What Your Deck Does
This deck is all about swing plays created by leveraging the tags from Breaking News. Give the runner tags, then use them to play Closed Accounts, Exchange of Information or to trash a key resource. Your ice is cheap to play and taxing to break, and your ID ability will protect your key assets. You have a very credible fast advance plan and can also tax the runner out behind Tollbooth if they go low on credits, but your board is liable to unravel if you get to the late game or if you can’t hit those key Breaking News plays. The threat of Hard-Hitting News should stop the runner being too aggressive or punish them if they make a mistake, allowing you to close the game behind Resistors or with Psychographics.
Cards to Mulligan For
Sensie Actors Union, Commercial Bankers Group, Hedge Fund or Sweeps Week, at least one ice, Hard-Hitting News
Tips and Tricks for the Matchup
Try to make sure that the runner is presented with only one must-trash asset per turn to maximise your ID ability; this can mean delaying playing a political asset if you already have one rezzed. A huge amount of the power of your deck comes from Breaking News, so protect them wherever possible and try to be aware of where in R&D they may be. You’ll often want to score one from the table to let you leverage the tags, so be aggressive but protect them with ice or Mumbad Virtual Tours. Ideally you’ll combine two events from one score using either an AstroScript Pilot Program or SanSan City Grid; Closed Accounts in to either Exchange of Information or Hard-Hitting News can be back-breaking for the runner.
Be careful with your ice placement; you’ll often want to leave Archangel in hand or ideally in R&D to protect against Medium. Be aware of the sheer economic power of Temüjin Contract and look to limit its impact wherever possible; the worst case scenario is that it’s giving the runner credits, accesses, Datasucker or Medium counters and Obelus draws all at the same time. If you can get the runner to accept tags then the game is half won, but be aware that you can lose to Medium very quickly so don’t assume anything. Jackson Howard will usually shuffle tag punishment, political assets or SanSan City Grids, as required. Remember that your ID ability is optional (so you have to declare that you’re using it!) and fires if the runner trashes your ice with Parasite.