Aww yeah, big-rig shaper is back, baby!
I really like this card. I love how it's big and ridiculous and expensive, but powerful enough that it might actually be worth the cost. I love the idea that a "console" is just whatever electronics rig you have for interfacing the net, and that it doesn't have to be small or practical, or not a boat. I love the theme, that Captain Padma is just as much a hacker as, say, Noise, but that she does it by directly messing with undersea cables instead of net-surfing to music in loud clubs. I even love the dumb pun intrinsic in the card. (It's an icebreaker ship! Get it? Get it??) All in all, this is exactly the kind of card that I am predisposed to like.
So how does it actually stack up in the game?
Well, to start off, this is probably the craziest console since Security Nexus. And I think this one is probably the better of the two, to be honest. Auto-breaking two subroutines (and ignoring strength) is really powerful. It will get you past most ice, so it's almost as good as security nexus's effect. But with the added benefits that:
- It costs no credits to operate (once you shell out 8 to get it on the board at least...)
- You can stockpile a bunch of tokens and do it multiple times per turn
- The corp has no input into the process - it's not a trace; it's just spending tokens and is entirely under the runner's control
Of course, breaking two subs is not QUITE as good as completely bypassing the ice, and you still have to contend with on-encounter effects like Tollbooth etc. But even so, very few pieces of ice have more than two must-break subs. Even if you take some net-damage along the way or whatever, you'll most likely get in. (And if you break all the subs, you can make use of effects like Hippo!)
Also similar to Security Nexus, this card is clearly at its best with some supporting cards, and probably with a specific ID. This is obviously Captain Padma's boat, and her ability works well with it - if you focus on R&D, then between the console's ability and her own, you can get two tokens from a single run. Which means that, unless they install and res two pieces of ice on R&D, you can probably get in once per turn, every turn, even if you haven't installed any breakers yet. And of course things like Daeg, First Net-Cat, or Into the Depths can help give it charges beyond that.
Naturally, if you drop Padma on the table though, they're going to ICE up R&D, since that's your obvious target. (Also because, you know, you're playing shaper...) But even without her ability, the console can recharge itself just through successful runs, which can be anywhere. Go checking archives because Jinteki is threatening Regenesis? Power token. Checking a naked remote? Power token. Surprise running on HQ because their hand is getting fat? It may surprise you to learn - Power token. Because you can (and should!) still build a regular rig. What the boat gives you is an incredible backup plan, if some scary (or expensive) ice shows up unexpectedly.
So let's talk synergies. In general terms, there are two main classes of cards that Endurance really benefits from:
Stuff that gives you power counters: The boat runs on power counters, so any way you can boost the number of boat counters you get is good.
- Captain Padma Isbister: Intrepid Explorer is the obvious choice - this is her console, so she naturally synergizes with it extremely well.
- Daeg, First Net-Cat seems fine, especially if you have other stuff for him to charge up if you draw him before the boat. (Earthrise Hotel for example.)
- Into the Depths can give you power counters, as well as other useful effects.
- Rigging Up and Stoneship Chart Room can both provide tokens also, but I'm not as wild about those. Reviews on those cards go into more depth, but in short - There just aren't a lot of targets that make full use of Rigging Up, and it requires you to draw it before you install Endurance to be useful. And Stoneship Chart Room just doesn't feel like it does enough to justify a card slot.
- Rejig actually might be worth including here, especially if you have other cards that you might want to reset. (Propeller maybe?) Even by itself, you can use Rejig as a 0-cost way to restart your boat (with 3 counters!) if you ever let it get down to 0. Three boat power counters for a 0-cost card might actually be worth it, honestly...
Stuff that gives you extra benefit from running: Since you need to make runs to charge up the boat, you might as well get extra stuff in the process! Some highlights:
- Into the Depths has a lot of potential, since you can use Endurance to break past ice pretty safely, and then use Into The Depths to dig out and install whatever breaker you find out you need. And of course you can use it to get credits or power counters. If you can trigger even two of its effects, you're getting a ton of value out of a 1 event.
- Leech is a classic - it doesn't directly give you credits, but it makes future runs cheaper. (Since you will want an actual breaker suite of some sort - the boat is probably not going to be your primary breaker - just a way to take the edge off the really expensive stuff.)
- Aumakua has some very nice synergy. (And even fits the nautical theme!)
- DreamNet might be worth it, although you only get the card draw since you're not digital.
- Pinhole Threading gives you some good value out of running minimally protected remotes.
- Deuces Wild doesn't exactly fit here, but it gives you a run, and an extra charge on Aumaka if you're using it, (as well as some other useful effect) so it's probably worth considering as well.
- Standard multiaccess (The Maker's Eye, Legwork, Conduit, etc) is always welcome.
Also, special bonus shoutout to Jak Sinclair who gives you a free run every turn. And the downside (can't use icebreakers) is mitigated greatly when you have a boat that can break ice for you.
I think this card is going to be strong enough to have some very fun decks built around it. I don't know if the meta is going to be slow enough to allow decks that need time to drop an 8 console, but if it is, this is going to be a powerhouse. And even if not, I predict some serious fun jank as people try to make it work. But really, that effect is strong enough that I'll be surprised if it doesn't have at least some presence.
Happy sailing!
Fun fact, couple with Revolver and Corroder, you would be well on the way to have lots of 2c cost cards to use with Khusyuk.
— Diogene