[Gateway+Update] Reality Checkmate

I'm teaching some new players Netrunner and we are using System Gateway and System Update 21 as a stepping stone before arriving at the Startup format. The leap up to Startup is intimidating, let alone the jump from Startup to Standard! To help in this leap, here are some notes on how to play and build decks in a relatively restricted card pool.

I wanted to build something a little different from my previous Weyland Consortium: Built to Last Rush/Fast Advance deck. This list is an attempt at a Glacier-like deck, so called as agendas are scored behind towers of ICE, allow they usually have defensive upgrades, like AMAZE Amusements, to protect attempts to score. Haas-Bioroid: Precision Design does this very well using Manegarm Skunkworks and Anoetic Void, which is also very strong in Standard.

Rather than go that very powerful route, I wanted to demonstrate another approach known as Rigshooter where the Corp tries to remove the Runner's means of getting into servers. Retribution trashes programs if the Runner is tagged, and Snare! can get them out of the grip. Every new player needs to experience a face full of Snare! at some point! To line up with the Rigshooter strategy, the deck has at least one true End the Run piece of ICE in each subtype; Barrier (Ping), Code Gate (Magnet/Tollbooth) and Sentry (Ballista). The Runner will often have some extra tricks up their sleeves but they are usually one use only, like Inside Job or Mayfly.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that while we want to use tags in this identity, we don't stretch ourselves over too many lines of attack. Orbital Superiority didn't make the cut as we need agendas to make up for the missing economy taken up by other card choices, so instead we include Offworld Office.