Pals [7th @ August AMT]

Girls are so hot right now ([1] [2] [3]).. and rightfully so; the decks are great and have been putting up results. Shoutout to @harmonbee and @aceempress for some quality deckbuilding!

But I'm not here to talk about girls, well not just about girls, I'm here to tell you that, in the words of one very talented netrunner:

*BBC presenter voice* Other genders are available

So join me for a dive on why you should take this under-appreciated non-binary themporer for a run or two!

Free yourself from your genetic heritage, false binaries, and conception of meme cards

-Quetzal, probably

Quetzal's Quandary

You may notice that this deck uses no Rebellion Without Rehearsal cards, but I think Quetzal got a real buff with the set because of what everyone else is playing:

• Physarum Entangler is great and pushes the Corp towards more Barriers
• Logjam is an excellent piece of ICE
• Boto is downright rude

Plus we still have reliable favourites such as Border Control, Pharos, and Brân 1.0. Point is, the ID ability is rarely dead even if it never fires since the Corp has to re-evaluate a significant chunk of their ICE suite. This typically slows the corp setup or makes it weaker to early aggression.

Now add that Laamb got unbanned and we can start cooking..

Quetzal's Quintessentials

You may notice that this list shares a lot of DNA with excellent Esâ lists like @jan tuno's (fitting given Quetzal's gene modding). It often plays similarly I think; come out of the gate hot, pinhole the Rashida, let Bankhar get you into early remotes, cause some disruption, let your pals pay the bills.

You're mostly going to be poor, but that's OK, because we can burst up with Fermenter or Moshing away our Strike Funds. This is a good way to save yourself from the scary sunglasses.

Very similar to Esâ, with Laamb + Poison Vial + Quetzal's ability we can break (almost) any ICE for 2 credits and a vial counter once a turn. Combine with Bankhar and 2 ICE servers melt away. In some matchups Buzzsaw deals with common pieces like Magnet, Thimblerig or spent Gatekeepers but for the other bits, we have some spice..

Pre. Paid. Breaking.

Enter some more pals; the croc and the pterodactyl!

We get one of these cryptids down, wait for our opponent to read the card, then proceed to break whatever they thought was safe (sometimes making use of the vial too). You thought Boomerang was good? Wouldn't it be cool if you could have multiple and use them on any piece of ICE?

How much we use Poison Vial is going to change a lot based on your opponents ICE suite though I think generally we want to play 1 a game for the threat/peace of mind if nothing else.

The rest is fairly standard; use The Twinning to access lots of cards, use Labor Rights aggressively to pull things back, and make some money/draw while running with your events.

Quick-Tech Quips

• Finality stacks with the The Twinning; people go to a lot of trouble for a Deep Dive, but we have that at home!
  • Finality doesn't even need to be so final; sometimes you play PD and do a little cheeky access 4 in the first few turns to put them on the back foot
• Playing something ICE-less like Barf Thule or some grinder PE? Now they are the one taking damage
  • Can't get Oppo-ed if the corp is the one trashing the cards *taps head*
• When the corp thinks their defenses are up.. bring out your inside gal
• Threaten Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.. no server should feel safe

I've been playing this in the heat so honestly I could probably use some pointers myself xD

Quest for Quality [Slots]

Slots are pretty tight both in influence and because hitting minimum deck size is obviously important for ensuring we have the pieces ASAP.

• Pinhole is a flex influence slot
  • It gives us outs to problems like Anoetic Void while also being an aggressive option
  • You could play another Kongamato here
  • I'd love to somehow find space for more Dr Nuka, Miss Bones, or an Ashen Epilogue
• Marrow is an option if you expect a lot of kill decks
  • Between that and a Steelskin or two you'd have reasonable odds of surviving a full combo from most decks
• An extra Fermenter may be worth going to 46 both for econ and stealing SDS
• Another Dirty Laundry would be nice
• Finality could be 1x though since Labor Rights-ing it back in is slow I find the second copy is nice to have
• Paladin is nice for installing our more expensive stuff (4c is soo much money..) but could be swapped for another piece of economy
  • I hear Sure Gamble is pretty playable

QClosing

Sometimes meme cards are good actually. Netrunner continues to be great. Shoutout to all the lovely people who make the community so nice <3