Esâ Me, Begemot (6th in GLC CO)

My version of an event Esa build that I went 5-2 with in GLC's online Startup CO. Mulligan for Ghosttongue and start face-checking! Apologies that I couldn't come up with a better Esa-related pun.

Win conditions:

• Chastushka - play opportunistically, or hold them up your sleeve for later - it's incredibly satisfying to play more than one of these in a single turn when Begemot can get you into HQ on the cheap.

• Remote lock - the rig is surprisingly efficient once it's set up, and you can transition from a sabotage game to a remote lock game once the corp panic-ices centrals.

I settled on this breaker suite after a lot of testing - Bukhgalter is a great use of influence, and Begemot/Leech/Buzzsaw can deal with most ice in the mid/late game. I opted to include two copies of most programmes instead of cheating them out of the heap with Retrieval Run; it's difficult to find them quickly enough with only single copies of each.

Recursion: Retrieval Run, Buffer Drive and Harmony AR Therapy provide enough of a safety net that you can afford to lose a couple of programmes to trashing and core damage.

Trickster Taka is the weakest card in the deck. I would have swapped this for a Liberated Account, Earthrise Hotel or an Ice Carver for more reliable value.

Overall, it was very fun to pilot but not as consistent as I would have liked. It definitely taught me to play better Netrunner in finding creative solutions to things - a few of the wins came from losing all my programmes to a sentry breaker en route to stealing the final agenda. If that's your definition of fun, give this deck a shot!