Weaponizing the Heavens 1.0

So I piloted this Quetzal deck to 2nd place in a store tournament. Granted, we didn't have the biggest turnout (two of the usuals just didn't make it), and even when I did lose, it was close - against one opponent I didn't install the Plascrete I had in my hand all game, despite being fully aware that his tag-heavy Making News was probably going to try to blow my apartment up, which is just a rookie mistake. Stole a lightly guarded Breaking News, Midseasons->Scorch->Scorch->GG. And against an HB FA deck, I picked the wrong card on the game-winning run - I installed a D4V1D, expecting a large ice like a Heimdall 2.0, when I should've installed (this is not a typo) a Morning Star, to punch through the small barrier instead.

Yes, Morning Star: I was originally inspired by bayushi_david's idea on the Stimhack forums of using Quetzal as a Morning Star enabler - against corps who are new to Quetzal, it's unnecessary, as they just won't install barriers. Smarter or more seasoned players will stack barriers, or use multi-sub barriers, and that's where the Morning Star really shines. I also liked ItJustGotRielle's thoughts on the synergy between Inject and Retrieval Run, so those 3 cards were kind of the core of this deck.

Anyway, some thoughts on choices.

Self-explanatory cards: Kati Jones, Sure Gamble, e3 Feedback Implants, Plascrete, fixed breakers whose name isn't Morning Star, Grimoire.

Inject + Retrieval Run: Inject is simply bonkers in this deck. I think I played it at least twice in every game, and with the program spread I've got, I usually lost between 0-2 programs. This deck drew me more cards than it threw away, the exception being when I pitched both my Mimics in the HB FA game - of course, I just Clone Chipped it when it was necessary.

Retrieval Run, I feel, finally hits its stride with Inject. It used to be that tossing a huge breaker in the trash was an obvious signal of an impending RR. With Inject, tossing the breaker just looks like a side effect; the RR isn't as heavily telegraphed. And if it is blocked, that's why I've also got Clone Chip and Deja Vu.

Queen's Gambit: Mostly playing this to save influence over a Lucky Find. Will probably end up swapping it for Day Job when that's available. This only backfired on me once during the entire tournament, when - for lack of funds - I double Queens Gambited what turned out to be a Project Atlas. (I still won.)

Liberated Account: I pooh-poohed this card for the longest time due to the install cost, but at this point, I'm even happy to see this in my opening hand. This deck doesn't really have a problem with money.

Atman: Atman has been largely useful against Blue Sun at this point, but it has also served as a stand-in for other breakers, at a cost. When I couldn't find my Mimic, I was content to put down an Atman 3 until I could. Atman 4 was a gamechanger against decks I knew were packing Lotus Fields. So on and so forth. I don't really have to tell you why Atman is good. Having a second Atman also proved useful a couple times for breaking into servers when my Datasuckers were purged and cut off.

Morning Star: Okay, maybe it's overkill. I usually install it for 3 by Retrieval Running, but I have installed a Morning Star for its actual install cost before. It makes mincemeat of those cards that would cost a chunk of cash using Corroder or even Quetzal's ability + E3: NEXT Silvers, Ashigaru, Galahads, even - with Datasucker assistance - Heimdalls, Curtain Walls, and Hadrian's Walls. Of course, a lot of the time, people will just avoid installing barriers altogether against Quetzal, which I think is the incorrect choice, and so sometimes I don't even need this card - but I don't feel that dismissing Fracters altogether is the right choice.

Medium, Nerve Agent, Djinn: I prefer Medium as a form of deck attack over Keyhole, just on a personal level; you could probably run Keyholes instead and be fine. Djinn was almost never a dead draw, and using it to rummage up Medium, Nerve Agent, Parasites, and Datasuckers was always valuable.

Express Delivery: I was at 44 cards and 14 influence. I figured a card that functioned as a draw without actually trashing programs would be okay.

The things I wish I had done differently:

Imp. I really wish this deck had Imp, but space is tight - I'm already running so many 2-of programs, and 1-of my multiaccess cards (granted, Djinn really serves as copies 2 and 3 of those cards). I couldn't squeeze it in and I was designing this last-minute at work before taking it to the store tourney. In retrospect I probably could've replaced the Djinns, or 1 D4V1D, with Imps.