Ugh, Andy. - 1st Place @ Covenant Store SC

Interesting choices of Kati Jones and Mr Li. Have you considered John Massanori instead of Mr Li? How do you feel Kati performs? I admit in my Stealth Andromeda deck (http://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/17260/stealth-andy-2nd-place-sydney-city-store-champs) I have the odd free click where I wouldn't mind having Kati but I just don't see what I can take out to make room for her.

I think John Masanori is a completely legitimate play instead of Mr. Li, I just don't like him. I love face checking ICE in this deck, and I would be causing myself more harm than good doing that as rampantly with Masanori on the board. The reason I specifically use Li instead of Earthrise or any other card draw, is that I often want to sift through my deck rather than power draw. When drawing, especially as the game progresses, I am usually looking for a specific card rather than just "more". Trashing cards out of hand regularly is anathema to my play style. Sure there is some redundancy, but I often find myself with 4-5 cards in hand that I will definitely want to play sooner or later.

Kati Jones is great when Security Testing finally gets shut out. Certain glacier builds can lock this deck out of efficient ST runs fairly quickly (RP, HB, BS sometimes), and it's crucial to keep my money rolling. Generally I find that a Corp deck either deals with Kati OR Security Testing well, usually not both. I rarely am actively using both ST and Kati in the same turn, but if I really need to I can. I believe it happened a few turns in the Finals of the Covenant Store Champ against an RP Grail deck.

One of the major downside of playing Stealth is the increase in Rig accessories, making deck space even tighter. I don't think you really do have room for her. If you find yourself getting locked out of ST regularly you could test 1 copy of Kati instead of your 1 Emergency Shutdown. It seems like a reasonable switch for situational cards in your deck.

Congrats on the win, and thanks for taking the to share your thoughts!

As a Stealth Andy player I've often wondered if your configuration might be better in certain match ups. I struggle Greatly with NEH in particular. Any insight on that match up?

I have been bouncing around on the econ resources for a while. For cards I've used some combination of John Masanori, Mr. Li, and Earthrise Hotel. What has been your preference on draw? How about limiting them to 1's and using Hostage?

For credits I've been toying with Daily Casts over Dirty Laundry. Any thoughts on that switch?

Finally I have leaned on Utopia Shard lately instead of Plascrete Carapace. Have you found that to be a viable alternative?

@aphid Thanks!

@DarlingSensei The two main archetypes you have to worry about out of NEH are FastroBiotics and various Flatline builds (NEARPAD or just Midseasons Scorch). In both cases, an early Desperado/Security Testing is your best friend. Both match-ups are going to rely heavily on Assets such as Daily Business Show, PAD Campaign, Dedicated Response Team, and obviously SanSan City Grid. Trash everything you can without crippling your ability to pressure centrals. Try to wait until the turn after they rez to maximize their costs (excluding SanSan).

Against Fastro, the game is on a clock. They WILL score out an Astro sooner than later, so be aggressive and go find your multi-access. Stealth takes a bit longer to set up, so rely on those Faeries to get through Architect while you build up Silencers.

Against Kill decks your first job is to out pace them economically. Midseason Replacements is useless if you have more credits than your opponent. Be diligent about trashing Assets, especially DRT. You should also expect the possibility of Snare!, Psychic Field, and TGTBT nastiness.

The earlier you can determine what your opponent's game plan is, the easier it will be to stop them. It takes a while to learn when to be aggressive and when to build up, and it can only be learned by practice. Keep playing against decks that you have trouble against.

As for card draw resources, I use Mr. Li because it is right for this deck. In Stealth Andy, I think Earthrise Hotel is superior. You want to see as many cards as soon as possible, since many are cheap to install. John Masanori makes a lot of sense if you are relying primarily on Security Testing for econ. I don't use him because of the risk of getting tagged at inopportune times. The increased efficiency isn't worth the risk for me.

I wouldn't ever drop Dirty Laundry from an Andy list (or any Criminal really). It is a net gain of 3 credits for effectively 0 clicks. It's a preposterously good card in any list that runs Desperado and Security Testing, where running becomes economy. Daily Casts is undoubtedly a powerful card, but a net gain of 5 credits for 1 click over the course of 5 turns isn't quite as appetizing. Running both is perfectly sensible.

I don't find any Resource form of Meat Damage protection a preferable alternative, because Midseason Replacements is a card. What good is Crash Space or Utopia Shard if they get trashed before their protection can come into play? Sure you can pop the shard right after getting tagged, but that won't prevent your opponent from drawing into more Scorched Earth and Traffic Accident. I'll concede that Utopia is excellent against SEA Source or Breaking News kill attempts, but I find these to be the vast minority in the current meta. That being said, I'm sure better players can get away without playing Plascrete. They can play around Midseasons and the like and never worry about getting tagged in the first place. I die to Scorch far too often to cut it.

Do take all these suggestions with a grain of salt. This is just my interpretation of the game and what works for me. There are multiple correct ways to build a deck or win a game, so find what works for you!