost of 4 credits is also pretty bonkers.

As a downside, Hagen becomes easier to run through the longer the game goes on, as it will lower in strength when the runner sets up their rig. But even then this will rarely go below strength 2 or 3, meaning it'll still cost a bit to break with Gauss, Corroder or Tycoon.

For straight up turtle hate IP Block is still better imo, but Hagen is definitely a strong choice for a midtier barrier in HB.