Valencia La Trampa - Top 16 Worlds

This is the runner deck I used to reach Top 16 at Worlds 2015. It was a meta call, some of which I got right, some wrong.

World Champion Dan had long been pimping his Val DLR decks and there were many versions out there, but largely they are about building board state and the Siphon is there to keep people low on credits, while the combined Resources make it impossible to trash everything. Therefore Corps feel on the clock, and are inclined to think they have some time before everything goes wrong. There are actually more card slot differences (29) than similarities in this deck to Dan's published Meteor deck, but it looks strikingly similar which all helped with the bluff.

My deck takes advantage of the meta and the conventional wisdom, by being super aggressive from the start and not letting up. This deck is more Account Siphon spam than DLR, and the number of times that HQ was left open turn one was surprising. Even if it isn't, DDoS and other tools allow access. Hit the Corp in the wallet and don't let up. Blackmail gets you into remotes or Archives as needed too - originally this was a Quetzal deck, but with the Bad Pub making Blackmail available and the deck slots ready to go with Val's 50 size, plus more cheapness in trashing assets, and the bluff of DLR as main focus the switch was a no-brainer.

Where I potentially read it wrong, or got unlucky with match-ups, is not seeing and Harp kill - I think this was third most represented (someone was saying), but my Plascrete went unused, even against Blue Sun kill. The deck hasn't got the resource protection for Paparazzi so it seemed a necessary evil to include hardware, especially as it often goes tag-me very early.

Also, I included 2x Corroder to get through early Wraparound and D4v1d for the same reason, plus getting past Tollbooth or remote Turing is desperate. As it happens I didn't see any NEH to speak of either (maybe one), which I thought would be the most represented faction. During testing against HB Food, Team GB determined Turing on centrals was strong against the Val decks and I saw a lot more of this kind of opponent. If I'd been more clued up, Yog could easily have found it's way in here. I tested Parasite but never really got it to work, but that's a possibility too.

You want an opening hand with Account Siphon or Planned Assault, and a way in - either DDoD, a breaker or something similar. Inject will do in a pinch (a great card as you normally keep 3-4 cards, useful for Faust and also finding Account Siphon). John Masanori is great card draw, extra clicks from Joshua B are great and the DLR bluff can often become an actual strong play if the Corp is mishandling the situation - normally they will waste time clicking for credits and trashing things, which is great.

Hacktivist does great work against both HB and NEH with their asset and upgrade heavy decks. It might now seem like it's doing anything, but often is restricting play. Wanton Destruction is often unexpected (great with Josh B), Utopia also helps get those pooled agendas out of hand and is more back-up Scorch protection. Keyhole is often completely unexpected and has won me games - much better in some situations selecting the right cards from R&D than spamming and hoping for the best.

The economy package may look strange and the deck has a lot of two-ofs, but it's got a good mix for different situations. Ideally you're getting money off Siphon or the Corp has no money either, which is fine. The main problems I encountered were Chris from Team GB and World Champion Dan, who both knew to heavily defend HQ and deny me Siphons, Wanton and accesses. As I say I think Yog or Parasite might solve some of this bit it depends on what you face on the Corp side.

Most people online and in person have described it as "brutal", which it is. Folk are expecting a building of board state. Screw that, get in their face and take all their money and cards.