Endless EULA joins the short but valuable list of NBN 0-strength ICE with either soft or hard ETRs (Wraparound, Resistor, and Pop-up Window). It’s a “turbo-charged” Pop-up Window but not quite a gearcheck ICE like Wraparound, as a rig-less runner can spend 6 to get through it. It also has an atrocious rez/strength ratio compared to the traditional taxing ICE. So then, what does that make it? Anything you want it to be! (Results may vary.)

Building a taxing remote to drag the runner through multiple times? Slap an Endless EULA on the end of it.

Don’t want your opponent racking up Datasucker counters on your central server? Slap an Endless EULA on the end of it.

Pre-rotation, many would scoff at this card for being Parasite target #1 but with the virus gone, Endless EULA now becomes a sure-fire tax of 6 for any runner looking to get through it, with or without fracter. Watch out though for any data breaches, cats, dogs, or nails. Excluding Parasite, this card might still end up as a major trashing target due to it being a major headache for almost all runners these days but do note that Knifed won't work if you pay 6 through the subs - you'll need to actually break the subs with your fracter. Overall, an excellent addition for Corps that can afford the 6 rez cost with ease and for you jank fanatics, go crazy with your Chief Slee theorycrafting.

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…Huh, what’s that? GS Sherman M3 breaks this for 2? It’s only 1 for Morning Star? It’s free for Yusuf??? This card sux, 1/10, would skip reading the EULA again.

So far, I’ve been playing this card out of Azmari EdTech: Shaping the Future and it is making me a lot of money. I also see potential synergy with Gagarin Deep Space: Expanding the Horizon using must-trash assets. Here are some popular cards that I love seeing on the Runner side and how much they might make you:

Cards to Profit off of:

Shaper:

• Self-modifying Code / Clone Chip (3)

• Hayley Kaplan: Universal Scholar / Aesop's Pawnshop (many)

Anarch:

• Street Peddler / Imp (3-4)

• Chop Bot 3000 / Scrubber (many)

Criminal:

• Armand "Geist" Walker: Tech Lord / Spy Camera (many)

Common Self-Trashing Resources:

• Bank Job/Liberated Account/Daily Casts/Earthrise Hotel/Armitage Codebusting (2)

Mini-factions:

• Apocalypse/Prey/Heartbeat/Endless Hunger/Harbinger (Apex-many)

• Independent Thinking/Neutralize All Threats (Adam-many)

Even popular corp cards like MCA Informant, the Fairchild suite, and Bulwark, which make the runner trash their own stuff, will help trigger Death and Taxes.

Weaknesses:

• The runner can immediately play a current from hand or go on a deep dig for an agenda, leaving you with a 2 loss

• The card ironically doesn’t tax the runner like Scarcity does so a runner in a losing position won’t be affected

• Conversely, a corp in a losing position can’t use this card to recover and would much rather prefer a traditional burst econ card

• Border-line dead draw if found in the late game after the runner is fully set up

I won’t argue that Death and Taxes is as universally good as Paywall Implementation – profiting off of the runner’s most fundamental win condition (successful runs) will always be a strong ability. However, Death and Taxes can be good given the right build. Using Jua, Threat Assessment, and Degree Mill to force the runner to re-install their cards and then profiting from the recycling using TechnoCo and Death and Taxes feels deliciously evil and I implore you to try it out yourself.

If the sub fires, you're going to get a pretty strong effect - Flare is one of only 2 pieces of ICE that deals meat damage and Flare's meat damage is unpreventable (+ it ETRs). However, that's a big If and without an on-encounter effect like other high-rez NBN ICE Data Raven, Tollbooth, Data Loop, Data Ward, Thoth, IP Block, the 9 investment just isn't worth it, especially if it's only going to get broken for 1 by Mimic and 3 Datasucker tokens.

Can't help but feel like Degree Mill's defensive protection isn't as strong as it seems. The main problem is that the Runner gets to decide which cards to shuffle back. Best-case scenario, you force the runner into shuffling back the first few things they installed (a console or Mopus perhaps) to prevent you from being at game-point. But the expected case will often be runners sending back SacCons, extra Rabbit Holes, even Tapwrm. And it can get even worse when a runner shuffles back a depleted Armitage, Liberated, D4v1d, etc. to be installed and re-used again.

I agree that this 5/3 is excellent when scored in the early game but it definitely weakens as the game goes on. Yes, it's nigh unstealable turn 1 but are you really going to IAA it and leave your centrals open? This has a place, for sure, in NBN rush decks like what we can expect from the new Azmari EdTech. Overall though, I think Global Food Initiative reigns supreme as the better defensive option and SSL Endorsement for a more consistent tempo swing.

Pros

Do you hate turtles? Are you scared of new cryptocurrency traders spreading viruses? Do you hate coagulated liquid? Then, this is the card for you. Purge the runner’s virus counters and remind them that they aren’t the only one that can trash cards.

2 savings to purge virus counters.

Never a dead draw, as the card provides a “Gain 2-credit” option to use in matchups where you expect no or few viruses. Very reminiscent of what we see from Infiltration, which ironically was used most against Jinteki back in the Core Set days.

A single dot of influence will help other corps splash this with great ease and the 0-credit play cost means the card can be played even after your funds have been diverted.

Cons

Definitely a meta call. Deck slots are and always will be tight. Slotting in a x1 means you want to use it for maximum value but how long will and can you wait before the runner’s viruses make you really hurt?

Summary

Many will notice that this card is a juiced-up, re-printed Cyberdex Trial with an additional dot of influence. Reverse Infection was likely printed in case the upcoming Freedom virus decks do in fact get out of hand. Personally, I’ve already faced a Darwin-Datasucker-Yusuf-Acacia-Plague deck and let’s just say there was a point where I purged and the runner collected 30 credits from each of their Acacias. Obviously, this was their best-case scenario but the archetype is scheduled to pick up a lot of new toys in the killer/decoder versions of Yusuf as well as the new Friday Chip. Regardless, this card is solid even as a Clot hate card (if you have the extra to spare) but make sure to give it a thought as to whether you will be getting the maximum value from slotting this.