Maskirovka

Maskirovka 3[credit]

Ice: Barrier
Strength: 3
Influence: 3

[subroutine] Gain 2[credit].

[subroutine] End the run.

Confound the runner so that they cannot see our true intent.
Illustrated by Scott Uminga
Decklists with this card

Midnight Sun (ms)

#61 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Midnight Sun
Rulings

No rulings yet for this card.

Reviews

Maskirovka's big issue is that it completely folds to Cleaver, by far the most popular fracter in startup, and struggles against Paperclip, by far the most popular fracter in standard.

While the facecheck seems nice, compare it to using an Ice Wall:

  • The runner runs into an Ice Wall. They bounce off of it. You're down one credit and have an Ice Wall rezzed.

  • The runner runs into Maskirovka. They bounce off of it. You're down one credit and have a Maskirovka rezzed.

So on facecheck, you're at the same credit level as an Ice Wall. The main question is, is this better than having an Ice Wall rezzed? I'm not sure. It's one credit more taxing for clippy, but you can't advance it like you can an Ice Wall. Even Ob Superheavy tends to prefer to have 1 credit ice rezzed to tutor 0-cost cards rather than having 3 credit ice rezzed to tutor 2-cost cards - the options are simply more powerful and flexible at 0 cost - Rashida Jaheem, Spin Doctor, Reduced Service, Anoetic Void.

Of course, if the runner doesn't facecheck it, you'd almost always be better off with the Ice Wall, although neither are ideal in the situation where the runner has a fracter on the table. Weyland has a lot of solid options for barriers at 3-cost: Akhet, Sandstone, Palisade. I think it's hard to justify Maskirovka over any of these.

(Midnight Sun era)
294

I love seeing barriers that want to be code gates.

If it fires, the net rez cost is only 1c. Early installs are efficient since it is more likely to trigger subroutines, whereas mid-late installs are unlikely to get the rebate. Effectiveness will depend on the format you're playing and your local meta.

Cleaver breaks for 1c. (Popular in Startup)
Paperclip breaks for 2c. (Popular in Standard)
Corroder breaks for 3c.

Synergy with Ob Superheavy Logistics to trash it (via an effect) after the runner has an efficient breaker, replacing it with a 2c asset or ice they don't have a breaker for.

(Midnight Sun Booster Pack era)
5