DOOF VAL 2018 KoS + Worlds / Retrospective and thank you

This list is the culmination of a collective effort - a community of people who came to be close friends on the road to worlds. My KoS team consisting of Raja Doake (Ajar), Mike Walsh (Miek) and Michael Lawson (Neuropantzer) poured over list after list - it eventually crystallizing in the list you see above. Critical insight and key cuts were also made by Andre Nillson and Asger Sorensen, both of whom were unfortunately not able to make it to Minneapolis. The deck was designed to be able to pursue a gameplan against MTI glacier and Azmari in the first instance - but also, to be able to hammer CTM- which I only saw during the KoS, but unfortunately I did not face during the main event. Miek, Raja and Neuropantzer all played this list during the main event, as did Julien Deville.

The deck initially grew out of a discussion over the power of Hijacked Router - a card that grabbed my attention in Reign and Reverie, but which seemed somewhat clunky and not worth the include in a Val deck. What I soon realized however is that the Router can create very powerful economic pressure on the corp, especially when used in conjunctions with Dirty Laundry/ Auma / Sucker / and ultimately, Mining Accident. Even though I eventually cut the Router - testing it was what led me to remark the power of the headlock game plan.

The second critical piece was the Archivist, a card that I had seen played both by Abram Jopp (in his Reina drip deck) and by Dien Tran in his 2018 Toronto Regionals list. When the new MWL came out, restricting Surveyor - MTI decks who wished to retain surveryor were forced into hidden bind of playing ALL security initiatives: GFI, TFP, philotic entanglement, and of course, Nisei MK2. CTM, on the other hand, had QPM, ARES, and Food - all of which triggered the archivist.

Both these cards, Router (which was eventually cut) and the Archivist (which remained) ended up creating testing conditions in which the accumulation of bad pub was significantly more than it would have been in standard Val lists. Even 2 bad pub, when used in conjunction with Aumakua and Datasucker, usually made the corp's situation significantly dire that they had to begin defending irrelevant servers like the archives to prevent the turtle from swelling to insane numbers. It was by no means unusual to reach 3 or 4 bad pub. My maximum was 8 bad pub (against the outfit) This creates a credit tempo feeling to games that can be used effectively against a wide variety of decks.

The single DOOF may stand out as an eyesore or awkward include in this deck, but it is a critical piece. We found that when used in conjunction with the bad pub engine, even a single hit could place the corp in a critical situation. This, added with the fact that it was unexpected, and the HQ is not normally significantly defended against anarch, coagulated with the rest of the deck's econ pressure to collapse MTI's ability to rez monster ice, and in the case of CTM, to recover from your pressure of their economic assets.

The itinerant protestors emerged from my testing with Andre Nillson. Scarcity of Resources was proving to be sufficiently annoying that I wanted a fourth current simply to win the current war. I naturally included an additional hacktivist. Andre however suggested itinerant, which we found to actually be significant, even when it was hitting 1 piece of their hand size. Over the course of Worlds, I itinerant locked at least three players - one for 8 bad pub ( he was on the outfit) and another for 4 (MTI). It was fantastic to see people read the card.

Shadow Net + same old thing are there to recur any critical events you need, stimhack or DOOF. Shadow net is also excellent recovery from going broke against CTM, and of stopping Sports Spam. It can also be used to forfeit a GFI if you anticipate an exchange. Against rush decks like Titan or Argus, you can use it to spam the DOOF, which can stop the opponent in their tracks.

Falsified is also a critical card. It adds to the econ pressure by enabling you to NOT run during critical moments - thereby allowing you to save money. It loads up the auma and you can almost always spot a unrezzed Rashida.

This deck's rebirth potential is probably greater than any I have played in the past. There are so many legitimate targets. Omar is still the high percentage choice, but I also have have extracted value from Kim, Freedom (Sucker + Auma) , Reina (yes), and to be perfectly honest, Alice, who works great in conjunction with itinerant. Reina and Kim are especially strong with the archivist, pushing you to 2 link - and thus, in range of breaking the IP block trace for free.

Turntable x 2 perhaps needs no explanation - as it was in all the top Val lists. But we found it to be very powerful against MTI's nisei MK2 scores, and the best way to tax their tempo. While corps will burn the counter on remotes, they almost never do on centrals, which opens up lines of play that keep you in the game.

I ultimately missed the Day 2 cut - losing a 2-4-1 in a nailbiter to a sportsmetal rush deck 7-5. I was very disappointed, because I felt well prepared for the event. However, I felt this deck had a strong line of play against every opponent I faced at Worlds. It is a very versatile list that can be used to pursue many different strategic lines. It counter-intuively is much stronger against MTI and Azmari glacier than lists I tested using D4vid+ clone chip. Funnily enough (and for the second worlds in a row), I did not face any of the decks I prepared for in the main event. I think this would have done even better against more standard CTMs and MTIs.

What is most important to me about this list is the extraordinary fun I had in working on it with my KoS team, Andre, Asger and the Montreal crew. All the conversations we had on slack were great and it was amazing to see the list grow from there. It was immensely satisfying to see the look on people's faces when they were getting siphoned - or when they dropped cards from hand for the itinerant.

Worlds was a blast. I met so many vibrant people and played so many phenomenal games. There were so many people with whom I wish I could have caught up with more, but the weekend went by in a flash. I deeply regret that Asger and Andre were not able to make it out. Still, I was able to meet Tolaasin, who remarked with an air of casualty, and in his British accent that "we had likely played close to 500 games on jnet" (lol). I finally met Toby Forman (tf 34) whom I playtested with for years online and whom I was proudly able to see make top 3 in Swiss on Day 1b. I sat next to Spags who let out the most "300" style roar of adrenaline after Chris Dyer apparently whiffed on a huge turning wheel run against him. It was wild and I just sat there thinking to myself - what other game could elicit such a reaction?!

There were man other moments of excitement and fun. I beat Asher (LSK's) Titan when he was at 6 points, and subsequently lost a game to him on a second turn legwork for the win (wow). Jason Deng recounted to me in the Slack that at least four people approached him over the course of the weekend saying "You're the guy who got boomed on turn 4!" I was able to play an hour long game against Timmy Wong during which he broke two fairchild 3s, 3 times, and apparently on 4 credits, for the win? I saw a prominent leftist in the Netrunner community kick a hole in the FFG game center wall and subsequently told "never to return". I helped Brandon King, a player who is visually impaired, test his MTI Punitive deck and I must say I have never been struck by someone who took more enjoyment in the game than he did.

Probably the best feeling was the KoS event. After our team got nearly completely swept by the Scottish team (Edenborough?), we climbed our way back to the top table, only to fight a battle against Dien, Ran, John Sirris and Kenny, ultimately ending 7th. It felt fantastic.

My favourite moment of worlds was in my game against Ran Cao. The score was 6-6 in my Val against her CTM. I had built up 8 wheel counters, but was beginning to run out of money, and she had shoved in a remote that was too taxing to check. I turned to Mike Lawson and asked if I should let it fly. He said go. I burned the wheel and accessed 7 cards, whiffing each time and ultimately eating tags. Ran's turn: she pops rashida+ fires DBS. She draws 1, then 2. I'm ready to concede, expecting the EOI. She instead looked across from me and remarked in a deadpan voice "... This is Straight Garbage..." (meaning she had missed the EOI). It was one of those moments of recognition in which you and the opposing player both recognize you are subject to forces beyond your own control and that there is something obscene to this particular game. That is a feeling that was replicated many times over during the weekend.

I will severely miss being able to compete at competitive Netrunner events, and I'm not sure any other game will deliver the same pressure cooker feeling of intensity + texas hold'em poker and down to the wire plays.

I remember driving down to Cleveland with Dien and the Toronto Crew this summer, and I remarked that no other game I have played delivered the same strategic feeling and variety as Netrunner. He was driving, and he turned back - somehwat wryly, and said "...man...do you think we'd drive to Cleveland if it wasnt"? :)

I am aware that Nisei is taking over, and they have in fact outlined an ambitious to keep the game alive. There was however, a feeling of finality to this Worlds, which was sometimes subliminal throughout the weekend, and even lent it a tragic quality. I am tremendously happy that I attended, and was very moved by all the acts of solidarity amongst the community, to help payers who had not secured a ticket (especially Peter McOwen and Stephen Ball), to raise money for DodgePong's amazing stream, to help Spags out , and most importantly, to raise money for Ciara Maxey's family.

So shouts to Mr. Jank, Andre Nillson, Asger Sorensen, Raja, Michael (mIek), Michael Lawson (neuropantzer), Vincent Vikk, Andrej Gomelj, Roberto Linteau, Eric Boivin, Julien Deville the whole Montreal and Toronto Crew Terence Liu, Brandon King, Kyle Chiu. Jon Yeo, Matt Blaquiere, Kumar and hot Hands Quinlan (what a run!). All the comrades - Josh, Jonas, Eric, Kenny, Dien, Dan, and Peter and Ellen who have brought out the best in the competitive scene - it was especially great to meet Abram - who I must say has a pretty sick netrunner mind. To the New York crew who I had the pleasure of meeting and playing including Allison, AnalyzeChris, and Matt Yeaton. Spags you are the grand-daddy ( I know youre not that old but still) of Netrunner and I appreciate the way you have brought intensity to every event. Jason Deng you are a shark. Josiah and Austin Mills congrats on brining the home brews! Toby TF34 and Crunchums - I will miss our discussions on slack. I am exhausted and likely forgetting too many people. But I ultimately would wish to thank the entirety of the community for everything - it has been a wild ride.

overheard over the weekend:

click one and two - siphon

I didn't come to win games - I only came to Apocalypse

Click one econ war -click two econ war - click three ark lockdown

"I am top Mimosa sexx" - Unattributed slack post