Thematically, this is THE quintessential Weyland card. Once you've pissed off the most powerful corporation on the planet, it's only a matter of minutes before they'll have a black ops team scaling the side of your high-rise to murder you.
Is it playable? Certainly, but it is a combo card that does nothing by itself - this murder squad needs a support team of tech nerds to tag their targets for them (much like Private Security Force). Its ability will not work if it's not rezzed, so once the runner is tagged and DRT is faceup, you can be sure at least one of those things is going to be addressed immediately. With the exception of a literal tag storm, you can't stop the runner from clearing their tags before they run.
The best way to get DRT to actually fire successfully is to tag the runner mid-run, when they can't untag themselves. Enter Step 4.3 of the run, your new best friend. A prompt that is often tacitly ignored, step 4.3 is a rez/paid ability window that occurs after the runner has decided to access the server itself (after any/all ICE), but before the run is considered "successful". If you rez a card in this window, the runner cannot jack out in response to it. Also remember that DRT's effect happens AFTER THE RUN IS OVER, so any tag they take during the access WILL activate DRT. Here are some suggestions:
- Snare! is by far the best combo card with DRT. If they hit it with DRT rezzed, they're immediately taking 3 net damage, 2 meat damage, and a tag. If this doesn't straight up flatline them, it will set them back tremendously (and probably make them run much more slowly and cautiously in future turns).
- Unfortunately, you cannot rez DRT in response to them accessing the Snare - you have to do it in step 4.3 (or earlier). This is fine if you have Snare installed in a remote, but if it's in a central server (as it usually is), then rezzing DRT in preparation is kind of a crap shoot. Large multi-access cards may increase its viability here, especially Legwork and the infamous Gang Sign/HQ Interface combo.
- TGTBT gives a tag on access, so like Snare, if you know they're going to be hitting it, rez the DRT before access. Unlike Snare, TGTBT's tag will fire in archives, giving you a surprisingly rare non-Jinteki archives trap (and with a Jackson Howard down as well, you have a lot of flexibility with when to fire it).
- Data Raven is guaranteed to place a tag on the runner if they ever want to complete a run on the server it's protecting, making it an extremely reliable way to get mid-run tags off.
Plenty of other ICE have trace--->tag subroutines, but because there are so many ways around them, your mileage may vary. Some other notes:
- When including it in your deck, the main considerations are probably:
- Geeze that's a lot of influence. Can I fit it in anything other than Weyland IDs and Near-Earth Hub?
- How effectively/consistently can I tag the runner (especially in the middle of a run)?
- Can I actually protect it once it's installed? This could mean ICE, increased costs and penalties, or just making asset trashing unattractive/unsustainable for some other reason.
- Argus Security: Protection Guaranteed's ability (if the runner chooses "tag") will trigger DRT, since the tag is taken when the agenda is stolen (which is before the run technically ends). Runners commonly opt for the tag instead of the meat damage, and just pay it off on their next . Now their choice is "Take 2 meat damage" or "Take 2 meat damage. And a tag." Yeah, Argus is fun.
- Dedicated Response Team stacks. That means you can potentially "surprise" the runner with 6 meat damage (the 3 installed DRTs may not be a surprise, but the mid-run tag could be!)
- If the runner is tagged and runs on DRT to trash it, the ability does not fire (because it gets trashed before the run is fully ended). The two other ones you have rezzed will work just fine, though.
- Femme Fatale and Inside Job can bypass Data Raven without taking a tag. Fortunately for you, they cannot bypass two Data Ravens.
- Pajama Lady, Photoshop, Porn Computer, and Motorcycle can all frustrate your mid-run tagging strategy.