2016 Philly Regional (4th)

I give it a solid 10/10 for it being a complete green machine.

Tried it out and wondered how one can trim it to at least go down to 46. Does the Deus X pull it's weight? I have also entertained the idea that Utopia Shard is enough of a kill protection. Could also be switched for Sports Hopper with the added benefit of being card draw when needed. Thoughts?

Great suggestions!

Meat damage builds are Kryptonite to this deck and Utopia Shard isn't a long term solution (or even a reliable short term solution). I'd be very hesitant to cut Plascrete since it's so much more durable than Sports Hopper (it forces them to push it off the board, whereas Hopper has to be used preemptively). that said, I love the idea. Worst case it's a 2-credit Diesel, and more fast draw would be welcome. Maybe in lieu of the Quality Time?

Deus X does a ton of work for me. For one thing, it protects against an HQ filled with Snares. It's also a very versatile run-fourth-click defense card (Ichi being an aggravating exception). It's a card I almost always install as soon as I find it and is often my go-to pick when I'm facechecking and need to clear and SMC (MU issues are a constant concern). I also included it because I had a feeling D'Argenio was gonna be on his Hot Tubs build (and he was). This also gets you through some wicked ice for very cheap. Sharpshooter/Deus X (along with a Clone Chip or two) is insanely efficient vs a wide variety of deep ice stacks. And ideally you only need to be breaking stuff once.

That said, it's bloated. No question about it. The probably cuts are (imo) -1 Councilman and -1 Maker's Eye. Councilman is mostly here for a central Nisei/Crisium (or a remote Hostile Infrastructure) - install it click 1 on a Hyperdriver turn and go for broke. But even if you're using SOT to Apoc, a Hyperdriver gives you two clicks for clearing HoInfs off the board (or taking additional stabs at a Caprice). The only time Councilman has been an impact card for me is shutting down an HJ, but that's never happened against a good player.

Hate giving up half my multi-access, but Maker's Eye a frequent trash card. Indexing is far more effective given the deck's play-style, whereas Maker's Eye is mostly for final turn desperation runs.

That may be true, I'm just hesitant to rely on a singleton Plascrete that may end up flipped to Apoc. I haven't tested the deck much though, so I may need to take your word for it. :)

How is Deus X helping in the hot tubs MU? But I agree, having ways to get with tools that trashes itself is great in Apoc decks.

Will try your suggested cuts and see if I dare take this to our Regional tomorrow with very little practice. Any tips?

Unfortunately, my main suggestion is lots of practice. This is a weird deck and it takes some getting used to.

• Facecheck centrals. That intel (what's the ice?) is even more vital than usual and it's totally worth an early Architect or Komainu faceplant.
• Everything is about building up for/executing your Apocalypse turns. You can do 10 of them (in theory) so start as early as possible and do them as often as you can. You won't come out of a game saying, "man, I wish I waited one more turn before Apocalypsing," but you'll often regret waiting an extra turn. Exception: if they're windmilling into a powerhouse scoring server, go ahead and wait for a 5/3 to drop in there. Caveat: ...unless they know you're on Apoc.
• You're going to be doing a ton of start-of-turn arithmetic. Need to get through those centrals with a click and three credits left.
• On the turn prior to your Apoc turn: a) don't be afraid to click for credits (success/failure very often comes down to one or two credits) and b) consider running that scoring server. You don't want to burn any resources, but it's nice to get them to spend money over there!
• Hostile Infrastructure, Caprice Nisei, Crisium Grid and Blacklist are your primary hate cards. You very rarely want to spend real credits to trash anything, but those cards are exceptions.
• Brush up on the run timing. There are a lot of cards you can play around - stuff like Crick, Architect and Ichi - so think long and hard before breaking any subs on Apoc turns. Obviously the sequence of the runs is crucial. Be aware of when you can let your programs get trashed. Know that, for instance, on an encounter with Crick (encountered as the innermost ice on your third run) that you're perfectly fine with an Ash or Caprice Nisei out of Archives on that same server (since you don't really care about accessing and the rez window is passed on Caprice), but a Crisium will blow your entire turn.
• Your breaker suite is highly situational. Lady is the only all-purpose breaker in there. When possible, beat traces/use clicks in lieu of breakers (or at least consider it - SMCs are worth their weight in gold and we don't ever want to burn them unnecessarily).
• Be aware of your MU. The power setup is Astrolabe/Hyperdriver/SMC/Clone Chip (note: full MU). With those four cards and an Apocalypse in hand there are virtually no early setups that can stop you.
• Against IG, Indexing will be more important than Apocalypse.
• If the net damage is coming hot and heavy, remember that Hyperdriver/Same Old Thing gives you five clicks to get your central runs in/kill off any Hostiles Infrastructures and still play the Apocalypse out of the heap.
• Mulligan any hand without Apocalypse.
• Don't be shy about taking damage.
• Keep Apocalypse concealed as long as possible.
• A strong opponent will know what's coming as soon as you install Aesops.
• A strong opponent will hang onto a cheap, binary ice for a post-Apoc rush score. Be aware of this play and be prepared for it.
• As with Noise, don't worry about rushing to check Archives. Stay focused on clearing the board. Your points will come from Indexing and agenda flood.
• Against a dedicated tag and bag deck you might be better off doing just 1 or even 0 Apocalypses. Exception: if you can suck them into rezzing costly ice, fire away!

Good luck!