NBN: Engineering the Future - 10 wins, 0 losses

Friff14 584

This is my (not first) attempt at an NBN glacier deck. What surprised me is the fact that it works really effectively. NBN was the last faction to have an effective glacier build, which is strange because they have Tollbooth and Red Herrings in faction and have since the beginning, so you'd have expected there to be a lot of potential for this kind of deck pretty early on, but it wasn't until Troll that this really got to the point of being good.

This is also one of the few decks out there that doesn't get better by changing the ID to Near-Earth Hub. Just so you know.

The Goal

Get a good scoring server with Ash and Red in it so they can't tell whether you like Pokemon the cartoon or Pokemon the video game better. Eli, Pop-up, and Troll work really well as cheap, taxing central ice. Troll combos with the ID very well.

Does it work?

Yep. This current iteration is undefeated (10 games), though the previous ones had to go through a lot of alteration to get to this point. I didn't include Troll before and focused more on RSVP and splashed a few Cortex Locks just for the surprise factor, and that didn't work at all. I could tell there was something to it though, so I kept it up. Troll, Flare, Architect, and Heimdall made the list for this iteration and they've all done good work.

I'm currently undefeated in my local league, mostly thanks to this deck. There is a lot you can do with this deck. A few examples:

  • Ash 2X3ZB9CY with the Making News boost.

  • Bluff out a Project Beale as an NAPD then Astroscript it into a 3-pointer. Or just score it as a 3-pointer.

  • Remind them that Flare exists by getting rid of their Dinosaurus

  • Flare + Making News

  • Use Architect to get them to bring out their Mimic which will then only be good against Architect

  • They make a Maker's Eye/Medium run on R&D with Architect protecting it, you use Architect to reinstall a Red Herrings on R&D so they just have to look at all the agendas going past their eyes.

MVPs

Troll is the best ice NBN has ever gotten, especially with Making News. It costs one to rez it, and they can't run their last click (or second-last, if there are two trolls on the server) without trying to pay around the trace. And with Making News, it's just that much more expensive. If you need to, you'll probably have enough money to guarantee the trace goes through - which will happen if they forget that you can boost that trace and they make a desperate last-click run.

Ash ain't bad, as you might expect. I've never seen an NBN deck run Ash, and I can't even comprehend it. Making News combos with it incredibly. Having one of these and a Red makes it at least 11 credits (minus link) to get through to the agenda.

NAPD Contract is still the best card since Jackson. Even good against Valencia.

Everything else is pretty standard for NBN decks. Make cheap, taxing centrals. The only difference is now there's a remote to build too. You can fast-advance if you need to (and I usually do, if only to finish the game or get another Astro out), but you need to get an Astro out first.

Changes

I took out the Lotus Fields and one of the RSVPs, adding in two Elis and a Quicksand. It just...doesn't work against the current most popular deck in the world, the Net-Ready Yog. The deck also needs more barrier presence.

22 comments
20 Jun 2015 say200426

I am feeling a little bit poor...

20 Jun 2015 Friff14

@say200426 That's why everything is pretty cheap. I never feel poor with this. You just have to watch out for Whizzard because they'll trash your PADs. Not even Whizzards usually trash Marked Accounts (except one that also ran Scrubber), so try a few more of those if you're getting denied a bunch of money. People think MA isn't that good, but in reality, it's basically clicking for 3 credits. And people are always going to trash Daily Business Show (I've still never gotten it in play with this deck), and since Whizzard is so popular right now, maybe subbing that out for some economy is a better idea. Play it how you like it.

20 Jun 2015 LordWei

If you need more barriers, Wraparound is in faction ;)

20 Jun 2015 Axlotl

I've always loved Caduceus with this ID.

20 Jun 2015 Friff14

@Axlotl That's a really great idea! Maybe I'll try subbing out the Architects for it.

21 Jun 2015 slakker

Never sub out the Architects unless it's for a ichi 1.0. ;)

22 Jun 2015 unitled

Haha, if you've never seen an NBN with Ash 2X3ZB9CY, you've never played me! I've loved the card in the yellow faction for a loooong time.

Sorry to be THAT GUY, but... Have you tried this out of NEH? Those extra couple of influence give you a few more tools to play with, and the draw never hurts either. I've experimented with cards like Edge of World (no-one sees this one coming...). I also like Errand Boy in this style of deck, hugely annoying to break, but gives you even more money when they don't!

22 Jun 2015 Friff14

@unitled I think you asked me that when I tried the very first iteration of this on OCTGN (or it was another guy on OCTGN with a username beginning with a U), and I hadn't yet. I have now, and I find that I really need the extra credits from MN a lot more than I need card draw. I've only ever wanted to click to draw once, and that was when I was flooded and needed Jackson. During that one game, maybe NEH would have been slightly better. But in that same game, I was able to keep the runner out with an Ash and the identity.

Plus, Whizzard.

22 Jun 2015 unitled

@Friff14 I don't use OCTGN, so almost certainly not me! I looked back through the decklist after making that comment, there are more traces than I spotted on first blush, and even just using it on Ash to be honest you make life a lot more difficult for the runner!

That said... I'd love to see the Runner's face if you managed to get Oaktown Grid in the server with the Ash :P

25 Jun 2015 ericbtool

1 morale draining thing when it has come to glacier NBN has been femme as it completely neuters your best ICE. I have been looking forward to trying glacier when underway is released and if you were to try the upgrade I would like to hear about your experiences with it if you would chronicle that please.

26 Jun 2015 Friff14

@ericbtool I don't really mind Femme, because unless they've got a way to cheat it out (Test Run/London Library & Scavenge or something similar), they're spending more credits on Femme than I am. 9 credits is a lot, and I've only got Tollbooth, Heimdall 1.0, and Flare in that range. Everything else is really cheap and expendable when it comes to Femme. I really haven't had trouble against it at all.

26 Jun 2015 Friff14

Also, I don't think Underway Grid is going to be very good, if only because it's extremely situational. There aren't many problems with bypassing, at least not in my meta. But if you feel like you need it, go ahead and try it. It's just going to be dead space in my decks.

26 Jun 2015 ericbtool

why the hell was my font so outrageous?

thx for reply

28 Jul 2015 Yubinshan

Have you made any changes to this since it was posted?

28 Jul 2015 Friff14

@Yubinshan Not really. I sub out the quicksand for a wraparound or a bastion on occasion, and I like Caduceus better than architect at the moment, especially with MN. I think I'll try it with Ichi 1.0, but nothing but the ice has changed at all. I'll sub out character assassination when Old Hollywood hits.

28 Jul 2015 Yubinshan

Thanks for the reply. I am curious: how do you feel about the economy package?

As near as I can figure, you have ~75 worth of ice costs, not counting install tax, but only ~25 worth of stable econ (assuming they trash your PADs).

28 Jul 2015 Friff14

The economy, I find, is just enough. Not a ton, but enough that you don't worry much about it. This deck doesn't like siphon much. :)

17 Aug 2015 Vimes

Wondering if any cards from Underway or Old Hollywood have tickled your fancy. Explode-a-palooza gives you slightly more money but doesn't help when scored unlike Character Assassination. Little Engine also looks like some supremely vicious ice as long as you can cover your centrals (datasuckers).

17 Aug 2015 Friff14

I like Explode-a-palooza a lot in here. Little Engine is awful. Just the worst.

Film Critic hates this deck, and most will install it because they expect Midseasons from the ID. It totally turns off Red Herrings. Nothing you can do about it. So until all the hype around Film Critic dissolves (which could be, you know, when it cycles out...), NBN is once again glacierless. :(

17 Aug 2015 Vimes

You mean Film Critic hates on this deck, not that Film Critic hates playing against this deck, right?

Don't get so down right away. After all, they still have to get through the Glacier to reach the agenda, don't they? Not trying to think of an entirely different deck, but perhaps upgrades that tax during the run like Midway or trap assets could be the way to go?

17 Aug 2015 Friff14

Yes, I meant hates on. I don't think Midway is going to work as there aren't a whole lot of ice with many subs, and all of them are imported.

I think if I do another glacier deck like this I'm going tag-tax instead. Psychographics and Closed Accounts to punish those foolish enough to keep tags. Just a bunch of nice tagging ice and maybe some tag-happy agendas.

18 Aug 2015 Vimes

I'm still super enjoying this but I haven't bumped into film yet. I'd love to see you try your hand at tag-tax though! Closed Accounts and punishing resources are threats enough without having to import other things, and Shoot the Moon and Information Overload might find a place. I wonder if it is worth building before Data and Destiny hits.

Have you seen the NEH Glacier deck that uses License Acquisition and Corporate Town? Seems pretty nasty. netrunnerdb.com