A cheap but taxing porous code gate in the Eli 1.0 category of ice.

For a cheap cheap cost of 2 and at 1 influence you get a code gate that stops the runner and gives you back its rez cost to boot unless the runner either breaks it or takes a tag.

(First number is cost to break only second/ETR sub, second is to break both)

• 3/4 with Abagnale
• 3/3 with Black Orchestra
• 3 (1/2 counters) with Cerberus "Rex" H2
• / with Crowbar
• 1/2 with Cyber-Cypher
• 5/5 with Force of Nature
• 3/4 with Gordian Blade (1/2 if already charged up)
• 4/4 with GS Striker M1
• 3/4 with Houdini (1/2 if already charged up)
• 3/4 with Inversificator
• 6/6 with Leviathan
• 3/4 with Passport
• 4/6 with Peacock
• 2/3 with Refractor
• 2/4 with Sage
• 2/2 with Savant
• 9/10 with Study Guide (1/2 if already charged up)
• 1/2 with Torch
• Not breakable with Yog.0
• 4/5 with ZU.13 Key Master

Against non-special-requirements decoders other than Torch it takes at least 3 to get through the ETR and often 4 to avoid giving the corp 2. That's not bad for a piece of 2 ice.

So what about the bypass? The cost is one tag. Without things like Aaron Marrón it takes and 2 to get rid of that tag. That's still decently taxing for a 2 piece of ice. With Aaron the bypass becomes free but Aaron counters are a finite resource and especially in the early game when Authenticator is at its best they're probably not available yet.

The runner could of course float the tags but that's always risky, especially if the corp playing Authenticator is NBN. Even if you clear the tag immediately afterwards there's an element of risk due to cards like Zealous Judge.

Authenticator is clearly NBN ice. It's taxing but porous. It won't stop the runner on individual high value runs (The Maker's Eye, last-chance runs) but over the course of a game it will slow the runner down while being very affordable itself.

If tagging the runner is an essential part of your gameplan, or you're in Reality+, this is a very cost-effective ice. It usually cause a 3-4 credit swing, which is great for a 2-cost ice. If you're in Reality+, this is one of the most cost-effective ices to raise the costs on trashing a non-essential asset. E.g. if you install an Authenticator on a Rashida turn 1, they could take a tag to bypass, but that adds something like a click and a 4-credit swing to trashing Rashida.

You could also risk an early agenda behind Authenticator. If the runner is not likely to check, maybe AR-Enhanced Security. If the runner is likely to check, maybe Quantum Predictive Model.

Authenticator doesn't solve all of the problems that Funhouse has -- when a runner has already decided to go tag-me, this ice doesn't do anything but add a tenth tag and won't stop their desperate scramble to steal the last agenda. BUT it only costs $2 and it has much more early value than Funhouse does. It doesn't take a tempo hit to rez Authenticator.