can get pretty obsolete, if you don't have anything to advance on the table
remember that Agendas cannot be scored on the Runner's turn, so you cannot use this to protect a remote then 'finish' an Agenda in that server as the runner is running in
Thoughts
the advancement effect is the main reason to play this Ice, otherwise consider Hunter
advancing Ice seems to be the most reliable way of using Matrix Analyzer
especially putting a Matrix Analyzer in front of an Ice Wall makes for a cheap and adaptable defense
this is also possible with Shadow. Shadow however has an upper limit on its price tag (2 credits and a tag) so Ice Wall seems stronger.
Shadow also is a bit redundant behind a Matrix Analyzer being a 2nd tracing sentry
but generally all Weyland advancable Ice can be considered
there is also some potential for bluffing, if you place the Analyzer on a remote server. Runner attempts a run and you advance the card he is running... Now what is it? (going from 2 advancements to 3 on a Project Junebug can make a big difference!)
starting to advance an agenda when the runner runs on his last click is pretty funny but narrow
all in all Matrix Analyzer is probably best placed on a central server
prevents nasty surprises - such as Archer, or Komainu
sometimes puts the Corporation between a rock and a hard place
Cons
might be a waste of resources if the ice ends up something tiny like Pop-up Window - although even then, now you know what it is
Thoughts
the big question is: would you rather trash one piece of Ice or have the Corp pay for it?
can aid an Ice destruction strategy, if you can keep the Corp poor (Account Siphon etc.). If you can get the Corp poor, you can use Emergency Shutdown to derez an ice, then follow up with this for a guaranteed outcome of an ice trash
can be useful to drain the Corps coffers on a different(!) server before making a run
As Corp: don't install Ice you can't rez (or afford to lose)
however play Forged Activation Orders wisely, if you have a Killer, then running on a server probably has the same effect (Corp rezzes Ice)
One dilemma though: In order to use Forged Activation Orders well, you have to have a good read on the Corp player. If you have a good read however, why do you need Forged Activation Orders?
So it is probably being put to good use when played on Ice behind some other Ice - e.g. What you got there after Chum?
IMHO, using Emergency Shutdown to proc Forged Activation Orders is wasteful. Both cards are great for keeping the corp poor, but Forged Activation Orders has the added advantage of revealing an otherwise unknown piece of ICE.
—
Kikai
allows you to play different Icebreakers for the same ice subtype if you want to
Cons
the cost of installing said Icebreaker went up by a click and a credit
often worthless lategame
Thoughts
be careful of program destruction if you run single copies of Icebreakers.
If you run multiples of your breakers, then Special Order can actually be a good card to recover from program destruction lategame like Aggressive Secretary
if you have a solid stack of money, then a "good" Special Order turn can look like this:
