Rainbow Friendo (4-1 1st of 18 @ OtG SC)

Ajar 1624

After finding Smoke a little too slow and too broke in two events, I chatted with @spags, who mentioned Peace as a useful burst econ card for Shapers. I usually associate that card with Congress-style decks, but concluded that since Smoke's rig is so powerful and cheap, giving the Corp a bunch of money might not be such a big deal as long as it also gave me enough money for Misdirection.

I spent a bunch of time reworking the influence and slots, but couldn't quite get the pieces to fit. Finally, I just threw in The Class Act for laughs and called it a day. When she showed up early after a Peace, or when I really needed one specific card in the midgame, she was incredible. Otherwise, I didn't install her. There is probably still a slightly better iteration of this deck, maybe something along the lines of swapping The Class Act and one Astrolabe for a second Taka and a Clot.

Wins over Argus, SSO, Titan, and a different Argus. The one loss was to a Titan that had a single out remaining (one New Construction in HQ) that I whiffed on accessing a few times. The games were generally close, but Khusyuk is such a haymaker when you've spent the early to midgame forcing the Corp to defend remotes and HQ.

I didn't see the Film Critic in time in any of the games I would have wanted it. I like to have a second one when I run it as my unicorn, but #slots are a thing. I'd love a third Khusyuk, too.

You can see the Argus game in the cut on stream here.

5 comments
14 Apr 2019 dawspawn

Lucky Charm or Turntable might be good 2 inf splashes, too.

15 Apr 2019 Saan

Wow, you live right in the heart of Weyland Town, don't you? Facing 5 different Weyland players, and then playing The Outfit yourself as well... Modern Netrunner is the frickin best.

I've been a little leery of Lady since I got taxed out on an Mti remote one tournament. I love the free breaking, but it does that that exploitable downside. I guess Pelangi can help mitigate that, though. Either way, it seems like if you are just throwing Inf at The Class Act, maybe Paperclip is a possibility. That'd give influence for a potential Clot (what with all the Weyland players) or maybe a Legwork (to help clean up HQ once remote lock has been established for a few turns). As you said, though, #slot problems =P

15 Apr 2019 Ajar

I'm not sure if I got lucky or unlucky with my draw at the event. There was certainly a lot of Weyland, but I avoided Punitive Palana, CtM, MCAAP MirrorMorph, Chronos Protocol, and who knows how many others all day. The Titan games were surprisingly close, considering I had no Clot.

Paperclip & Turntable:

I've tested with Paperclip pretty extensively. It's an issue for a deck that runs somewhat lean on real credits. I think if you slot Paperclip in Smoke, you really need a couple of Stimhacks to support making runs at will. Plus, you lose Critic.

I also like Turntable quite a bit, but it costs 2c, sacrifices Astrolabe draws, and it's a nonbo with Film Critic. Turntable is still a viable choice, but using it requires some structural rethinking.

A Turntable - Paperclip - Stimhack list could probably work against non-Obokata decks. Slot FBF or something so you don't get taxed out in that matchup.

Film Critic:

Critic is nuts right now. It denies SDS, SSL, Obo, TFP, Degree Mill, City Works, and even Bacterial Programming... basically every 5/3 that sees play. I really, really want to get back to having two in this list, to the point that I actually almost used the TTW inf on a Hostage before I came to my senses and remembered that TTW is amazing.

Lucky Charm:

I had Lucky Charm in a theoretical list at one point, but never tested it. In the cut video, the Argus player used a Border Control on R&D to stop a likely game-winning Khusyuk. I think as people get wise to Khusyuk, that will happen more often. Plus, if I don't need to use it, Charm costs 1c.

That said, TTW tends to force Corps to ice HQ, making it tougher to meet the requirement for Charm on the turn I want to use it. To address that, I could consolidate the TTWs into a Legwork, although the flexibility of TTW is a pretty big upside in a deck that likes to make at least one run on most non-Peace turns.

I'll at least try some of the cards suggested here and see how I like them. Thanks for the ideas!

22 Apr 2019 RvdH83

Maybe -1 Astrolabe, +1 Akamatsu Mem Chip. Then the second one isn't dead.

24 Apr 2019 Ajar

I'd do that for sure if I had a Clot.