Something, Something, Dark Side...

Whizzard? Hah! SMC? Nobody cares.

As long as Account Siphon and Inside Job continue to sit on the sidelines, this is the corp I'm going to be sleeving up.

Early, this deck is all about the T1 Mushin No Shin + advance, and forcing the runner to have Account Siphon. Without it, the runner needs to flip a coin on either 4 brain damage or a free Janus. Either way, the forecast calls for a heavy chance of lobotomy.

Late, it's all about the ridiculously big ice and scoffing at the lack of Inside Job. There is so much big ice in this deck (9 pieces out of 44 cards) that an unanswered Eliza's Toybox can usually double-secure itself, R&D, and a second remote. From there, it's a race between scoring 7 points, drawing IT Department (which almost instantly locks up the game), or the runner suiciding on a desperation Maker's Eye.

Nothing in this deck is soft to Parasite, and little falls to Scrubber. There's no reliance on traces, either. Without a dedicated card like Vamp, it's actually remarkably difficult for a runner to utilize an economic advantage. All that's left is for the runner to try to beat you at your own game. Your game is almost always called "Amateur Brain Surgery."

Some talk about card choices:

Mushin No Shin - This card is what makes this sort of deck work. By the time you actually have servers to score 6/2s or 5/3s, the runner will usually have ransacked HQ with Legwork, or will have the economy to challenge your remote. Mushin lets you thin HQ of agendas, so you don't need to spend as much ice on it. It also gives you a chance at having those powerful agenda abilities as early as T2. You will often give up 2-3 points this way, but they are points you were likely to lose anyway. There's a lot more to gain from scoring Mandatory Upgrades or Priority Requisition, or braining the runner for 4 than there is to lose if the runner scores an agenda or ignores a Cerebral Overwriter. Mushin is also the main reason for cutting Jackson Howard for better econ. Between your mulligan decisions and early Mushins, HQ is going to be agenda-light.

Inazuma - It's truly remarkable how well this card fits this deck. You will rez a lot of Janus 1.0 outside of runs. Install advance advance behind a known Janus isn't a big problem for the runner. Install advance advance behind a known Janus behind an unknown Inazuma is game over. In addition to it's direct synergy with bioroid ice, Inazuma has an indirect synergy with Eliza's Toybox, preserving the ambush factor to your ice at an incredibly low cost. It also presents a permanent counter to Yog.0 plus Net-Ready Eyes, and flat-out kills many runners planning to use Sharpshooter, Deus X, or Faerie for a 1-time access.

Archer - This seems odd without Domestic Sleepers, but it turns out the deck has more than enough ways to rez it. I'd recommend swapping this out for Curtain Wall if Silencer is popular in your area. But the option to forfeit a 5/3 to trash two programs is usually better than the option to spend 14 credits for just an ETR.

The biggest concern about this deck (aside from the dreaded Account Siphon) is the difficulty in playing the first turn. The Mushin draws are easiest, as Mushin + advance is almost always correct. However, many draws include ice that can't be rezzed right away, or can be rezzed but will make Restructure more difficult to play. There are often competing interests between placing your big ice to disguise your vulnerabilities early and placing it to strengthen your long-term plans.

If you do pick up this deck, I'd recommend looking at a few dozen opening hands and playing out the first turn. Not only will this minimize costly ice-placement errors, but it will let you develop muscle memory for the "Mushin + advance" action. It sounds silly, but your hands are just as good at giving up information as your face. Once your hands look the same pushing out a Mandatory Upgrades as they do with Cerebral Overwriter, a good poker face will naturally follow.

Best of luck beating up on those anarchs and shapers. And may the runner always choose poorly.