Human Trafficking

Let's face it: college is expensive these days. So Hayley has a plan. First, she's going to open up her apartment to all kinds of strange people. Then a friendly local pawnshop owner will come by and pay her money and then the people won't be there anymore, and ...uh oh.

Are we the bad guys here?

Card selections

Calling in Favors: This used to be a second Stimhack, but the upside of Calling in Favors, aside from reducing the risk that you'll inadvertently lose all your HARTs, is it has a different name so you can get both this and Stimhack back with HART for bursts of cash to maintain remote pressure (a very typical first HART is 2nd HART/Calling in Favors/Stimhack/Sure Gamble/Daily Casts). Don't feel obliged to keep connections around just so you can eke a little more money out of this - even just a Calling for 5 is better than a Sure Gamble.

Harmony AR Therapy: With the above-mentioned core 4 economy cards, a single HART easily can make 22-30 credits profit, especially if you make money off the fifth card as well. Since this deck drills through itself so efficiently, HART's inconsistency is diluted. Plus, I've used it on several occasions to retrieve a lost Guru.

Aeneas Informant: Newer players may not remember a time this card was a huge pain in the ass, because two of them in conjunction is an effective Magnum Opus (RIP) against asset decks, and all three is bonkers. They play especially nice with R&D locks, where they can trigger off the assets you access and finance your digs the same way as Psych Mike. And as with all the 0-cost connections in this deck, remember: if you put it on the Apartment and then sell it, that's a net 3 credits and a card, i.e. a single full Crowdfunding, for either 1 or 1/2 of a click.

Corporate Defector: Unfortunately, there aren't that many really solid 0-cost connections left past Aeneas Informant. Dadiana Chacon is a huge liability when you’re into drugs, and Akshara Sareen is too high a price. Corporate Defector makes tracking your R&D locks easier and occasionally hands over useful strategic information on his way to the grave.

Drug Dealer: The rest of the gas in your tank. Drug Dealer is a supreme test of your ability to order triggers and determine when and how to sacrifice in the short term for the long term or vice-versa. Remember that you can "lose" a credit when you're bankrupt, then sell things to Aesop, and you can sell a Drug Dealer before you lose the credit to save that credit. Much like the 0-cost assets, Drug Dealer's floor is to install it on the Apartment and then promptly sell it - which here nets 2 credits and 2 cards. But often you'll want 1-2 Drug Dealers churning you through the rest of your deck before you sell them off. Also don’t forget Drug Dealer cards artificially pad your maximum hand size, to circumvent nasty things like Punitive Counterstrike or even BOOM!

Guru Davinder: This deck has a dynamite matchup against PE if you play carefully. Remember that Guru prevents you from stealing Obokata Protocol, meaning if you want to take it you'll need to deliberately lose your Guru first (another advantage of HART). If you're expecting a lot of PE in your matchups, trim Hernando Cortez for a single Whistleblower.

Hernando Cortez: As ice blends adjust to deal with Boomerang, there are a lot of high-subroutine ice going around which 'nando punishes severely (hi, Endless EULA!). He's a menace to sit-back glacier decks and helps you reset those matchups if they get too out of control. Note, however, there are a number of pieces of ice Hernando doesn’t make more expensive - essentially, he only works on printed subroutines that are actually on the card (meaning no Komainu, Masavingo, or Tour Guide taxes). I agree it’s not fair.

Off-Campus Apartment: Your "1. e4" move is tuen 1, click 1 installing the Apartment and then using Hayley to install a connection on the Apartment, often Aesop or Drug Dealer. Remember again that ordering your triggers matters - you can install a connection on the Apartment, draw a card, and then resolve your Hayley trigger, which you might want to do to install the card you just drew. Apartment isn't unique, so feel free to install additional Apartments off spare Hayley triggers to turn them into future Easy Marks.

Paule's Cafe: This deck doesn't use Paule's Cafe to its full potential, but instead just treats it as a refund of up to 16 credits in install costs (plus 2 once you sell it off to Aesop, recouping your investment) and a place to store programs/R&D Interfaces that otherwise would clog up your hand. Plus being able to pick-and-choose with Paule's is nice - often you'll run R&D with both a breaker and an Interface ready to go in the Cafe, depending on whether your opponent defends or not. Remember to read the card carefully: Paule's is only once per each of your turns. Also watch how you handle installs - occasionally you can get a clutch Hayley trigger off Paule's if you sequence carefully, or botch your sequencing and feel like a dunce (not that I’m speaking from personal experience...).

Corroder: You could play Gauss if you wanted to free up this influence, but I don't like Gauss; it's clumsy and requires more Simulchips than I want to add to this list. But it's your prerogative.

Gordian Blade: Same criticism applies as re: Euler. Again, you do you.

Pelangi: This is a quality-of-life addition and largely optional. You could trim it for the third SMC, another 0-cost Connection, or some other niche option.

Frequently asked questions

How do you beat Scarcity of Resources?
Get lucky.

Should we play currents for Scarcity?
No. Just get luckier. Or play something else.

What about Dummy Box for Best Defense or Elizabeth Mills?
Dummy Box is not a real card. Urban renewal is a practical reality of modern life. Literally nothing can save your Apartment if your opponent is playing niche tech. Don't worry about it.

What about Cybertrooper Talut?
Birds are not humans. Smuggling birds is a different crime outside of this deck’s jurisdiction.

What about Clot?
Ehh.

Ehh?
More specifically, there’s not a ton of fast advance in my meta. If you really need one, you probably cut the Corroder for it and add a second Simulchip. But at that point you’re diluting your central game plan and have a good incentive to just go back to regular Hayley and the warm embrace of Professional Contacts and Harvey Wallbingers So ehh. Just play better, Clot is a crutch, etc.