Humanoid Resources (🐙🐙🐙) is Haas-Bioroid’s “strict Rashida”.

Notes

That is:

• If you can protect HR for a turn, then you likewise get a burst of three credits plus three cards next turn (your three clicks funding its three installs/plays, one-to-one).
• However, Install 2 cards. Play 1 operation. is less flexible than Gain [click][click][click].. (Even though installation is itself a very broad action, you can't advance, triple-install, double-operation, IA/IAA an agenda, and so on.)

In particular:

• You can't YDL for +$8. (Installing two cards shrink HQ by 2, and must come first.)
• You can't score out agendas with Nanomanagement, or Seamless Launch. (Unless one of the installs placed an advancement or gained a click, which few can.)
• While bouncing back from an small/empty HQ (or credit pool), if you've missed drawing into any operations (or can't afford a Hedge Fund), then you've lost a whole click.

[EDIT] TIL an RLC can “fast-advance” this out (by choosing the install-and-click modes). IE.: you spend two credits, two cards, and a click (5 “units”); you gain four credits, three cards, two installs, and maybe an operation (9–10 “units”). CF. Ultraviolet Clearance? You could even do this T1 while still icing both centrals, and earning enough to rez that ice ASAP. (IDK if this is worth it, but it is very fast tempo.)

And like Anthill Excavation Contract, Humanoid Resources is its faction’s “Neo-Rashida. Both:

• can draw (≥2) cards and earn (≥3[$]) credits, in a ‘burst’.
• are cheap-to-trash (-1[$]).

Development

See Humanoid Resources: A Tale from Elevation Development (jan tuno) .

Humanoid Resources came from two earlier designs, “Human” Resources:

====
HB Asset
----
Cost: 2, Trash: 4, Influence: 2
----
When you rez this asset, load 3 power counters onto it. When it is empty, trash it.

{click}, hosted power counter: Gain 2{credit} and draw 1 card. You may install a card from HQ.

and Bullet Point Time:

====
HB Asset
----
Cost: 6, Trash: 5, Influence: 3
----
When your turn begins, lose {click}, then resolve any number of the following:

– Gain 1{c}.
– Draw 1 card.
– Install 1 card from HQ.
– Place 1 advancement counter on an installed card you can advance.

See Humanoid Resources: A Tale from Elevation Development (jan tuno) :

We knew that we wanted this [a triple-click ability] to be it: it’s elegantly written, it’s fun to resolve, it rewards deckbuilding acumen, it’s powerful but doesn’t go in every deck, it’s interesting in and out of faction.

(We experimented a little bit with the trash cost and influence, but the card was clearly there. Every Dev member and playtester who interacted with it reacted strongly.)

"This [Humanoid Resources] is like playing RoboRally for one turn"

"This is a cool design, and I don’t think it’s too good in terms of power level. It requires operations (not even any operations) and cannot chain into immediate scoring. I actually have reasons to run Anthill over Humanoid."

"Being able to get Rashida-level of resources and immediately spending them both feels cathartic and is actually impactful. But the installs and operation-plays feel like Kakurenbo – doing the same thing (IAA) but with specific restrictions. Definitely requires more deckbuilding thoughts and decision making than simply jamming Rashida."

"You just have to plan for it and keep the Operation in hand, e.g. not play Hedge Fund too early, which is nice for skill ceilings."

"Locking you into a specific turn sequence is cool. It’s also one of the enablers for Asa-style gameplay."

Another click compression tools, with economy on top of it. You need just a little deck building around it to make it work like a charm.

Ideally, when you trigger Humanoid Resources, assuming you get either Hedge Fund or Petty Cash in hand, you would use your whole turn to :

• Gain 3 (economic gain)
• Draw 3 cards (equivalent to have played Predictive Planogram or drawing 3 times (3 worth).
• Install 2 cards (any cards, even agendas, worth 2).
• Play an operation, here it would be Hedge Fund, worth 1 and gaining 4.

Even if you count the draw as worth 1, this is worth 4 minimally (possibly 6) and drawing enough cards to replace everything that was played with Humanoid Resources, on top of the 3 to 7 gain.

Although quite specific in what it provides, this is a very compression of clicks, by providing all the cards that are played by the asset.

Even when you do not get a valid operation in hand, then it means you got one extra draw, which is still worth 1. Getting 3, installing 2 cards and finish the turn with two extra cards in hand (one from mandatory and one from Humanoid Resources) is a very good value. It set you up for the next turn.

Contrary to Anthill Excavation Contract, you just need to safeguard this asset for a turn, just like it was for Rashida Jaheem. Much easier to play.

But it gets better. Humanoid Resources triggers Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel.. Allowing you to get all the benefits listed above and fetching a 0 cost asset (like Spin Doctor). Furthermore, since it cost 1, you can fetch it with Cybersand Harvester or Regolith Mining License. This is pure gas for Ob.

Out of faction, at 2 influences, this asset can be used by a variety of archetypes and identities. Glacier are kinda privileged but asset spam will like this also.

In faction, the player has to ask themselves why they would NOT use this, because it is that good.

The art reminds us of Star Wars Clone Wars, with B1 battle droid getting offloaded on Nabu. I wonder where the idea of making android in the form of octopus came from? How is that a "humanoid ressource". While I like the art, it clearly does not go well with the name. It does, however, go well with the effect and the quote. Maybe I am missing some information, regarding the art. Currently, I think some explanation is needed to make it come together as it should.