Transnational Trick

I have been working on this since the release of O&C. I started out with a gimmicky build that used Builders, and various numbers of the two Shipments, and Orion, and the kitchen sink. I found the deck to have horrendously weird opening hands, as well as being just bad against aggressive decks--and particularly the ever-popular Leela in my meta. Still, a nugget of an idea was clearly there, so I sojourned on with testing and arrived at this list.

THE TRICK

The main conceit of the deck is to score agendas out of hand with Trick of Light or the single Biotic Labor. To do this, the deck plays 9 advanceable ice: 3x Ice Wall, 3x Fire Wall, 3x Wormhole. In testing, these were by the far the most worthy inclusions--more on ice later. Your main target is Project Atlas, which, when scored, will automatically gain an agenda counter. This will allow you to search out another Atlas, Trick, or Biotic to hopefully chain these together without the need for a remote--typically Hostile will be scored last, if not earlier. Of course, the Atlas chain doesn't always happen, but with 10 agendas that score with 3 or less advances, you have plenty of outs.

At first I played NAPDs, but since they didn't work with Hostiles, it was a pretty big concession. I am quite happy with the switch. I will say that the single High-Risk investment feels like weak point of the deck. The games I have lost has been due to runners seemingly drawn to this like a magnet. I did try dropping it and Chronos Project for a 3rd Fracking and a Corporate War, but, as these do not score out as easily on average, it felt as bad if not worse--plus I like the 1 Chronos against decks that abuse their heap like Noise, MaxX, Criminals with their Siphon loops, etc.

THE MONEY

The money in this deck, as with most Weyland builds, is nutty. Mark Yale is the superstar here, turning those agenda counters into fluid cash when used or burnt (the second clause on his card). The beauty is that Titan's ability adds agenda counters to ALL scored agendas. This means your Hostiles and Chronos Project also get counters to be burned for 3 credits. Mark also turns Firmware into 12 credits and Fracking into 9 credits (with no bad pub) for no clicks. Gross, bro. Even using your Atlas nets you a credit with Yale, meaning you often can Trick of Light right away. Firmware also can start set you back up for another Trick of Light while giving you a credit for your trouble. At worst, he is a feint for one of your no advance agendas that will net you a credit (or more).

I will also point out, the times I have scored out the High-Risk, it has been insane--last night I did so and gained 14 total off the two activations, which is a meek amount in truth. Beyond this, we have mainstays Beanstalk and Hedge Fund.

THE ICE

The ice in this will certainly be the point of contention for some, as they will want to jam in as many constellation or otherwise advanceable ice as possible. Well, I tried all the bells and whistles and have found this to be perfect balance for the following reasons:

1.) Ice Wall is a given. It is a Trick enabler, it is early game fodder, great as an outer ice against Inside Job. No one is arguing this.

2.) Fire Wall has proven to be better than Asteroid Belt in the long run. For starters, it is a lot easier to rez out of your opener. This is critical. Secondly, while it is 1 strength lower than Belt, it often ends up at 7 or higher by way of Firmware, making it a pain in the ass to get through. This also helps combat the bad pub. With the constellations, you have no incentive or benefit from advancing them once rezzed. Fire Wall and his frigid little bro make runs more expensive in those gaps in between Trick of Light shenanigans.

3.) Wormhole is a beast as a 7 strength code gate. Of all the constellations, I rank this one as the one to play. Remember, we want to make running centrals a nightmare endeavor for the runner. Also, make sure one of your many ETR ice are rezzed before rezzing this! AND, don't forget you can copy Archer's program trash, if needed.

4.) Archer remains one of the best ice in the game, and most certainly outranks Nebula, esp. since the deck has seven total 1 point agendas. If you play Hostile, you should play Archer. Two is the right number, as this deck often shores up a central as needed, can be searched for with an Atlas, and is a nice ambush, since the deck only plays 4 sentries in total.

5.) Eli, Enigma, and Caduceus are nice early taxing ice. Caduceus, even with potential bad pub, can be nutty with all the money the deck is capable of generating. Eli will often maintain his value even late in the game, while Caduceus and Enigma are there to get your through the early game, setting up for scoring and whatnot. With 13 agendas, leaving centrals blind is not a great plan. These ice help with potential rush strategies.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Jackson is here to do what Jackson does: draw you into needed cards, feint as an agenda, and shuffle back in cards as needed. With Anarch getting a boost, I think this is def a necessary tool, as well as Crisium Grid, which works to shutdown Account Siphon, Keyhole runs, Wanton Destruction, and make Eater suck. At the worst, you can use it as another headfake in a remote--it is worth mentioning, this deck is more than capable of building out remotes as needed; ideally, you will score out of hand, but, hey, sometimes it doesn't always shake out that way, right?

Fast Track is there to an Atlas as needed, or whatever other agenda you desire. I could see replacing them with something else, but, for now, I am more than pleased with its inclusion.

That's pretty much it. Enjoy!