News Hound FA with backup Caprice

AIMS

1. Score agendas.

2. Create a scoring remote in case FA is not an option or Clot happens

THE REASONING

After the latest MWL tournament rules NBN has the best ICE in the game, period. Before that it was quite the opposite, most of the cool toys were imported from the other factions in every NBN deck. But now, in the brave new world of sparse influence it seems that the yellow team has almost everything it needs in-faction.

Eli 1.0 no longer can be included in all the decks for measly 1 influence dot, Architect also got very expensive. This basically cuts this ICE from non-HB decks.

Good for NBN, the recent addition of Archangel filled a gaping hole between Pop-up Window and Tollbooth. These three cards are one the best code gates one can possibly include in any deck. Free of charge for the yellow.

Barriers - yeah, there are some, most of them crappy, but NBN actually needs only 3 or four. And it has Wraparound, which is a hard counter to all decks without Corroder.

Actually, it is sentries that have always been the biggest problem. True enough, there are plenty of choices for tagging, but that's about it. I am a big fan of Troll, which would be an awesome card, were it not for the fact that Pop-up Window exists. Then, there is Flare, about which we can all agree is not a good card.

Thus, NBN has always imported most of its sentries and since the Architect the choice has been obvious. It is a perfect card for NEH. In tandem with Eli they were the best possible investment for any yellow Corp player.

Well, Data & Destiny gave the yellow some new tools, but they were not viable due to the sheer power of the HB ICE that could have been easily borrowed. D&D brought News Hound. Boy, is it a mediocre card without a current on the table. Rez 2, str 4, 1 sub - gives a tag if the corp looses trace3. Meh. But if a current is in play, an End the run subroutine is added at the end. This suddenly makes News Hound the most cost efficient piece of ICE in the game. Well, now NBN has a sentry we can work with!

The only problem is with that condition, which is surprisingly difficult to meet. A current in play means that in order for that sentry to be effective NBN actually needs playable currents, best if they have cost of 0. Targeted Marketing is the in-faction answer.

OK, now that NBN actually has great ICE of all the subtypes, what can we do with it?

A glacier, of course! The main problem here is that NBN has no playable glacier tools. A good thing, though, that we can import some from Jinteki or HB because no influence needs to be spent on ICE. Of course, no one with a right mind would decide to drop 3xAstroscript and 2-3xSanSan City Grid from any NBN deck. This leaves us with only about 9-11 influence to bargain with. Such amount guarantees 2xCaprice Nisei and that's about it. On the bright side, this Glacier-lite solution leaves NBN with a pretty strong Fast Advance win condition.

CARD CHOICES

ID: New Angeles Sol: Your News

I chose this ID solely beacause of News Hound. This sentry is just crazy good with a current in play. Of course, always having a current in play is quite decent too.

AGENDAS (11):

3x AstroScript Pilot Program ☆☆☆ - the best Fast Advance tool ever 1x Breaking News - we don't really tag people, but this is an awesome 2/1 agenda that comes in really handy in some situations. 3x Explode-a-palooza - part of the economy of the deck; actually better than NAPD in most situations. 3x Project Beale - 3/2 and 5/3 when you want it to be one! 1x 15 Minutes - the second 2/1 that defends itself. Quite cool

ASSET (3)

3x Jackson Howard - duh.

UPGRADE (5)

2x Caprice Nisei ••••• ••• - the alternative win condition; allows for glacier playstyle and gives a way to play around Clot. 3x SanSan City Grid ☆☆☆ - another Fast Advance tool.

OPERATION (14)

1x Anonymous Tip - without NEH's power NBN actually needs to draw cards.

1x Fast Track - great for closing out a game.

3x Hedge Fund - basic Operation economy.

1x Lag Time - great for endgame Current switch, increases the probability of a current in the opening hand.

2x Restructure - basic Operation economy.

3x Sweeps Week - basic Operation economy.

3x Targeted Marketing - the basic current of the deck, costs 0 and usually has quite an impact on opponent's playstyle. Hard counter against Account Siphon spam and DLR decks.

BARRIER (4)

1x Wall of Static - I just needed a fourth barrier. Becomes pretty cool with Lag Time in play.

3x Wraparound - bread and butter of NBN's defense for a while now, wrecks AI ICE breakers.

CODE GATE (8)

3x Archangel - this one is absolutely awesome. Fires from R&D, is a bitch to break and costs only 4, which is a steal.

3x Pop-up Window - the best economy piece of ICE in the game.

2x Tollbooth - the most taxing ICE in the game.

SENTRY (4)

3x News Hound - MVP with a current in play.

1x Rototurret • - a nasty surprise, 1 influence point well spent.

KNOWN PROBLEMS

1. Clot is a bane of this deck, completely shuts down the FA avenue. On the other hand, it won't get played so much with MWL - Noise has influence only for one Clone Chip, other identities probably will not play it at all.

2. D4vid wrecks Archangel.

3. In general, Noise is not a good match-up. Targeted Marketings should be well timed - the first one should aim for combo pieces, the second or third one for breakers.