Top-Down Solutions

Top-Down Solutions 2[credit]

Operation
Influence: 2

Draw 2 cards. Install up to 2 cards from HQ (one at a time).

“The instability of human braintapes is directly proportional to the number of limbs on a given bioroid, so we’ve begun phasing them out for something better-equipped. A human braintape could be working beside an octopus for weeks and never have an inkling.”
—Maía Mínervudóttir, R&D
Illustrated by Martin de Diego Sádaba
Decklists with this card

Elevation (elev)

#44 • English
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Reviews

TDS pairs multi-install with (multi-)draw.

The problem with exclusive multi-install effects is that you need enough installables in hand. For example, [[Shipment from MirrorMorph]] has an implicit Play only if there are at least 2 to 3 assets, upgrades, and/or agendas in HQ. gate. And if you do, you still need to refill your emptied hand.

Other “Clearance” effects that draw multiple cards (like Red Level Clearance) can still only install a single card. Fast Break is an exception, but with an implicit Play only if there are at least 2 agendas in the Runner's score area. gate.

However, TDS lets us multi-install from smaller hands (with sub-optimal installables, even with only a single installable pre-draw). And it refills our hand as it empties.

For example:

  • Asset-Spam: Install two assets, while drawing one-or-two more. Like “DIY NEH”.

  • Fast-Advance: Install a multi-clicker/multi-advancer/clickless-advancer (like Bass CH1R180G4, The Holo Man, or any “new Calibration Testing”), alongside a 3/2.

NB. This compresses "install clicks", but only breaks even on "units of value"): 2[$], [click], CARD → 2×Draw, 2×Install. (As @Krams says below.)


Flavor:

  • Name: is a pun. Corporate headquarters plans out simultaneous construction projects ahead of time, which then join up; and building the space elevator from orbit downwards is literally the most "top-down" construction possible around Earth (any farther, there's no "up" or "down").

  • Art: shows creepy–cute “bioctoroids”. Being in outer space, they feel like aliens (despite us knowing they're terrestrials and built by Haas-Bioroid). Likewise, Sacrifice felt like an alien monolith (despite us knowing that Weyland built it). While exploited as much as Turtlebacks, maybe they have more labor rights than other Bioroids (because of how hard to reach they are).

(Rebellion Without Rehearsal era)

It's worth noting that, in contrast to clearances, TDS is not strictly economy-positive. You pay a click, a card and 2c for a total "cost" of 4 and gain 2 cards and 2 installs, also "worth" 4. You basically pay click-compression with credits.

@Krams 100%