The Gatekeepers

smilingbandit2 15

This is a very trap-lite Jinteki deck that leverages upgrades and annoying ice to drain the runner of clicks and cash. Ice up your centrals with the damaging ones on the outside, then use Caprice and Ash to advance your agendas naked.

I've played six games with the decks (in various incarnations) and I've gone 5-1 thus far.

2 comments
26 Mar 2014 bubo

This deck has a nice feel to it, but I see a couple of places where you can tighten up the efficiencies.

NAPD Contract has a surprise tax for stealing, but it synergizes extremely poorly with the bad publicity from Grim and Shinobi. Clone Retirement and Veterans Program handle the bad publicity, but you are slowing down your Agenda Point win to fiddle around with bad publicity counters. Honestly, if 7 cards in a 49 card deck (15%) is devoted or conditional on removing bad publicity, then it may be better to just not have bad publicity to start with. Personally, I would just drop bad publicity and bad publicity removal from this deck entirely, there are better ways to protect your servers.

The agenda mix, aside from the utility, looks like it wants to be a rush/fast advance build of some sort. Unfortunately, I don't think your economy really supports this endeavor very well. Don't get me wrong, I love Sundew builds, but coupled with PAD Campaign and Hedge Fund leaves your economy slow and vulnerable. Without the Encryption Protocols that the Untrashable variants bring or stronger ETR ICE, PAD Campaign is just a sitting duck out there. I would look into Celebrity Gift in combination with or instead of Hedge Fund for a better pop economy source. If you can spare 3 influence, then Successful Demonstration synergizes really well with the Central Jack Out strategy that many people adopt against Jinteki Replicating Perfection.

I see what you are doing with Ash and Caprice, but I question the value of 3 of each of these Uniques in a single deck. I personally dislike Ash in a Jinteki environment with Caprice, but if we want to keep both then I'd reduce them to 2x each and add 2x Interns. The Interns can recur Ash and Caprice after a trashing, and also allow you to recur Sundews and other assetts.

I'm not sure that this deck benefits from a full complement of 3x Jackson Howard. What do you see Jackson bringing to the table here to deserve play during all three Phases?

Your ICE mix seems a bit light. At the very least, I'd like to see some ICE Walls in a deck like this for Phase 1 protection and Trick of Light shenanigans in Phase 2/3. Unless you are expecting RSVP to guarantee an Ash/Caprice test or plan on regular ICEberg protection, you can save your influence with Inazuma after it's release. Tollbooth just doesn't feel like a good fit in this deck's economy. Take a look at Viper to see if your influence may be better spent there. Grim has an economy of strength to rez cost, but with the bad publicity and single effect I'm left disliking it in this deck. I would take a look at Guard to stop Inside Job, or Uroboros to disrupt the Runner's tempo.

26 Mar 2014 smilingbandit2

NAPD contract has proven very useful thus far. In combination with either Ash or Caprice it often keeps the runner from stealing. It's a Fetal AI that's harder to steal and cheaper to score. I'm not aiming for much net damage, so doing a couple with a Fetal doesn't appeal much.

I had encryption protocols in the deck and ended up removing them. Unless you get them all running at once, they are a minor roadbump. I'd trash a Sundew even at a 5 cost.

Having 3x of Ash and Caprice is not ideal, but I'm more concerned about getting them asap then having extra copies in hand. The reliability is useful.

Jackson's great at any point in the game. In the games I've played, I've used all three of them more than once. I can shuffle my assets back into the deck, stash agendas in archives - there's nothing he does that isn't good.

The ice is intentionally light. Ash and/or Caprice protect my agendas and everything else makes ice walls on the centrals. I'm not doing any trick of light shenanigans, so ice walls are superfluous. Tollbooth is working well. Grim I can take or leave at the moment; the bad pub is annoying but it can devastate the runner when rezzed at the right moment. I don't know what I'd substitute from the present card set.