"ur ded m8" THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME v. 2.0

Bigguyforyou518 1760

(NAPD Most Wanted List Legal)

There is one simple rule you absolutely must follow when playing this deck: When you have the kill secured, before the runner dies you must announce "ur ded m8". If you do not say "ur ded m8", the deck will not work, and you will have failed completely (even if you won).

Bigguyforyou518: ur dead m8

Noise accesses Snare! in server 6.

Noise takes 3 net damage and 1 tag from Snare!.

Noise takes 2 meat damage from Dedicated Response Team.

Noise takes 2 meat damage from Dedicated Response Team .

Noise takes 2 meat damage from Dedicated Response Team .

Noise is flatlined.

(In that example, I lost the game, because I spelled "ded" incorrectly)

ur ded m8 That smug piece of &#*@ could be you.


In a meta where everyone seems to be experimenting with Vegan Gagarin, there's never been a better time to surprise cocky runners with some thick, juicy sausages and pepperonis. This deck preys upon people's false expectations - there is no secondary win condition here. You're just trying to murder them in the face as hard as you possibly can. Think about that for a second - you're literally a corporation that doesn't care about success or profits, your entire mission statement is "We just murder people for fun!"

The Most Dangerous Game

Alright, so you're going to want to come out the gates playing suspiciously like normal Gagarin. Mulligan for econ assets to start raking in your blood money and ice to protect your centrals. Ideally, you can use a cheap gear-checking ice to score out an early Project Atlas or Oaktown Renovation to put some pressure on, and to further perpetuate the illusion that you're playing fair (you aren't playing fair). Losing the agenda to the runner actually accomplishes the same thing, though.

The first time they pay 1 to remote-check an unrezzed Private Contracts is probably going to be the last time they remote-check anything, because that's one of the worst feelings ever.

The board state you're steering towards is having 2-3 Dedicated Response Teams installed and unrezzed, while having an important server protected by Data Raven, Bernice Mai, or both. I tend to like Bernice more on remotes, since she looks like an Ash 2X3ZB9CY or some other vegan hippy garbage, and she benefits from the Gagarin tax if they want to lay their filthy hands on her.

With DRTs exposed on the board, the Data Raven kill combo can be seen and avoided by runners rich enough to check them and/or trash them. Bernice Mai is harder to see coming, but the real surprise is the Snare!s. Biting their hand when they check R&D is fun, but it's too unpredictable to risk rezzing your Dedicated Response Teams for it (unless they were rezzed already for some reason). The most reliable kill combo is having one or both Snare!s in hand when they multiaccess it. Often you can tempt them into this by emptying the rest of your hand onto the board - with only 1 card in hand, it's usually a solid runner play to go see what it is.

You can also bait them into Snare!s out on the board, but rezzing DRTs can also backfire on you here, because they can react by choosing not to access the Snare (Gagarin's additional cost to access enables this, unfortunately).

Without on-demand tagging like SEA Source, the Scorched Earths might seem questionable. You can follow up on a really unlucky last- Snare!, but more often they're used in conjuction with a single-advanced NOT-NAPD Contract, or to sweep some Plascretes off the board against someone who thinks they can run tags.

If your centrals aren't getting slammed too hard, you can start distributing your ice out to your econ/DRT remotes to discourage trashing them.

Interns have a lot of great targets here. I probably use them on Data Raven most often, since people tend to destroy those by any means possible.


Because of the large variety of tagging and killing methods, this deck is only really "countered" by that guy who plays 3 Plascretes. A Film Critic/NACH build can also lock you down pretty tightly if you let them get too rich. Barring that - do not give up hope after your first, second, and third agendas get stolen. As long as you're not irrevocably broke, the game is still on.

FAQ

  1. Q: How do you score High-Risk Investment?

    • A: You don't.
    • A: Well okay, it happens. Sometimes the runner gets a slow start, and you're itching to bait them into your Bernice Mai remote, so you throw High-Risk Investment down and double advance it, giggling like an idiot. And then...they don't run on it. And so you slowly look around the room to make sure this isn't some elaborate prank, and then...you score it out. It happens.
  2. Q: Hunter and Rainbow are bad ice!

    • A: That's not a question.
    • A: They're actually fantastic in the right deck. Rainbow is a cost-efficient taxer in decks that don't need to keep the runner out, and Hunter is an extremely efficient taxer that's outside of Mimic range, assuming you have some ways to really punish tags. People run through Hunter all the time when I have early unrezzed Dedicated Response Teams down.
  3. Q: Why Bernice Mai instead of something more reliable like SEA Source?

    • A: This deck generally isn't as rich as other Gagarin decks, so the fact that she's 2 less to rez and has a base trace that's 2 higher is a pretty big deal. Add to that the fact that upgrades work great with Gagarin, she works perfectly with Dedicated Response Team, and that she can in theory stay alive to tag them repeatedly, and I think you can make a solid case for her.
29 comments
5 Jan 2016 CodeMarvelous

how do you put a picture in your deck description like that?

5 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@CodeMarvelous If you go to edit your deck and go to the notes section, on the very bottom there's a line that says "Preview. Look here for a Markdown syntax reference." That link brings you to a page with a bunch of fun formatting tools.

For images specifically, you type !alt text](/path/img.jpg "Title") with an extra [ in front of the !

5 Jan 2016 Corence

It looks like the main advantage of playing this over NEH/NEARPAD is that you can include Scorched Earth (NEH could do 3 DRT, 3 Snares, 2 Astro? Maybe 2 Snares, 3 Astro). Which is certainly a reason to play Weyland, don't get me wrong, but there are only three Weyland non-agendas in this deck which makes me wonder about faction swapping.

I find the agenda suite a bit underwhelming. Posted Bounty and Atlas are blank if they're never-advanced, and it seems that HRI requires runner misplays. Maybe try False Lead instead of Posted Bounty? It can be never advanced, and with Data Raven and Snare you can surprise the runner. The runner can't run on click 2 or 4 and expect to clear tags, but if they run on click 1 or 3 and take a Data Raven tag and hit a Snare then you catch them off guard and they're forced to float a tag.

5 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@Corence Thanks for the suggestions. The real origin of this deck was actually playing an old NEH Butchershop that ran DRTs, loving it, and wanting to make it work in a different ID. My reasoning at that time was that NEH "protects" its assets by spamming them so hard, IG protects them through archives (but doesn't have enough influence), and Gagarin protects them by discouraging runs through the tax. At the end of the day, Gagarin probably works better when the tax is actually being levied rather than merely threatened, but this is an experiment in the latter direction.

The agendas - I actually JUST replaced False Lead with Posted Bounty the other day (I've been running False Lead for months), and am currently testing it. My issue with False Lead is that it's easy to play around in most situations. The ideal "you hit a Snare! and then I end your turn" situation only works if the runner runs on their 2nd . The second I score it, people just always intentionally run on 3rd (if they don't have at least to lose, then you can't fire Posted Bounty). I basically have to pull off a double-tag when they have left.

You're right about blank agendas and HRI's uselessness. I'd like to stress that I very rarely win by scoring out. For that reason, I rarely score out a non-over-advanced Project Atlas or Posted Bounty. Instead, I bluff them as NAPD Contracts, and hide them behind Data Ravens during points of the game where the runner thinks they can afford to let me score them.

6 Jan 2016 mawa

Liked and Favorited for the picture alone. Quality stuff. I really, really, like the idea of Bernice Mai in Gagarin. I'll be trying that out myself - I want to even take it in a direction where it replaces Ash. Better yet - supplements it. Bernice fires, and Ash fires, then they take a tag and can't trash Bernice. Ooooooohh.

If you aren't scoring out, what about Government Takeover over the High-Risk Investment? They just let the runner score in 3 agendas anyway.

6 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@RubbishyUsername Thanks :D. And that's an interesting point on the agendas. If I went that direction, I might also replace the Scorched Earths with Punitive Counterstrike, which are in many ways more reliable (although that would sort of split my strategy between tagging and not tagging). I like that framework a lot in Blue Sun: Powering the Future, because they can generally turtle hard enough to draw up your combo pieces before you lose. As Gagarin (at least the way I've been running it), my centrals are woefully porous, and anyone with a Sure Gamble and a Self-modifying Code can break into my "scoring" remotes. I'd also have to play the deck very differently, because low-point agendas are my most reliable way of baiting people into Bernice Mai scoring remotes (I can usually try to set up a kill this way at least twice before I lose).

I'll chew on it, but I think that's the direction I'd take a vegan deck that wanted to cheat their diet with an extra win condition.

6 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

I'm starting to see New Angeles City Hall more than I'd like, which gives this deck indigestion. As of the moment I have no satisfying solution for this - you can out-tax it if you can rev up enough pressure, or you can let them trash in by feeding them an agenda (obviously this only works if Fall Guy or Film Critic haven't hit the board yet). It burns so bad that I could actually imagine feeding a 2-pointer to Corporate Town just to get rid of it.

Security Nexus decks with 6+ have definitely caused me to panic (they can just walk through Bernice Mai and half of my ice before even triggering the console). I've still got more than a few Sunny heads mounted on my wall, but that may be more of a testament to why netdecking 'aint easy. So I might re-evaluate the ice suite.

6 Jan 2016 rojazu

the correct statement to make is

"omae wa mou shinde iru"

6 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

This is bonkers. You've lost it.

6 Jan 2016 Brendan

There is one very easy counter play: put a Bank Job down, and always leave it with a single credit remaining. If the corp rezzes DRT before access, choose Bank Job and take the credits instead. If the corp does not rez DRT, access and live.

6 Jan 2016 ctz

m8 u gr8

6 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@Brendan I think that's only necessary against the NEH variant of this deck. Bank Job doesn't enable you to jack out, so you still have to finish the run. This means that it doesn't counter Data Raven+DRT, nor does it counter Bernice Mai + DRT. Bank Job only helps you if you suspect it's a Snare!, but Gagarin's ID ability already allows the runner to decide not to access.

6 Jan 2016 hi_impact

Freaking aussies strike again! The shitposting kings, all of em!

7 Jan 2016 Labbes

I don't understand this deck. If the runner checks every unrezzed remote, you are just going to lose, right? If you rez DRT, he can just decide not to pay the Gagarin tax. Nearpad in Gagarin is pretty much a bad idea I think.

7 Jan 2016 Lupus Yonderboi

@Labbes Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Gagarin tax is for accessing cards in remote, so when it triggers, the run is already successful.

7 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@Labbes Unfortunately this is a common misconception (somewhat related to @Brendan's idea above). If you rez a Dedicated Response Team during step 4.3 of a run, the runner cannot jack out. As @Lupus Yonderboi indicated, choosing not to pay the Gagarin tax only prevents access - the run is still considered successful, and you still complete the run for the purpose of DRT firing. So if they ran through a Data Raven to get there, or there's a Bernice Mai on the server in question...they're ded, m8.

Rampant remote checking can be an issue, but this can quickly become quite taxing for the runner, especially when I start to place ice in front of the spare remotes. A smart runner will find and trash the DRTs immediately every time they come out, but they have to pay through ice and tax to check them (and I can, in theory, play fourteen of them).

More importantly, Dedicated Response Team accounts for less than half of my kills, because (as you indicated), they're quite predictable and counter-able by someone playing cautiously. But someone playing too cautiously often allows me to nail them with a Posted Bounty, followed up by a single, double, or triple Scorched Earth (often aided by an Atlas token that they similarly let me have). In a serious matchup, DRT's role is tax and misdirection, rather than being your primary kill condition.

7 Jan 2016 Vaslav

I'm afraid I don't understand why the Bernice Mai/Dedicated Response Team combo would work.

Isn't it prevented by the same rule that says you can't use Executive Boot Camp to rez a PAD Campaign and gain the credit? Namely (and I don't remember the exact wording, which is obviously important...) that all "When..." triggers check state on everything in one go, and then process effects?

Keep the Gagarin faith alive!

7 Jan 2016 CodeDigger

@VaslavThey trigger from different things.

Bernice Mai triggers when there is a successful run on this server. This happens in step 4.4 of the Run.

Dedicated Response Team triggers whenever a successful run ends. This happens in step 5.

So when you get to step 4.4, Bernice Mai tags them and then when you get to step 5 they are tagged and Dedicated Response Team has its text and fires.

7 Jan 2016 Vaslav

@mdprice Ah-ha, of course. Thank you!

7 Jan 2016 CodeDigger

@VaslavAlso note, other things that tag the runner during access also can turn on Dedicated Response Team. Things like Snare!, Argus Security: Protection Guaranteed or Ghost Branch.

8 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

Ghost Branch seems like the way I'd go about doing it. Like they just walked into an empty warehouse, and raise their flashlight to see an empty wall with "UR DED M8" spray-painted on it.

8 Jan 2016 Labbes

@Bigguyforyou518 Sorry, I should have been more clear: The case I meant where the runner could just decline to pay Gagarin was before accessing a Snare, because you would have to rez the DRTs before, correct? Tricky timing questions !

8 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

Step 4.3 is the window in question. At this point, the Runner has committed to accessing. Paid effects happen here - which will be the Runner paying the 1 credit to access cards. After the runner finishes his actions, the corp may take theirs in the same paid ability window - which is where the DRTs are rezzed.

The Runner has already made the decision to continued at step 4.2, and paid the 1 credit to access at step 4.3. They can't back out of it at this point. When DRT is rezzed in the Corp half of the 4.3 action window there's no way for the runner to change their mind. 4.4, the run is successful. (this is when Mai would trigger.) 4.5, access cards (Snare! - gaining a tag.)

Step 5 - the SUCCESSFUL run ends, meeting DRT's trigger.

8 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

...never mind, I'm wrong. Gagarin tax happens at 4.5, but still doesn't affect that the choice at 4.2 (jack out/continue) still leads to the run being successful at 4.4, which still triggers DRT.

8 Jan 2016 Labbes

Yupp, but I think I'm correct in thinking that if it's a Snare, the Runner can decline to pay the 1c because the corp would have to rez the DRTs beforehand.

That said, how many people will think about this? I'd probably not think about not paying at that point either.

8 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@Labbes Yes that's correct, Snare! in a remote is a risky bet that usually favors the runner, because you can "scare them off" by rezzing the DRT, and they can then decline to access. Of course, you can use this knowledge to your advantage by bluffing an agenda and "scaring them off" it in the exact same way :)

It's not ideal, but I don't see it as a big flaw in the deck. Snare! is here mainly to discourage rampant central accesses, or occasionally to bait them into my scoring remote for a massive tempo hit (but usually not a kill).

13 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

How was this NOT decklist of the week?!?! Maybe if you wrote a short story about Muldoon up there.

14 Jan 2016 Bigguyforyou518

@GrantZilla1979 It's actually in the works, along with a dramatically improved decklist.

14 Jan 2016 GrantZilla1979

Don't be gettin' all fancy losing that sweet MS Paint style, now