With thanks to psk and all the judges and j.net devs, and everyone else involved in the smooth running of another massive online tournament.

And to all the NSG designers, devs and playtesters, for, I think, absolutely nailing Automata. <3

Love to unband for continuing to be just a great group of people to play netrunner with.

Special shoutout to Sebastiank and koga for being pioneering enough to bring Arissana to APAC (with minimal testing), and to The King and Odol for driving the lists forward.

Results

3-3, 36th at EMEA continentals 2023

Wins against Big Deal Outfit x 2, SparrowBrawler R+

Losses against Skunk/Void Asa, Tucana PD and ARES/EOTL R+

3-3 is not a particularly impressive score, but, I will caveat that one of those losses was to the reigning world champion, and another was to Rustryder, who completely dominated swiss. There are lessons to be learned from all of them.

Individual match reports from the tournament are at the end of the write-up

Tournament Afterthoughts

Arissana is probably the most fun I've had playing shaper. However, like all shapers since time immemorial, we are vulnerable to being rushed out while we are still setting our engine up.

If there were another tournament tomorrow, I would probably play Arissana again, but with a few tweaks. I think I'd want gachapon and slap vandal to improve rush counterplay. I might even want a second aumakua, although that's a much more difficult slot.

Draw felt very feast or famine, both in testing and on the day. Given more time, I'd want to seriously consider the draw engine, and what our mull / keep decisions should look like.

Why should I play Arissana?

Because we can trick the Corp by making surprise trojan or SMC installs from hand mid run.

Because we can use Kyuban and Conduit to really punish the corp for not protecting R&D, and because we can easily charge the The Twinning to sweep HQ.

Because hosting programs on ICE is the netrunner equivalent of plugging one megadrive cartridge into another, and if that doesn't bring you joy then I don't know that we will ever truly be friends.

Because I found a frog in my garden a few days before the tournament and I took that to be a sign.

Because we have a good matchups across the board, and we have a very strong game against Big Deal Outfit.

Yes, but is Arissana actually good?

There is some potential, but, honestly, I think that remains to be seen. She has a lot of skateboard tricks, and the urban art engine is decent, but, as Sokka234 described it

"this is basically Hoshiko, but with extra steps"

Everything is better in Hoshiko.

If we can crack the rush matchup, and get a firm idea of what the draw engine is supposed to look like, then I think Arissana could, at least, keep Corps honest during the next season (even if Hoshiko takes all the major tournaments).

Matchups

Agaisnst rush matchups (Asa, PD, Ob) we need to apply pressure early, and force ICE rezzes before the facecheck becomes punishing (before we have a board to trash, and before there are cards in archives to recur). Aumakua is our most important card in this matchup.

Against asset based decks, we can use Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra to check remotes for agendas and threats (e.g. Reaper Function or SIU). If we get click compressed by Oppo Research, some combination of Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra and Pichação will bail us out. At some point, we are going to go tag me, and all in on a big conduit dig for the win. Tracking cards bottom'd with DBS, or trashing DBS, is key for this line to work (see round 4). Seeing Aumakua early is also important in this matchup.

Against Big Deal Outfit, we can sit back and establish a Clot lock, forcing the Corp to either create a remote or play suboptimally. At some point, we will need to run. The Twinning is our most important card in this matchup, because we can't rely on being able to make multiple Conduit runs. Even though we aren't making many runs, and they have 3 x Mavirus, Aumakua is actually a useful fracter in this matchup (because usually the only barrier is Border Control).

Piloting

Mulligan for LilyPAD (or Nuka) and trust that they will draw us into our Urban Art engine. Prioritise Urban Art value over a quicker Environmental Testing pop.

Keep an eye on the Corp credit total, and if they overextend then drop a kyuban on an unrezzed ICE and run it repeatedly for value (with Conduit or Aumakua or both).

Playing against Arissana

Rushing out before Arissana can get their engine together can be a good line. Be careful to double ICE R&D at some point, though (and be able to rez both).

Trashing ICE with trojans hosted on them is a good way to derail the urban art engine.

Card Choices

After a bit of testing of the different aggro Arissana lists from APAC, I found what I think is the core shell. With this as our starting point, we have a handful of slots and a bunch of influence to play with.

If you haven't played Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra yet, then I encourage you to stop what you are doing right now and add one to whatever your pet runner list is atm. In particular, the value in Arissana (where we get our free install) is significant. Remember, a run on a Spin Doctor that pops is not considered unsuccessful.

Pinhole Threading gives us a way to disarm Tucana without it firing. The same is true of Vovô Ozetti. Other use cases, I feel, are probably well understood by this point.

There are matchups where Aumakua does nothing, and there are matchups where Aumakua puts enormous pressure on the Corp.

The Twinning is very easy to charge every turn with Urban Art, and allows us to sweep HQ and/or dig deeper with conduit. Finding it can be a bit of a bother (see Gachapon).

The 2nd Hush is somewhat luxurious, but we have the inf, and, unlike Kyuban, it charges The Twinning on install.

DJ Steve Cambridge allows us to recur our installables (such as Environmental Testing) to keep powering The Twinning, and is a pseudo 3rd Pinhole Threading (in a pinch).

We play 2 x Ika as it's the safest way to power the urban art engine, because it doesn't automatically install itself on an ICE. It also saves us 4 credits per run if the Corp puts down double sentries. I wouldn't argue with anyone that wants to play a 3rd Kyuban or a Slap Vandal instead.

"Running is all metaphor, all symbols and plumbing into the depths of the psyche. Sometimes that means tentacles." - Akiko Nisei

Notable Exclusions

We could play a Slap Vandal instead of the 2nd Ika. This would, probably, improve our rush matchup. Most times it does nothing, some times it stops us from getting locked out, other times it means that we don't need to install Gauss.

I don't think that I'm smart enough to play Prognostic Q-Loop, but it's a super cool card, and I wish the best for everyone that can make it work <3.

Alternatives

I didn't find Gachapon quite as impressive as some of the APAC decklist writeups suggested, possibly because I'm not playing Fermenter. However, it is an excellent way of finding The Twinning quickly, and it could well be an important part of the puzzle of cracking the rush matchup.

Starting the game with Overclock into Self-modifying Code feels great, but, Sure Gamble helps us to play LilyPAD, and I think that is probably more important. Also, Overclock does not synergise with Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra.

Miss Bones can be used to charge The Twinning, but I prefer the consistency of a second Hannah "Wheels" Pilintra. Either is probably fine.

Tsakhia "Bankhar" Gantulga can be powered by our draw engine, and is a great way to lean into the "aggro" style of play, but I found myself less and less convinced of it the more testing that I did.

Maw has built in HQ pressure, but only if we are getting our one succesful access a turn, and if we are getting that then we are probably winning anyway. If you really want to try Maw, then I would recommend also trying Beatriz Friere Gonzalez.

Match Report

R1: LOSS vs Sokka234 on Skunk/Void Asa (7-0, T8)

I find Hannah on T2, and enough econ that I am able to contest remotes. I trash a rezzed Nico, but leave a rezzed Wage Workers, which Sokka uses to score a never-advanced Offworld. The skunk/void remote is quickly established, and a vitruvius is just as quickly scored. I have an R&D lock at this point, and my engine is mostly set up, but no breakers, and the Ikawah that Sokka needs to win is already in hand. I miss a line to pressure HQ (knowing that Ansel is also in hand, and not on the board). The Ikawah gets pushed, and I miscalculate when I run, and end up 1 credit short of being able to force a void, and buy myself another turn. Slap Vandal would have got me there.

R2: WIN vs mr_pelle on Big Deal Outfit (8-3 , T12)

I snipe a hostile takeover off the top of R&D on T1, putting us at 1-1. Pinhole a Tucana T2. Clot stops an attempted FA of Above the Law, and the ICE that comes down to protect it is Envelopment. I preemptively Hush the unrezzed Envelopment, (to prevent any Bad Pub being gained from Trebuchet or Valentão), and that gets us to 3 points. By the end of turn 6 I have 20 credits, a full rig, and a clot on the table, which is a commanding position to be in against Outfit. I proactively trash Mavirus off the board, using Arissana to Hush another Envelopment (this time rezzed). I find a simulchip, but let an unadvanced Atlas be scored with Big Deal (1 counter is manageable). I take this as the "go" signal, and steal 1 point out of R&D with Conduit, and 2 points out of HQ with The Twinning. mr_pelle tilts and uses the atlas counter for mavirus (to purge conduit). Next turn, conduit closes the game.

R3: LOSS vs Rustryder on Tucana PD (8-2, T13)

Rustryder mulligans into ADT, Hagen and double seamless. I should challenge the remote, but I don't. He top decks Tucana and, together with ADT, gets a gatekeeper for the remote and a drafter for R&D, and that is pretty much game right there. A vitruvius score off the Tucana finds another Drafter for R&D, and, with only 1 x Ika on the board and no Aumakua, I'm p. much locked out of both R&D and the remote. I pinhole the Tucana, but all that's doing is stopping things getting worse (it's not making things any better). A very sus double seamless ADT to install rashida (from R&D) into the remote makes me think that Rustryder is digging for agendas, when the correct read should have been that: there is an agenda in HQ (that rustryder wanted to push with that last click) AND there are agendas on top of R&D). I pinhole the rashida, and take a breather to get more set up. Both of which are mistakes.

R4: LOSS vs Suipe on ARES/EOTL R+

Classic CtM style triple monty opener (malia, rashida, ARES) that I don't challenge. I do get aumakua and lilypad down T1 though. Hannah comes down T3, but is promptly kidnapped. I find a replacement Hannah T4, and start to check remotes. Suipe feeds me an ARES to land a value Oppo Researchr. He then builds a doom remote out of Vladisibirsk City Grid and Behold! (nice), which I take as an opportunity to start a big conduit dig, with both Kyuban and Pichação. Unfortunately, while all this has been going on, Suipe has used Federal Fundraising and Daily Business Show to bottom 7 points of agendas. My 6 click deep dig finds a Bellona, a Snare! and a Behold!, and I'm promptly dispatched next turn by End of the Line (with Mindscaping also in hand). The lesson here is to either trash DBS, or track bottom'd cards.

R5: WIN vs Nicky3.0 on SparrowBrawler R+ (7-5, T15)

Nicky3.0 rushes an early Artificial Cryptocrash with Seamless Launch, whcih I savagely outplay by having basically no money (having had to clear a tag from stealing Tomorrow's Headline), putting us on 2-2 from T2. Aumakua and Urban art both come down early, which means I can charge my engine by running HQ each turn. I get my whole board set up nicely, and then throw things by running archives last click and picking up 2 x Oracle Thinktank :facepalm:. Nicky3.0 uses Shipment from Vladisibirsk to score a Bellona, hits me with a Market Forces, and shuffles back both oracles when I start to charge conduit. My next turn I conduit dig to see 2 x Bellona, netiher of which I can steal. Nicky3.0 purges, but I know where the Bellona are in R&D, and, thanks to Kyuban, I now have the money to steal one of them. 2 more ICE come down on R&D, I know what they both are (starlit knight and wraparound), and I know exactly where the winning Bellona is in R&D. I set everything up to snatch the win, but then instead have a small mental breakdown. I forget that Arissana ability only triggers once per turn, and so I can't hush both ICE mid run, and, rather than click for credits, I try and do something clever with kyuban and simulchip, which I also can't do because there are no programs in archives. I take a moment, thank Nicky3.0 for their patience, and spend the next 3 turns hammering HQ to find the winning Bellona.

Nicky3.0 overdraws and, eventually, I steal a Freedom of Information out of HQ.

R6: WIN vs G0li@th on Big Deal Outfit (7-2, T8)

Similar T1 to last game, except this time I steal an SDS off the top of R&D (using bad pub to install a clot mid run :fidgetspin:) putting us at 3-1. G0li@th ICEs up all centrals, limiting the value I can get out of Arissana, and making all the Dirty Laundry that I draw useless. But simulchip means that he also has to build a big remote if he wants to score any agendas, which leaves HQ only lightly defended. An Atlas goes into the remote, and I use The Twinning to sweep HQ, looking for Big Deal. Instead I find 2 x Regulatory Capture.