The Art of Intrusion 104: Cultural Nuances

"Welcome back, students. Most students sadly choose to skip this course, feeling that they are now fully-fledged intrusion experts, ready to be snapped up as sysops for Jinteki or NBN. But you few know better. The world is bigger than SanSan, and whatever contracts you get will take you all over the world. Where the tactics are different, the specs are more advanced, and runners are looking for things you never thought to protect. Without further ado, let's begin."

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Kala Ghoda is upon us, and it brings us two cards we DESPERATELY needed.

For one, we have Maya, a CyberSolutions Mem Chip with a cheaper install cost. Oh, and it also has an ability, but that's more gravy than actually what we're looking for. Maya brings us more versatility than Astrolabe, as we need that memory so bad, and the ability is useful for dismantling combo decks, which we were soft to previously.

Secondly, we have the furry killer itself, the Mongoose. Finally, FINALLY we have a pumpeable sentry breaker with a reasonable install cost (looking at you, Garrote). It enables us to run more fast and loose, trusting our SMC's to get us a killer when we've exhausted the Faerie. It's in my humble opinion our best killer to date, and I love having a mongoose in my lineup.

Finally, we slotted back Yog.0. Turns out getting through code gates for free is good when we're required to click for credits on Opus, and Yog is fantastic at slicing through Enigma, which is growing in popularity.

As always, the gameplan is to get Opus into play before all other considerations. It is your only soure of credits, but once you have it, you have credits for the rest of the game. Step 2 is to begin workshoping your programs and mem chips, and staying flexible. Don't underestimate the "take 8" turn, aka the OG Day Job. Install what you need to, keep your options open, and punish the corp wherever you need to.

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Matchup tips:

With Maya added to the mix, you can now pressure HQ with Imp and R&D with Maya, to make sure you get rid of any Scorches or Counterstrikes. If they can't kill you, they typically can't win, since you can break most ICE with impunity.

Against net damage, Deus X is your best friend ever. Your second best friend ever is Keyhole. Dismantle their decks, run remotes only if absolutely necessary. Don't play the shell game. Pressure centrals, Parasite anklebiters, and Imp economy from their hand.

Against FA, #SlotTheClot is still true. Learn the timing windows and snatch their agendas then. When you think they're getting ready to score, spring a Nerve Agent on them and snatch that from hand. Your win is probably going to come from abusing Medium and efficient runs, so build up to to that endgame.

Against rush decks, keep your gearcheck breakers ready. They will try to sneak agendas out behind Enigmas and the like, thinking you're too slow to catch them. Use Nerve Agent to stop them from storing agendas in hand. Force them into remotes, and snipe 'em from your workshop.

Against Glacier, keep them honest. Glacier decks thrive on slow runners, but you are not one of them. With Opus up, you can force them to rez Ice with Faerie in play, and spread them thin. D4v1d is your best friend, Scavenge it often. Sneakdoor Beta can spread them too thin to properly protect themselves, and Opus economy beats them in the long run.

Finally, combo. All hail out lord and saviour Maya. If you can sniff them out as combo decks, you can get rid of their combo pieces before you get your Imp online, making it invaluable to survive until your strong lategame. If your opponent is playing Haarpsichord, Titan or Blue Sun, be on the lookout for the signs of combo.

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"Professor?"

"Yes, Hayley?"

"Every culture has different tools and ideas. You cannot expect us to be able to adapt to them all."

"If you wish to become successful on the net, you have to. I don't expect you to incorporate every idea from every culture, but you must find the most powerful and versatile tools from around the world and adapt to them. You cannot expect your old tools to be universally useful. New technology destroys the old."