Cyberspace is for Pawn (Overmind/Cloud variant) v2.0

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Cyberspace is for Pawn v1.4
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The Mind Loves Pawn
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ODie 726

Currently at 47 cards, which is slightly fat but I'm struggling to trim down by two {suggestions welcome }.

Evolution of my Cyberspace is for Pawn deck, akin to the Street Chess deck that inspired db0's Homeless Kasparov. This one is intended to use Overmind as the main breaker, supported by Cloud breakers to keep the MU free, and Pawn and Scheherazade are 0 MU cost :-) Unlike alsciende''s OverKnight variant I'm not using Knight to take up space from the Deep Red MU. Creeper deals with Swordsman in the unlikely situation that I see it, and I'm thinking that an Inti might be the only solution to Wraparound. Tollbooth will be an issue with this build until I solve that problem, too.

The decision at the moment is to run with e3 Feedback Implants to save power counters on the Overmind rather than host the Overmind in an Omni-Drive but it is a swing decision that could go either way after testing.

Indexing and Escher can win games, and if pressed you can use Escher to reconfigure the Ice array to place Ice hosting the Pawns at the bottom of servers (one shot, but a small acceleration here) before resolving the successful run clauses on Pawns. Also helps to make R&D or a target server more vulnerable, of course.

This version feels the lack of Sneakdoor Beta, but the Influence and slots for it just don't feel available. Also missing in action are Imp and multi access card like The Maker's Eye / R&D Interface.

With only the Self-modifying Code for search (MU cost isn't an issue I think, because you trash it before the Overmind installs) out may be hard to get set up. No Test Run and only two Clone Chips means your main trigger for Exile will be the Pawn cycle. Scavenge on depleted Overminds is just a bonus play to recharge. Clone Chips are in primarily intended to reset the Pawn cycle if the Corp tries to disrupt it by trashing Ice hosting Pawn. There's a tension with only so much search as to use it to tutor for the combo elements or to actually assemble the breaker suite. Gut feel is probably the best guide here, after playing a few games.

Economically, you're really looking to get the cycle going and sustained to really tick along, but Daily Casts and Armitage Codebusting are quite synergistic with Aesop's Pawnshop, which - as @db0 noted in his write ups - you can use to get early credits from Schezza or Pawn as you set up the rest of the deck.

When the combo comes together, it is a thing of beauty. ;-)

7 comments
26 May 2014 GPWK

I like the idea of Overmind on an Omni-Drive, but I feel that swapping out th e3 Feedback Implants would hurt a lot. Meta-dependant, but the first thing I see to slim the deck are the Plascrete Carapaces. If you don't play against Meat Damage, they are dead draws.

26 May 2014 partialcharge

Very cool. I always love seeing oddball* decks.

Procedure question though. You said:

if pressed you can use Escher to reconfigure the Ice array to place Ice hosting the Pawns at the bottom of servers (one shot, but a small acceleration here) before resolving the successful run clauses

but I read that differently. If you're doing the ice re-arrangement instead of accessing cards, does that not take place on step 4.5 where the access would, rather than 4.4 where successful run effects normally happen? This may have been ruled on already, and it's unlikely to matter in many (any?) other cases. Just thought it bore mentioning.

Thanks again for sharing your decks!

26 May 2014 partialcharge

*Those not running Account Siphon, haha. ^___^

26 May 2014 ODie

@partialcharge, oh! You're right, I believe, and the Ice rearrange would happen after the Pawns advance down the server, so that doesn't work the way that I'd envisaged.

Thanks for the 'oddball' compliment, BTW. ;-)

29 May 2014 Josh9000

I've been trying out a Overmind ExA.I.le 2.0, and I have to say I really prefer Test Run to SMC for Overmind, it gives you a nice double whammy for the card and doesn't need 2 MU like SMC (plus it only really costs you an extra cred). As for sliming down, I would probably either drop the Aesop's, only because it would appear that it will only gain you an extra 5 creds throughout the entire game vs. just committing to your money makers as I don't see a lot else that would be thrown to the Pawnshop, or as GPWK said, the plascretes only because you will hopefully have a pretty solid link for this deck to shine. Interesting combo, i've tried the E3/Overmind a few times but instead opted to just go for crazy MU boosts with LLDS for huge one off Overmind runs even though it has a cost of 4 it is fun to run it like faerie and just be prepared for it to die quickly. (on second thought I guess those worn out Overminds might make good pawnshop fodder too :) Thanks for sharing.

2 Jun 2014 ODie

@Josh9000 thanks for the comments. I'm using Pawnshop for early game at up as well, where the first Pawn goes to the trash for an extra 3[]. That sets it up for the recursion when the second one comes in and actually hosts. It's as good as an Easy Mark with a turn delay.

The extra credit off of Daily Casts and Armitage Codebusting is less relevant than the speed up that Aesop's gives; Daily Casts becomes +6[] in three turns vs. +5[] in four to pay out. Armitage comes in with +1[] for one click less as well. Pawnshop was also good to get a refund on the Imp in the previous version of the deck and could well be used on depleted Overminds, yes.

I'm tempted to step away from the e3 for a bit and just pump the Overmind into Omni-Drive to see what the difference is, it may be a slight increase in free MU making the credit draw of e3 less an issue than I've noticed thus far.

Some testing notes - Ci4P does not like deep HB servers and Ash is a pain. I really want that Imp back too; 5[] a shot to kill off Eve Campaigns is a massive impost. Sure, slowed down the Corp a ton, but really set me back in setting up my Rig.

22 Aug 2014 ODie

Moving away from Street Chess, I'm tooling around with Grappling Hook in an Exile / Overmind / e3 deck. Check out By Hook or by crook and LMK what you think. It needs refining (X for experimental) but shows some promise.