Goodnight, sweet prince (4th @ NANPC NJ)

Anyone who knows me or is even familiar with me knows I love 419. I have the largest collection of 419 alts in the world. I jumped for joy when he was unbanned. I got 6th at Seattle regionals 2018 with Nexus 419 - it was my first ever tournament. I followed it up with a 2nd place Portland regionals 419 finish. I even took Nexus 419 to 27th at Worlds 2022 when Boat, Keeling, and Drago were running rampant. I’ve played him countless times, in every meta possible, for years and years on end.

This is the ID that I finally got good at Netrunner on. Corporate Grant, Mining Accident, Aumakua, Diversion of Funds. Chef’s kiss. I love playing control crim, and even though the archetype has been at best sub-par for a long time now, it just feels like home. Everyone in Seattle knows how giddy I get pointing at the ID when they install something. I once even got one of our regulars to show me the card they installed just by saying “expose or pay 1?” when I was playing a different ID (a casual game, of course). When told by close friend and teammate @CryptoGraham that playing against 419 wasn’t enjoyable I simply responded “Fun is a zero sum game” and a local meme was born.

Swiss R2: Loss vs. RayS on Tier 0 Ag

AgInfusion is a horrific 419 matchup, and this one especially so. I told my opponent when we sat down that my goal was to steal 3 points before losing - he drew every money card imaginable and nullified my ID, and I eventually conceded 6-0. At no point was I ever even remotely close to turning it around. I want to be clear that my opponent played well and I mean no disrespect to their choices, but my flair in the Muntal Bost server is “World’s Foremost AgInfusion Hater” for a reason 😆

Swiss R3: Win vs. coldlava on Eminent Ob

This is a pretty tough matchup. Ob can bounce back from low credits easily, Crisium and Border Control stop Doofs, SDS is an huge pain in the ass for criminal to steal or ignore, Stavka can win the game on the spot, and being able to pop 3x Mavirus for value is just a middle finger to the turtle. I aggressively challenged the remote with turtle and Inside Jobs, Alarm Clock ran HQ for turtle counters, and eventually won off singles from R&D. It was admittedly a bit lucky, but I also did a great job of grinding him back down to broke no matter how much money he bursted.

Swiss R4: Win vs. NotAgain on Venti Ob

I played very carefully and mostly ignored the remote. I held onto Class Acts to tank damage just in case. I ran R&D aggressively for singles and eventually touched three agendas.

Cut R1: Loss vs. DeeR on Punitive Ag

I almost conceded and went home when I realized that, as the higher seed, they were going to pick Ag against my 419. I was tired. But I decided to give it my all anyway and am glad I did. Despite me eventually losing on time at only a Regenesis stolen, this was a hard fought battle. Tons of thinking on both sides, lots of situational and targeted pressure, and a very engaging push and pull. Honestly, just a great game of Netrunner that I don’t feel sad to have lost. Dee played very well, and I felt like I had still “won” something when as soon as the game was called they let out a “oooooooof that was hard”.

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419 is a terrible call for this meta. I knew that and didn't care. I couldn’t enter this final tournament with FFG cards without taking my boy for one more go. If you want to win a tournament before Elevation, do not play this deck. But I just couldn’t help myself. This ID feels almost like it is Netrunner to me. Goodnight, my sweet Nigerian prince - I will miss you forever and always.