Eternal Lite Corp Banlist 1.0 - Please read description

This is the ban list for Eternal Lite as of 9/12/23. The goal of this format is to create a large pool of options for players to enjoy the classic feel of Netrunner. We have tried to ban any combos or single cards that reduce the gameplay to a point where it is no longer about two players in the attempt to get 7 agenda points or a flatline. This list is a first draft and your feedback is not only welcome, but encouraged. Please feel free to leave a comment below discussing a card that you might think should've made it onto this list or perhaps something that is banned that you feel can be a part of a more relaxed eternal format. As always, please be respectful.

The following ID's are banned.

Jinteki: Potential Unleashed

Mti Mwekundu: Life Improved

Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel.

Skorpios Defense Systems: Persuasive Power

Titan Transnational: Investing In Your Future

In addition to the cards in this decklist, you may only include 1 copy per card name of the following in an Eternal Lite deck. (For example, you may include both Border Control and Breached Dome in the same deck, but you could not include two or more copies of Border Control)

Border Control
Breached Dome
Cyberdex Sandbox
DNA Tracker
Fairchild 3.0
Fully Operational
Global Food Initiative
Manegarm Skunkworks
SSL Endorsement

--- WHOA WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? ---

This list is an attempt to create a fun Netrunner environment for our local meta and we think it could be a potential option for players around the globe. Originally inspired by The Big Boy's "The Classic Format", the goal of Eternal Lite is to harken back to the "golden age" of Netrunner. Taken from his original description of his goals, this reflects our objectives with Eternal Lite.

• The return of as many classic Netrunner cards as possible.
• The aggressive removal of combo decks – These decks are fun puzzles to make and test, but quickly become tiresome to face. If you want to play combos then play Eternal.
• The removal of alternate win-conditions that only detract from the health of the game – Netrunner is a dynamic, intricate game, where multiple factors must be taken into account on every strategic decision. Cards that make the game more linear and reduce decisions add no value.
• A dialing back on Icebreaker and Economy power-creep – This is not supposed to be a ‘broken’ format. The objective here is to find a balanced form of Netrunner in a classic form.

Following these philosophies, we aim to create a balanced format that promotes deck diversity and the interesting and interactive gameplay that Netrunner is known for.

• Non-Interactive Combo Cards -
  24/7 News Cycle
  Accelerated Diagnostics
  Big Deal
  Game Changer
  Arella Salvatore
  Alternative win conditions and combos are fun to think up in the lab, but in practice, gameplay becomes stale and reptitive quickly. The hope is that this small list is enough to keep those combos in check, but there may need to be additional cards added in the future if certain remaining combos are proven to be too consistent.

• Overpowered Agendas -
  AstroScript Pilot Program
  Bellona
  Blood in the Water
  Breaking News
  Freedom of Information
  Obokata Protocol
  Ontological Dependence
  Project Vacheron
  Regulatory Capture
  SDS Drone Deployment
  Stegodon MK IV
  Cyberdex Sandbox (limited)
  Global Food Initiative (limited)
  SSL Endorsement (limited)
  While powerful agendas are a lot of fun, being too powerful leaves runners feeling forced to include multiple Film Critic and Clot in every deck to avoid all the negatives associated with accessing them or dealing with their incredibly easy to score natures creates for a stale environment where all runners are forced to make inclusions during deckbuilding. In order to encourage freedom in deck building, banning incredibly powerful self-protecting agendas like Obokata and SDS Drone Deployment prevents the need for Film Critic in every deck. Banning the overpowered fast advance agendas such as AstroScript and Blood in the Water will make it so that running Clot becomes a choice instead of mandate.

• Toxic Win Conditions -
  Museum of History
  Whampoa Reclamation
  Midseason Replacements
  Hard-Hitting News
  Bio-Ethics Association
  Complete Image
  Bladderwort
  Dr. Vientiane Keeling
  Mutually Assured Destruction
  Public Trail
  La Costa Grid
  Jinteki: Potential Unleashed
  Skorpios Defense Systems: Persuasive Power
  Breached Dome (limited)
  These cards create a 1-dimensional play environment where the corp player is no longer looking to score 7 points. Some of them are banned for being too easy to pull off, while others are checks to ensure to avoid a critical mass.

• Overtuned Economy Cards -
  Estelle Moon
  Mumba Temple
  Mumbad City Hall
  Bryan Stinson
  Clone Suffrage Movement
  Mass Commercialization
  Too Big to Fail
  Violet Level Clearance
  Fully Operational (limited)
  These cards push the boundaries of what is reasonable to get out of a card. They warp the metagame around themselves and provide little variety in a meta where they are legal.

• Unfair Lockdown -
  Scarcity of Resources
  Anoetic Void
  Cayambe Grid
  Nanisivik Grid
  ZATO City Grid
  Formicary
  Surveyor
  Border Control (limited)
  Manegarm Skunkworks (limited)
  Some cards create a situation for the runner where the game has been locked into an unwinnable state. Some of this is healthy for the game, while some of it becomes completely backbreaking to the point where runners would prefer to just concede instead of trying to play. By banning some of these cards and limiting others, we hope to hit a sweet spot right between too hard to get in and just difficult enough to create interesting decision trees.

• ICE -
  Gold Farmer
  Engram Flush
  Slot Machine
  DNA Tracker (limited)
  Fairchild 3.0 (limited)
  These pieces of ICE are just overtuned to a point that they push other ICE to obsolescence. By banning them we keep the pool of ICE worth selecting for a deck (glacier or not) more open and diverse.

• Other -
  Cards in this list don't fit into the categories above so instead I will explain each individually.
  Surat City Grid - This card is a part of an infinite credit combo with Cybersand Harvester. At the suggestion of user @wowarlok we have decided to ban Surat City Grid to prevent this combo.
  Gaslight - In the interest of preventing combo from gaining too strong a foothold in this format, Gaslight needed to be banned. This card just offers too powerful of a search for corporations.
  Sensie Actors Union - In an attempt to limit the amount of cards that the corp can draw, we decided to remove Sensie Actors Union. This powerful filtering tool allowed corp players to dump every agenda in the deck to the bottom of R&D while digging for combo pieces.
  Wage Workers - While this card itself isn't a problem, it is a problem when alongside Jeeves Model Bioroids. When deciding which to ban, we decided that Jeeves was less abusable.
  Friends in High Places - This card is recursion pushed to the absolute max. I think I speak for most every Netrunner player when I say no one wants to see asset spam decks get this tool back in their arsenal.
  Hunter Seeker - This card allows the corporation player to create no-win situations where the runner is no longer able to even play the game. There are a ton of different ways to disrupt the runner's gameplan in Eternal Lite and Hunter Seeker is at the very top of the list in terms of power.
  Seamless Launch - This never advance tool is just a step above all the other options in the format. Banning it should hopefully just help keep never advance in line with other strategies.
  Shipment from Tennin - See Seamless Launch
  Hired Help - This card was never intended for any type of competitive play.
  Mti Mwekundu: Life Improved - This ID cannot be legal in a format with Caprice Nisei, but even aside from the interaction between these two cards, runners should be able to run on naked servers without having to fear a Cortex Lock or DNA Tracker. This ID discourages running too much and is far too powerful to be legal.
  Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel. - This deck's combo strategy ignores standard Netrunner and is not the style of gameplay we want to encourage with Eternal Lite.
  Titan Transnational: Investing In Your Future - This deck pushes the envelope just a little too much to remain legal. The power in Titan would likely discourage players from selecting other Weyland identities due to the sheer strength of the ID.

In addition to the cards on the above list, certain cards are on a watchlist for a potential ban or limit. Our objective is a fun and interesting meta that allows for many different strategies to shine so if one strategy seems to be too powerful or too narrow then future updates to the list will reflect that. If you have any comments or feedback, I'd love to hear them! Please always remember, we all have different opinions - be respectful.