I was a big fan of this card for a long time, but having played it a lot recently I think I have come around to think it is too fair to be good. By this I mean that there are so many conditions attached to it that make it a less-than-effective card. These include:

  • Runner needing to have trashed a card of yours last turn
  • It can only hit non-virtual resources (mostly fine, you want this to hit Hardware)
  • Choice between trashing the card or taking 4 meat
  • It RFGs from the game

Combined, they present a critical mass of things that can go awry. Props to Bridgeman for finding the right meta and decklist to make it shine nonetheless. But I think it is too fair a card to be really strong. Still cool tho. :)

1869

It is a good counter to No Free Lunch, since it act as Best Defense but with the ability to target hardware (which could force a runner to trash a program from lack of MU).

riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. Sir Tristram, violer d’amores, fr’over the short sea, had passen-core rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyer’s rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to Laurens County’s gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick not yet, though venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all’s fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathandjoe. Rot a peck of pa’s malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface. The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthur — nuk!)of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy. The great fall of the offwall entailed at such short notice the pftjschute of Finnegan, erse solid man, that the humptyhillhead of humself prumptly sends an unquiring one well to the west in quest of his tumptytumtoes: and their upturnpikepointandplace is at the knock out in the park where oranges have been laid to rust upon the green since dev-linsfirst loved livvy. Click one is my Hyperdri

1869

I once saw someone running a seven-tier nested daemon tree. Not for any good reason, just to see if he could.

this is my favourite review on the site

Anarch Turning Wheel? Seems like a reasonable replacement with slightly greater deckbuilding constraints, influence limits and higher cost. I expect it in some Hoshiko / companion and Cezve builds.

EDIT: As of early Autumn 2023, this has turned out to be true and valid.

1869

Both Cezve and this card cost 3 inf, and Criminal already have multi-access tools, so this cards is unlikely to be added in Cezve builds.

I feel vindicated, watching a former World Champ do exaclty that. Still, it's hard to tell when a card is first released how strong it will turn out to be.

Mushin no Shin is my favourite card.

This card essentially allows you to play a Mushin no Shin every turn.

I am in love.


Realistically, this is an agenda that is better the earlier you score it. The question becomes, how do you enable an early score?

Two cool tricks I've found are:

  • IAA, then Seamless Launch next turn.

  • Use Lady Liberty with a 2nd counter.

Neither strategy is perfect, but together the score becomes somewhat realistic. The value this agenda gives once scored may make it worth it.


EDIT:

And, the most likely intention, IAAA'ing it with Saraswati Mnemonics. That works too.

1869

Good regenesis target!

This card requires a re-evaluation now that [[Cyberdex Sandbox]] is a thing. Before, it was a hate-card first and foremost. Now, it is a powerful economic tool that is arguably the most extreme example of Code Gates Rez-to-Break ratios. Macrophage is positional, Macrophage is phenomenal.

Assume you play glacier, and the runner has spent 8-ish credits breaking two pieces of ice in front of it, they now sit opposite of an ice that costs either 5+ credits to break with a powerful breaker like Engolo, or will encounter two pivotal traces - Trace 4, or the corp gains 0-12 credits, and Trace 1, or the Corp ends the run. Sine the first sub will often feed into the 2nd, runners can't expect to be able to get away with paying low sums.

[[Thimblerig]] helps move Macrophage to the innermost position of each server, and that's where it should be - after all, the subs are most punishing post breakage of other subs. One way to counter this power a little bit is to understand that [[Cyberdex Sandbox]] only gives money the first time the corp purges viruses. This means that repeat fires of the first sub don't do much beyond removing virus counters.

There's also the problem of the Sandbox score being a requirement to turn Macrophage "on". This means that the ice is particularly suited to AGinfusion builds, that have a relative ice flexbility meaning that if not yet active, Macrophage can be used as a boop too.

Given the relatively prevalence of the NWE's new Maxx build, Macropage stock can be expected to rise up and up.

1869

Good review. With the inclusion of more no-link runners and the virus deck being mostly prevalent in Maxx, the traces are also very relevant.