High-Efficiency HB

OVERVIEW

The keyword for this deck is "High-efficiency." This is a style of HB that came around after a series of exasperating games against a high-speed Criminal deck a friend of mine was using a while back, and also a reaction against that standard Corp thought cost/benefit analysis when a Runner is approaching a piece of ICE; basically I wanted to create a deck that allowed me to ALWAYS rez my ICE, without my economy taking a huge hit, or the tempo threat represented by Emergency Shutdown or ICE destruction giving me pause.

So to begin with, I started picking out cheap ICE: Eli was a given, of course, but beyond that I decided on the NEXT suite because, in addition to being cheap, they stay relevant through an entire game, unlike things like Quandary or Wraparound. Beyond that, I added in 8 "Late game" ICE, cards that can reliably stop a Runner from getting in to a server. Finally, I added in 3 "special case" ICE: two copies of Architect and Mother Goddess.

You want to be installing a card each turn to take advantage of your ID ability, and you want to basically rez all your ICE. Executive Boot Camp helps with this, making your NEXT ICE even cheaper, and getting them rezzed and networked early on. HQ will usually be quite small, between 0-2 cards most of the time, so you want to be getting your agendas scored quickly before a timely Legwork cleans you out; for this purpose I have put in three Biotic Labors, so as long as you begin a turn with 7 credits (not hard at all in this deck), you can out-of-hand score 8/11 agendas in the deck. This deck does have decent run-stopping power, but there are going to be lulls in your ICEs' efficiency, and for that reason I've also thrown in 2 Ashes, and 2 NAPDs as well. You also have Jackson Howard for those times when you need to A) get an agenda-dense hand cycled back into the deck, or B) draw into a Biotic or an agenda to throw in a server, C) get some discarded/destroyed ICE back into R&D, or D) fix a botched ABT.

In short, this deck SEEMS vanilla, but I think that it has real teeth. It is very efficient: you're going to have a bunch of rezzed, cheap, taxing ICE on the board, a small, agendaless HQ, a hale economy; and these factors combine to create tempo windows in which you can score out your agendas on the board, if need be, with little fear of the Runner getting in unexpectedly.

CARD SPECIFIC DISCUSSION

The NEXT suite: These 6 cards are the core of the low rez cost, high-impact ICE strategy of this deck. You want as many of them on the board as possible, and you want them all rezzed by mid-game; early on they will be stopping Runners dead, but once they have their breakers out it's more a matter of taxing them to the point that their runs have a very high cost/benefit ratio.

Markus 1.0: A new addition to the deck. I haven't played many games where I've had the chance to use him, but when I did, he contributed beautifully to the taxing strategy. If you have him beyond Eli, you are REALLY going to slow a runner down; either they're clicking through most of the subs, which is great, or spending 7 credits to break through both of them--also great.

Lotus Field: typically this is something I throw in front of my scoring server. For reasons that we all already know, this is a wonderful piece of ICE.

Rototurret: Another newer addition. I think of Ichi, generally, as a taxing ICE, and something that rarely does any damage. Roto, however, rezzed at the right time, is basically like a Grim you don't have to take a bad pub for. I find that a lot of times, the Runner will be running with just his fracter out, and when he hits Roto and loses it, it's a tremendous tempo loss. Often will be overwritten once it has done its job.

Viktor 2.0: The R&D guardian, most of the time, but generally just a big nasty thing you don't want to see as a Runner anywhere. Two in a row, in a pinch, is absolutely brutal. And, recently, people I play with have been splashing The Personal Touch to get through Lotus Field with Yog. You wanna go get another one, chief?

Architect: Always badass, but additionally provides a soft R&D protection: throw the agenda on top into a taxing/impenetrable remote. He also resurrects the NEXT ICE you will probably lose to Parasites/Cutlery.

Mother Goddess: Obvious synergy with the NEXT suite, but additionally, a HARD lock on a server if you rez her early and your opponent doesn't have an AI breaker out. If you have MG in your opening hand, and play her in front of R&D or in front of your scoring remote, that's about the time you don't want to be rezzing your other ICE, if you can help it. Or you can rez your Ichi or Roto, or your Lotus Field or Viktor, and their Mimic/Yog is useless against it. Excellent, a solid role-player.

Executive Boot Camp: A great card for networking your NEXT ICE. It also has one very cool matchup-specific use: if you are playing against Blackmail Recursion-style decks, you can rez ICE before you need it to safeguard against those free runs. It can also tutor your Jacksons and Adonis Campaigns if you want to get weird with it.

Gila Hands Arcology: My favorite opening-hand agenda. Score it and your turns become something like, "Click click for 3, install ICE" in between scoring turns. It really makes the deck sing.

NAPD Contract: throw it in your taxing remote when you know they have just enough money to get in, once, and then score it out the next turn. The tempo loss can be a real backbreaker.

Project Vitruvius: Just a blank 3/2. Score it and move on.

Accelerated Beta Test: a timely ABT can seal the game for you, as we all know already. I tend to install my free ICE in front of R&D, which is the most vulnerable server for this deck (as it is for most, these days). With the high ICE density in this deck, you will rarely have a total flop of an ABT--although you have Jackson Howard to help you out if that happens.

ADDENDA:

Why I don't like The Foundry for this deck: The Foundry is a really great ID, but there are two reasons why I chose EtF instead: first, efficiency is the heart of this deck: you won't have trouble finding your ICE, because there is so much of it, and you want to be installing it AND gaining that credit, because that REALLY helps with stacking a server 3 or 4 deep and taxing the shit out of the Runner or stopping him dead. This deck runs a light economy and that install credit keeps costs down. Second, because you rez SO much ICE in High-Efficiency, pulling those extra copies out of your deck thins it out too much; I was testing The Foundry out in this deck and got shafted on a Medium dig on a thinned-out deck.

Why I don't run Peak Efficiency in High-Efficiency: takes too long to be worth it, at best it's a Hedge Fund, or slightly better, but late in the game.

Why I have so much ICE: to increase the chances of ABT being the most badass pro-move ever. Also it makes me feel safer.

Bad Matchups: Valencia is strong against this deck: as much as you're able to rez a lot of ICE, that takes a couple of turns and for a while she's just getting into servers for free, which sucks. Viktor and Lotus Field help with this problem. I won't splash bad pub reduction stuff, because I hate putting in meta silver bullets, but if it gets super-prevalent I might.