Out of all the amazing cards in Reign and Reverie, this is the card that got people most excited. And I am not gonna lie, I am right up there with them. DJ Fenris is probably not the most powerful card in the set, but it is the most interesting one we have gotten in a long time. And it again makes me sad that the game is ending, so that we will never get new identities to explore his mechanic with.

For the cost of three credits, you get to import the ability of a g-mod ID that does not match your faction. This is somewhat similar to yet very different from Rebirth, which lets you go into a different ID from the same faction, as you forego your original ability. The g-mod restriction limits the number of ID's by quite a bit and that last part is important, as it takes away some of the obvious combos that exist within the same faction. Still, what makes this card so exciting is the huge amount of possibilities that still remain, and how it is incredibly fun to basically play with a duo of runners instead of just an einzelganger.

First off, let's look at all the possible ID choices you have and try to rank them based on their potential. Do keep in mind that how good an ability is, is very dependent on how you build your deck. Also keep in mind that Fenris is limited to 1 copy, which means it could be a while till you draw him. And which ID you go into is largely dictated by which phase of the game you are in. Having said that, some thoughts:

Bad

Noise: included because he is technically an option in casual play, but he is not legal anymore. Even if he were, only anarchs install a ton of viruses. While not possible, just thinking about him with Freedom Khumalo is giving me nightmares.

Chaos Theory: there are plenty of cards that give you 1 MU and then some for 3 credits.

Smoke: same as CT, you can get what you want out of her ID cheaper in a different card. The value in CT and Smoke as ID's is in their low deck size and their synergy with shaper cards, things you won't have as a criminal or anarch playing DJ Fenris.

MaxX: your deck needs to be build around her mill mechanic to profit, and I don't think any non-anarch ID wants to trash their deck for 1 free card per turn.

Kabonesa Wu: as with Maxx, your deck needs to be build around her ability to make this any good. She'd be solid in shaper, but alas.

Geist: bad to mediocre in most decks, fantastic in (pirate) Hayley. More on that later.

Pretty good

Reina Roja: good in the early and mid game to tax the corp. Bad late game.

Los: again, good in the early and mid game as you get free money. Bad late game as the corp will have most their ice rezzed. If you are anarch/shaper you likely also don't have many cards to derez ice, so you won't get the full value out of this ability.

Quetzal: usually meh, but potentially gaming-winning against Skorpios.

Liza: situational, but the nuts in decks that can reliably get rid of tags through Citadel Sanctuary or runners who want to go tag-me.

Amazing

Steve: clickless recursion of power cards benefits pretty much every runner. Also gives you some inherent damage protection. Arguably the best choice for non-criminals.

Hayley: saving clicks is always amazing. Good in most decks, but bonkers in Geist and any other deck that installs a ton of stuff.

Two synergies warrant special mention. First off, the obvious one between Geist and Hayley. Pirate Hayley builds, with cards like Grappling Hook, Kongamato and Gbahali, receive a ton of tempo through Geist's ability, getting you free cards every time you use a trash ability. And he in turn goes into overdrive due to Hayley's ability to install two cards for the price of one, especially since he runs tons of cheap resources and breakers. Expect to see DJ Fenris as a staple in these decks.

The other one is the mini faction runners, who can go into g-mods of any of the three main factions, giving them a ton of possibilites. Unfortunately Apex can't install non-virtual resources, so it is out. I can't say how good DJ is in Adam, as I am not that familiar with his play style. Sunny however, loves this card. Early game you can save a ton of tempo with Hayley, her link and need for draw makes Liza a prime target backed up with Citadel Sanctuary, and late game she can recur her power cards with Steve. Mommy's got a new friend!

So yeah, if you couldn't tell already, I am in love with this card and want to put it into everything. And as it only takes up one deck slot and influence, I probably will. Just another great note for a bittersweet ending.

This makes runner IDs less distinctive and cool. This is not the way. Let Steve be Steve.

Secondarily, this card lacks a variety of viable options. I think I've seen it draw Quetzal once and Steve Cambridge every other time. (The other legal targets are currently Loup, Smoke, Kabonesa Wu, Los, Maxx, and Reina Roja). There are not many cards in Netrunner which interact with only one other card. :-/

If you're looking at Standard, here are your options:

netrunnerdb.com

Query: s:g-mod z:standard

And if you're looking at just ANY G-Mod (maybe you're an Eternal player who's.... new to the game?? (do those exist?)) then here is your search:

netrunnerdb.com

Query:s:g-mod

But really if you're wondering how you're going to use this card here are your more fun options:

• Kabonesa Wu: Netspace Thrillseeker: If you're looking to ADD this power to your current deck, then I'm interested in finding out how much value you're going to get out of waiting this long to be able to weirdly tutor temporary programs.

• Ele "Smoke" Scovak: Cynosure of the Net: What if Cloak was more convoluted to install?

• Nyusha "Sable" Sintashta: Symphonic Prodigy: Not a bad choice. Not the best choice but getting a click back for hitting centrals isn't the worst way to spend your time. It is, however, not a great reason to slot in the DJ. There are other ways of doing this if you are planning some extra click shenanigans.

• Liza Talking Thunder: Prominent Legislator: This is a very correct decision. This is also, now (and probably for a very long time), a very banned-in-Standard decision.

• Los: Data Hijacker: Costing the corp 2 extra to rez is nice but by the time the DJ comes down they've probably already rezzed something. Your deck probably isn't built for constantly de-rezzing if this is your DJ choice, and you'd have to get them to rez 2 pieces of ice before this card wasn't a negative on the money pool.

• René "Loup" Arcemont: Party Animal: Honestly not bad! An all-around power that will help in a lot of areas of the game. If they're asset heavy on the Corp side, maybe consider it?

• Quetzal: Free Spirit: One day I'm just going to slap this down instead of fetching my fracter. This will not be a good plan but this will be a funny plan, to me.

• Reina Roja: Freedom Fighter: Same problem as Los above, this is only going to start paying back once the Corp has now rezzed 3 piece of ICE. The extra pressure could be nice but this is one of the weaker ID powers as a whole, not worth importing.

• Steve Cambridge: Master Grifter: Well thanks for reading this entire review! Obviously this is why you're playing DJ Fenris (right now in 2022). Please like and subscribe! But in all honesty, Steve's ability will only get more options the later in the game it gets, and installing it late means you can fake the Corp out by going elsewhere and hoping they only lightly ice HQ.