Road To Startup CO -Bankhar Mercury

Hi everyone! I am hosting a Startup CO with the new ban list in the Seattle area 3/9, and thought it would be fun to post a weekly Startup deck idea until the tournament. The key word is “idea”, I hope it I get peoples deck building juices flowing for the tournament, these decks are not refined. Hope to see y’all then!

https://alwaysberunning.net/tournaments/4078/seattle-area-bellevue-startup-circuit-opener

This is the last week prior to the CO so I thought I would share something spicy with y’all! Also criminal is not very good in startup because you have to spend influence for everything (draw, money and multi access), so you have to think outside the box.

Core concept: Use Hermes + Bankhar + ID ability to make the corp uncomfortable and create pressure. Ramming through ice with Bankhar fires your ID. Removing ice from centrals with Hermes also will help fire your ID.

The play is roughly divided into 3 phases, the length of each phase may vary depending on matchup and specific game.

Phase 1 - Early game blitz- you want Bankhar and/or Hermes on the board ASAP. This makes even single iced servers vulnerable. Pick the weakest/ juiciest central and don’t be afraid to facecheck unknown ice. However, try to leave ice on the other central un rezzed for Hermes to open the hole. If centrals become double/triple iced or you bankrupt yourself move to phase 2.

Phase 2 - build up/ counter attack - the corp may stabilize, now methodically draw and money up ( liberated accounts). At some point they will have to try to score. You can try to camp the remote until they try to score. If the remote is too well defended you can try to multi access a central when the agenda is down to Hermes it back into HQ. Finally you can let them score, Hermes an ice back then counter attack next turn. If the corp gets to game point before you win go to phase 3.

Phase 3. - Go for broke. There are times when all the servers are heavily iced and it is not looking good for you. You may also be broke or almost out of deck. At this point try to charge twinning and / or wake for one final run. Use your bypass events if needed for one final 4-5 card dig. If it fails you probably lose.

Conclusion: This deck is very swingy, sometimes you feel dominant and other times it feels hopeless. This is for those you like pure aggression. It is also good practice at reading board states.

As always I’m always happy to hear feedback and tweak to your taste. Enjoy!