Scatter Field is a 4s/2↳-for-$3 when singly-protecting a server.

(CF. “Non-Porous Eli 1.0”, or an “EtR-ified Drafter”.)

Notes

Especially when you're protecting an early asset (like Humanoid Resources / Regolith), building your secondary remote (alongside Mahkota Langit Grid), or rushing an agenda. Even if you'll double-ice that server next turn anyways, an SF can act like a Gatekeeper (CF. This ice gets +4 strength if you rezzed it this turn.).

To fully-break a four-strength three-sub ice with turn-one decoders, it should cost the Runner four-to-five credits (IE. more than its rez-cost). For example:

• Buzzsaw costs 3[$] + 1[$] (but just 1[$] with a Leech).
• Unity costs 3[$] + 2[$] (or 4[$] with a second icebreaker).
• Euler only costs 2[$] + 0[$] (if they facechecked-then-installed, 4[$] if they didn't).
• Shibboleth costs 2[$] + 2[$] (even at threat level ≤ 3).
• Cat's Cradle costs 3[$] + 2[$] (wouldn't tax you +1[$] to rez, unless they pre-installed it for some reason?).
• The new Sang Kancil only costs 1[$] + 2[$] (if they Bravado or Clean Getaway into your SF; 5[$] if they basic-run).

---

Of course, besides breakers:

• Boomerang costs 2[$], [trash].
• Physarum Entangler costs 2[$] to bypass.
• Botulus can fully-break it after a second turn (or can pass it the same turn it's installed, but only by firing off “½ Drafter”).
• Overclock) costs 1[$] (with the decoder).
• Bankhar just costs Suffer 2 net damage (but needs a whole turn to set up).
• Arruaceiras Crew can't destroy it by itself. (EG. would need 4[$], Take 2 tags, [trash] and needs a second copy).

Thoughts

Design-wise, I love ice with some “incidental positionality” (like Turing, which is both “pro-Remotes” and “anti-AI”).

It's fun to “expose-by-deducing” (“Why didn't they just install this card into their empty remote with an already-rezzed barrier, and pay the one credit to install this in front of there?”).

---

Compare its ability (While this ice is the only piece of ice protecting this server, …) to other “Vertically-Positional” abilities.

• a “Flexible Curtain Wall”: EG. If this is the outermost or innermost piece of ice protecting a server, it gets +4 strength.
• an “Inverted Seidr Adaptive Barrier/Surveyor”: EG. This ice gets −1 strength for each other piece of ice protecting this server.

---

PS. Given Asa Group rotating, can this “Singly-Icing-matters” effect (along with the non-(◆) Mahkota Langit Grid the new “Installer IDs”) incentivize some more secondary/tertiary remotes? For Fully Operational and to “expose-by-deducing” (or try to!), like “Why didn't they just install that card into their empty remote with an already-rezzed barrier, and pay the one-credit to install that ice in front of there?”

(Daily Casts is banned.)

Side Hustle is like a “run-based Environmental Testing”: after 5 runs begin, you profit by Gain 4[$]. Draw 1 card. (five clicks, five “units-of-value”)

---

For example:

• If (against Asset-Spam), immediately after installing it, you check two remotes this turn and three the next, then it pops after a single turn.
• If (within Criminal) you opportunistically run your mark with Carpe Diem (or for Sable), play a Bravado or Clean Getaway for cash, and try to land a Transfer of Wealth, then ditto. (Your actions aren't just [click]: Run any server.)
• However, if running is too expensive and/or just not valuable enough, it won't profit at all. Unless you have parallel triggers (like Pennyshaver or Leech), you can't even spam an uniced/faceup Archives (since your actions would just be like “[click]: Gain 1[$] when your next turn begins.”, which is very much not “[click]: Place one +1 strength counter on an installed Aumakua.”) Although, two simultaneously-installed Hustles (being non-unique) would be worth two credits per run.

---

Note:

• While beginning a run on any server is the easiest interaction, it's still harder than just waiting a turn.
• Unlike a “Red Team-ified Casts”, Hustle has still (un)paid out zero credits even at your 4th run.

---

Daily Clash
[$3] Resource: Job
[neutral 0/5]
When you install this resource, place 8[$] on it. When empty, trash it.
The first time each turn a run begins, take 2[$] from this resource.

---

Clean Getaway is the “new Dirty Laundry”.

---

NB. Getaway (post-is successful) earns credits sooner than Laundry (post-run ends). Thus, it can pay trash-costs (like Bahia Bands). For example (with Miss Bones rotating and Daily Casts banned), against an uniced, -4[$]-to-trash asset (like Wage Workers, or Hostile Architecture).

• Getaway only needs its own play-cost (3[$]). Even assets alongside Mahkota Langit Grid.
• Laundry needs twice that (6[$]), its play-cost plus the trash-cost.

(So if you only had three credits in pool, you'd need to re-run the server afterwards, wasting [click]. Or, if you only have enough to play the event and break a single rezzed ice once, you would need to triple-click for credits beforehand.)

---

BTW, before spoilers my guess for this card was just a “lightly-blueshifted” ([criminal 1/5]) Laundry. Like how NSG's Government Subsidy “greenshifts” FFG's Restructure. But I prefer this variation.

Humanoid Resources is Haas-Bioroid’s “strict Rashida”.

• If you can protect HR for a turn, then you likewise get a burst of three credits plus three cards next turn (your three clicks funding its three installs/plays, one-to-one).
• However, Install 2 cards. Play 1 operation. is less flexible than Gain [click][click][click].. (Even though installation is itself a very broad action, you can't advance, triple-install, double-operation, IA/IAA an agenda, and so on.)

In particular:

• You can't YDL for +$8. (Installing two cards shrink HQ by 2, and must come first.)
• You can't score out agendas with Nanomanagement, or Seamless Launch. (Unless one of the installs placed an advancement or gained a click, which few can.)
• While bouncing back from an small/empty HQ (or credit pool), if you've missed drawing into any operations (or can't afford a Hedge Fund), then you've lost a whole click.

Flyswatter (🪰) is “Ping for purge’ing” (IE. gearchcecks with hostile rez-triggers).

---

Design-wise, ice as dynamic interaction is more fun (IMHO) than ice as just arithmetic breakpoints.

For example, if the Runner doesn't have any viruses installed yet (or only a few virus counters hosted), then even if you would want to end the run, you may let them pass an unrezzed Flyswatter to purge them out later. “Dynamic” non-subroutine abilities include:

• On-Rez (When you rez this ice during a run against this server, …): like Ping, Ablative Barrier, Anemone, even Stavka.

• Trashcans ([trash]: … Use this ability only during a run on this server.): like M.I.C..

For example, how many counters/purgeables in play do you want, to rez it? (Should you just purge two counters off a single Fermenter? How much do you want to keep the Runner out? How likely is it for the Runner to let it cook, install another virus, and re-run that server? It depends.)

---

Blank Flyswatter (against no Viruses) is much worse than blank Magnet (against no Trojans); you really need the purging to be worth enough credits (given the current metagame / average boardstate). But exactly how many/good Viruses do you need to expect in a Runner's deck, to slot it in? (Out of Jitneki?) IDK. LMK what you think.