Accio Agenda! 20th at EMEA Continentals

CmtyRoundUpReina 342

If you have seen the last round of my last game on stream, you may have a pretty good idea of where did I pick this title from. I wasn't in a great spot, with only one breaker up, an incontestable remote server and my oppo (kikai) on PD going faster that I could have handled... And here's when magic happened: I already had 3 points, so I decided to go for a Finality hitting the Luminal, then Laundry on Archive finding an Architect Deployment Test sabotated from the top of R&D. And that's why I love Esâ. Even when you seems to be struggling, the sabotage can do its trick and give you an unexpected way out.


A phew notes on the deck:

  • Bankhar is HUGE! I was skeptical because I was afraid to lose too many cards giving the ID ability, but no, go for it!

  • In the meta we saw in this tournament, you may consider to switch to bombs instead of Chastushka

  • Add a LtF


Round 1 vs Issuaq WIN

Round 2 vs AgI Loss. This is the worst MU ever I think, so no surprie there

Round 3 vs Outfit Loss in a very close game against Longi, who managed to pulled out a Sprint into Biotic + agenda

Round 4 vs Asa Loss. It just went too fast and I couldn't find Bankhar soon enough

Round 5 vs Asa WIN

Round 6 vs OB WIN

Round 7 241 vs PD WIN


As per usual, shoutouts to ChaosIsMe for building the deck and many many thanks to the Streaming team and the TOs of course! Love you pspacekitten!


Sembri in mezzo a una via e vinci per magia.

5 comments
22 Aug 2023 Diogene

Amazing!

Why is Light the Fire! needed?

Also, why tmdo you think Time Bomb would be better than Chastushka, in the current meta?

I am wondering because it seems counter intuitive, but I am feeling that you may be right.

Thanks for sharing!

23 Aug 2023 CmtyRoundUpReina

@DiogeneThank you :) You def want a LtF because of the nasty manegarm/void interaction, expecially when supported by formicary. Bankhar helps a lot getting into servers, but that combo can really lock you out and with less pinholes around, I expect that to heavily come back. Moreover, you could use it when you don't have enough click/money - or you just don't want to - to steal a Bellona, an Ikawah... As I said in the description, AgI is a bad bad MU and Chastushka doesn't help at all... moreover, you often end up trashing it because of Bankhar or ID. Time bomb is safer, cheaper and can't be stopped by a border and such. I know it's slower and the corp has time to figure out how to contain damages, but I really feel it is more consistent both with this Esâ building and the meta we saw during the tournament. Let me know your impressions if you try it ;)

23 Aug 2023 Diogene

@ReinaMorada I'll be sure to test out Light the Fire!. Thanks a lot for you thoughtful reply.

You got me interested with Time Bomb, and I looked at my previous games with Esa. Most finished before turn 12. Which means that I would be able to see and use 2 Time Bomb in my games. It seems to me that @ single Chastushka can do 2/3 of the work for one , while it would cost you 4 with Time Bomb. It doesn't mean you are wrong, but the current meta is quite fast. I'll test it. But have you considered using Nga, for the same overall results?

Cheers!

25 Aug 2023 CmtyRoundUpReina

@DiogeneI guess that the choise between Time Bomb and Chastushka depends on how many AgIn vs faster decks you expect to face. Also, consider Border control and OB into that equation, 'cause it ain't easy to Chastushka an OB. I have never really considered Nga, expecially in the older build with Botulus and Fermenter. I guess I could give it a try in this new, slimmer version with Bankhar... the problem is finding the slot(s). What would you take out to make room for Nga?

25 Aug 2023 Diogene

@ReinaMorada that is an accurate assessment. I do not expect that many AgInfusion, but I do expect many Ob. In my tests, Ob had to defend too many servers. While Chastushka could land early, you are totally correct that it is difficult to land it by mid game. For me, this is where Finality and Jailbreak help, not to mention the sabotage from our ability.

For AgInfusion, my reasoning for a competitive event is that it needs lots of time and that I expect many runners to pack Pinhole Threading (also, Sokka won EMEA with Anoetic Void). If other corp players have the same analysis, then AgInfusion should be nearly absent.

As for Nga, I would follow the same reasoning as Time Bomb and Chastushka, you pick on of the 3 cards for your sabotage. The main advantage of Nga over Time Bomb is that it will trigger once a turn on any successful run, be it on central or remote. But it "hurt" less because it is just a "ping", which can be more easily managed. So, you have a sliding scale of ease of use versus effectiveness, with Time Bomb in the middle of that scale.

Of note, I remember that Andrej streamed (about a year ago) a deck using also Avgustina Ivanovskaya, to do extra sabotage. This could be interesting as well, but probably not with Esa.

On another note, how is the economy going for the deck, considering that you are packing ice breakers (total of 10 to install)?

Cheers!