[Standard] WaterSports

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Lewis.P 102

Ok. After 3 iterations, here's my attempt at a Thule deck that actually wants to score out. This builds on my idea for a Sportsmetal deck a while back, but in Thule, which has some spicy toys and enables fast play with Ontological Dependence if the Runner chooses to go for the core damage. So, how does it work?

First off, you wanna let the Runner steal some small agendas. False Lead is an ideal target, as is Élivágar Bifurcation. This not only sets them back a click and 2 creds each(or a core damage, making Ontologicals free points), it also empowers Giordano and Stock Buy-Back. If you can bait the Runner into hitting a Nightmare Archive along the way, absolutely do so, it's the most valuable tool in your deck. Don't be afraid to throw out big ICE to protect your severs too, we'll make that money back in NGOs and the aforementioned Buy-Back.

When you have a fair few credits in HQ, it's time for the bait. Throw something into your scoring remote, and something else (my personal choice is a Rashida) into a blank remote. The Runner almost certainly runs it, and trashes it. And that's when we hit them where it hurts. Smash their boat if you can, why not? And then you have a scoring window approximately the size of the sun as they figure out that running on 1 click is a bad time against a deck that charges you a click and 2 to steal, especially given there's a chance it's just an Ikawah anyway.

Your defensive upgrade is Giordano, but you do rely pretty heavily on your ice to tax, so against big Wu, you definitely wanna try and rush out, but the match-up against other runners seems pretty good.

So yeah, that's a standard deck I cooked up that I've been having a lot of fun with. Thanks to @crowphie for helping me refine this one down, a lot of stuff was left on the cutting room floor. Have fun!

2 comments
31 Jan 2023 Neemo

Wouldn't Cerebral Overwriter be better than an Urtica Cipher, as it could potentially also further enable Ontological? Not sure what you would do with this newfound influence, but couldnt help but wonder

2 Feb 2023 Lewis.P

@Neemo The deck actually started with a Cerebral in place of the Urtica, but before long I realised it was just too much of an investment for a trap that most runners don't hit. I opted to swap to Urtica for 3 reasons;

  1. It's a good finisher. If the Runner has already taken a couple of core (or are just running on 3 cards), the Urtica can singlehandedly win you the game, and most Runners (reasonably) aren't expecting you to run it in your Thule.

  2. It's a good tempo swing. Even if the Runner hits an unadvanced Urtica, a card that it cost to just a single click to install, they lose 2 cards to it and (usually) 2 credits to trash it; most runners are wary of Trick of Light stuff when they see an Urtica.

  3. The Runner has no way of knowing that we only have one. They see an Urtica, and suddenly, the rest of the game is played around respecting the Urtica. That caution takes time, and that time can be capitalised on.

So yeah, I personally really like the Urtica swap here, but alternative opinions are, of course, very fair. If you do decide to take it out, I'd recommend something like a Mavirus, as a virus tech, perhaps dropping a single Riot Suppression for a second?