Spending Influence
by David Kempe
Last week I talked about high influence cards; this week I want to talk about the low influence cards you should keep in mind during deck-building. Every Runner deck obviously needs Icebreakers just like every Corp deck needs Agendas, so I’m going to leave those off this list. I’m only going to include one card from each faction (sorry Archived Memories/Sacrificial Construct) and limit the cards to a max of 2 influence cost (no Wyldside/Precognition). Also, these aren’t necessarily auto-includes in every deck (my NBN deck doesn’t run Snare!... yet), but rather the cards I look at when I’m starting to use up my influence.
The Anarch card is probably the best Runner card in the game: Stimhack. When cards like Red Herrings and Nisei MK II ruin your day, Stimhack lets you make another run before the Corp has time to empty his coffers. Stimhack can easily win you games when you absolutely must get into a specific server. As an aside, I do not condone using Stimhack to run on wimpy servers; if the Corp has no unrezzed ICE on a server, you’re probably better off without the Brain Damage.
The Criminal card is probably the most obvious choice: Special Order. I know I said I wasn’t going to include icebreakers, but Special Order is better than any icebreaker: it’s the icebreaker you need right now. I am a big proponent for running on unrezzed ICE before you have anything to deal with it, so I love this card because it rewards you for scouting the Corp.
The Shaper card, while boring, demonstrates the importance of card-draw: Diesel. The ability to fill your hand is incredibly important against Jinteki and Weyland. Unless you plan on winning this turn, drawing cards is always a good action, and Diesel fills your hand twice as effectively as spending a Click.
If cards are paramount for the Runner, the most important resource for the Corp are Credits; Haas-Bioroid’s card demonstrates that need the best: Adonis Campaign. Spending 4 for 12 is the best ratio in the game. Even if the Runner trashes Adonis Campaign, it pays for itself by forcing the runner to spend 3 Credits.
Jinteki’s card is the best trap in the game: Snare!. The only trap that triggers when it isn’t installed, Snare! earns it’s slot by completely changing the game state when it triggers. It tags the Runner in match-ups where she doesn’t expect to be tagged. It depletes the Runner’s hand enough that she needs to spend actions drawing cards instead of Running. An unexpected Snare! can randomly win the game in the same way that Stimhack can.
NBN’s card is the most useful upgrade in the game: Red Herrings. I have never seen anything protect a server like Red Herrings does. Nothing makes a Runner angrier than spending all her Credits running where she already knows there’s an Agenda only to find that she doesn’t have quite enough to stop the Corp. You can stack multiple Red Herrings in a server if you expect shenanigans, but one is usually enough to earn you a turn. Often, a turn is all you need.
Weyland’s card is the best early game card you can get: Ice Wall. Of the breakers currently available, only Corroder deals with Ice Wall as cheaply as you pay for the card. A well-placed Ice Wall not only protects a server for several turns but also at a price that won’t hurt your economy.
A lot of thought can go into deck-building. I’ve lost my way a few times and ended up with decks that shouldn’t work. I’m going to use this list as a starting point and encourage you to do the same. Alternatively, create your own list of your favorite out-of-faction cards and let me know where you end up. Personally, I can’t wait to lose a game to a Haas-Bioroid player because of an unexpected Snare!.
The Anarch card is probably the best Runner card in the game: Stimhack. When cards like Red Herrings and Nisei MK II ruin your day, Stimhack lets you make another run before the Corp has time to empty his coffers. Stimhack can easily win you games when you absolutely must get into a specific server. As an aside, I do not condone using Stimhack to run on wimpy servers; if the Corp has no unrezzed ICE on a server, you’re probably better off without the Brain Damage.
The Criminal card is probably the most obvious choice: Special Order. I know I said I wasn’t going to include icebreakers, but Special Order is better than any icebreaker: it’s the icebreaker you need right now. I am a big proponent for running on unrezzed ICE before you have anything to deal with it, so I love this card because it rewards you for scouting the Corp.
The Shaper card, while boring, demonstrates the importance of card-draw: Diesel. The ability to fill your hand is incredibly important against Jinteki and Weyland. Unless you plan on winning this turn, drawing cards is always a good action, and Diesel fills your hand twice as effectively as spending a Click.
If cards are paramount for the Runner, the most important resource for the Corp are Credits; Haas-Bioroid’s card demonstrates that need the best: Adonis Campaign. Spending 4 for 12 is the best ratio in the game. Even if the Runner trashes Adonis Campaign, it pays for itself by forcing the runner to spend 3 Credits.
Jinteki’s card is the best trap in the game: Snare!. The only trap that triggers when it isn’t installed, Snare! earns it’s slot by completely changing the game state when it triggers. It tags the Runner in match-ups where she doesn’t expect to be tagged. It depletes the Runner’s hand enough that she needs to spend actions drawing cards instead of Running. An unexpected Snare! can randomly win the game in the same way that Stimhack can.
NBN’s card is the most useful upgrade in the game: Red Herrings. I have never seen anything protect a server like Red Herrings does. Nothing makes a Runner angrier than spending all her Credits running where she already knows there’s an Agenda only to find that she doesn’t have quite enough to stop the Corp. You can stack multiple Red Herrings in a server if you expect shenanigans, but one is usually enough to earn you a turn. Often, a turn is all you need.
Weyland’s card is the best early game card you can get: Ice Wall. Of the breakers currently available, only Corroder deals with Ice Wall as cheaply as you pay for the card. A well-placed Ice Wall not only protects a server for several turns but also at a price that won’t hurt your economy.
A lot of thought can go into deck-building. I’ve lost my way a few times and ended up with decks that shouldn’t work. I’m going to use this list as a starting point and encourage you to do the same. Alternatively, create your own list of your favorite out-of-faction cards and let me know where you end up. Personally, I can’t wait to lose a game to a Haas-Bioroid player because of an unexpected Snare!.