Andy Strikes Back (21st Worlds, 3rd Icebreaker)

This is the Andromeda deck that I took to Worlds along with its partner in crime SYNC (https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/38749/killing-kittens-21st-worlds-3rd-icebreaker-).

Overall it went 5-0 in the Icebreaker and 6-3 in the main event. Not only was I just the difference between a timed win and a win off the Top 16 cut I also missed out on top placed criminal by 1 place. Now with the salt out the way this is pretty much your standard Andysucker list but I wanted to say a few words about card choices and influence that were ironed out during testing.

In the lead up to worlds we had expected more than half the field to be represented by CTM & ETF and this deck has solid game against both. In the end it was the right call because I faced 4 CTMs and 2 ETFs in my 9 rounds of swiss.

Game plan vs CTM:

I dont usually pressure the turn 1 sensie because I have a full hand of cards to unload and they will often have a solid credit lead due to sweeps. Instead I look to either begin to unload a temujin (ideally with career fair/laundry) or set up a solid opening with despeardo / sec testings so that I can pressure the assets and wipe them from turn 2 onwards. After that its all about controlling their board, your credits and obtaining remote lock so they cannot hurt you. Pressure everywhere to force them to spend money on rezzing ICE but do leave RnD alone (unless they are poor) if they get ICE rezzed there its going to be a bit of a pain later on during the medium dig. One thing to watch out for is the Snake - I would suggest installing/special ordering your mongoose first for this reason or not running a server if they are on 4 or more credits. Save your femme for the tollbooth and install it over mongoose. Strike does wonders in this matchup because often they will panic and score a BN from hand which reduces their threats to you in the midgame. CTM runs poorer these days so you should be able to overwhelm them and land a siphon to get them down to zero. Its okay to go tagme here and whilst they are recovering draw aggressively for your other siphons, and legwork / medium and don't let up on the pressure.

Gameplan vs ETF

On paper this should be a pretty rough matchup but in reality its not - my win rates vs ETF were north of 80% with the Strike version of this deck. Turn 1 you want to set up and unload a temujin if you can. Good players will keep an ICE in hand to cover archives off quickly so its a bit tricky to figure out how much money you want off the temujin and how many good cards you want to discard. After that you will need Kati and Casts to tie you over as you build your board state. Get a strike down early its amazing how much ETF leans on that credit and often they will panic and try to rush/biotic an agenda which will help you establish some econ yourself as it will open up servers for free sec testing as they become poor. Strikes also turn off ELP which is quite relevant with F3. A large part of your gameplan is denial so its okay to let them score an agenda but its not okay to let them establish a campaign. I will often femme remote ICE to get them off it. Prod and poke where you can to force rezzes (I will often use siphon for this), but make sure to leave RnD alone because when you do install medium you want it to be when they are on zero credits. In terms of breakers, go for the mongoose first to deal with architect and make sure you always run with enough clicks to deal with fairchild/ichi. Draw into all your siphons, siphon them down and legwork/medium for the win.

Card choices:

Datasuckers are absolutely crucial in modern Andy builds, namely because they negate the general shitness of your breakers and act as additional desperados for you.

Corroder vs Paperclip. I like paperclip and think its absolutely vital vs rigshooter builds (as I found out in the gunslinger) but in this meta corroder is the right choice as it covers all the cheap yellow ice and eli/wos effectively, has a lower install cost saves on influence. Just make sure you dont lose it which means playing around the snake/ichi. Im defintely interested in testing out the new bird barrier breaker because 2 influence saved will do wonders in criminal (vamp?).

Mongoose vs Mimic. I prefer mimic as its way better against turnpike/architect/ichi in general but it is easier to get blown out vs HB with it and the additional influence cost meant I choose mongoose.

Zu vs Gordon. This is quite a key debate. Zu offers a cheaper install and lower influence and with sucker support is actually quite a fine breaker. In addition if run with hoppers you can run a 2 sucker medium rig in the late game which is amazing. I however was running into a lot of HB with Ravana+F3 servers in testing and opted for the safer Gordon. Its the cut to make (along with strikes) if you are looking for a double medium influence spend.

2 Legworks. I see many lists with one and I believe that is absolutely incorrect. This is your win con vs CTM/HB - you need two. It also means you can be a little less precious about discarding one of them early.

1 Networking. For CTM/Sync and efficient siphoning. This would be 2 if i had slots. Considered cutting a sec testing.

1 Medium. For a long time I have run RDi in Andromeda, and whilst better against HB its definitely the wrong choice vs yellow when you have gone tagme and need to see a lot of cards very quickly to close out the game before EoI hits. It has also led to a change in my playstyle to leave RnD alone such that i can maximise the efficiency of RnD runs in the late game. The main debate between Laurie and myself in testing was between 2 mediums and 1 medium (+2 strikes and gordon). I opted for the latter option because I found it increased my HB win rate by ~15% whilst leaving CTM rate about unchanged.

2 Strikes. This current does so much work against vs CTM and ETF it was definitely the right choice on the day. Its either saving you 3 credits a turn vs CTM or its denying ETF 1 credit per turn. It also changes their mind set causing them to panic and score/rush an agenda before they are ready to turn it off. Its also better vs the field where it will do work the only game I think I discarded it were vs Wilfy Horigs SYNC deck.

All in all was Andy the right choice? I think the West Coast Whiz deck is the better deck but at the end of the day im a true blue and Andy suits my playstyle and experience much better. Enjoy the deck!