Honeypot (2-2, 1st at NYC GNK)

em-crabtree 82

This deck originated with rudely discovering the Punitive + Vacheron synergy by getting punitive'd for 6 after stealing two Vacherons with a Maker's Eye run. Typically, the greatest weakness of Punitive decks is that it's no longer an option once the runner gets to game point; you can't punitive after a steal b/c the runner's already won. Vacheron's point delay partially solves this; the runner can still win off other agendas, but a Vacheron will leave them open to murder.

With Vacheron and Punitive settled, the remaining questions are: what's the fastest way to earn money / tax the runner (to land punitives), and what's the best draw (to find the punitives)? The money and draw off Sportsmetal is nice, but won't fire often enough in a 7 agenda deck. Asa, on the other hand, combos with Fully Operational, which provides both money and draw. The rest of the deck follows from this - assets for earning money, cheap taxing ice to cover them as needed for Fully Operational, Jeeves and RLC for flexibility, Scarsity to keep the runner poor, and Tyr to round out the ice suite with something heavy.

Playing this deck often consists of spamming out remotes and ice for quick money, dropping Scarsity as quickly as possible, and drawing for Punitive, stopping to score something if you get the window. Once you've got 2 Punitives and an absurd amount of money, start installing agendas. The security of the remote doesn't even matter; it's often better for you at this point if the runner steals. No one expects Punitive in standard, so most runners will take the bait. This deck is nearly undefeated on Jnet, and much of that is likely attributable to the surprise factor.

While it can be a strong deck, I've yet to win against Sunny. Link makes it that much harder to punitive, Security Nexus can nullify Tyr, and Sunny's breakers can walk through everything else. Citadel Sactuary's meat damage protection doesn't help either. You might be able to rush out, but you'll need to find a hard (non-bioroid) ETR or stack ice to do so.

I made some changes (+2 Mumba, +2 PAD Campaign, +1 IP Block, -2 Nanoetching, -1 Marilyn, -1 Slot Machine, -1 Team Sponsorship) and went 1-1 at a second GNK. The Mumba and PAD Campaign are very much for the better - Mumba helps defray setup costs, and PAD Campaign will stick in remotes for Fully Operational while providing clickless value (unlike Nanoetching). IP Block is bad v Sunny, however, so I'd suggest a different pick there.

2 comments
2 Feb 2020 koga

Have you tried slotting in a NASX?

Its interaction with Fully Operational could help you gain good amounts of money quickly when you need it!

4 Feb 2020 em-crabtree

I take it NASX fires for each Fully Operational repeat? If so, probably worth swapping the PAD Campaigns for it. Runners do seem more likely to trash it, but smart runners will be trying to trash everything anyways.