[Startup] The Basalt Factory

-paul- 98

The Basalt Factory aka Lithomodernism

This is the first deck I've built in RWR Startup that doesn't feel awful. My thoughts on each card pick are below. I'm always open to improvements.

--- Agendas ---

Eminent Domain: One of our key pieces, we can score this from hand easily and install a free Archer or Seraph from our deck. Think License Acquisition, but higher raw value.

Project Atlas: Over-advancing this is how we win games. It allows us to clicklessly fetch our incident response or our tempo tools. Or whatever else you need.

Slash and Burn Agriculture: Never install this. Great for advancing other agendas and then doing it again later.

The Basalt Spire: Allows us to LARP as PD and recur a Seamless Launch.

--- Operations ---

AAP, HF, Subliminal: As Nuvem, we want to trigger our ID every turn, both for the cash and for the information. Subliminal is so perfect for this that you might even tutor for it early. I was thinking about including Pivot for this reason, but ended up cutting it for this list.

Business As Usual: Pairs with Seamless Launch to score from hand, or deals with virus garbage, plus it's another operation for our engine.

Punitive Counterstrike and Retribution: You know what to do with these. If you ever get an Atlas scored with two extra counters, you can install your next Cope Tower face-up while making constant eye-contact with the Runner. Their Slurp Bucket cannot save them from this one.

Seamless Launch: Getting two counters on the same ice should be done through card effects, but you can click to advance in a pinch.

--- Assets & Upgrades ---

Cybersand Harvester & PAD Campaign: Some of our cards care about having one of each card type in Archives, but we are not planning on defending more than one remote server. So we're taking some throwaway assets for the runner to trash, or trickle value if they stick.

Spin Doctor: If the runner trashes a card that we do want to keep, or we draw something that should have stayed in our deck, this is how we fix it.

Isaac Liberdade: This guy forces the runner to /close-prompt every single turn. That alone makes him the best Sysop in Startup right now.

Malapert Data Vault: This one is for you Weyland in Standard enjoyers out there, and it's an upgrade (card type!) that'll end up in the bin sooner or later.

The Holo Man: Debatable choice in this deck. It can pop off and close out games, or completely fall flat. Strictly worse than SanSan on paper, but that card has anti-synergy with our beloved Atlas. I don't love this card, but I'm also not sure how to replace it.

--- Ice ---

Logjam, Pharos, Hortum: Great, advancable ice. Expensive, but we are Scrooge McTrash after all. Hortum brings some AI tech and a surprisingly mean facecheck to the table if advanced to three counters.

Tree Line: Never install this unless you just took a mulligan and this is your only option. Generates counters, boosts our ice and triggers our ID.

Descent: This card can do it all; it works as a gearcheck, it can bait the runner into wasting a trojan, it can clean up HQ, and scrub your Archives.

Archer & Seraph: Targets for ED. Both can be paid for normally in a pinch, but usually you just shuffle them back. Getting one of these rezzed early sets you up for the rest of the game. Remember that Seraph does not EtR.

1 comments
25 Mar 2024 -paul-

After some more testing, I have made the following changes to this list:

-1 PAD Campaign, -1 Holo Man, -1 Isaac, -1 Malapert

+1 Cybersand, +1 Tributary, +2 Tucana

Tributary: This is dedicated tech against Bypass Criminal decks (both Multiaccess and the Knife), which is a good chunk of Startup right now. It's also just a banging card in general. Easy 1x include.

Tucana: The bird can be hard to get installed and have it stick around long enough, but it can fetch our only copy of Tributary or (in one of the stranger combos in this set) put a Descent into your hand (sort of).