Race ya! (Just for fun)

I've cobbled this deck together as an attempt to test a hypothesis. It's a less conservative version of a deck I ran before, and is not intended to be particularly competetive, although I have a sneaking suspicion that it isn't too far off the pace. It repeatedly does surprisingly well, but I am conscious that it can be incredibly... binary, I guess? After 6 turns you'll have pretty much won or lost.

Still, it is a lot of fun!

The Plan

The big advantage of NEXT Design is the speed of the start. If you have 3 ICE in hand, you technically get 6 worth of efficiency before you even take your first turn. Of course, that's in an ideal world, but even installing 2 ICE and drawing 2 cards is a significant advantage.

From there on out, the idea is to race. How quickly can the runner get their breakers together? There's a fair chance that you can outrun them. A previous version of this holds my record for quickest win from agenda points at 5 turns. Admittedly, I was insanely lucky with Architect and Accelerated Beta Test, and my opponent couldn't get through Chimera until a combination of Biotic Labor, SanSan City Grid and Profiteering won me the game.

But flukes like that aside, this deck still has the capability to be insanely fast. The plan is that you race the runner and pray that they can't get their economy and breakers up as quickly as you can score.

The Agendas

6 of the 3/2 agendas, obviously. If you have a Jackson in play, trigger ABT. If not, you probably shouldn't unless you're already in a dominant position.

Efficiency Committee and Profiteering are the combo I'm trying here. Another option is to use EC and NAPD in some combination. I've gone for the former because of the silly amounts of money it can generate. Profiteering can give you enough to see out the game, and Efficiency Committee synergises well with Jackson when you need to dig, and Melange Mining Corp. when you need money. Using all the counters for a 14 turn is beautiful.

The ICE

Because of the need for speed, I was generally after early game ICE with a cost of <5, but you also want a certain amount of solidity, particularly as the game goes on. The NEXT ICE fits this nicely, even though the NEXT Gold is a little expensive for my criteria, it is incredibly powerful. Mother Goddess is there as an additional NEXT.

Chimera is the last word in equipment checks, although the repeating cost is a little brutal. Eli 1.0 is solid for the cost, and is still an effort for them to click through. I'm testing triple Architect; it's not an absolute 'fetch your sentry breaker' situation, but things will go badly for them if they don't!

IQ is on probation. I often rez it for 1-3 in the early turns, and it is usuallt STR 5 in the later turns when I dig with Jackson Howard. Sometimes it doesn't play out like that, though. I suspect I'll replace it with Turing once Breaker Bay is released.

Overall, 20 ICE is perhaps a little low, as you've only got a 32% chance of getting the great 3-ICE start, and triggering Accelerated Beta Test can be risky, but I feel you win or lose more from your support than your ICE in this deck. I've tried to keep all the different types equal to maximise the chances of being able to put down a 3-type remote.

Other stuff

Most things are either money or speed. Ash 2X3ZB9CY is a token effort at protection. Director Haas is a risky choice, but this is a risky deck! I picked her over Biotic Labor because of the potential for multiple uses. Each turn you have her in play (save the turn you install her) you can score an agenda from hand. You can install and trigger a Melange Mining Corp.. She's an excellent early play behind a Chimera, and isn't even especially cheap to trash when you get through to her. I generally leave her as long as I can, and sometimes I'll even use the precious Ash 2X3ZB9CY to protect her.

The other odd choice is Medical Research Fundraiser. These were Beanstalk Royalties, which give a risk- free +3, but the +5 of the fundraiser is something I'm testing. My logic is that it doesn't really matter if they have the credits if they can't break the ICE, but I am keenly aware that they can use those credits to trash Director Haas or SanSan City Grid more easily, which is something I would like to avoid. I'm expecting to need to try a few things here.

So there you have it! A crazy deck designed to win before the runner has their shoes on. You will either win gloriously or lose horribly, but with any luck you'll have a good time doing it. Watch out for Overmind, Kit, and to a lesser extent Quetzal...