Now that the dust has settled from this card’s previous (and only) review, I’d like to give Rashida a less emotionally-charged one. So let’s get this out of the way now then: This card is strong, way above the power curve and arguably a lot more flexible than the now-banned Violet Level Clearance. It’s also neutral and costs no influence so if you ever saw VLC out-of-faction before, prepare to see Rashida in those same decks. I’m going to discuss this in a non-CI viewpoint as I feel like Rashida and VLC are at a way different power level in that ID.

What makes Rashida more flexible? VLC’s main downside (besides its trash cost) was it that forced you to draw 4 on the last click of your turn. If you weren’t CI or didn’t have a Jinja City Grid or a Political Dealings or any other scheme up your sleeve, you were most likely over your hand size while ending your turn. Even if you weren’t, you had to wait out the runner’s turn to play with your shiny new cards. Rashida instead turns VLC from a Terminal to a Priority transaction – the Corp has their full 3 clicks to play some of the 4 cards they’ve just drawn. As a result, the Corp will rarely have to discard unless they triggered this on a turn where they started with a ton of cards.

Despite this, I’d still conclude that Rashida is not as ubiquitous as Hedge Fund or even NGO Front and that’s because it’s not a "lose-less" card. A sudden burst of 4 more credits in a click? Great. 8 credits payout from a 2 credit/3-click investment + the runner has to get through your scoring server. Not bad at all. Both of the aforementioned cards can help you come back from a deficit, even if you’re agenda-flooded. Rashida? Not so much. She’s not a great enabler for a Preemptive Action like VLC was and if she’s trashed, your agendas are stuck. I’ve played enough times with Rashida to try and get a solution for my agenda flood only to get 2 more agendas from her.

Know when to play Rashida and she'll get the job done – misplay and you might just find yourself in a worse situation than before.

Weird ability aside, this will be the closest we get to a Quandary replacement. Yes, it’s no longer neutral and costs 1 more influence and credit but cheap gearcheck code gates are a much-welcomed addition given that NEXT Bronze is gone too and the next cheapest normal ETR code gate is Enigma.

First things first, this doesn’t work with Mti Mwekundu: Life Improved since Thimblerig's condition will trigger on-pass while Mti triggers on-server-approach.

Next, this also does not work with Code Replicator for the same reasons as Mumbad City Grid + The Twins. Check the MCG UFAQ on the ruling.

HOWEVER, the jank combos with Rover Algorithm are endless and can get out of hand off only a few runs. I, for one, am delighted that this good dog can learn a new trick.

While Laamb received immense popularity from the moment it was spoiled, Engolo has not been on runner’s minds despite having arguably better numbers on it.

It’s easy to see why though – Laamb has everything necessary to being the perfect support breaker. It’s not an AI but acts like one, taking care of traps and surprise ICE. Its numbers are also consistent – you can always expect to pay 2, 5, or 7 to get through any ICE (unlike Inti or other Shaper fracters). Sure, Engolo is also a pseudo-AI but you aren’t paying the expensive install cost and 2 MU for just an AI when you can get Aumakua for cheaper. Engolo’s primary inhibitor from it seeing more play is the fact that it’s a good pseudo-AI but not as great a decoder as other Shaper ones. Laamb can handle double duty in this regard – a Shaper fracter and the pseudo-AI.

I’d like to give special mention to Kit though who can really make an Engolo deck work by being able to carve through any double-ICEd server with ease. As mentioned in the Laamb review, pair it with some Cyberdelia, maybe even Gebrselassie or Egret and you’ll be able to lock down any remote with ease.

FFG rarely prints strict upgrades to previously-printed cards but that's what Amina feels like to the now-rotated Leviathan. We can compare the new icebreaker to the 2 main Criminal decoders right now: Abagnale and Passport, which both have the exact same paid abilities (excluding Abagnale’s trash-can).

DISCLAIMER: I won’t be comparing her to out-of-faction decoders, specifically Shaper. This is because I see Amina staying in blue decks only, due to its big 4 influence. Sorry Anarchs, you’re stuck with Black Orchestra until Cradle comes out.

1 to break 1 vs. 2 to break 3

Amina’s ability may as well read 2 to break all subroutines since the only code gates I could find with 4+ subs naturally were Fairchild and Macrophage (exc. Loki), both of which aren’t that pervasive in the current meta. And with so many big bullies at 3 subs (DNA Tracker, Fairchild 3.0, Mausolus), you’ll be glad to pay a less every time.

2 to boost 2 STR vs. 2 to boost 3 STR

No-brainer.

So let’s get to the elephant-in-the-room: Amina’s big 7 install cost. A vanilla install of this will almost always lead to a huge tempo swing so cheating her out with cards like Credit Kiting or Retrieval Run are highly recommended. Ideally, you also want to see her early so that you can get the most out of the card’s econ-drain ability. Amina is not for every Criminal player but with econ denial being pushed as the main blue archetype, I think she’ll find a comfortable home in many upcoming decks.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to break FC3, DNA Tracker, or Mausolus for 4?

Anyone who’s played Caduceus enough can tell you full well how often an unpumped trace-2 ETR subroutine is unsuccessful if fired. Given that nowadays, many runners are packing link due to dangerous threats like Exhibit A or Exhibit B, that trace-2 ETR can end up costing the corp a lot more than they paid for. However, anyone who’s ever played Resistor can tell you how often their trace-4 ETR subroutine is successful (if not broken) and how valuable it is at a great rez cost.

My point is that Surveyor is valuable as soon as soon as you can get X = 4 (making Surveyor have ICE/trace strength of 4). This is because it immediately makes the (arguably) top 4 killers in the game very, very sad:

• Out-of-range for Mimic without support

• 5 creds for Na'Not'K (which will never have more base strength than Surveyor as long as X > 2)

• 5 creds for Mongoose

• 6 creds for MKUltra

This is pretty good at a 5 rez cost and letting both subs fire can be expensive to pay through (Power Tap builds aside) or game-ending. There is a catch, however – Surveyor needs support from an additional piece of ICE to get X = 4. Which makes Surveyor quite difficult to play early game since it’s got a huge upfront of having an additional ICE installed + its own rez cost of 5. The immediate synergy that comes to mind is pairing this bad boy with Jinja City Grid or other installation-support cards.

But what about when X > 4?

• Mongoose is awkward since it only boosts cleanly to odd-number strengths while Surveyor will always be at even-number strengths. This means Mongoose will be saving 1 credit from its break subs ability but will be losing 1 credit from having to over-pump

• Na'Not'K will always require at least one pump at its awkward 3-for-2 ability and will require one more pump for every additional pair of ICE on the server

• MKUltra is in the same bin as Mongoose since it only pumps cleanly to odd-number strengths. It’ll require X/2 pumps to get past Surveyor and that really gets out of hand as soon as X = 6 or more

• Mimic, git gud kid.

TL;DR

Cards like Surveyor are the finale in the Kitara cycle's plan to rejuvenate the Glacier archetype (although ICE destruction being back is a thing so maybe not). It's also an easy target to splash into other Glacier builds at its 2-influence cost. A good face-check ICE, a better taxer as soon as you can make X >= 4 but one that should not be used for more rush-based play. Just don't let Security check on Surveyor.