I'm certain I'm not alone in thinking that Ayla is in many senses Andromeda: Dispossessed Ristie out of Shaper.

Mathematically there are similarities. Let's take the simple example of trying to find at least 1 of 3 copies of a card in a 45 card deck on round 1.

Andromeda: Draw 9/45. This gives you a 50.3% chance of having at least one of your desired card, hence a 100% - 50.3% = 49.7% chance of not having it. So, including your mulligan you have a 49.7% x 49.7% = 24.7 % chance on not drawing at least one of your desired card which is a 75.3% chance of at least one copy.

Ayla: Draw 6/45. 64.4% of not having your card. Form NVRAM. Draw 5/41. 67% chance of not having your card. So, with mulligan you have have a 64.4% x 67% x 67% = 28.9% chance of not having or 71.1% chance of having at least one copy.

Of course, Andy also has a 4 tempo advantage here since her cards don't need to be drawn. On the other side of the coin, Ayla doesn't suffer the risk of having to potentially discard cards or pay for later game pieces early. And Shapers have options to go fast later. Ayla nicely embodies the thematic differences between Shaper and Criminal: Slowly build the perfect tools vs. early aggression.

There are some obvious cards you love to see round 1: Mopus, ProCo, or perhaps the new Laguna Velasco District, (LaguV?).

Beyond single cards combinations are also obviously accelerated. Early Personal Workshops, Aesop's Pawnshop, or Fan Site are important for some deck archetypes. I'll stop here but the pattern is clear. Any combo focused deck that was played out of Chaos Theory: Wünderkind for the 40 card deck size is strictly superior out of "Bios".

NVRAM is an interesting new mechanic as well. Although slower, it's worth noting that at time of printing nothing interacts with NVRAM except Ayla. Those cards therefore are completely safe from damage or being removed from the game. But, make sure you retrieve any cards you want before being tempted to play Rebirth. And of course Cerebral Static blocks access to these cards. That's one motivation to play currents.

NVRAM as a holding tank has some interesting properties. It holds any type of card. So you can save Events (which only Logos can currently tutor and only on a score by the corp) for later retrieval at just the right time. Don't save all your currents there of course if you fear Cerebral Static. But high impact events like "Freedom Through Equality" or Levy AR Lab Access come to mind.

Hardware and/or program pairings that need to be played in order are natural fits for NVRAM which reduces the need for scavenging, uninstalling, or just trashing and replacing later: Live the Dinosaurus/Sage/Adept/Savant/Yog.0 delusion. I mean dream. NetChips are more likely to land in there if you play a few and so on.

NVRAM can also hold your late game rig cards or tech cards that aren't relevant now, or in the current match up at all.

I think this is a great addition to the card pool. Offers some interesting and well balanced options that perfectly embody the Shaper ethos. The art is also spot on. The hopeful wonder in her face really epitomizes the Shaper brand of transhumanism for me.

5 years has passed since the last review. How is Ayla "Bios" Rahim: Simulant Specialist doing in the current (some points from the last review will be summarized here).

Get an essential card on turn one

If you have 3x of a card that is essential for your game (like Endurance), you have 71.1 % chance to get it in your hand or you cards "set aside", if you have 45 cards.

If you want a specific program (like World Tree, and you have 3x of it, along with 3x of Self-modifying Code, you have 90.9% chance to get either in your hand or you cards "set aside", if you have 45 cards.

If you want to get a BIG DECK of 66 cards with World Tree (same conditions), you will have to 80.3% chance to get either in your hand or you cards "set aside".

Protect some cards from damage

The cards that you set aside will be protected from damage. Allowing you to keep some useful cards in case of emergency. Cards like VRcation (to get more draw), Apocalypse (to not lose it to a random snipe), Creative Commission (for some burst economy), Nanuq (to have a backup program), etc.

Know which card you can draw next

You know every cards that you set aside. Instead of drawing a random card from your stack, you can draw any useful cards reliably from you set aside pile. Cards like Misdirection, Pelangi, Overclock, Beth Kilrain-Chang, etc.

Set aside tech cards

Most deck will pack "tech cards" to prevent some corp archetypes. Those cards can be dead cards in certain matchup. Being able to set them aside makes your deck more reliable. Some examples are Citadel Sanctuary, Misdirection, Hunting Grounds, Hush, Caldera, Harmony AR Therapy, etc. This allow Ayla "Bios" Rahim: Simulant Specialist to have a lot of 1x cards and be more reliable to get them, even without tutoring cards.

More reliable draw

Because you set aside 4 cards, out of 45, your deck behave like a 41 cards deck. This make it more reliable to draw needed cards, just like being Tāo Salonga: Telepresence Magician or Ele "Smoke" Scovak: Cynosure of the Net.

Unique in this mechanic

Ayla "Bios" Rahim: Simulant Specialist ability to set cards aside is unique. No other identity can do that. And with Bookmark gone (rotated), there are less ways to "set aside" cards (you can still use Customized Secretary or Asmund Pudlat, for less protection). Having a unique ability is fun!

The art is nice, but could be more evocative of what the lore or ability is. A fun identity!