Inverse Headlock v1

I saw you playing this on j.net earlier, really like the look of it. I think you mentioned this, but a Snatch and Grab to hit the runner's Kati econ feels smart, but Archangel can do some of that. Shame there's no tagging to cram in a Closed Accounts or Universal Connectivity Fee!

He's got Turnpike, but even without tagging I think Universal Connectivity Fee is a thematically and mechanically appropriate include. Personally I think I'd want a little more ETR; a single Wraparound, three Tollbooths and two Ash isn't quite enough protection for me.

This was very interesting to play against today - Archangel in particular felt very strong as part of its economic denial package, even with a good economy running I felt I was constantly falling behind in creds. Will definitely take some time to get used to playing against.

Kati does throw a wrench into your credit drain, but she is probably your best guide on when a scoring window is present.

The thing with tagging that I've noticed almost universally across all my games: the only tags that will stick are the ones you apply on your turn. So throwing in tag punishment for the rare occurrence of the runner having a tag at the start of your turn seems pointless to me.

With that said, why Turnpike? Simple answer: Math. It costs you 2 credits to rez, and it costs the runner 2 credits each encounter (at the least), or 3 credits and a click without a breaker. Or more if the runner decides to beat the trace.

The single Wraparound is a meta call on my part. One Corroder later and it takes 1 credit to pass. Tollbooths also are prone to leaking.

For the lack of ETR: The object of the game is to not keep the runner out, by all means its fine for him to go through so long as he spends so much credits on a run that it generates a scoring window.

When I made my versino of this, up to about 2 days ago, I completely missed turnpike, its so so good. Also, I've since added 2 and sometimes 3 SsCG because with the piles of assets I have in mine, I'm able to afford big chunky ice.

I think the real key is, as you've noticed too, rezzing something on both turns.

Another issue with running tag punishment is if the runner goes tag-me, which they are very likely to do when their running so low on creds. That's kind of where I can see more ETR being worthwhile: There's nothing to stop a runner running through Archangel, Architect and Pop-up/Turnpike on the 1 or 2 creds they click for before a run. A high agenda density doesn't help that, where lucky early digs could put a lot of pressure on R&D. My guess, obviously, is that the Tollbooths go on R&D and the remote to shut that down. Have you considered Team Sponsorship, which is quickly becoming the best card in Universe of Tomorrow?

I wonder if Utopia Fragment might not work better than (or maybe alongside) the food initiative as agenda defense, in keeping with the credit denial theme you're going for.

Why Executive Boot Camp over Tech Startup?

Alternate name of this deck could be False Advertising 101. Advertise a tag punishment deck that never manifests. Advertise fast advance that doesn't manifest as fast so when it does they're out of creds.

@RubbishyUsername : I don't know what it is but when people see NBN they instantly become paranoid of tags. Also would note that you have to tailor your servers based on how paranoid you've made the runner. I had a server with 3 Special Offers capped with 2 Pop-ups that was never run against, even after I rezzed everything with an Executive Boot Camp (Side note: Ash was also in that server). Also. not a good idea to construct your defense that way. Obviously the Tollbooths go where you need the defense (scoring server, R&D), but it really depends on what you see on the runner side. I've defended R&D with a Turnpike topped with a Pop-up.

Not exactly how Team Sponsorship would interact since the deck doesn't exactly score often. Could be worth looking into, thank you for the suggestion.

@beladee : Thing with Global Food Initiative (which is a better than seems) is that at current build, runner needs to score 4 agendas to win (minimum). To make the fragment work, you'd need to score it (which is hard, I rarely score GFI in the first place), then you'd need to advance the agenda you just installed to get it to tax. For me, that is way too many requirements for it to be worthwhile.

@Hactarcomp : Because the Boot Camp helps you rez ice (anti Leela, Reina, Nasir), or assets. You can also use it as a dud-agenda to trick the runner into your taxing server. I also have had a lot of bad luck finding my Jackson Howards when I need them. Most of the time I'll let the runner trash it, just because its 3 more credits away from him. You still need to wait for your turn on Tech Startup, then its also 1 cred to trash. IMO, Tech Startup would shine in decks that made a lot of servers (NEH, Turtlebacks, Mirrormorph, etc..)