High-Efficiency HB V.1.3

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.

PATCH NOTES

V.1.1 adds in Tollbooth, as per a comment suggestion. After testing it over the course of 10 or so games, I think it's a great inclusion.

V1.2 saw the removal of Executive Boot Camp for Lag Time, which contributes to the tax of the networked NEXT ICE, puts Architect out of Mimic range, and totally scrambles any installed Atmans.

V.1.3 is a significant overhaul. I took 1.2 to a store championship and ran into a few problems. The first was economy. While most of the ICE in this deck is cheap, rezzing it in front of agendas and then immediately scoring them out in the windows afforded by that rez proved taxing. So I added in 2 Successful Demonstrations to provide some early game burst econ. The goal is to have these in your opening hand, or to draw into them early, when the sheer variety of the ICE you're rezzing gets you a virtually guaranteed unsuccessful run or two. It synergizes well with the next ICE, because a runner who facechecks them won't really be costing you too much, and playing this card off the back of that stopped run is such a nice swing in your favor, networking your NEXT and getting you credits for your Biotic Labor scores. Speed was another issue. The early game tends to be sweet, either with Biotic Labors and Accelerated Beta Tests/Project Vitruviuses, or just standard scoring windows, but the mid-to-late game can be a slog, with the runner making fairly successful, if taxing, runs into R&D, and you just waiting for your Biotics. Jackson Howard can theoretically help you draw into them, but what also happens is that he burns through a lot of your other cards, thinning your deck, and forcing you to ditch ICE that you would rather stay in R&D, partially to reduce agenda density and partially to facilitate a ballsy ABT. So the Clown Prince of NBN has, temporarily, been relieved of his position at HE HB, replaced by Daily Business Show. Played early (and you can probably just let it sit naked in a remote), this card will get what you want in your hand into it quicker, and ferry undesirables to the bottom of your deck. Mid- to late-game, I think it will be essential, getting your SanSan City Grids, another new addition, into play, or your Biotics if they've already been trashed or aren't showing up.

I also removed the Lotus Fields, because this deck already had plenty of Code Gates, and I needed to make room for the new non-ICE additions.

So HE HB is looking a little more like a traditional fast-advance deck. And perhaps that is what it ultimately is: a variation on that theme. Instead of stopping the runner totally in the mid- to late-, just tax the shit out of him, make runs on R&D and HQ too exhausting and resource-intensive to repeat more than once a turn, and score out agendas on a SanSan behind, say, Tollbooth; failing that, drop-score them with Biotic and call it a day.