[Startup] Hunter-Killer

milk_geologist 73

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The idea here is to shoot down your opponent's fracters and decoders, and then set up an End-The-Run code gate and/or barrier on a scoring remote, then centrals.

You can do this in one of three ways, listed from most to least consistent:

1) Score a Kimberlite Field with something big enough rezzed. This is easiest to do in the early game before they have their full rig and enough cash to run a modest scoring remote (all of our ICE folds in front of most breakers, so we're counting on them THINKING they don't have enough cash yet).

2) Build a scoring remote with Enigma or Ice Wall at the innermost layer, and a Stavka or Ansel 1.0 outside of that. Then put a ZATO City Grid in the server and try and tempt your opponent into a run. If they take the bait, trash the outermost ICE to trash whichever breaker would get them the rest of the way into the server. You can also take this opportunity to score your Kimberlite Field and get two kills for the price of 1. Note that your two Ansel 1.0s are the only way you have to consistently torpedo Endurance, so if you're playing against a Shaper, save it for that.

3) Throw a Stavka, Archer or Ansel 1.0 into Archives (maybe install and hit the unrezzed ICE with an Extract?), then get the runner to slam into a Nanisivik City Grid. If you're worried about them running Archives to flip over your ICE, put a Nanisivik on Archives, then tutor out your second one with Ob's ID ability and put it on a must-run server.

4) Shoot the rig the "fair" way, either by forcing them to trash something important with Anvil or getting a face check into a Stavka.

"But how do I know whether to trash a Fracter or Decoder?" First check the Heap. If you already see a Fracter or Decoder in there, trash that. I've found most runners put two copies of their breakers into their decks at most, so if you get both in the heap, they're probably locked out unless they're running recursion of some kind.

A note on Hostile Takeover: We don't care how much money the runner has, so let the bad publicity pile up. It's better for us if they're poor, but once we finish off the Fracter and any recursion they might have, all the money in the world won't get them past the humble Ice Wall.

Money: I like to try and pull down Regolith Mining License early if I can. Being flush with cash lets us be nimble for the rest of the game and slap traps into the most important servers or put bait in the most deadly ones. Put your Yakov next to ZATO to keep a trickle of cash coming out, and if you're waiting to draw an agenda, put a Mining License in there, too, to get some extra credits. You can also use Extract to dump an unrezzed archer into Archives to fuel Nanisivic.

Happy hunting!

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