Tennin Traps v3 - Neja Halcyon

GOAL The objective of this build is to deck the Runner. To achieve this, the Corp will make the core servers less enticing and the remote servers more enticing. This will require the strategic placement of ice, a fairly significant economy, plus a high number and wide variety of traps.

THE CORE SERVERS This build requires that the Corp dictate whether the Runner is going after agendas or traps but the Corp cannot dictate the pace of the game if the Runner can run against HQ or R&D at will. So the first few pieces of ice need to defend these two core servers. The order of the ice is not terribly important early in the game because eventually you will get out Tenma Line which will allow you to rearrange your ice by swapping one piece of ice for another.

The deck also includes several Weyland walls which are ice that can be advanced. Eventually these walls can become so strong that the Runner would rather make runs against remote servers rather than spend his/her credits trying to run against the core servers.

REMOTE SERVERS After the core servers are sufficiently protected, the Corp should set up one protected remote server. This server will give the Corp a platform to generate income. If the Corp has an abundance of ice early in the game, they can set up a second protected remote server from which to generate more income but most of the remote servers will be undefended or only lightly defended.

A non-economy server will likely have no ice or only a single piece of ice and that ice will inflict net damage rather than ending the run. The goal is to deplete the Runner of cards in their hand before they get to the asset or agenda that is scored there so that if they uncover a trap, it will likely cost them the game. The Corp can also make use of Tori Hanzo to convert net damage into brain damage and reduce the maximum size of the Runner’s hand.

UPGRADES The Corp player should determine whether the Runner is more likely to run against HQ or R&D then upgrade that server with Neo Tokyo Grid. This allows an installed wall to be advanced for free once per turn. The Corp can use Caprice Nisei to give additional protection against the Runner getting through to HQ or R&D depending on the design of the Runner’s deck. And because so much of the ice in this deck inflicts net damage, the Runner will be especially reluctant to run against any server protected by Tori Hanzo for fear of brain damage.

There are two copies of each of these cards in the deck, so six upgrades in total. The Corp player should consider using them to protect one core server and two remote servers. Both of the protected remote servers should fuel his/her economy.

AGENDA Priority Requisition is in the deck because it scores 3 victory points for each card, bringing the victory point total up to the required minimum without increasing the card count too much. But there is a lot of expensive ice in this deck and when the Corp scores Priority Requisition, it can rez a piece of ice at no cost.

Score Nisei MK II early in the game if you have the chance because it gives the ability to end a run when the runner has bypassed all other protections.

Fetal AI can go in an unprotected server even early in the game because just accessing it will inflict two net damage, and stealing it will cost the runner an extra two credits that he might not otherwise have.

Gila Hands Arcology can be scored from the protected first remote server because it has income generating potential. Because of the heavy economy cost of this deck, this agenda was adding to the deck even though it only scores a single victory point per agenda.

OPERATIONS There are three copies of Hedge Fund in this deck to give the Corp a quick infusion of cash. And the two copies of Trick of Light can be used to move advancement tokens off of Junebug or off of a wall to allow the Corp to quickly score an agenda, such as Priority Requisition.

TRAPS This deck opts for a wider variety of traps rather than going for a narrower variety with a greater likelihood of drawing any one card.

Shock! should not be kept in the Corp’s hand but instead, the Corp should draw until they have reached their max hand size so that they can discard Shock! into Archives to discourage the Runner from making a run against this core server.

Snare! should be kept in the Corp’s hand to discourage the Runner from attacking HQ but it can also be effectively used with Toshiyuki Sakai (see below). The Corp should always keep four credits in their pool whether they have Snare! in their hand or not just to make the Runner think that they do. This card can easily win Jinteki the game.

Project Junebug is a Jenteki staple and should be strategically installed or used with Toshiyuki Sakai (see below).

When the Runner accesses Shi.Kyu either from HQ or from an installed server, if the Corp has more credits than the runner has cards in hand, the runner will either lose the game or will be set back one victory point.

When Toshiyuki Sakai is accessed while installed, the Corp can swap him for any asset or agenda in their hand. Advancement tokens from Toshiyuki transfer to the new asset or agenda allowing for a really big trap, such as Junebug, or an instant score on an agenda such as Priority Requisition. When Toshiyuki is swapped for another card in the Corp’s hand, the Runner has the option to jack out without looking at the replaced card. If the replaced card is an agenda, Trick of Light can be effectively used to advance it on the Corp’s next turn.

CONSIDERATIONS The original deck size was 75 cards but that was whittled down to 59 by reducing some of the ice and removing the third card for most assets, upgrades and operations. There are a variety of traps that did not make the cut, some due to personal taste and some because I do not have all the expansion packs. I welcome input from other play testers. I did, however, find that 18 ice in a 59 card deck was not enough, so I added two copies of Wall of Static since they are inexpensive to rez.

The Card Draw Simulator in netrunnerdb.com suggests that the current card balance is good, but after I play test the deck, if I find I can modify it, I would like to remove some of the economy cards and add a third copy of the any of the upgrades. I would also like to add some copies of Ronin or Mushin No Shin. When combined with Trick of Light and Neo Tokyo Grid, I expect Mushin would be especially effective. I would also consider adding a copy of Interns so that I could discard a copy of Project Junebug that the Runner had decided was a trap and then reclaim it from Archives later.

Thank you for your feedback. And thank you to those who make playing Netrunner so much fun! - Neja