[Nerdrunners] Skullduggery v1.2

v1.2 update

After some more playtesting, I've added Datasucker and Parasite into the deck. Datasucker definitely works well with Faust, reducing the number of cards you need to trash, and Parasite deals with any problem ice that might otherwise keep you out.

There are fewer ecomony cards in the deck now, but Quetzal and Faust get you into most servers without needing to spend any credits, and the accelerated card draw helps to quickly find and draw into Sure Gamble, Day Job and Kati Jones.

Overview

Faust is an excellent breaker. It gets in quickly and cheaply, and all it will cost you is just a few cards from your grip - but you're Anarch, so what's trashing a few cards to get into a server?

Since Faust is a very hungry breaker, constant card draw with Wyldside and Adjusted Chronotype is very important. Not only do they fill up your hand ready to use Faust, but drawing 2 cards for free at the start of your turn really helps you to find the cards you need and get set up quickly. Origami also works wonders in this deck. It super charges Faust, and gives you a 14 card hand size. This provides you with so many more options for your turn, and also helps to protect you from a lot of the damage the Corp can throw at you.

Origami also combos well with Ekomind - especially as you need to use 3 MU just for Origami! With a lot of programs in the deck, all pressuring different areas, and the 2 MU that Morning Star requires, having up to 14 MU to play around with means that once you install a program it can stay on the table for the entire game and continue to be a threat to the Corp. It also means that when you want to drop the surprise Sneakdoor Beta or Nerve Agent you won't have to trash anything to do so.

While Faust is great, it's even better when paired with D4v1d - between them you can get past pretty much anything. Making them even stronger is Quetzal's ID ability to get past barriers, e3 Feedback Implants to reduce the number of cards you need to trash with Faust and to savour the D4v1d counters, and Net-Ready Eyes to increase Faust to 3 strength, which will save you from trashing an extra card when faced with ice that has odd-numbered strength. Also, to support Faust and help keep runs inexpensive in the late game, there's 1 copy of each of the Anarch fixed breakers in the deck.

Another great thing about Faust is that you can trash cards during your turn. So, you might draw into a Morning Star, make a run trashing it with Faust, and then Retrieval Run archives to install it saving 5 credits. No more discarding expensive programs and hoping the Corp doesn't start defending archives before you can make the run next turn!

2 notable omissions from this deck (or from any Anarch deck) are Datasucker and Parasite. Parasite was in the deck originally, but I found that I was never installing it (or even using Clone Chip to bring it back into play). Since most low strength ice is cheap and easy to break with Faust, or the fixed breakers, it meant that the Corp either had to spend more money installing ice in front of it, or just trashed the low strength ice themselves in hope that the new ice would do a better job of securing their server. As for Datasucker, I think it would work well in the deck and definitely support Faust and the fixed strength breakers, although Net-Ready Eyes works just as well (even if it can only boost 1 breaker by 1 strength per run).

This is a really fun deck and it really puts a lot of pressure on the Corp. Between Quetzal, Faust and D4v1d there is very little the Corp can do to keep you out - and all it will cost you is a few cards from your grip.

Let me know if you have any thoughts and feedback, and check out episode 13 of Nerdrunners for more on this deck.