Apocalos

manicmoleman 497

Combining Criminal tricks and money with Apocalypse has lead to a really fun deck which actually makes you feel like a criminal scouting out a job before pulling off the perfect heist!

Try and get the Corp to rez an ICE every turn to trigger Los' ability, with a focus on ICE protecting centrals. If you have an Apocalypse in hand, take necessary precautions to protect it by installing your Alias or Passport. Ideally you wait to Apocalypse until you suspect an Agenda in the remote, but beggars can't be choosers! If there's a decent amount of ICE rezzed, go for it!

I've found it's generally okay to float tags after an Apocalypse, so an ideal Apocalypse turn might be Account Siphon, Security Testing Archives, Inside Job R&D, Apocalypse.

Tracker is a deceptively good card, which can help with early aggression. Of note, you don't have to trigger it on the first ICE you encounter. You can break the first ICE completely, then leave Tracker to deal with the 'End the run' on a Fire Wall, say. It's also a pseudo-AI breaker, letting you get around an Excalibur for example.

My favourite plays with this deck involve the Mueros Gang Members. Did the Corp just rez an expensive bit of ICE to keep you out? Install your Gang and run again! About to play Apocalypse? Trash the Gang to draw a card; it doesn't matter if the Corp rezzes something now as it's about to get blown up! About to do an Apocalypse turn and there's no unrezzed ICE on centrals? Trash the Gang to draw a card at the end of a Corp's turn, potentially getting a Los trigger if they rez ICE, then blow everything up!

I'll admit this might not be a particularly well placed deck in the meta at the moment, given that everyone has Friends in High Places, but it's still great fun to play and I've had reasonable success with it.

14 comments
26 Apr 2017 M1ke

I like how focused this deck is! Apocalypse in criminal is always fun :)

Have you considered Independent Thinking for trashing your cards post-apocalypse, instead of Aesop's Pawnshop? It will provide some burst draw, which might be better than drip econ.

26 Apr 2017 Skeletons

Really nice use of Muertos Gang Member!

Have you tried Legwork over say, Feint? A little multi-access to hit the corp while they're down might be good fun.

26 Apr 2017 manicmoleman

@M1ke Great idea, as drawing into further answers post-Apocalypse is sometimes difficult. It's also cheap on influence. With the saved influence I'd probably up my Temüjin Contract count to 3.

@Skeletons I have often wanted a Legwork, as frequently the Corp's Jacksons are used to save key pieces from Archives, letting things back up in HQ. I'd have a really hard job replacing Feint though, as it can make Apocalypse turns a lot cheaper, especially if they've put nasty ICE on HQ as Corps are wont to do against Criminal. Maybe cutting 1 Feint and 1 Account Siphon and replacing them with 2 Legwork might be the answer.

26 Apr 2017 Crauseon

Wouldn't this be awesome in Armand "Geist" Walker: Tech Lord, with synergies with Thrash abilities (getting rid of your board before bombing the Net)?

Play low on money, high on draw, and his own suite?

26 Apr 2017 PanchoC

Loved the deck! Always pleased to see decks without Sure Gamble, hehe. Although my experience with Apocalypse decks is that some sort of recursion is needed or Levy AR Lab Access at least. Crim might be the worst faction for this, but have you had problems of self-milling or particular problems against net/meat damage decks?

26 Apr 2017 whirrun

I'm pretty sure I lost to this the other day. Looked really cool and I definitely didn't see it coming!

27 Apr 2017 manicmoleman

@Crauseon I think it could be great in Geist, although would be wary of relying on Shiv, Spike and Crowbar as they usually need a bit of setup to get them up to strength. Dean Lister might help that though.

@PanchoCGlad you enjoyed it! I've not had any problems in my games so far, but you have to be careful and play the odds sometimes. Against a deck with Shocks in Archives I made sure to only run there with Security Testing. Against a Builder of Nations deck, I had to make sure I had enough cards in hand that hitting the Apocalypse was less likely. But even then, it led to some really tense runs which is what this game is all about! I forgo recursion for redundancy. Perhaps an emergency Rebirth to become Steve might be an option once you've been through your deck?

@whirrun Thanks! I've not got used to the acting necessary to play this properly in meatspace. I get a stupid grin on my face as soon as I know I can pull it off that turn, which frequently leads to preemptive popping of Jacksons!

27 Apr 2017 Crauseon

While waiting for Dean Lister, I opted to spend a few influence on a few Security Chips. Those two extra strength might make a world of difference.

After building the deck I'm not exactly sure if it'll actually be fun to play for either side, as it relies on such a heavy single opportunity play. But I might give it a swing. :)

27 Apr 2017 manicmoleman

@Crauseon I've played Security Chip in Geist before and I really like it. Again, requires a bit of setup, but does a lot of work early on if they're rushing behind a Fire Wall or something.

28 Apr 2017 codychilton13

@manicmoleman I actually like feint in this deck because it let's you trash crisium grids super easily AND make apocalypse easier to pull off!! Nice list! :D

28 Apr 2017 manicmoleman

The interaction between Feint and Crisium Grid is one of my favourite interactions in Netrunner! Thanks!

8 May 2017 zwarbo

If you drop the Aesop's Pawnshop for Independent Thinking as talked about above and then go +1 to Temüjin Contract, then with the single influence free I was wondering about Cold Read. It gives you money up front like a mini Stimhack and is flexible like Dirty Laundry. If it's used on the last run before Apocalypse then the downside doesn't matter.

23 May 2017 Youngj.t

I took a missed version of this to Regionals in Rochester. Served me well: split, split, sweep, swept.

Changed the breakers to Abagnale, Demara, and Mongoose, added 3 spear phishing for the trackers and 2 doppelganger for sneakdoor.

Allowed for an extra action on Apocalypse runs, and easier access to remotes. Also trash abilities on Terminal breakers were unexpected by most opponents.

23 May 2017 manicmoleman

@Youngj.tGlad you're having success with it and I like your changes!