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Artificial Intelligence: Defenses and Offenses

AI hate, a deck archetype once dominated by the ineffectual and silver-bullet Swordsman, has been in a slow resurgence since the overwhelming dominance of Faust. ICE like Chiyashi, Bulwark, Turing, and (to a lesser extent) DNA Tracker and Data Ward have put forward high-cost, multiple-sub ICE that are either must-break propositions or otherwise have direct penalties for having installed AIs. Chiyashi forces the Runner to mill their stack, and Bulwark pays back the Corp on encounter. Turing's sub can't be broken by AIs at all, much like Swordsman.

(Unfortunately, searching Netrunnerdb doesn't do regex, so x:"AI" comes up with everything with 'ai' in it, so if I've missed anything please let me know in exhaustive detail)

However, neither of these penalties (with the exception of Turing) make it any less difficult for a Runner to get through the ICE in question. Chiyashi's milling is at worst a nuisance to a Runner with recursion, and Bulwark actually gives the Runner bad publicity to use. In addition, one of the big deals with AI hate cards is that they're inherently silver bullets - they're just not great when not playing against AI.

A Tough Decision

Enter Conundrum! Without an AI installed, it's an 8-to-rez, 4-strength ICE with 3 subs. That's an awful rez-to-strength ratio. But with an AI, it jumps in strength to a boggling 7! Considering that most AIs have issues with either pumping strength (Darwin, Maven, Aumakua) or breaking subroutines (Overmind, God of War, Atman), Conundrum becomes a serious obstacle. In addition, where both pumping and breaking are cheap, AI breakers often have some kind of catch to them (Alpha, Omega, any of the devas).

Like Wraparound, Conundrum forces the Runner into a... well, conundrum. Do they trash their AI and dig for a decoder, knowing their tempo will suffer? Do they push through the ICE, paying the costs involved, knowing they'll have to do it again and again? Not to mention that unlike Wraparound, Conundrum retains its strength as long as an AI is installed - you can't sneakily install a 1-off breaker to counter it. You either have to lose the AI or grit your teeth.

In addition - and this is an important bit - despite its ridiculous rez cost, Conundrum isn't a dead card when facing a deck without AIs. It's still a strength 4 code gate with a hard ETR, which is relatively rare among code gates (sorry, regex again). 4 isn't a great strength and a lot of decoders will fuck it up (I'm looking at Torch or even fan favorite Gordian Blade), but it's something. Unlike Swordsman. ¬_¬

An Expensive Weakness

Unfortunately, Conundrum has another drawback on top of its ridiculous rez cost. It only really has one sub that needs to be broken: the End the run. The "lose a " subroutine hurts, but only has teeth in HB decks with cards like Heinlein Grid or Ryon Knight, and a poor Runner (or one running last click) can just let it fire to save money. On top of this, the trashing subroutine has the ever-deadly clause on it: "The Runner trashes an installed program". Not only does this mean they can do stupid things like trash power-counter breakers for recursion later, they can also just trash their AI for an easier run round next time. One of the subroutines actually helps the Runner solve this conundrum, should they choose to fire it.

Final Thoughts

Honestly though, my favorite thing about Conundrum is that it blows D4v1d out of the water (since it isn't an AI), and makes 4tman sad (if anyone even plays 4tman anymore).

In conclusion, Conundrum is another weapon in the AI hate arsenal and is well worth slotting if you're entering into an AI heavy meta. It's not even that bad against decks without AIs, but it's not that great either. It's an influence-free alternative to Chiyashi or Bulwark if you're not playing or and is more effective against AIs to boot. Also, it's some kind of TV-headed chimera that sears itself onto people's brains, so there's that if you're into it.

Detailed cost-to-break analysis

List of decoders

List of AI breakers

*indicating cards rotating out soon

Anarch

Decoders

• Yog.0 - Can't do it, unless you shenanigans its strength up, in which case 0.
• Black Orchestra - 6 at 4 strength. 9 at 7 strength.
• Force of Nature* - 7 at 4 strength. 10 at 7 strength.

AIs

• Wyrm - oh boy. uh, 6 to boost, 7 to weaken, 9 to break... 22. Phew.
• Knight* - 6.
• Eater - 8. Also, you can't access any cards.
• Aghora - 8.
• God of War - 14 and 3 virus counters.
• Darwin - 6 up front, and 7 over time to pump strength.
• Faust - 6 cards from your grip.

Criminal

Decoders

• Peregrine - 6 at 4 strength. 9 at 7 strength.
• Cerberus "Rex" H2 - 3 and 2 counters at 4 strength. 6 and 2 counters at 7 strength.
• Leviathan* - 6 at both 4 and 7 strength.
• Peacock* - 8 at 4 strength. 10 at 7 strength.
• Abagnale - 5 at 4 strength. 9 at 7 strength.
• Passport - 5 at 4 strength. 9 at 7 strength.
• Crowbar - uhhhhh... 4 installed icebreakers and a at 4 strength, and 7 installed icebreakers and a at 7 strength.

AIs

• Mammon - 8 to boost, 3 to put power counters on and break.
• Vamadeva - can't do it. no way, no how.
• Aumakua - 3, plus 7 virus counters.

Shaper

Decoders

• Refractor - 4 (one of which must be stealth) at 4 strength. 5 (two of which must be stealth) at 7 strength.
• Houdini - 5 (one of which must be stealth) at 4 strength. 7 (two of which must be stealth) at 7 strength.
• Gordian Blade - 5 at 4 strength. 8 at 7 strength.
• Cyber-Cypher - 3 at 4 strength. 6 at 7 strength.
• Inversificator - 5 at 4 strength. 8 at 7 strength.
• Torch* - 3 at 4 strength. 6 at 7 strength.
• Sage - okay um... 6 and 4 free at 4 strength. 6 and 7(!) free at 7 strength.
• ZU.13 Key Master* - 6 at 4 strength. 9 at 7 strength.
• Savant - uhhh... 4 and 4 free at 4 strength. 4 and 7(!!!) free at 7 strength.
• Study Guide - 9 at 4 strength. 15 at 7 strength. This is a special case though, since power counters on Study Guide can be preloaded using shenanigans
• Mass-Driver - 9 at 4 strength. 12 at 7 strength. Or nothing, if you broke the previous ICE with Mass-Driver.
• Chameleon - if shenanigansed to a higher strength, 3.

AIs

• Atman - 3 to break up front, 7 one-time cost to boost.
• Brahman - 7 and 1 installed non-virus program to the top of the stack.
• Alpha* - 9 and it's got to be the first ICE.
• Omega* - as above, but with the last ICE
• Sadyojata - no can do.
• Dai V - 8, and 2 of them have to be stealth.
• Maven - 6 and you have to have seven installed programs.

Other Notes

• GS Striker M1 - 4 at 4 strength. 6 at 7 strength.
• Endless Hunger - one installed card for the ETR, the other two subs fire
• Sharpshooter - ! Conundrum is not a destroyer, despite having a trash subroutine!
• Crypsis - 10 and a virus counter if you want to keep him on board.
• Baba Yaga - ???????? whatever ???????
• Overmind - 7 and 3 power counters.

Helium-3 Deposit

Importing MCAAP into Weyland can be tough at 3 influence, and getting Helium-3 on the board and ready to score at the right time is even jankier, but who am I if not a lover of jank?

flails arms wildly

As I've already noted on the review I did on the page for Helium-3 regarding this very combo-wombo, it's hard but not impossible. Other people on this page have already noted that the runner will be expecting HQ to hold the agenda you want to fast-advance, so why would they bother going in for a IAA remote that's probably a trap?

tl;dr - Helium-3 was made for this card, yo. Yes, causality itself has inverted in order to point out how amazing this jank would be if you pulled it off.

Another addition to the time-honored Snitch - Au Revoir - Reflection engine, at least until the first two rotate out. Expose is a niche mechanic not often used, so it's nice to see something that can take advantage of that.

Similarities can be drawn with Darwin as a relatively cheap, versatile AI that can gain momentum very quickly, but this virtual turtle can gain up to 4 virus counters a turn (more if you import shenanigans like Incubator or Surge.) In addition, Aumakua is 1 to break as opposed to Darwin's 2, making it much more affordable to use. It's also 1 influence, so importing to Anarch isn't a losing proposition.

As mentioned, Aumakua works well hand in hand with Snitch or other expose cards, like Infiltration, Deuces Wild or (not) Raymond Flint. Criminals have a laundry list of expose cards - that is to say, most of the expose cards available - and Aumakua benefits on top of all of those. Silhouette: Stealth Operative is a good fit for our turtley friend, as her ability gives natural exposes along with her runs.

However, exposing is not the only thing Aumakua gains virus counters from. Accessing cards and not stealing or trashing them gives our virtual turtle valuable strength. This means that you gain that counter even if the card you access can't be stolen or trashed. Non-trashable operations and ICE? Virus counter. Trashable operations and ICE? Hey, if you don't want to pay, then virus counter. Put an agenda on Film Critic after accessing it? Virus counter. Asset spam? It's raining virus counters.

The ease with which you can put counters on Aumakua - especially in superwide asset spam decks - is its greatest strength against the Corp's best defence: purging. The way Aumakua works means you can easily recover tempo if your deck is prepared to help it out. Keep expose cards ready to give it the boost it needs. Keep a killer on hand for Swordsman, if anyone even uses that anymore. Keep a decoder, too - I suggest Abagnale - for Turing, but I only say that because I specifically nearly lost a game to Sir Alan. Unless you're teching specifically against it I would save on deck space, though.

Aumakua is a virus, which means it can benefit from MemStrips, Déjà Vu, and the usual complement of Anarch-based virus cards (Hivemind, Virus Breeding Ground and the aforementioned Incubator come to mind). If you're not too tight on influence then consider importing some of these shenanigans to make Aumakua harder, better, faster, stronger o_o

In conclusion, Aumakua is a cool virtual turtle that takes Darwin's strength mechanic and updates it for a new age and a new faction. It has good synergies both in- and cross-faction, and if you're not afraid of AI hate definitely give it a try in your expose-based Criminal decks. Alternatively, have a go at bringing it into Anarch as a low-costed and low-influence AI that benefits a lot from virus-based strategies.

The Jank Chronicles: A Lookie Into Loki

As has been noted in the ruling by Boggs, Loki gains Cell Portal's subroutine without the derez clause. This sets us up for the Incredible Infinite Loop Jank that people have been talking about in hushed tones ever since the beginning of time, or at least the core set. Unfortunately the same limitations apply:

• The Runner must be prevented from jacking out. This requires the resolution of Whirlpool, Labyrinthine Servers or other shenanigans.
• The Runner must not break Loki's subroutine, which is difficult due to its low strength. Patch, Red Tape, Sandburg, Helheim Servers, Rover Algorithm or other shenanigans can help with this.
• There needs to be a rezzed Cell Portal on the board, which requires manual rez techniques like Executive Boot Camp, Oversight AI, Eliza's Toybox or other shenanigans. Otherwise, the only other way to do this is to have the Runner run Cell Portal and break its subroutine, which by definition means they already have the breakers they need to break Loki.
• There needs to be ICE preceding Loki that make the entire enterprise worth it. Errand Boy is often the one cited here, but in-faction options (and you won't be running Loki out of faction) include cards like Architect, Minelayer (for the ever-growing server!), Howler, or other shenanigans. Out of faction shenanigans include the classic Komainu murder option (as Komainu gains more subroutines upon its second encounter... or honestly, why didn't you just target this with Loki), the much cheaper Pup murder option (just keep running them past Pup until they can no longer pay for it and die), Herald for free advancements, Executive Functioning for a more unorthodox death... the list of shenanigans is pretty long, and most of what I've listed here are cheaper and more feasible options for jank that already has a lot of moving parts.

In conclusion (for now), Loki removes one piece of the massive Rube Goldberg machine that is the Cell Portal Infinite Loop Combo, removing the requirement for Cell Portal's repeated re-rezzing. However, the limitations listed above still exist. Even so, with the proper setup, Loki can be an unexpected game winner.

Example setup:

• Cell Portal is rezzed, through any of the shenanigans involved. Let's say it was done with Oversight AI.
• The Runner makes a run on our example server. It has Loki in position 0 and Pup in position 1.
• Why they would make a run on a two-deep server with inadequate icebreakers is beyond me. But maybe it's because you made them An Offer They Can't Refuse?
• The Runner encounters Pup, and pays through it in blood or credits.
• The Runner encounters Loki, who takes upon the subroutines of Cell Portal. Let's say in our example that they can't break it, because of all the Patches you applied.
• The Runner encounters Pup, and pays through it in blood or credits.
• The Runner encounters Loki, which just for fun, takes on Pup's subroutines. Repeat ad nauseam.

The total cost of this example combo is:

In setup, 3 and 1 to install the relevant ICE (less, of course, with shenanigans). 1 and 1 to play Oversight AI, to rez Cell Portal. Any number of , up to 3, to install Patches should you need to.

In action, 1 and 4 to play An Offer You Can't Refuse. 1 to rez Pup. 6 to rez Loki (less with shenanigans again).

Leaving the setup aside, which can be done over many turns, the maximum credit cost needed to fire off this combo in one is 11. Less, if you decide to rez Pup or Loki early with shenanigans. This is a lot less than the old Infinite Loop used to cost, what with the constant re-rezzing of Cell Portal. Despite the hefty setup costs, the addition of Loki into the game has created a cost for this loop that is actually... semi-feasible... okay, maybe not the most feasible thing in the world, but still much more achievable than it used to be!

And because you'll ask, the total cost of the combo, assuming Patches are applied (and they can only be applied to rezzed ICE, so that means you'd have to shenanigans Loki faceup, and that's going to throw calculations out of whack, so I assume you just rezzed it for its full price) is:

8 with Patches, 13 all up, plus 1 more and if you shenanigansed Loki faceup with Oversight AI, one less if you did it with Executive Boot Camp, and 3 more plus 4 if you did it with Eliza's Toybox. You see what I mean about the math?

Without Patches, and assuming the Runner can't break Loki, the price goes down to 5 and 13. Obviously the setup would be put together as cards come into your hand, so think of this cost as being spread out over several turns. Making these numbers work is not outside the bounds of reality!

shit i forgot about the jacking out

Fine let's assume you also have a Labyrinthine Servers token to use. That brings our cost up by 6, barring shenanigans, and 5, plus the risk your agenda would be stolen. Not recommended.

Alternatively, you can throw a Whirlpool into the server, which ups our cost by 1 and 2 for the install (again, barring shenanigans). More feasible and it brings our cost up to 6 and 15, which still doesn't look too bad.

In double conclusion, I'm an idiot but thanks for sticking with me anyway. Pretend that I made no mistakes.

tl;dr - long rant and analysis about how Loki has changed the feasibility of the Cell Portal Infinite Loop Jank. It's made it cheaper and removed some of the moving parts but it's still, uh, pretty bad.