It's a crime that this card doesn't yet have a review by somebody better at this game than me, so I will do my best.

First of all, this is a good card. Probably one of the best cards to host on this is Self-modifying Code. Use the credits on Flame-out to pay the 2 that it costs to activate it. Probably won't be a good idea to host what you find on this, unless it is something like a Sharpshooter which you intend to use once and trash anyway, though.

My read says you can SMC to drop Ika on this and then pump Ika with the Flame Out money and then use Flame Out money to pay the "host on ice" cost of Ika and then Ika probably won't be trashed because it is no longer hosted on Flame Out. Flame Out says it trashes "the hosted card". Maybe that's a question for the rules team, though.

Also, Modded is a really good card, and this is a not quite optimal but still pretty good target for it.

Kabonesa Wu: Netspace Thrillseeker is a decent ID to try to use this card with. She is in faction and she has an ability to spend a click and search your deck for an SMC and put it in play. That's a great way to make sure you can find your breakers early and it's a great way to spend Flame Out money.

Also, she can drop SMC on Flame Out to find Rezeki if it's money you want.

Good card for both Kabonesa Wu and Flame Out is Rejig so think about using that if you are going that route. Rejig will let you spend the money on Flame Out and then move the card off Flame Out before it gets trashed. Test Run will do a similar thing and let you use the Flame Out money while keeping your breaker from being trashed.

Some out of faction cards to consider with this are Khan: Savvy Skiptracer breakers like Golden/Peregrine/Saker, which allow you to pay an extra amount after you pass an ice to derez it and then take the breaker back to your hand so it doesn't get trashed. Chameleon is another good try which is in faction for Shaper.

Aesop's Pawnshop will let you sell the Flame Out for extra money after you spend the 9, so consider adding that card to your deck too. There is also some synergy with Flame Out and Spec Work so you can at least trash the program for a benefit after you used the Flame Out money on something.

You might also try using Trade-In to trash one Flame Out after you spent the money and then get another one from the deck to get a new set of 9 credits. You can also just use that opportunity to get some other hardware that you need instead of another Flame Out like an Aniccam, a Cyberdelia, or a R&D Interface.

I don't suggest using Independent Thinking in Adam, but if you do use that card, then you may get extra mileage out of Flame Out that way. You could trash one of your directives, the Flame Out, and whatever is hosted on Flame Out that is about to be trashed, and then draw 6.

• Edit - I thought of another potentially good thing to put on Flame Out, Misdirection. As long as you think you only want to get one use out of it, like an emergency against Hard-Hitting News then you can drop Misdirection on this and use Flame Out money to clear all the tags. That would clear a whole lot of tags and potentially keep you out of BOOM! range. If you have to lose the Misdirection, it's a small price to pay if you are still alive. It's also very easy to do this emergency plan with Kabonesa Wu.

Also, FWIW, flavor wise I have to believe that Flame Out is Kabonesa Wu's card, like she is the one that invented this hardware and uses it. Flaming out is exactly the kind of thing that it sounds like a Netspace Thrillseeker would do. The way that Flame Out works seems to fit perfectly with the way Kabonesa Wu works as well.

That's all I can think of, so hopefully the above sparks some ideas.

Step 1 = Put 3x Modded and some hardware and breakers in your decks.

Step 2 = ???

Step 3 = Profit!

3x auto include in any shaper deck, IMHO. Would be more auto-include in non-Shaper decks too if it wasn't so much of an influence hog (compare to Career Fair).

Put yourself in a position where you will be doing a lot of drawing (Aniccam, Professional Contacts, Symmetrical Visage, Diesel, Build Script, etc) and put in a bunch of card based econ (Sure Gamble, Daily Casts, Dirty Laundry, Easy Mark, etc) and find a way to spend two cards per click (Comet, Modded, Career Fair) and this is an insanely good card in your likely insanely good deck.

The kind of card you want is the one which makes the best decks better. This is that kind of card.

First of all, this is a good card.

This card, more than most others, probably does a good job teaching people how they should be building decks. Focused, with fewer nice to haves taking up deck space.

What I like most about this card is that it forces you to be disciplined. IMHO, people should be trying to fit this in their stack. Not because it does something broken, but because it makes everything else you are doing more consistent.

This card forces you to focus on specific core concepts, which I think is good. By taking 3 influence from you and 3 deck slots from you, it helps ensure that you are only putting the best of the best cards in all the other slots.

Also, note synergy with the best shaper console Aniccam.

This is still a very good card. I would go as far as to say it should probably be a one of in almost every runner deck, because it's that good.

Specifically, this is one of the lowest cost ways to get more bang for your clicking buck. I mean that in every sense of the phrase. It costs no influence to put in a deck and it only costs two to throw it out, so there is not a huge tempo loss. Tempo loss is a big deal, and a major strike against a card like Professional Contacts. Not that ProCon isn't good, but it's a lot harder to build around, get out, and use than Symmetrical Visage is.

As for the card itself, the design is great. There is rarely a turn when you won't click at least once for a credit or a draw. If you need a credit, this makes sure you don't fall behind on draw. If you need a draw, this makes sure you don't fall behind on credits.

Out of all the engine cards in the game of Netrunner, this is one of the ones with the fewest restrictions for use and one of the ones with the highest probability of paying for itself any time you play it.

Furthermore, every deck should have some kind of engine in it and this card plays nice with basically every other engine out there.

If you already have one of these and you are sitting on 44 cards, you might even consider throwing in a second one of these so you see it earlier and more often.

I really want to like this card. It has the potential to be a huge economic swing. It's possible to turn off a Tollbooth or something that costs even more with this. It's possible to use it in combination with something like Inside Job or Feint to get in once and then get back in again later when they can't re-rez because they don't have the money.

It must be admitted, though, that this is a win-more card. It sucks when you can't get in already. You will have a hard time in any come back from behind situation when using this card. If you draw it in a situation where you are already behind the curve, it could possibly leave you worse off since literally any other card in your deck would be better.

On the other hand, if you are already dominating and they rez some 8 coster hoping to stabilize, then you can just shut it down for 0 and be even farther ahead.

Cards like that tend to be bad usages of deck space. You want to be using cards that are good regardless of the game state. Sure Gamble is pretty good if you are ahead or behind, for instance. That makes Sure Gamble a better card than this.

It should also be pointed out that many times you want to use this, you might be forced into using something else instead. That possibility really hurts this card. If you use Same Old Thing to pull out an Account Siphon at the start of the turn, you will likely end with 2 tags and 2 clicks. Do you use Emergency Shutdown? If you do, you might get hit with Scorched Earth and lose. Maybe it's safer to just clear the tags and miss your golden opportunity to turn off that Curtain Wall. Just another thing that makes it that much harder for this card to shine.

Ultimately, the deck is stacked against this card being dominant. Cards like Sneakdoor Beta can really help it, but there is something to be said for having to devote credits, clicks, and such to get rid of the downsides of a card that's already not the best thing since sliced bread in some large percentage of game states.