Bling

♦ Bling 2[credit]

Hardware: Console

Influence: 3

+1[memory unit]

Whenever you install a card without spending credits, you may host the top card of your stack faceup on this hardware. (It is not installed.)

You can play or install hosted cards as if they were in your grip.

When your discard phase ends, trash all hosted cards.

Limit 1 console per player.

Illustrated by Martin de Diego Sádaba
Decklists with this card

Elevation (elev)

#6 • English
Startup Card Pool
Eternal Card Pool
Printings
Rulings
  • Updated 2025-06-30

    If the Runner installs a card using only credits from Open Market, does Bling meet its trigger condition?

    No. Credits spent from cards are still spent as part of installing.

  • Updated 2025-06-30

    If the Runner installs a card without spending credits during the Corp’s turn and hosts a card from their stack on Bling, is the hosted card trashed during the Corp’s discard phase?

    No, the card will not be trashed until the Runner’s next turn ends.

  • Updated 2025-06-30

    Does Bling's instruction to “trash all hosted cards” apply to cards hosted in other locations?

    No. When an ability refers to “hosted” cards or counters, it specifically means objects hosted on the card that is the source of the ability.

  • Updated 2025-06-30

    If Steelskin Scarring is trashed from Bling, can the Runner draw 2 cards?

    No. Bling's ability only allows the Runner to treat cards as if they were in the grip for purposes of playing or installing. A copy of Steelskin Scarring hosted on Bling is not in the grip or stack, and its ability cannot meet its trigger condition by being trashed.

  • Updated 2025-06-30

    If the Runner pays 1 to use Pauleʼs Café and the install cost of the hosted card they install is reduced to 0, does that meet Bling's trigger condition?

    Yes. The credit was spent to trigger Pauleʼs Café ability, not as part of the installation.

  • Updated 2025-06-30

    If the Runner uses Magdalene Keino-Chemutai to install a card without spending credits during their discard step, and then they host a card from their stack on Bling, when is the hosted card trashed? Does the Runner have any opportunity to play or install the hosted card?

    The hosted card will be trashed at the end of that same discard phase. The Runner will not have any actions available to play or install that card before it is trashed.

Reviews

Bling (💎) “quickdraws” whenever you creditlessly install. For example:

  • Gachapon can double-trigger Bling, by installing a ≤2[$]-drop (and costing 0[$] itself).
  • Topan can trigger Bling each turn, it being their Console.

Design:

  • It has “turn-length momentum”. Thus, its unbounded Whenever you … trigger (vs. a bounded The first time each turn you …) has a safety-valve. Even if you trigger it four times in a turn, you might only get one benefit. CF. a “complementary” effect like Whenever you …, look at the top card of your stack. If it has printed install or play cost 0[$], you may reveal it and add it to your grip..
  • At best, it can draw every installation (including the hosted cards). At worst, it just mills you every installation.
  • as if they were in your grip: The hosted cards can be cheapened by Topan.
  • install a card without spending credits: It doesn't trigger off Paladin Poemu (not reading from your pool), which I like; it (not reading from your grip) does still trigger off heap-installs like The Price or set-aside-installs like Gachapon.

Synergies:

See o:0 t:resource|program|hardware d:r z:standard b:active and x:paying|reduc|lower|ignor x:credit|cost s!console d:r z:standard b:active .


EDIT I mistakenly suggested the following synergy...

  • trash all hosted cards: If you've “quickdrawn” a Steelskin Scarring or Strike Fund, then you can clicklessly “play” them at EoT (which add them to the bottom of your stack wouldn't trigger). In particular, because it tastes Steelskin when your discard phase ends (not action phase), you can pass the turn with a seven-card hand.

...but as @getmemy says in their comment, Bling shouldn’t trigger them:

  • Bling doesn’t say TREAT hosted cards as if they were in your grip.
  • SS/SF don’t say When this event is trashed from ANY LOCATION except the play area, …
(Elevation era)

I'm pretty sure Steelskin and Strike Fund don't get triggered when trashed from Bling, since they both specify they trigger when "trashed from your grip or stack" and cards on Bling aren't actually in your grip, you can just play them as if they were.

I think getmemy is onto something here ... But that's just a very unintuitive non-interaction in-faction! Kinda a slip in the design :(

@getmemy Good catch! Edited the review.

Don't forget Simulchip! It can: -Install from heap <=3cr cards, triggering this. -Bring online cards trashed by this and/or [Topan: Ormas Leader](/en/card/3500

Don't forget Simulchip! It can: -Install from heap <=3cr cards for free, triggering this. -Bring online cards trashed by this and/or Topan: Ormas Leader. -Excellent combo with Botulus (which is also 2cr so perfect fit for Topan)!

I find an interesting synergy with Bling is Rejig! And I think you should add |less to the x: search string :)

Bling is the console for Topan: Ormas Leader, obviously.

As usual, read D4v1d-Gr43b3r, it is a great review. I'm not adding to it, but giving a different perspective.

As can be seen, Bling is a kinda draw engine. It draws a card that you must play or lose it. This gives two advantages:

  1. It protect the card from damage for a turn, which might be good (with cards like Finality) or bad (with card like Steelskin Scarring).
  2. You can get the draw out of turn.

And getting that draw out of turn, on top of the normal use of Bling, can let you get a good advantage, doubling the draw power of Bling, with cards like those :

  • Gachapon
  • Pauleʼs Café
  • Simulchip
  • Self-Growth Program

The easiest to use would be Gachapon, followed by Pauleʼs Café.

If you do not try to get out of turn trigger, Bling become a weaker version of Aniccam. All too often, Anarchs can be starved for draw and Bling might bridge the gap, but you have to build the decks around Bling.

This is why this console is fairly good, getting extra draw for a console that cost only 2, yes please.

But is the same influence as Aniccam, and Aniccam is easier to build a deck around if you are a criminal. Shaper do not need extra draw power, but it could be a funny card to play in shapers.

The art is nice, it does look the part for the name. And the art goes well with the effect, in an oblique way. Would love to have a quote here, but it is impossible with the wall of text. A good design.

(Elevation era)
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