Midnight Spam (46th at EACC, 5-2)

Mumbad has rotated and with it went asset spam as an archetype. Or at least, that's what everyone said. I brought this deck fully intending to lose and have fun on the lower tables but somehow it kept on winning. No one's running asset hate so despite losing some fantastic assets I didn't miss them too much. I did miss them, mind you!

The goal of the deck is simple: try to create at least one new remote every turn you aren't scoring out. Don't be afraid to install naked agendas early game, it's good to feel your opponent out and see if they're the type to run everything or not. Some games you'll score multiple agendas off the table, others you have to fast advance every point.

Tags are your backup plan, you're too poor to reliably land HHN but occasionally the runner will overextend and you can punish them for it. I didn't get to Boom! anyone during the event but I did score a 4-point Beale with Psychographics and I "scored" multiple Backroom Machinations, going tag-me against you doesn't end well!

This deck is incredibly fun, it's rather fast (though it's no Sportsmetal), and it doesn't need much money to function. Give it a spin, it might surprise you too! Just don't play it so much that runners put Miss Bones back in their decks! :^)

Anyway, lets talk about some cards. Apologies if I ramble, I don't do many deck writeups.

AGENDAS

ARES is the best agenda in the deck, scoring it makes everything easier. Runners that were trashing your entire board start to slow down and Stargate becomes less appealing when they have to spend a click and two credits after every use. I'm sure most of you know this from good old CtM but it's good to tell newer players.

You won't score Bellona, don't even bother, but it's a solid tax to the runner and easy to hide with Spin Doctor and DBS. I considered trying a more agenda-dense deck with Remastered Edition but couldn't find cuts.

The 3/2s have text on them but you don't care most of the time. Just score them, that's what the deck does!

ASSETS

Tiered Subscription? Are you mad? Yes. But it's a free rez that guarantees money. Multiple Pad Taps will abuse this so if you feel like swapping them for NASX or more Marilyns that might be a smart decision but they worked out for me.

Amani Senai is great. Score a Beale, tax the runner 3c. Rez it just before the runner steals a Bellona, now you bounce their boat and they trash two programs. I don't think you run 3 though.

Daily Business Show is another fantastic asset. It filters your draw and finds you what you need while hiding extra agendas you don't want to score yet. I'm not sure if 3 is necessary but it's worth considering, having one rezzed at all times helps you out so much but smart runners trash it immediately. It's not too hard to find with all the draw but having backups never hurts. Worth testing.

PAD and Marilyn Campaign are your economic backbone. They'll provide steady drip as long as they aren't trashed. They're no Mumba Temple or Commercial Bankers Group but they'll give you enough to function. I like Marilyn a lot honestly, you draw so fast that you'll probably see her two or three times in a game.

OPERATIONS

I talked about the tags earlier in the writeup so I won't talk too much about HHN/BOOM!/Psycho but remember that they're not your primary plan. They're there to scare the runner. If they see these cards in the early game then they'll slow down until they've got their economy sorted, giving you time to set up and score agendas.

Biotic Labour is how you win but I recommend you try to score a few agendas off the table before you start fast advancing from hand. You can usually sneak one or two agendas out before you need to Biotic.

Archived Memories gets you whatever you need. Another Biotic, the last Spin Doctor that just got Stargated, a Boom! when the runner goes tag-me. Consider going down to 1, but it's good.

Backroom Machinations is no Exchange of Information, but sometimes you just need one point to close out a game. It's not amazing but it does the job, feel free to swap it for something else if you don't like it.

Predictive Planogram is versatile, sometimes you just need 3 credits, sometimes you want to draw a bunch of cards and sometimes the runner forgets about ARES so you get to do both. 2 feels right to me but you might want a third? I'll leave that to the experts.

UPGRADES

Mavirus lets you score through Clot. Don't cut it while Shaper is the most popular faction.

A SanSan left alone will win you the game. It's a Biotic Labour that can potentially score multiple agendas, and it costs 5 to trash! 7 with an ARES scored! Stick it behind an Endless EULA and runners will weep.

ICE

Hydra is too expensive, you will not rez it. I made this change last minute from a Tollbooth because I feared the boat but that was a mistake. I'm not sure if Tollbooth is correct either but you definitely don't want Hydra. Please swap it for something else.

Endless EULA is the big ICE we want. It's not unreasonably expensive, it's one of the few cards that can tax a boat and it's perfect to stick in front of an important card (normally SanSan). Good ICE, just watch out for Anarch lists on Chisel.

Everything else is meant to be as annoying as possible. They won't keep the runner out but they'll annoy them, make centrals slightly taxing and might defend an important asset for few turns. Feel free to switch things up according to your taste, I don't think it's perfect.

Final thoughts

Ban runner drip.

But seriously, the event was a lot of fun. I was actually quite reluctant to enter after seeing Sokka's disgusting Lat and R+ decks but decided to sign up anyway and I'm glad I did. Had some great matches, friendly opponents and honestly winning so many games with an underdog deck like this made my week. Thanks again to my opponents and to the organisers of the event!

Fun fact: This was the only NEH to appear in all three of the continentals. How the mighty have fallen!