A dinosaurus-enamored Wünderkind in a dapper top hat? What's not to love!

Placed #2 (of 36) in Swiss (4-0+ID), and #5 in Top 8 at Tabletop Gaming Center Regional on 2018/07/28. Only loss on the day was in Top 8 vs. CI.

Strategy

1. Draw. Draw more. Draw again. Get rich. (Through events, mostly.)
2. Use Insight to locate agendas.
3. Use Top Hat to access agendas.

While the corp is reveling in a false sense of security, Olivia "Chaos Theory" Ortiz is schmoozing at exclusive parties and gambling. When she dons her party attire, it's time to steal the show!

Deck

This deck is relatively easy to pilot: use draw events to find breakers, Insight, and Top Hat while simultaneously amassing credits. Runs are selective and, usually, productive. Single-ICE servers can be breached via any breaker. In most games, you won't need to install more than two programs.

Programs

With Comet, 6MU can host three copies of Laamb and Engolo. On the day, a Laamb-Engolo duo danced through many servers protected by 1-4 ICE. While unlikely, a savvy corp stacking 4+ sentries is problematic but can be mitigated by Escher.

Resources

Scarcity of what? lulz

Beth Kilrain-Chang is the best wingwoman for ritzy galas. She also loves dinosaurs.

Same Old Thing is defense against losing Levy to damage, and can enable one last party or R&D scry before Levy.

Events

Most events are self-explanatory: card draw and econ, usually both.

Escher: Miraju flattens Top Hat. Surveyor is locally ubiquitous. Escher can rearrange problematic ICE, make servers porous, and place unrezzed ICE into your path to either go unrezzed (free!) or force a rez and keep the corp poor(er).

Interdiction: ensures there are no distractions from Top Hat magic, and disables defensive upgrades. A short list of meta-relevant cards this can disable: Marcus Batty, Giordano Memorial Field, Bio Vault, NGO Front [bluffs], Executive Boot Camp [anti-Top Hat]. This card, in two different games, enabled an easy steal (and Batty trash) and nixed an NGO bluff (and Batty trash). We can't stop here! This is bat country!

Potential Revisions

Programs

Notably, this deck lacks a Killer. On the day, that was not an issue. If needing a Killer, perhaps replace an Engolo with Ika: 0-cost install, reasonably efficient, and can rehost if necessary (unlike Egret). If they trash the host ICE (e.g., Anansi), that's a tempo win and you'll see Ika next Levy.

If you lean on Ika and a 5MU rig, consider playing this as Ele "Smoke" Scovak: Cynosure of the Net.

Resources

Sometimes a single draw event would draw non-events and nullify the Comet trigger. A Symmetrical Visage should help maintain tempo.

Events

I often desired cards over credits to trigger Comet or assemble the rig, so I'd recommend reversing the ratio of Process Automation and Build Script from 3:2 to 2:3.

"Freedom Through Equality" was lackluster. It's expensive, nonbos with Interdiction, and often cluttered the grip. I plan to explore replacing both with Symmetrical Visage and Notoriety. In two games -- and CT's only loss on the day -- I stalled on 6pts and Notoriety would have been an easy close.

Matchups

Most games played the same: draw through the deck, install Comet, install a breaker when contesting an advanced remote, and keep Top Hat hidden until Insight was a success. After that, game on!

Swiss

R1. Sportsmetal

First matchup of the day, so the details are hazy. IIRC, I sniped Project Vitruvius off an open R&D, stole an agenda from the single-ICE remote by same-turn installing Laamb, smiled as they installed ICE to further protect that remote, and then found the next points via Insight and Top Hat.

R2. SSO

They managed to score a Hostile Takeover, and Dedicate City Works when I had surprisingly few cards in my grip. Interdiction helped steal their next agenda from the remote by locking down the unrezzed Batty, and Insight + Top Hat + Mad Dash won the game before they could combo Biotic and Red Planet Couriers.

R3. CTM

CTM w/ Commercial Bankers + Calibration Testing + Team Sponsorship recursion. This was a tough match because Chaos Theory doesn't have the link or drip to play CTM's game. I managed to snipe a Beale from HQ, GFI (from R&D via Top Hat?), and later Mad Dash into Fly on the Wall via Top Hat to disable an Exchange of Information swap. I was forced to enter HHN range to clear out a remote w/ MVT, 2 Calibration Testing, and Rashida so I don't auto-lose against their 2 Daily Business Shows. The Deuces Wild "remove 1 tag" option helped clear tags. When things looked dire, Insight finally revealed two AR-Enhanced Security for the win.

This was a game where I was stalled on 6pts and Notoriety would have been advantageous.

R4. Gagarin

ID.

R5. Palana

(Revised SoS pulled me outside the cut.)

Palana loves: easy money. Palana hates: Interdiction locking down both an NGO bluff and Batty.

Concerned that they might install Miraju on R&D, Deuces Wild revealed their unrezzed ICE. Escher moved Surveyor from R&D to be the single ICE protecting HQ, moved an unrezzed Thimblerig from R&D to the remote so the Escher arrangement would endure, and replaced both ICE with two rezzed News Hounds. The 4-ICE R&D was now relatively porous. Insight + Top Hat for the eventual win.

Top 8

R2. CI

HB good stuff -- Team Sponsorship, Jeeves, Estelle Moon -- paired with Reconstruction Contract and Dedication Ceremony.

I got an early lead by nabbing a Vitruvius and 2 Efficiency Committees from an unprotected R&D. I was repeatedly forced to run Moon before playing Insight, and had 3-4 insightless whiffs. They eventually score a 6-adv Vitrivius (3 counters), and close the game shortly after that. They told me afterwards that an unrezzed Boot Camp was installed so, since I didn't have Interdiction handy, Top Hat would have been random.

Notoriety would have helped.

gg, all, and hope to see you at Worlds!