Ansel 1.0

Ansel 1.0 6[credit]

Ice: Sentry - Bioroid - Destroyer
Strength: 4
Influence: 3

Lose [click]: Break 1 subroutine on this ice. Only the Runner can use this ability.

[subroutine] Trash 1 installed Runner card.

[subroutine] You may install 1 card from HQ or Archives.

[subroutine] The Runner cannot steal or trash Corp cards for the remainder of this run.

Designed by 2018 European Champion Patrick Gower
Illustrated by Galen Dara
Decklists with this card

System Gateway (sg)

#38 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Rulings
  • Updated 2021-10-11

    Can the Runner use Carnivore if the last subroutine on Ansel 1.0 resolved earlier in the run?

    No. That subroutine prohibits the Runner from trashing cards they access in any way, not just by using the basic trash ability.

  • Updated 2021-10-10

    If the Corp installs a piece of ice with the second subroutine on Ansel 1.0 and trashes Ansel 1.0 as part of the installation process, what happens?

    If the Corp trashes Ansel 1.0 this way, they finish resolving the install instruction, then the encounter ends and the Runner passes Ansel 1.0’s former position. The third subroutine on Ansel 1.0 will not have the opportunity to resolve, because it is no longer active.

  • Updated 2021-10-10

    If the Corp installs a piece of ice with the second subroutine on Ansel 1.0, can they force the Runner to approach the new ice by trashing Ansel 1.0 and/or other ice protecting the attacked server as part of that install?

    No. The new ice must be installed in the outermost position protecting the server. Since the Runner already has a position relative to the other ice protecting the server, the new ice will necessarily have a position outward from the Runner. Trashing multiple ice does not allow new ice to “leapfrog” the Runner’s position, but just moves the Runner 1 position toward the server for each trashed piece of ice that was inward from their earlier position.

Reviews

Ansel 1.0 is an attractive, if expensive, sentry with fairly high strength and a nasty facecheck.

For this review we will focus on the startup format, which is my preferred format right now.

Points in favor:

  • 3 impactful subs, so even if the runner Boomerang's it, they likely have to spend a click as well.
  • Similarly, resists Botulus for the same reason
  • 4 STR is a sweetspot for sentry strength right now, putting it just out of range of Mimic, and forcing Odore to pay 6 to raise strength to match.
  • Runners using Echelon likely also need to pay to raise strength, costing 6 to break total
  • Runners using Bukhgalter need to pay 6 outright, and 4 net if they get the bonus
  • Runners using Afterimage need to pay 1 stealth to raise strength and 2 credits to break
  • Because this is a bioroid, it makes Ravana 1.0 much nastier once it is rezzed. In a Haas-Bioroid: Architects of Tomorrow deck you are almost certainly going to play Ansel 1.0.

Points against:

  • Costs 6 to rez. For 6 credits, you could also rez Brân 1.0. Brân 1.0 also has 3 impactful subs and ends the run. It will usually cost the runner more credits to break this ice, whether they are on Corroder or Cleaver, or at least, they will need a lot of Leech counters or something. This leads into the next point.
  • A runner with Ice Carver, which is many Anarchs and some Criminals nowadays, reduces STR to 3, and now it is in range of Mimic, substantially cheaper to break with Odore, or Echelon. At this point the rez-to-break ratio doesn't look so good anymore.
  • Because it costs so much to rez, this ice has a tendency to get Chisel Charm'ed, or Tranquilized, or Shutdown. That can be a significant tempo hit to the corp.

As a result, this ice falls into sort of an odd niche:

  • It isn't quite as nasty of a facecheck as something like Hagen, which can't be clicked through, but it is substantially more expensive
  • It doesn't fall off in strength quite as badly as Hagen does, but it is very likely that a runner will be able to break this for relatively cheap in the late game
  • In particular, it doesn't really have the staying power of Brân 1.0, or nastier sentries like Archer.

My take is this:

Most runners won't facecheck ice unless, they have a killer out, or they can Boomerang it or put a Botulus on it with two counters, or they have no cards on the board to trash yet. Against HB, they also usually won't run last click.

Because of this, the first subroutine will almost never fire, and then it is a toss-up whether the second or third will fire, if either.

Therefore, I tend to view this card sort of like a very big Drafter.

If you are running a deck with

then Ansel 1.0 may do a lot of work. E.g. a runner doing a Khusyuk run really must break not only the third sub but also the second sub, or you will re-install Crisium Grid just in time before they reach R&D.

If your deck already has 3 Drafter it might make sense to run an Ansel 1.0 or two, particularly because stacking Ansel 1.0 and Drafter makes Bukhgalter less efficient.

If the second sub isn't likely to do very much in your deck, you might want to consider a different ice IMO.

(System Update 2021 era)

Afterimage can also bypass it with 2 credits, maybe important!

Very good sentry. While all the effect are good, it is easy for the runner to avoid those effect by clicking through it, just like most bioroid ices. As with all bioroid ices, the ratio of strenght to cost is very good.

When clicking through Ansel 1.0, most runners will want to stop the first subroutine, and then the last subroutine, in the early game. In the late game, this ice is porous, as it allow the runner to pass through it for the price of 1 (the last subs). So, keep that in mind if you want to rely on it for protection.

The lore behind the name is super fun. You can watch @amavric explain it on his channel (at 40.11 minutes) : www.youtube.com .

The art is a bit abstract for my taste, mainly because it is hard to make sense of the layers of details on it. For such a great ice, I would have liked a quote to add to the flavor. Very well designed bioroid sentry.

(System Update 2021 era)
3864

Can you install a card after Ansel's subroutine and rez it during the same run?

The Ansel 1.0 install is just like a normal click to install, so you'd be installing the new ice at the outermost end, so the runner wouldn't encounter it since they're already passed it.

Another really cool thing you can do with the install subroutine however, is install over what's in the remote server. This can mean replacing an agenda in the remote server with an asset, or potentially a trap, which means the runner can't just ignore that subroutine either.