[Startup] JintekB: Not PErfect (guide)

ThanosPKC 148

About
Archetype: Glacier - Build a remote. Score behind it. Hopefully.

I wanted to make a decent Jinteki deck that wasn't Jinteki: Personal Evolution. Unfortunately, Hyoubu Institute: Absolute Clarity has an ID ability that is very hard to take advantage of. That leaves Jinteki: Restoring Humanity as the only option left.

This deck is titled "JintekB" because it's a deck that wants to be HB (and is probably better done in HB). "Not PErfect" is a pun on not being Personal Evolution, while at the same time being honest about Jinteki's lack of power in Startup.

"End the Run" to Win
These are my main win conditions:

  1. Hyoubu Precog Manifold
    Lockdown. Install. Advance. Runners almost never challenge the remote when this is active. I can score Cyberdex Sandbox and Vulnerability Audit easily, although Send a Message will require a bit more risk with installing it the turn before.
  2. Anoetic Void
    Two Creds. Two Cards. Two Stops (usually). Low agenda density and Subliminal Messaging help me fuel the void safely.

Note: If I have both active, Anoetic will fire first, with Precog second.

Subliminal Messaging Synergy
Returning to HQ from Archives supports...

  1. Jinteki: Restoring Humanity - Discarding Subliminal to get the ID ability will get me 1 or more credits (compared to playing it for ONLY 1).
  2. Hansei Review - Subliminal comes back to hand to give me an easy Hansei target (and also triggering your ID).
  3. Celebrity Gift - Subliminal coming back to hand gives me more cards to reveal.
  4. Anoetic Void - as mentioned above, cards to fuel Anoetic is important.
  5. HQ padding - Having more cards helps the odds against HQ thefts.

Because of the above reasons, I rarely play Subliminal for the click-less credit. Instead, discard it, or feed it to Hansei. The only exception would be if I already have a face down card in Archives, and I'd have to discard it anyway.

Agenda Suite Explanation
This is a weird set of agendas: 3x(2/4), 1x(3/4), 3x(3/5). Originally, I tried this deck with 9x 2pointers, but trying to score 4 times without a Fast Advance finish was a horrible idea. Unfortunately, Jinteki doesn't have an in-faction 3/5, so Send a Message was the obvious switch. I added 2 of them, but then had a hard time finding my 3 pointer when I needed it (and the runner would steal one, leaving only one for me to find). So I added another Send and Vulnerability Audit, which works well with Hyoubu Precog Manifold.

Cyberdex Sandbox vs Offworld Office is a toss up. I went with Sandbox, because purging Conduit is sometimes a necessity. The Office would provide better tempo generally.

Digital Rights Management - Low agenda density is great for R&D odds, but then I played 3 consecutive games with not having an agenda at the right time. If I had more influence, I could consider adding another one. I try to use DRM for my second Sandbox, or the third and final score.

Preferred Scoring Order: Sandbox, Sandbox, Audit. If I find a window to score an early Send the Message, that's fine, but Sandbox provides the best tempo option. I don't score Audit early as it provides no tempo (I use Spin Doctor to get it back in R&D).

Timeline
Early Game: Reputation and Respect
Most runners respect Saisentan and will not face-check Jinteki which means I get a little more room to breathe at the beginning. As usual, I mulligan for an econ card + ice. I aim to protect R&D and get a 2 ice remote, with HQ being situational. I can also rush out a Sandbox behind a single ice using Hyoubu Precog Manifold

Mid Game: Ice is Nice
Having an Ice on Archives discourages running, which can lead to Subliminal Messagings returning to hand. I stack ice on R&D and the Remote based on the situation. Lonely Anoetic Void installs can force Runners to clear them out early.

Late Game: R&D desperation runs
Hopefully I won in the midgame. The later the game goes, the more R&D becomes a problem. As I setup my final score, I contemplate using Anoeotic Void and Hyoubu Precog Manifold on R&D.

Ice
Brân 1.0 - Remote first, R&D maybe - Primary remote defense.
Eli 1.0 - Remote, R&D, HQ maybe - Solid Taxing Ice, prefers Bioroid company
Ravana 1.0 - Remote, R&D - Wish I had influence for more. Placing with other Bioroid highly preferred.
Engram Flush - R&D, HQ, Archives - Becomes a liability against Runners with no cards.
Saisentan - R&D, HQ, Archives, Remote maybe - A bit expensive, but better than Karunā because it can be lethal.
Whitespace - Archives, HQ - I used to have 3 Ravanas, but had to spend the influence elsewhere. This is just the weaker substitute. Switching to Enigma could be a possibility.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading =)

2 comments
15 Jul 2021 Diogene

As usual, amazing write-up. Thanks for sharing.

20 Jul 2021 ThanosPKC

Changed title to (guide) for those looking for deck lists with longer write ups.

@Diogene It was fun running into you in a jnet lobby piloting this deck against me. That was a very close game! =)