Pour one out for Sunny, who got hit hard by Nisei's new core set. Here is hoping for new link-related cards.

This deck got me to the 3rd place in Swiss at Jakuza's (who is an absolute beast btw and who I can't thank enough for organising this great event) LaserRunner event. The deck went 4 - 2 in Swiss, beating 2 Argus, 1 MTI asset spam and 1 Sportsmetal and losing to CTM and 1 NEH. It barely lost in the top cut on time against TugtetguT's monstrous MTI glacier. I also played it again on Sunday for King of Lasers and it managed to win 3 out of 4, losing against Argus and winning against MTI, Tennin Institute and New Angels Sol (sorry, Pommes!)

It is nearly identitical to this deck that I topped a regionals with and nearly got top 8 at Dutch Nats. The only changes I made was exchanging No One Home for Dorm Computer and dropping GS Striker for another Data Folding, for more drip econ.

I have always wanted to completely dump Sunny's breakers and this is the next logical step, as Striker is by far the weakest link. Sherman is great vs Endless EULA and makes Wraparound less annoying. Shrike is your solution to a rich asset spam corp hiding behind a tour guide. The only relevant Anti-AI code gate is a triple advanced Hortum, and if you let the game come to a point where you have to deal with two of those on one server you are definitely losing any way. I have played dozens of games now without Striker, haven't missed it once. Breaking Enigma for 4 credits sucks, never again!

Dorm Computer was great vs Argus but I didn't see it vs CTM. There were also plenty of times where I missed No One Home a ton. I guess I will need to make room for both on the new list.

Tournament Report

R1: Jackmade: CTM/Smoke (LOSS/LOSS)

How do I always play the runner-up or tournament winner in round 1? Jackmade's reputation is well-known and my inexperience with NEH didn't help as he skillfully ran when he had to and trashed what he needed to. He had 7 points in no time and our other game wasn't much better. I still struggle vs CTM despite the link, although I could have probably won this game if I had played a bit more conservatively. I ended up getting myself tagged again and while stuck on 5 points I saw a BOOM I couldn't crash. Just an awful start on my part but well-deserved for my opponent.

R2: ffox: Argus/Geist (WIN/WIN)

Geist doesn't have a good time with asset spam, I thought to myself, as I bounced a loaded Off-Campus Appartment. Sad times, and I finally felt the full shameful weight of the deck I had brought. Our second game was a great one though, where just like my game at nats I had to play extremely smartly to avoid getting killed by Argus shenanigans. Alex nearly had me dead to rights, after I had to spend two clicks to clear 2 tags and two to draw up to 4 cards, but he settled for trashing my Citadel Sanctuary, drip econ and DJ (rude). I recovered though, and I managed to stay out of harm's way long enough to score 7 points.

R3: MrTeaTime: Sportsmetal/Hayley (WIN/WIN)

Shout out to Craig, who was an absolute blast to play against and I got to trade a whole bunch of cards with. His Sportsmetal seemed to have a bit of a slow start, while mine was absolutely bonkers. His ice was never a challenge for my turtle and I had plenty of time to set up and steal away. His Hayley seemed strong but he had to invest early for a Degree Mill Steal and he couldn't get the right breakers in time. I remember our banter a lot more than our game, but I think I just scored out in a few turns due to the right card draw.

R4: Daaf: MTI/Smoke (WIN/WIN)

I was very happy to see Daaf doing so well, as he is a good friend and a (sort of) local meta mate. We already played this exact match a few weeks earlier at a casual night and I didn't manage to beat his Argus then. This time Lady Luck was on my side as Dorm Computer, keeping my money up and a huge luck sack on R&D won me the game. He surprised me on Smoke, as he was on Knobkerie and Imp instead of Paragon. Clever boy! I still managed to get his tempo down with HHN, keeping him poor, which gave me the win.

R5: Bantwins: Val/MTI (LOSS/WIN)

Good luck winning against Bryan on Val when you play asset spam, the guy is like a machine. He trashed my stuff like it was yesterday's leftovers and left me absolutely no openings. I did manage to get to 5 points, partially by a naked install on turn 1 and winning the game of "Beale or no Beale". I desperate drew for my Franchise Cities in a last ditch effort but he won before I got close. The MTI asset spam went a ton better than at regionals though, as I now had E strike to cover me. I trashed all his Political Dealings, Stimhacked a Jeeves and waited for a moment to Strike. As he finally installed a Braintrust behind a Tourguide, only for me to install GS Shrike (in my opening hand for like 10 turns) and go claim it. After that I hammed centrals, winning on R&D with TTW.

R6: Django: NEH/Val (LOSS/WIN)

Even though I knew the deck Django was playing somewhat (I brought something similar after all), that didn't make it any easier to play against. Sunny still has a difficult time against super rushy strategies, despite my best efforts, and the fatigue by this point definitely didn't help. I kinda zoned out a bit and I don't remember how exactly I lost. After this point I definitely wasn't expecting to win the corp game, especially when Val hit the table, but somehow I managed to get to 5 points. Django still lacked a Paperclip in his bin, which was definitely some terrible luck for him, and I figured I might as well try to score out, on 5 credits. He spend a click drawing, ran the remote and hit the Wraparond I had lying in weight. Centrals gave him nothing and against all odds I actually won that game.

Top Cut R1: TugtetguT: MTI (LOSS)

This was a SUPER close game that I wish had been on stream. TugtetguT deck was no joke, and once he had 2 Nisei's scored I thought the game was over. Still, I managed to get to 2 SSL's and forced him to spend 1 counter on the remote to keep a Corporate Sales Team safe from me. We unfortunately went into time, both on 6 points, granting him the win. I didn't go down without a hell of a fight though, and I got to show all onlookers the power of Sec Chip Turtle and DJ Steve. GG!

Top Cut R2: Jackmade: Smoke (LOSS)

This match was over very soon. A good Indexing run, misplays on my part due to tiredness and a skilled opponent made this a game that wasn't exactly for the history books. Still, it gave me plenty of time to watch the very entertaining game between Miri and TugtetguT, so that was nice.

Thanks again to Jakuza for organising such a lovely event, Kelfecil for the never-ending advice, all my opponents for being fun to face and every I didn't play against but got to shoot the shit with over the weekend. You people are what make me spend tons of cash for my favorite hobby.

Now, to build a new Sunny deck for Standard format...