[Asymmetric Teaching] Up-powered Next-Step Runner Deck

[Asymmetric Teaching] This is one of 4 decks that I’m using to teach netrunner when the teacher is more advanced than the learner (asymmetric teaching).

The introductory duel decks from the Nisei System Gateway Starter Pack are excellent—well-balanced, fairly evenly powered, and thoughtfully introducing new mechanisms. In short, they are great for learning when both players are similarly skilled—Both players are new to the game, or the players are equally experienced but returning to the game/unfamiliar with these new cards.

Often, though, the teacher is a stronger player with more experience (with netrunner, with card games, with the new cards). So these decks are “balanced” to force the teacher (piloting down-powered decks) to try much harder to be competitive against learners with their up-powered decks.

In matches, the teacher can pilot the down-powered decks, which are built with System Gateway starter cards but with suboptimal card choices (only one copy of each breaker, three copies of unique cards, no tag punishment) that make it harder to win.

The up-powered next-step decks allow the learner to use faction-specific identities and startup-legal constructed decks which need to score the standard seven agenda points to win. The up-powered learner decks introduce new power cards from the startup card pool (popular in regular play), but the cards are chosen to highlight straightforward mechanics that emphasize fundamental principles and are intuitive to new players (stacking rewards for running, synergizing card draw, synergizing fast-advance cards, synergizing defensive upgrades, no complex virus combos). New cards are included in reduced quantities (only two or only one) so the learner can gain familiarity with them but then begin to make judgments about preferred cards and optimal card quantities and deck design/deck construction.

Hope you find it helpful!