Ablative is the cat.

Adding a review as there isn't one at the time of writing.

Attini is an important reminder that ICE doesn't necessarily have to be about keeping the runner out (EtR) or about killing the runner (net damage). It's enough just for ICE to tax the runner and, in doing so, squeeze out their options elsewhere.

So, with that in mind, let's jump right in, assuming one has their preferred Decoder at hand, just how good is Atttini at taxing the runner? For the purposes of this initial analysis, we'll ignore the spend 2 credits, the damage, and the Threat effect and treat this as a generic 6 cost, 5 strength, 3 subroutine code gate.

• 3/7 credits for Euler (depending on whether the card has been played this turn) (2 to Install)
• 4 credits for Penrose (requires stealth credits) (2 to install)
• 4/5/7 credits for Unity (depending on the number of installed Icebreakers) (3 to install)
• 6 credits for Gordian Blade (with extra upside against stacked Code Gates) (4 to Install)
• 3 credits for Hyperbaric (if fully pumped) (3 to Install + 8 to pump)
• 5 credits for Lobisomem (net a power token of course) (8 to Install)
• 2 credits for Umbrella (requires an attached Trojan) (3 to Install)

Outside of Shaper, the options are more limited and generally worse:

• 8 credits for Buzzsaw (4 to Install)
• 7 credits for Abaasy (with a minor upside for cycling cards) (2 to Install)
• 7 credits for Abagnale (or trash to bypass once) (4 to Install)
• 7 credits for Cat's Cradle (2 to Install)
• 5/7 credits for Shibboleth (gets worse after Threat 4) (1 to Install)

From what we can see, Attini breaks even against most Decoders after a single run (if you include the Decoder's Install Cost) and it's pure profit from then on for any subsequent runs. Not bad, but not amazing either.

The first and most legitimate criticism of this card is that it is a terrible gear check, as even if the runner has no Decoder installed, they can still break it for 6 credits (or tank the 3 net damage). In fact, if you're using a Decoder from outside of Shaper, chances are 6 credits is actually a discount.

If you're looking for a scary card to face-check, this just isn't it, there are far more terrifying cards in Jinteki, Saisentan being one of the first to come to mind. But, the two aren't really comparable, if you're face-checking Jinteki ICE without an installed Killer then quite frankly you've got much bigger problems than anything Attini can throw at you.

But it would be wrong to dismiss Attini just like that, because Attini isn't trying to be Saisentan, it never claims to be Saisentan, it doesn't want to be Saisentan. You wouldn't dismiss a piece of Bioriod ICE just because the runner can click through its subroutines. Taxing the runner is an end in and of itself and since 1 click is generally accepted to be worth 2 credits, I think the value contrast of Attini to Bioroid ICE is very fair.

Once Threat 3 is reached, not much generally changes, if the runner still lacks a Decoder then Attini functionally becomes a 3 net damage ICE, which is still relatively poor for a 6-cost ICE (once again, contrast Saisentan) and is unlikely to kill on it's own. That being said, most runners still wouldn't want to tank 3 net damage to the face and assuming they have their breaker suit installed, all this means is that the non-shaper cards lose their small discount. One minor thing of note, as mentioned in the above rules clarification is that this effect also stops the runner from spending credits to use interrupt abilities to prevent the damage, (i.e. something like Caldera could not trigger) however as I couldn't find any such cards in the current rotation this does not seem particularly pertinent.

But how does it compare to other similar Code Gates? Well quite frankly, there aren't many. There are no other 6-cost Code Gates in Jinteki and the closest cards are Lotus Field, which has a different cost, different strength, ends the run and has a niche tech against Anarch strength shredding or Vampyronassa which costs more, has less strength and does something remarkably similar with the small upside that if it triggers you also get to draw some cards and gain some credits. Outside of Jinteki the closest comparison is M.I.C. another 6-cost Code Gate that has 3 subroutines but only 4 strength, M.I.C. has the added selling point of ending the run and can be trashed to attempt to end the run in a pinch, but against a runner with a Decoder set up and a click to spare it's ever so slightly worse than Attini. Meanwhile Valentão and Piranhas are off doing something very different with conditional end-the-run effects and bad publicity.

On the whole, this card isn't necessarily bad, but it's not a terrifying game-changer like Anansi or Cloud Eater. This card probably struggles to find a place in butcher-shop archetypes that need more consistent net damage and generally run a pretty lean budget. Similarly, Fast Advance wants cheap gear-check ICE to keep the runner out long enough to score and thus has little use for Attini. For 3 Influence I doubt this gets splashed into any other factions either. It's one home is probably Glacial Jinteki, who is willing to pay the upfront cost to rez and expects to reap the rewards over the course of many expensive runs. It has some nice synergy with Ivik too if you don't want to look out of faction for your Barriers. Glacial A Teia: IP Recovery anyone?

Thematically, Attini refers to a tribe of ants who farm and cultivate fungi, essentially gathering leaves and other organic matter for the fungi to decompose and then feeding on the growing fungi, as the art beautifully represents. Attini can be found throughout the Americas and can form massive hives ranging from a few hundred to a few million individuals and live in huge subterranean nests. Personally, I think it would have been cool if this card leaned more into this theme, perhaps it could've cost a bit more but whenever certain conditions were met (perhaps on encounter, or when an encounter ends, or when a subroutine triggers or is broken for example) the card gains credits on it, which can then be spent to install or rez other pieces of ICE. This way the Attini could be used to collect "organic matter" from the runner to "grow the fungus" which can then be "fed" into other ICE. Just a thought, though obviously not the direction this card took.

TLDR: A pretty decent card all around, it has a cool theme with very fitting art that is quite at home in the cycle in which it was released. It has solid numbers and can work in Glacial Jinteki decks looking to tax the runner such as A Teia: IP Recovery which was also released in the same cycle but I'm not looking to splash this card into every Corp deck I can.

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This is the second best ice that Jinteki got after Tatu-Bola (which give credits and get rids of trojans). The closest comparison for this ice is Bran 1.0. Both have 3 subs, and while Bran 1.0 start at 6. strenght, it can be clicked through, while Boto cannot be clicked but get its strength to 6 at threat 4 (late in the game).

This ice will stop many runs and it taxing to the runner to facecheck, with its initial 2 net damages. And outside of a boosted Cleaver, it will cost 3 credits to break, which is fairly taxing for the runner (just like Bran 1.0).

Now, after all those comparison to Bran 1.0 and considering both are the same price (2 influences and 6 credits), would it be splashed out of faction? If you are HB and want a strong barrier, then you could have Boto on top of Bran 1.0 in your deck (a fairly expensive proposition), but this compete with having Tatu-Bola for the same influence (and probably more benefits). If you are Weyland, you alread have good barrier in faction (Pharos is a good example). What is left is NBN, which have okay barriers but could benefit to have a strong barrier ice. If your NBN deck is all about damage, you would probably be better served with something like Anemone, for the same influence at half the credits price. If your NBN deck is a type of glacier, then Bran 1.0 will get you better results. All this to say that Boto will rarely be used out of faction.

With all that, Boto remain a great ice for Jinteki for most deck that want to stop a run.

The name, art and quote all join together in a coherent narrative, all of which are well done. Good design.