Blue Subs - IT Dept. Vers. 1.3

I made this deck a while ago and have been tweaking it ever since. Corwin Brindley is the inspiration for it. It's a Blue Sun IT Dept. deck that utilizes the power of grail ice to produce multiple subroutines, and trash programs when the runner attempts to get in.

First off, IT Dept. works very well in Blue Sun as the ID has access to many multiple-sub ice such as Curtain Wall, Hive, and Hadrian's Wall. Grail fall into this category as well. The reason this is important is because D4V1D can be a serious issue for ITD decks. So you want several, multi-sub ice stacked to tax the D4V1D counters and protect ITD.

The first part of the game is finding ITD, and rushing power counters. The great thing about this card is it doesn't take credits to 'advance'. So if you can protect it in the first few turns and get say, 8 counters on it, you're good to go.

That doesn't mean it's time to score. You want spam counters for most of the game because the more you have, the more effective each one used is. For example, a Lancelot with three +8 counters (+27 overall) is less effective than three +16 counters (+51 overall).

This sounds like overkill. But often times the runner will figure out what they need to do which is click Magnum over and over and try to outpace you. They will lose that race, but you have to make sure you do your part. Once you get to 20 something power counters, and you have multiple, multi-sub ice protecting ITD, the game is officially over.

Tech Startup is an all-star in the deck, allowing you to install ITD before your turn which gives you an extra power counter. Blue Sun really makes this deck shine due to it's ability to generate lots of cash. In fact, when I'm Jacksoning I will often shuffle back in copies of Oversight AI just to keep the gravy train rolling.

The biggest enemy of this deck is Quetzal. I haven't found too many decks playing Quetzal and D4V1D together, but I'm sure they're out there. Quetzal also isn't a super popular runner so in a tournament setting I wouldn't worry. That said, playing against her means stacking your Lancelots, and keeping Galahads in hand.

The last topic I will discuss is cards that bypass ice like Femme Fatale or Inside Job. This is the sole purpose of Guard. It is literally guarding ITD from getting snagged. That being said, I think I may add in some copies of Underway Grid to either replace Guard, or add redudancy to this effect. I really like Underway because you can install an ITD, a Quandry, and an Underway, early game and just power counter up and stacking ICE. Once you get several power counters on you can switch out to Hive.

I may also take out the Geothermal Fracking and 1 Hostile for a 2nd High-Risk Investment. This would free up a slot for the aforementioned Underway Grid, as well as give access to a second copy of HRI. I'm not sure though, and awaiting The Underway for testing those changes.

Feel like playing a game that harkens back to your old magic days when you kept saying "no" to your opponent and frustrating them to the point of concession? Enjoy building to inevitability in games? This is the deck for you.