Pros
- allows setting up a 3-advanced bluff, which is incredibly high stakes for the runner to run or not run
- a 3-advanced ambush such as Cerebral Overwriter can be crippling for the runner to access
- but a 3-advanced Agenda could be a 5/3 agenda that is easily scored next turn
- amazing raw economic value, doing 4 and 3 worth of activity for a play cost of only 2 and 0
- can be used to install and advance even non-advancable assets and upgrades, allowing for new varieties of bluffing
Cons
- must be used to install a card in a new server, so it is difficult to install with more than 1 ice or upgrade protecting it
- prevents the card from being rezzed on the runner's next turn, so it cannot be used for tricks like midrun rez-and-trash of cards like Thomas Haas, or with Will-o'-the-Wisp. Ambushes work because they trigger on access, even if unrezzed.
Notable interactions
- Very vulnerable to expose effects, so if they are common in your meta, consider running Zaibatsu Loyalty
- Great to bluff with Cerebral Overwriter, Project Junebug, The Future Perfect and Ronin.
- if you actually want use this without bluffing, some very 'hard' End the Run ice to use with it are Wraparound (not easily broken by AI breakers or Parasite), Guard (can't be bypassed by Inside Job, some resistance to Parasite), and Chimera (can exploit the runner missing a decoder, killer or fracter)
Final Thoughts
- extremely powerful effect for the right deck, but won't work unless the Corp player is willing to take some risks
I kind of feel like the best use of MuShin No Shin (besides baiting a brutal trap) is early game when the runner doesn't have their full rig assembled. Drop a 5/3 into a remote server and use your last click to instal a piece of "end the run" ice that the runner doesn't have the breaker for visible. Yes, its risky if the runner has a inside job in hand or a special order, but this is a game about risks, and Jinteki is the house of nasty unexpected suprises, so the fear of running a trap is real for the runner. If Mushin buys you that turn that the runner can't get in, you effectively spent two turns to score a 5/3, installed a piece of ice on a new server, and have an extra click to spare.
— ShaperLord777