Drain Bramage 2.2

This is a modified list of the deck I have been playing for a few months. I used an earlier version to win a Store Champs--flatlining 3 runners in 5 rounds, and scoring out the rest. I have slowly evolved the deck, making the most drastic revisions with the release of Upstalk. I played this the other night at a game night event, not losing a game with this or my Gabe list.

The deck wins in two basic ways:

1.) It kills runners. You have Snare for the reckless runners. And you have Punitive in tandem with Archived Mems and your 7 3 point agendas. Combine these with Fenris, Janus, and sometimes even Ichi 1.0, and a flatline is easier than you would think.

Snare, Punitive, and the low agenda count mean you can often leave your R&D weakly protected. I played with 2x Cerebral Overwriter for months--they are not worth it, esp. with Domestic Sleepers now. Just a waste of money, you never kill them with it--it often just makes for Punitive overkill.

2.) It scores out agendas. Domestic Sleepers is a godsend for this deck. The runner will have to find 3 of your 7 3/5 agendas to win (unless playing shenanigans like Notoriety), which is not an easy feat with a 49 card deck.

OTHER FEATURES:

a.) The deck has a very stable econ with 10 straight econ operations. Of course the ID's ability is helpful as well. I was playing 2 Efficiency Research at one, but namely bc Blackmail lock was a contender in my meta--this choice helped me to win said Store Champs. HOWEVER, with only 4 big bioroids, I feel going to 1 is fine--I would prob replace this, as I am not a fan of 1 ofs that do not function as redundancies--I suppose it could be considered Priority Req #4. The deck can generate the credits to hard rez these beasts if needed--don't forget that you have Priority Req as well. The deck has great throughput with Blue and Green Level digging you deeper, making the Punitive kill a reality. The single Celebrity Gift has been incredible, and in truth I would gladly play a second over a Blue Level if I had the influence--but I don't!

b.) I am trying the NEXT ice approach for the early ETR and mid to late game credit taxing. Originally, I played Quandary and Enigma, but I think there is something to this update--esp. with Mother Goddess, which also can become a bioroid for Project Wotan, if needed--and is a nice obstacle when she is the only ICE rezzed. Also, Ichi has proven to be helpful on the ambush to keep the NEXT ice relevant. Either way, this deck has a lot of ETR.

c.) Your agendas actually do things in this deck. You would not believe how often Project Wotan will surprise a run with a short attention span (this is why you need Eli!!!). Scoring one of these often means scoring another 3 pointer in short order. Priority Req is effectively an econ card, esp. with big bioroids in the deck. Exec Retreat is great means to get Snares back in your deck, as well as to draw en masse to hit your Punitive combo.

d.) On the topic of Punitive, you want to find your way to 2 Punitives or 1 Punitive and an Archived Mems. Let them steal a 3 pointer: Boom! Just make sure you have money up. Remember, after they score that second 3 pointer, these do nothing (unless played immediately after). It's a bit weird that this can work out this way, but with all the draw, you can just ditch them. If they play Plascrete, just switch into scoring mode. Punitive is an opportunity strike: do it when you can--which will be more often than you would assume.

Hope this helps!