Assimilator Bankhar Apex

Card draw simulator
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Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Apex Tin-man
Assimilator Bankhar Apex - IBGC 2023 CO
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Baa Ram Wu 2285

Ok - here we go!

I've been playing Apex on Jnet for 8 hours straight tonight and I think I've finally tuned this list into something that is surprisingly playable.

This started out as a World tree Direct Access Aesops list and mutated into this viral beast and I will go on record and say - You can win games with this! - the final version of this list has played 10 games with a 60% win rate - and only one of the wins was super cheesy!)

(maybe if my opponents from tonight allow me i will upload proof in the form of some replays @Coldlava, Phy and Extrac??)

So why Apex?

Firstly - if your tired of running into P.E. and Thule Apex will eat them for breakfast.

But the main reason is we can leverage one of my favorite new cards in Parhelion - Tsakhia "Bankhar" Gantulga! Obviously this is problematic as Apex cant actually install him! Luckily we have an incredibly expensive and slow engine piece in Assimilator to bring him to life.

How the bejeesus do I play this deck?

Ideally you want Bankhar in your opener, if its there slam it straight down on the table (facedown) with apex turn one, the other cards you are looking for are Assimilator and Heartbeat and a modicum of money to start you off.

Try to install with apex most turns if possible - the cards you dont want to apex install if possible are Reboot and Prey - everything else important can be assimilated if necessary.

Bear in mind that early doors you will have NO MONEY! If you have found your assimilator it is more efficient to install and flip if you're in the clicking for credits territory.

Don't flip your breakers - use them at Heartbeat fuel.

Once you have your Bankhar the game changes.

PUT PRESSURE ON!

If you let the corp get enough money to double ice all centrals/servers then you will not have a chance. Force them to Rez ice everywhere - If they put something in the remote - Call Bankhar remote,

If not pressure HQ (consider Prey on HQ ice if suitable to help with your Win Con),

Pressure archives with Reboots , these will keep your engine running (your priority should be stuff that you can assimilate if needed - Harbingers are especially good to get back)

How do I win?

Your win con is Wake Implant which is exactly the kind of finisher we need after ripping an agenda or two from the remote/HQ. As a bonus you can flip it off assimilator to avoid the damage (not that its an issue for you)

No Aesops?

Influence is tight and you essentially have 2 inf to play with - You could very easily slot Aesops into this deck for additional money (to be Assimilated) - and maybe that's actually correct - I prefer Cybertrooper in that slot myself as it will help you not just lose to big ice remotes (especially hitting an Anansi multiple times in a turn) - that influence could also be a misdirection so you have some chance against HHN decks.... would it be enough? probably not!

EDIT: Having played some games with Aesop's instead of Trooper it is 100% correct to play Aesop's! - See new deck edit below

Shout out to all of my opponents who persevered with me tonight (Bankhar is not implemented atm so has to be manually called)

Also shout out to Sanjay - who I think i may have stolen this idea off based on him mentioning it on.... daily casts??

EDIT:

NEWEST VERSION OF THE LIST

-1 Trooper +1 Aesop's (It's just soo soo good!)

-3 Spec Work +3 Deuces (Lower ceiling of draw but the tag removal and expose are both very useful)

-1 Dream Net

+1 Mad Dash

14 comments
16 Dec 2022 Baa Ram Wu

so... having played a couple of games with it I think Swapping the Cybertrooper for an Aesops is probably correct.

I'm still looking for more early game draw to get set up (as you need 3 peices - Bankhar, Assimilator and Heartbeat before you can start going) - if anyones got any ideas HMU!

16 Dec 2022 us0rman

i'd go with Deuces Wild and/or Build Script for direct draw power instead of your required buildup with Harbing + Spec Works to get this combo faster

16 Dec 2022 us0rman

Independent Thinking also might help..

16 Dec 2022 us0rman

Basilar Synthgland 2KVJ for that additional click (more draw) and helps Reaver and Wasteland

16 Dec 2022 Baa Ram Wu

@us0rman- funnily enough independent thinking is top of my list to try out - as it also helps when you occasionally end up with Bin breakers Stranded face down before you have Bankhar/Aesops to trash them! - plus it’s the only card in the game that lets you draw 5 cards for a single click.

Synth gland would be awesome here as it makes turns of Assimilating 2 Harbingers and still running possible - influence would be the problem though - as a 1x doesn’t help early consistency so would have to either cut Aesops/Trooper or Wake.

I defo will give Thinking a try though!

17 Dec 2022 coldlava

@Baa Ram Wu feel free to upload our game, it was a ton of fun!

17 Dec 2022 Berzelius

Amazing list!

17 Dec 2022 DoomRat

I lost to this list or something similar yesterday. It’s wild. Apex ran through bloop maybe 10 times. Sad times for me.

22 Dec 2022 anarchomushroom

what the fuck am i looking at

22 Dec 2022 #endgame

This is amazing and exciting - @WillRufus, get in here!

Good call on switching to 1x Aesop's - it's good money if a game goes long. Sell a Harbinger and assimilate it back for Opus-level efficiency. I'd also be tempted to try replacing the breaker suite with Mayfly or Matryoshka, as this would free up influence for a) more cybernetic hardware (particularly Zenit Chip JZ-2MJ or Basilar Synthgland 2KVJ) or b) classic Apex tricks like Devil Charm (great with Prey) or Boomerang.

Given that Aesop/Assim/Harbinger gives you a good story for lategame econ, have you thought about swapping Spec Work/Deuces for Career Fair? Feels like you need to get that Assimilator online ASAP, but I understand if the tag removal is more important. I'm surprised to see you going down to 1x DreamNet - how is that working out? I've always felt Apex needs it early as it it's like a cheap ProCo that forces the corp to defend itself more.

23 Dec 2022 Baa Ram Wu

@#endgame hey hey! Thanks for the suggestions!

Getting Assimilator down Asap is indeed key - but I don’t think Career fair is the answer as it has no good targets outside of Assim & Dreamnet

My current build actually runs 3 Gachapons (dropping the deuces & 1 bankhar and adding a Hunting grounds to help ‘find’ the bankhars - it’s also on 2x Dreamnet)

I looked at the stacking dolls but I don’t think they are a good fit as they can’t be rebooted/assimilated - however Mayfly’s could be an option to replace the breaker package and boomerangs would be an excellent option too. If you go Mayfly’s (and free up influence) then Synthgland would be an excellent option too as the deck is hungry for clicks esp in the late game when you want to assimilate stuff!

(Another good option for the influence if mayfly was swapped in would be 3x finality - to just try and win the game faster!)

25 Dec 2022 #endgame

Re: Finality: I would use The Maker's Eye instead. Finality's brain damage is an additional cost, which cannot be dodged by Heartbeat, and it costs 1 more influence for 1 more access. I quite like Jailbreak in Apex - influence-free, and a little bit of draw as well as a little multiaccess.

30 Mar 2023 Dustconsumedseeker

Doesnt Endless Hunger do the same thing while letting you run more than 1 peice of ice on a 3 card combo?

30 Mar 2023 Baa Ram Wu

@Dustconsumedseeker - unfortunately not - endless hunger only breaks explicitly ‘end the run’ ice subroutines. Which are actually not massively common - especially as it can break end the runs on ice like IP block and Hortum (due to the additional text)

My most recent version of this deck (posted by Prenic recently) does run 1 endless hunger as an anti rush option. (I’ll also be playing it on stream some time soon - so look out for them at!)