I never really liked this card when it got released. It first got my attention when my local playgroup started to use it with Blue Sun: Powering the Future. Blue sun was the hype card around here and of course I had to try my own version. I included The Root in it. I didn't like it. All the time I used it the wrong way...

The Root really shines if you playing with several remote servers, including already expensive to trash cards like SanSan City Grid, PAD Campaign, Marked Accounts or even Adonis Campaign.

I think it harmonizes best with Gagarin Deep Space: Expanding the Horizon. I also can imagine to splash this card in HB decks though.

The most beautiful combinations you can make with this card: 1. Rez it at the end of the runners turn. Use it to rez SanSan City Grid for 3. In your turn use the recurring creds to score an Project Atlas or Superior Cyberwalls for free. This means you got 5 creds back already and still have 1 cred on it for the runners next turn. If he chooses to run for it you can use that 1 remaining credit to rez an ice protecting it. The runner will have to pay for breaking that ice, pay 1 to access it and trash it for 4. So the runner just lost 6-7 creds and a click for the run. You basically lost nothing and the SanSan is still in game. If the runner goes for SanSan instead and doesn't trash The Root you will get another 3 creds/turn. Brutal. 2. Use it to rez your economy assets like PAD Campaign or Adonis Campaign. 3. Protect yourself against Account Siphon by spending 6 on rezing it and use the 3 creds to rez Crisium Grid. The runner won't have money to trash both. 4. Use the creds to advance Fire Wall or Ice Wall to insanity and score big money with Commercialization.

There is just so much potential in this card! A must in all Gagarin decks, and highly recommended in asset heavy decks. Use it to rez Dedicated Response Team for example...

Pros

• 3 that can be used for core activites of installing ice, rezzing ice and advancing agendas is extremely valuable
• it has a net 3 rez cost assuming you rez it when you can immediately spend the recurring credits
  • this plus a 4, means even if the Runner immediately trashes it after one use the Corp is worst case 1 ahead.

Cons

• It's a medium-long term use asset - how much ice are you willing to divert to defending it?
• It's hard to avoid sometimes wasting the recurring credits
• It is unique so you cannot have multiple active at once
• The credits can't be used for playing Operations or in traces

Notable interactions

• Using the recurring credits to rez Adonis Campaign or Eve Campaign feels great
• At 3 influence per copy, taking a couple over to Haas-Bioroid: Engineering the Future can be pretty nice with all its assets
• Executive Boot Camp makes it much easier to ensure you can spend the credits every turn by using it to rez ice even if the runner won't run
• Running lots of small ice at 2-4 rez cost and then stacking them on servers works nicely with The Root's 3 per turn, so Grail (eg Galahad ) and NEXT ice (eg NEXT Bronze) work well with it
• Gagarin Deep Space's extra cost to access cards in remote servers is a nice synergy for this as a high value asset

Final Thoughts

• Probably best to use it in a deck that is taxing the runner's credits so them trashing it will hurt for them
• Optimal use is probably to use it for 3-5 turns in a row, then the runner trash it, so don't worry about defending it too heavily

The Root is a surprisingly good economic asset. At home in glacier decks, it’s flexible utility can mean a Beanstalk Royalties every turn. It may be thought about in terms of Prepaid VoicePAD; It pays you for what you want to do already: install ice, rez defences, and score agendas. The Root can also help leverage an economic advantage. With Blue Sun: Powering the Future, any remaining credits on The Root can be converted into real credits by rezzing upgrades like Crisium Grid and Ash. Adonis Campaign becomes even more threatening by turning him into, at most, a six credit gain every turn. The Root in concert with Executive Boot Camp can also squeeze more value into your ice by turning empty Hives into four credit gains by rezzing them at a steep discount and pulling them back with Blue Sun. It has does a few downsides. It’s rez to trash ratio is unfavorable early because it is a six credit investment for a moderate tax, and it takes a few turns before it pays for itself. The best window to catch The Root as the Runner is like the sexbots; right after rezzing and before it’s been used. Finally, it competes for deckspace with Midseasons/SEA Scorch. That said, The Root has a home in decks who want to leverage an economic advantage into locked down servers and breezy scoring.