Welcome to the Corp half of our review of Devil and the Dragon! You can check out our runner reviews here if they haven’t already been blanked.
Malia Z0L0K4
Sanjay
There are a lot of dream scenarios you can construct with this card where you really get the Runner good. Blank a Film Critic before they access your SSL Endorsement. Blank a Jarogniew Mercs before you Boom! a tag-me runner. Blank a Fall Guy before you attempt to trash a loaded up Off-Campus Apartment. Feel free to construct some of your own, it’s quite fun.
I think the dream scenarios might come up frequently enough that you might actually get to live some of these dreams. But even if not, you should have plenty of fun imagining situations where you could really wreck the runner, and that should bring you more than enough joy.
Saan
The numbers on it are good, and blanking resources is also good, since resources are the bees knees for econ right now (not to mention Critic, etc). The problem is that it probably isn’t going to do too much more than waste a little bit of the runner’s time and 3 credits, unless you’re willing to dedicate an ice to it, which also probably slows you down. Obviously it’s great if you can get it to hit and then live for a bit, but setting up that scenario might be more annoying than is worth.
greyfield
Myself, I think the best-case scenario is also the most boring one: blank a Liberated Account they just played to bankrupt the runner and give your boring asset spam deck more boring life. Though I can also see Malia blanking Film Critics be important in decks that play Lakshmi. Bottom line is I don’t see this card appearing in any deck that isn’t playing a card that rhymes with Gestelle Goon, but in those decks it’ll be a role player and occasionally a serious nuisance. B-.
Bahram
The concept is aces. Answers to Film Critic are a good thing in my book, and this does that (and then some). 1 influence and a good effect, it reminds me of Blacklist. Even if it isn’t so good that it sees a ton of play, just having it as an option to use I am very happy to see.
CrushU
The only potential issue is that you have to dedicate another server to protect this as well as your agenda. Otherwise the card is great. I don’t think it’s powerful enough to bait a run through your agenda-scoring remote, though. However, the card’s effect is definitely strong.
TheBigBoy
3/10 I can’t see the stars aligning on this one. Even if you blank their liberated, eventually this gets trashed and they get their money.
dr00
Seems like a really good effect. Being able to blank anything during any rez window can lead to some moments where you can really catch the runner by surprise. I think it could have warranted being an upgrade though. Protecting this will be a tough prospect, and eventually whatever you blanked will come back. I could see it being part of a particular combo that needs to counter a particular tech card, like Film Critic. I think people will probably reach the conclusion that the best play versus Film Critic is to rez this just before the runner gets to the end of your remote and sees an Obokata or something, not after an agenda is already hosted, though. Can deal with Rogue Trading / Citadel Taps combo by blanking Citadel just before the runner gets to use it, but you need to be right on the timing with that. Blanking Liberated I think is good as long as the runner didn’t use Career Fair to install it because that is still a high install cost for not being able to money back up right away. This will be a fun card to test, and I think the effect is really strong, but being an asset will hold this back quite a bit.
SamRS
Buys a lot of time and completely hoses Citadel decks if they become more popular (likely). Unfortunately the deck this would be best in, Moons, is basically dead. If Rashida Jaheem brings back asset spam decks then expect this to see play, but it doesn’t go in anything else really. 4/10
Kill Switch
Sanjay
HB has a brain damage theme in this pack! One of the things I enjoy most about brain damage is, relative to net and meat damage, it is a bit difficult to deal out, which gives it sort of this forbidden vibe to it. It can be a bit difficult to build a reliable win condition out of dealing out brain damage (in fact, runners shrug off brain damage so readily that the most played card that reliably gives brain damage is Stimhack).
Kill Switch combines three mechanics that bring me a lot of joy. Dealing brain damage, petulantly scratching at the runner for stealing my agendas, and doing something with massive amounts of money. The card seems like it gives you some fun deckbuilding options for an archetype that I don’t think a lot of people were playing around with lately.
Saan
This seems like it asks the runner to pay some credits, or to have the corp Vamp themselves with no real payoff. I think that if you’re actually trying to win through BD (which is probably the hardest and least consistent way to win a game of Netrunner), Enforced Curfew is probably the way to go, because it actually guarantees one hand-size loss.
greyfield
HB joins the current wars, just in time to remember it has Enhanced Login Protocol and that card is just better. Someday brain damage will be a thing, he said, like a liar. D+.
Bahram
Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch, …err emm HB Brain Damage happen. It’s not going to happen. I think if you want a brain damage current (very narrow band) Defective Brain Chips is better. Wouldn’t be shocked if I never see this on a table in my life.
CrushU
Not much to say here. This looks bad. The trace on it makes it unplayable, I think. If it fired on access/score without a trace on top, it would probably see play.
TheBigBoy
2/10 Bad punisher card…
dr00
I’m glad to see brain damage get a lot of support, and maybe it can be a viable archetype, but I’m not sure it’s there yet. This card is difficult to evaluate right now, but if brain damage decks start to become viable, it will still have to compete with Defective Brain Chips.
One good thing in this card’s favour: unless the runner plays a new current or has Film Critic, it will always trigger at least once, since it triggers on access before they get a chance to steal.
tvaduva
Cards that can prevent stealing on access: Strongbox, Red Herrings, Ikawah Project, Degree Mill, Utopia Fragment, Lakshmi Smartfabrics, Ben Musashi, Obokata Protocol, Old Hollywood Grid, Haarpsichord Studios, and The Future Perfect. Predictive Algorithm as well, but it’s a current, so it won’t work. Since it’s five influence, it’ll be hard to get it to work out of faction, so the non-HB/neutral agendas are likely out. And Haarpsichord doesn’t really work since it only protects on any additional steals in addition to the steep influence cost.
Tempus
Sanjay
Tempus has an even more forbidden vibe to it than Kill Switch. It’s an upgrade that deals brain damage! That’s quite exciting. There are a lot of checks built into this card (doesn’t fire from archives, a trace attached, the two clicks to prevent the brain damage) which will make the card a bit finicky, but the upside seems quite fun if you are excited about brain damage and don’t mind a touch of unreliability.
Saan
This is the head of a good card poking it’s head out of a hole of not-good-enough. Most of the time, taking a couple BD is just fine, and when it stops becoming fine, you always have the click option. All of this is also assuming you can’t or won’t pay the easy trace. I just don’t see this going anywhere, since there’s 3 options for the runner to chose.
Greyfield
Mm. I think the point of comparison for this card is not Forced Connection, like some people have offered (because Forced Connection, y’know, is consistent), but rather Cerebral Cast. Do you have a way to profit off both of the options such that the choice is not really a choice? That is, do you have a deck that both wants to deprive the runner of clicks and wants to brain damage them? I’m skeptical. In a certain sense, actually, the true counterpart to this card is its inverse: O2 Shortage. And like that card, someone will try to make this card great, and I will be over here continuing to not get the thrill. D.
Bahram
Why did this have to be a low-ish trace? It’s 0 to trash, doesn’t fire from Archives, and has built in counterplay with the 2 click loss. Stacking a ton of them in one server is funny, but I don’t know if it’s funny enough. I hope I’m wrong and this is good in something… the art is amazing.
CrushU
This being an upgrade makes this playable. With Ikawah Project, it either secures the agenda unless they run first click, or guarantees a brain damage. The only remaining question is whether brain damage is worth it. Stimhack still sees play, so I suspect the answer is ‘No’.
TheBigBoy
2/10 Bad punisher card.
dr00
Unless the runner has a link, this is a decent trap. The runner either pays 3 credits, 2 clicks, or suffers 1 brain damage. Plus, it’s a upgrade that can trigger from anywhere but Archives. The Runner gets to choose, so the Corp needs to care about all of those possible outcomes though. Otherwise, don’t bother with it.
Bio Vault
greyfield
As if Jinteki didn’t have enough headache-inducing IAA combinations. This card seems good for what you want, which is to drag the runner through your servers several times, whether voluntarily or because you’ve ended the run. I have no idea what to say here. It’s good, play it, can I go now? A-.
Saan
This seems kinda cool. The issue is that when you IAA it, and the runner runs the server it’s in… what, are you going to use it to end the run? The run on the server that’s costing them money to run through? Or will you just let them trash it themselves after they’ve paid to get through your server. Probably case 2. In that case, what good is the ETR? If they decide they can’t get in, this is good for the next agenda you try and push, but it could have been the agenda this time. I could actually see this being good in Asa, since you can install a Vitruvius, install this with Asa, and then advance this twice. Despite my criticisms of it, it still seems unique enough to find a good home somewhere.
Bahram
I am super hype to try real glacier again. I think this is super rad. The ETR isn’t just on the server it’s installed in. Super good, can’t wait to play it.
Whiteblade111
I think this is going to be excellent, and meta-defining for a while. Glacier has two issues, being pressured to hard on centrals while building a scoring remote, and then having a runner with superior economy that remote camps you all game, making you unable to score. In the past glacier decks have been able to deal with these two problems either through Caprice, or a combination of Crisium grid + low agenda density suites. Now we have a card that kind of does both. Being able to end the run and only be stopped by a few select cards (interdection, councilman) is incredible. It can also ruse as an NGO Front or agenda in the remote, making them run through your server when they didn’t have to. Being able to use it to stop Deep Data Mining, Turning Wheel runs and Legworks is all just icing on the cake, and as Diversion of Funds comes out this upgrade only gets better.
CrushU
A Nisei Mk II counter for only IAA? Sign. Me. Up. And it only gets better when you realize it’s an upgrade. You can put it into your remote if you want it protected or to bait a run, or you can put it into Archives if you want to keep it safe and out of the way. You can even put it on R&D while you’re setting up and don’t yet have a strong scoring remote. This card is ridiculous. Remember how scoring the first Nisei usually lets you score the second? Yeah, don’t even need to score a Nisei now.
And God help you if the Corp actually manages to get multiples of this online.
TheBigBoy
6/10 Would you pay 8 credits to EtR? That’s what you’re doing when you IAA this instead of NGO. For most of the game this is a terrible deal. However, at the VERY END of the game this is an amazing deal. The question is whether you’ll be able to hold onto this until then. I had this at 7/10 originally, but I think it’s going to be more difficult to execute in practice than it seems in theory.
dr00
Decent card whose best use is still putting in the bottom of your scoring remote. Sometimes the scoring remote becomes hard to deal with and runners start hitting centrals, and I can see this being good to stop high-impact events like The Maker’s Eye or Legwork. While Crisium Grid is around, it will be better in that regard, but Bio Vault can also protect your scoring attempts and other remotes.
Sanjay
You know a card is powerful when it evokes reasonable comparisons to such powerhouses as Nisei Mk II, Marcus Batty, Caprice Nisei, and Defense Construct.
miek
I’m in agreement with thebigboy on this one. I would do the maths another way. Instead of opportunity cost of 8c (if it was instead an NGO). Lets just look at the straight up cost. 2c to rez, 1 click to install, 2 clicks and 2 credits to advance. That’s 3 clicks and 4 credits. Assuming the lower bound of 1 click = 1 credit, then this is 7 credits to put an ETR down. Even worse, if they assume its an agenda and go all the way in, you lose all that value and don’t get to use it later. I suspect this is both going to be quite awkward to use and make corps very poor. It does have some advantages to Marcus Batty, in that its guaranteed, doesn’t require an ETR ice rezzed, and works on any server, but ultimately Marcus Batty is just 1 click to install and 0-2 to work, so I suspect most of the time he’s just an easier use case for this style of deck.
SamRS
Solid in AgInf and possibly playable with SSO/Hollywood Renovation. Most glacier decks probably don’t want to deal with the cost (3 clicks) of this but universal ETR is powerful. More easily splashed than Batty so I expect to see it. 6/10
tvaduva
This is only the second upgrade that can be advanced. The first one hasn’t been seen except as a sweet playmat. High five to the first person that has 7 double advanced cards in a remote.
Sadaka
greyfield
This card does two really interesting things – screwing with Indexing and threatening the life of Film Critics – but because the trash clause is compulsory does neither of them in a way that really thrills me. It’s possible this card could compete with Miraju for slots? I’m kind of doubtful. If you aren’t killing resources with this card, it might as well be blank. C+.
Saan
Man, FFG hates resources recently. Almost every deck is running AI breakers though (turtles all the way down), so it might not fire, at which point the Runner can decide when it’s okay for them to have it fire. The effect is cool, but I’d rather have this effect on almost any other card type than ice.
Bahram
I think this is good, I really do. Like good enough that I plan to test splashing multiple copies in some decks. A little R&D protection, and resource control sounds super cool to me. I feel like I could be overvaluing this, but I think it’s very cool and strong.
CrushU
I’m not sure. This looks pretty good, because Jinteki definitely wants to kill Film Critic, and doesn’t need to hold cards in HQ that much. (You can trash Breached Dome with it for added spice.) The only worry is whether self-trashing ice is playable. I think if this were an Operation with the same text it would be playable, so it’s probably fine. Oh, and this card indicates that FFG finally learned the word ‘may’. (Lookin’ at you, NEXT Opal.)
TheBigBoy
3/10 Trashes Film Critic. Tech ice is usually bad though.
Sanjay
This is the third trap ice we’ve seen this cycle. Weird, right? It makes me think that maybe a design intent for the upcoming Jinteki ID we’ve seen spoiled in the sixth datapack was a playstyle where you sit with a bunch of traps in your hand and spring them at the runner at the opportune moment. I like this specific ice for what it is worth, especially because it is playing in the same semi-forbidden territory that Tithonium plays in, where resources generally can’t be directly harmed by mean ice.
dr00
One good thing about this card is it fetches you the useless card you pitch (or replaces the useless card already in your hand). It trashes itself whether your attempt to trash a resource though, and I don’t think it’s worth it to pay 2 (plus any install costs) just to search 3 and draw 1 card. Only rez it when you trash a resource; otherwise, don’t bother. I think a one-of splash could lead some interesting plays, but like Malia, this will be hard to evaluate without testing. I think the biggest thing against it is the 3 str, which is really easy to get to with turtle and other AIs.
Endless EULA
greyfield
As a lawyer, this card tickles my funny bone. 6 cost for 6 to get by is a fair rate these days for barriers, what with Paperclip. I don’t think the Chief Slee combos will ever pan out, but the rate is probably good enough that this will take some slots in NBN glaciers once you’ve slotted all three Tollbooths. And if this card’s existence leads people to switch to Sherman, you’re already a winner at life. B.
Saan
For Weyland being the “barrier faction,” it kills me inside that every single barrier NBN has (minus Pachinko, I suppose) is better than every barrier Weyland has (minus maybe Tithonium). This thing is ROUGH to get through. Sure, it’s technically porous, and you don’t need an Icebreaker to get through, but 6 credits is a small fortune for a single ice. I always see ice like this and Data Ward and fantasize a little about throwing Sub Boost in a deck. Fantasies aside, this seems like a very good ice.
Bahram
HNNGH. That’s my kinda ice. I’m giving this guy the bedroom eyes from across the FLGS floor. It being 6 rez for 6 tax is good. And if this forces non-Paperclip fracters into the fold, then I am super into it. Odd interactions vs the Pirate deck will hold it back. As will if Smoke decide firmly on Dai V for their AI breaker.
CrushU
Can’t decide if it’s playable. Remember; Tracer ice are generally unplayable because you can ‘break’ them without an installed breaker. Still, some of those ice are playable because the Trace is high enough, like Archangel. This hits that same number, so the only real question for it is whether your deck can afford that steep rez cost. Added bonus: It’s actually a Barrier that’s good against Paperclip. (And you can Sub Boost it to make a hard ETR ice, if you really want.)
TheBigBoy
7/10 I actually like this. I played with it a bit and was pretty satisfied. You need a really strong economy to afford to rez a 6-cost ice that they bounce off of, but if you’ve got the money then this gets the job done. I’ve had decks where I’d run 4 Tollbooths if I could, and this is a reasonable substitute. If they’ve got Hunting Grounds, Ice Carver, or Femme(!!!) then this can even be better than the booth.
dr00
I love this card. NBN is becoming the king of f*** Paperclip. I feel that this is strong enough to see a lot of play even after encouraging more Sherman, Morningstar, et al. into the meta because Paperclip is already so strong against everything else. It does what NBN does: doesn’t care if you even have breakers at all, just wants your money.
Sanjay
The massive number of subs and the zero number of strength gives this ice a lot of wacky interactions. I’m down for anything that makes Morning Star and Prey more exciting.
miek
This is obviously very taxing to get through, although the lack of breaker-cost on the first run is a big deal (effectively only costing 1 more to get through than vanilla the very first time). I’ve sort of established a personal rule that ice has to cost less than 5 credits if the runner can bounce off of it for free, and as such I think this ice is not good purely because it fails this rule. This may be good enough that it breaks that general rule, so I’ll have to wait and see.
SamRS
Chiyashi costs 12 and makes them pay 7, this costs 6 and makes them pay 6. Chiyashi is a bad card unless you really need a face check (read: Ag), which makes this better than a bad card. 5/10
Sandman
greyfield
Gorgeous art, poorly priced, unplayable. Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme… D.
Saan
Thematically, it goes great with the Azmari from last pack. Building a deck off anything but theme? This probably doesn’t make the cut. The numbers just aren’t there.
Bahram
Switch the cost and strength, then we are talking. But I think this costs far too much for this effect on a 3 strength code gate. Don’t we already have Owl for programs? And Jua? Super hard pass on this one.
CrushU
I’m with Bahram on this one. The hard numbers aren’t right. That said, the effect is quite powerful, as unlike Jua, you choose, and you choose twice. I just think that at 5 rez and 3str, it won’t fire that often.
TheBigBoy
3/10 I want to love this since firing it is dream-crushing, but Black Orchestra and the price tag say no. This should have been a 4 strength sentry. Ice that matches up poorly with the anarch bin breakers are unplayable, sadly.
dr00
After such a great ice for NBN we get a really meh one. I don’t think it’s truly awful per se, just that I cannot see any moment in my life where I would rather play this over Archangel (a card that will never rotate). Two subs with no trace, but it’s half the strength and 1 higher to rez. Even against linkrunners, the 6 trace on Archangel is enough to tax a lot and costs a lot to break as well. I’m just not seeing it here unless you really want those subs to fire and have Marcus Batty or something, but I think there are most likely much better subs you want to trigger in the first place.
Sanjay
My favorite Extreme Championship Wrestling themed card since Tommy “Analog” Dreamer.
Amani Senai
greyfield
Ehhhh. On the one hand, many small Archangels is pretty good if the runner has cards worth bouncing. On the other hand, the kind of agenda suite that would take advantage of this card the best is one I can’t imagine ever being impressive. C.
Saan
2 to rez and 4 to trash are great, but the trace is almost always going to be small, and the effect is really underwhelming. It seems really good in Jinteki, in order to wipe Film Critic before they can steal your agenda, but that also seems like throwing money in a pit, since you have to out trace the runner’s entire money pool. Not sure how I feel on this one.
Bahram
This could be super annoying as like a 1x card in CtM. I think it’s a little too weak to get slots in most decks though.
CrushU
Hm. I think in Door to Door CtM this could be extremely aggravating. Otherwise I’m not sure it’s playable. Requires a deck built around this effect.
TheBigBoy
6/10 I think this is better than it looks, but I’ve had trouble fitting it into a deck. I’m going to try though. Time will tell. I wish it was less influence…
dr00
I like this card. It’s a decent tax either way unless the runner has some link, but it does best with corps that score a lot for smaller traces than trying to go for 5s with SSL, et al. Could be really great for Jemison if not for the massive influence cost.
Sanjay
I still don’t understand the character subtype. The art on Amani shows a person on a screen, suggesting that a character is more of an idea than a person. There may be an actor portraying that character, but the character is where the power is. But if that is the case, how come Chief Slee can shoot me with a gun? And if that isn’t the case, how come Unregistered S&W ’35 can’t shoot Chief Slee?
I’ve brought this up before and someone is always able to come up with a perfectly inspired explanation for what a character is, but for some reason my brain can’t store it. I welcome you to try again.
SamRS
Tempo on scoring, potentially a bigger swing than team sponsorship depending on the deck. Normally scoring leaves you vulnerable as you just invested a lot into something that doesn’t effect the board, so these effects are always good. 6/10
SSO Industries
Saan
I find this ID underwhelming. Since it only works on face-up agendas, it’s only going to fire a couple times a game. There’s also the issue that you can’t advance a card with advancements, which means that if you have to hard advance a card up to the third advancement if you’re scoring something like Oaktown (since most relevant cards require three advancements these days). This pushes an archetype that uses primarily 3-pointers (Hollywood and the new City Works Project) to rush the first agenda in order to get 3 advancements and an agenda under your belt, get a one-pointer somehow, probably through Hostile Takeover, and then use Red Planet Couriers to finish out the game. I’ve played this deck before in BoN, and it’s okay. I’m not sure what SSO brings to the table other than a free couple advancements and worse overall agendas.
greyfield
I’m in the camp that thinks this is a cool concept that ultimately doesn’t do much. To eke out the value, you need to keep the agenda there for multiple turns (which only works if it’s City Works with a Punitive chaser) and have enough ice worth multiply advancing. Which… I dunno. There may be a deck out there that plays this in a really prosaic manner, using the existing public agendas (i.e. Oaktown) and just uses SSO to get free advancements to later turn into Trick of Light value? But that can’t possibly be better than Titan Transnational, and Titan is already a meta-dependent choice. C-.
Bahram
I wanna think this will be good. It seems like a deck idea that would be good given how good some of the advanceable ice is nowadays. But I just can’t envision it myself. But it feels like a ID that will be unlocked at some point, just not be me. The idea is cool though. I think playing a lot of Publics though makes your deck naturally weak to Shaper and Mad Dash. Riskkky.
CrushU
As a standard ID, it’s subpar. Other decks (Titan and BoN) do its job better without having to jump through hoops. That said, if there exists a deck that either A) keeps a Public Agenda on the board for several turns, or B) has multiple face-up Agendas with advancements on them, then SSO definitely becomes better. It makes me think of the Underway Renovation decks that ran out of Argus. Even then, I suspect that deck is better out of Argus than SSO, though.
TheBigBoy
4/10 There’s some power here, but I don’t think the shell is there yet. It needs some more ice to combo with.
dr00
Even if you try to score out all your public agendas one turn later, it can still give you nice tempo on every score attempt. I don’t think it will replace Titan, Skorpios, or Argus though, and I think it really needs some more public agendas or ways to install agendas face up.
Sanjay
I enjoy rushing, I enjoy advanceable ice, and I enjoy big stupid plays, and SSO lends itself to all those strategies. I don’t love public agendas because I like being sneaky, but maybe SSO will help me lean into public agendas and learn to love them. I’ve seen some very exciting decklists so far and I’m looking forward to trying them out. I have one extra thing to say about SSO but before I say that I would like to request that all my opponents stop reading:
I am going to put a non-public 5/3 in my deck and try to bluff it out as an NGO. Maybe a High-Risk Investment or something… I really think I’m gonna get away with it once because who would suspect non-public agendas out of SSO? Seems like a really funny goof.
You can start reading again now.
miek
I think people here don’t realise how good a 3-advanced Hortum is when the runner faceplants it because you’re rushing as hard as humanly possible. I think this ID is alright, and obviously has some fast advance capabilities as well with how great Red Planet Couriers is with so many free advancements.
SamRS
Requires a 5/3 suite but those are in fashion now. Unfortunately Weyland is bad at it, but Weyland players are used to being the worst corp at a specific strategy. SSO has clear power, and will live or die by its support cards, oaktown doesn’t cut it currently as you really want the third advancement, so you’re on Hollywood and City Works +1, which means you’re likely on punitive as well since that’s the only thing Weyland can do with 5/3s. If they get the money and ice to pull this off it will be a very good deck, if not throw it next to the other Weyland cards in the shoebox. ?/10
tvaduva
I have seen Oaktown advanced turn after turn baiting the runner into a kill a decent number of times. With this you can taunt Runners, gain credits, and shore up defenses. So, I believe this ID will become a decent archetype that will require a lot of practice, especially in my neck of the woods. Another econ-focused public agenda should speed it along.
City Works Project
Saan
Of the new, self-protecting agendas that the factions have gotten (Obokata Protocol, Ikawah Project, Degree Mill, and this one), City Works Project is by far the worst, and I’ll tell you why. This card only protects itself when it is installed. Most of the time when this card is stolen, it’s not going to be in a remote server. It’ll get sniped out of centrals, where it just flops into the runner’s score area. Like Obokata, it is usually going to require taking 4 damage when it’s stolen from a remote (IAA). Unlike Obokata, there is no “but what agenda is it?” factor, where you might be scared away from running a harmless Future Perfect or Bacterial Programming because you know you can’t take 4 damage from the Obokata you’re sure that it is. This is a public agenda, so it lets you know exactly what’s going on. Lastly, the other Public agendas help advance your board state (Oaktown, Hollywood, and New Construction) or interact with your opponent somewhat (Underway). This doesn’t do anything other than make itself more spiky, so as soon as it’s scored, its effects are gone. There’s probably some fun things to do here with Mushin and/or Dedication Ceremony in order to make this very hard to steal, but I’m just not a fan.
greyfield
Saan made all responses redundant. This card is a balanced Obokata in the sense that it’s bad at all jobs it aims to do. But it does something, and that something will occasionally be relevant. Maybe. C.
Bahram
This is very cool design. It is also the final nail in the coffin that moved me from Employee Strike to Film Critic where applicable. I think Film Critic value is super high, and this will struggle because of it. When Film Critic isn’t super high value, this will be very strong. Not Obokata strong, but close? Could be wrong, hope I’m wrong. 3 pointers and centrals tend to not be my best friends on corp side.
TheBigBoy
4/10 Mandatory for SSO, but I don’t think that deck is there yet.
dr00
Probably meant to be installed and slowly advanced in a remote for SSO, but Film Critic exists. It’s most common play will be to give the runner 3 points out of centrals. I wish it didn’t have the ‘while installed’ clause. Plus, it’s a public, so the runner will almost always know if they can commit to stealing it. Compared to Obokata, this is just extremely hard to justify.
Sanjay
Some obvious synergy in SSO in so far as that ID certainly wants some Public agendas. Has some minor synergy with Builder of Nations, which can play a bit of an attrition game, and some fascinating synergy with Jemison Astronautics, where putting surprise counters on City Works might let you kill the runner.
Miek
This card is bad pretty much everywhere except SSO – where its power level is still too weak, but maybe good depending entirely on how good SSO decks are.
SamRS
I think this is FFG’s way of testing just how bad a defensive 5/3 can be before no one runs it. It’s good enough that i’m going to run it, but it’s solidly the 8th best defensive 5/3 in a category of 8 cards. If SSO didn’t need this I wouldn’t play it. 4/10
tvaduva
In SSO, do you Fast Track for this, single advance it, and put the three advancement counters on the ice protecting it? I think you do. Here comes Weyland rush with big cosmic and wonders ice.
Oduduwa
Saan
Oh thank god, not all the Weyland cards in this pack are disappointing. Mind you, 7 to rez with just an ETR as a punishment is pretty bad, especially as far as Code Gates go these days, but the on encounter effect is pretty powerful. If this goes on a central server, it could pay out in terms of advancements in a pretty big way. It can’t be advanced itself (other than through runner interaction), but it’s worth noting that the ability of SSO can work on it, as does Dedication Ceremony.
Greyfield
Impressive, but my philosophy is ice can either (a) require other cards in your deck to make them useful (Grail ice) or (b) only work if the runner runs through them (Kakugo); they can’t be both. Assuming your opponent isn’t playing Hunting Grounds, odds are good the runner is just going to avoid this server as much as possible, which is all well and good until you realize this card is unique and the rest of your deck is full of advancement-dependent cards and you just spent seven credits on it. So I’m skeptical. No question, though, if you trigger SSO on this, it’ll create little monsters everywhere. And five-strength code gates are not nothing these days. B-.
Bahram
Seems… good? I think? It is kinda expensive for the ice itself, but really good at enabling other ice. But unique… so you just avoid hitting it? Reminds me of Quicksand. But you can play around Quicksand with value runs. I think this is a fine 1x but I am kinda just middle of the road on this one. I would love to be wrong on this though.
CrushU
Unique probably kills this, but it’s good in BoN, since the ICE this puts a counter on doesn’t have to be advanceable, and you don’t need to pre-advance this to get a BoN trigger. I don’t think it’s playable in other IDs, though.
TheBigBoy
5/10 This seems reasonable. In the bizarre future where SSO is good this is insane, but I don’t know if we’re going to see that day.
dr00
High rez cost and takes a while to get going (either with runs or extra support from SSO, Dedication Ceremony, Priority Construction, etc.), but a 5 str code gate with 2 etrs is decent enough to help you while it powers up other ice.
Sanjay
The flavor text of Susanoo-no-Mikoto referenced so called “god” ice, and giant ice with powerful effects inspired by deities has been a noticeable cycle throughout the history of the game. I love god ice. Oduduwa is a wonderful addition to the Netrunner pantheon, and I look forward to putting in in my Weyland decks in places it doesn’t belong, and spending way too much influence to play it in Tennin.
Miek
This ice technically doesn’t fail the “costs more than 5c must have a punishment” rule I made up, however the punishment may be too weak for it to count here. I think there is definitely potential for this ice to be powerful, but overall I suspect it’ll be just under the curve and won’t be super impactful on the meta.
SamRS
The other piece of ice I like in this set, requires something to force them through it a few times but gives you a LOT of money if you do. Being unique means you don’t want 3 but the deck that wants this needs it early meaning you 3x or bust, awkward. 7/10
Rashida Jaheem
SamRS
Violet Level Clearance meets Tech Startup. This card provides some badly needed speed to any corp that can protect an asset for 1 turn, which is pretty trivial. Being neutral means you’ll be seeing ‘sheed a whole lot. 10/10
EDIT: A lot of people took me comparing it to VLC as a bad thing. Some power cards are good for the game, and corps definitely need more speed right now.
Saan
Yes, this is what we needed after literally banning Violet Level Clearance. That exact card, but in Asset form. I suppose the Corp needs to actually protect it for a turn, but as SamRS mentions, that’s pretty trivial.
Greyfield
Because it is our fate to never ever be rid of the twin menaces of Estelle Moon and Brain Rewiring. But hey, Damon thought ahead on this one – he made it neutral so Industrial Genomics could get in on the fun too!! A.
Bahram
If your deck actively wants draw, or actively makes trashing card on the table a harder idea this seems really rad. So CtM, IG, Titan Rush… this will see play. Glad it’s so cheap to trash.
CrushU
This card might single-handedly bring back Asset Spam decks. IG, CtM, NEH, Gagarin all want this card. The best thing about it is that it’s single-use, and we’re in a Jackson-less era so Agenda flood could be real. I think Runners have enough tools to deal with Asset Spam, now, but still, it’s definitely getting a boost with just this one card.
TheBigBoy
8/10 I keep making decks with this, and they keep ALMOST working. When I fire it on turn 2 I almost always win. It has some issues though (namely Corp’s lack of agenda control). If we still had Jackson this would be 9/10. Eventually I’ll figure out the best shell for this and it’s going to be awesome.
dr00
If you thought NGO Front was everywhere, boy, do I have a card for you…
Sanjay
Ms. Jaheem has some great potential both in asset spam and also glacier. She reminds me of NGO front in that if you play her you either are baiting a run or you get rewarded, so its upside either way. There’s some really rewarding deckbuilding ahead for figuring out exactly how best to use this!
Miek
The obvious best place for this is in some sort of asset spam style deck, however if glacier is the better meta call this card still has insane value. I do like how this cycle has introduced a lot of power cards at 1c trash cost, meaning that while you want them all, you have to temper your central vulnerability when doing so.
tvaduva
I think this might be better in glacier with Jinja. PolOp value goes up if this sees play like we expect it to.
Final Thoughts
TheBigBoy
Favorite Design: Amani Senai
Worst Design: 419
Card-to-watch: Rashida Jaheem
Card-to-eat: Glut Cypher (too perfect)
dr00
Great pack. A few duds, but overall very fun cards and some cards that will invariably warp the meta.
Saan
There’s some cool runner stuff happening here, and a lot of super mediocre Corp stuff. Lots of fun stuff, though, and I’ll certainly have a good time messing around with things.
CrushU
We’re finally seeing some of the payoff cards for strategies that the start of Kitara was signposting, with Yusuf and Zamba. However, they’re still not quite strong enough to make those strategies competitive. We continue to get really good Neutral Corp cards in this pack, as well.
Greyfield
Rashida Jaheem will cause problems. This set was great for one archetype people like a lot, Jinteki glacier, and one archetype people hate, HB asset-spam. Runner side, I hope you like Aumakua, because you’re getting married and it’s entirely a coincidence that I brought a shotgun to the ceremony. Biggest disappointment is Sandman – priced more like Architect and that card potentially flips NBN gameplay on its head.
SamRS
The Anach cards suck, brain damage sucks and most of the ice is bad, but I like the rest of the pack. Rashida is sorely needed and the people complaining about the Corp finally having some power are just looking to gripe. Being good doesn’t mean the card isn’t fun, in fact it tends to make the card more fun.
tvaduva
This is the start of the turnaround for Criminal. You’ll see them (and Sunny) a bunch for the next few weeks; you’ll almost get sick of them and then remember that they really deserve the spotlight for a bit. Corp, especially glacier, got some really neat tools too.
That’s it from us, feel free to hotly debate the use of letters vs numbers, and we’ll be back next pack (unless this exciting Nigerian investment opportunity pays off).