Pros

• 3 that can be used for core activites of installing ice, rezzing ice and advancing agendas is extremely valuable
• it has a net 3 rez cost assuming you rez it when you can immediately spend the recurring credits
  • this plus a 4, means even if the Runner immediately trashes it after one use the Corp is worst case 1 ahead.

Cons

• It's a medium-long term use asset - how much ice are you willing to divert to defending it?
• It's hard to avoid sometimes wasting the recurring credits
• It is unique so you cannot have multiple active at once
• The credits can't be used for playing Operations or in traces

Notable interactions

• Using the recurring credits to rez Adonis Campaign or Eve Campaign feels great
• At 3 influence per copy, taking a couple over to Haas-Bioroid: Engineering the Future can be pretty nice with all its assets
• Executive Boot Camp makes it much easier to ensure you can spend the credits every turn by using it to rez ice even if the runner won't run
• Running lots of small ice at 2-4 rez cost and then stacking them on servers works nicely with The Root's 3 per turn, so Grail (eg Galahad ) and NEXT ice (eg NEXT Bronze) work well with it
• Gagarin Deep Space's extra cost to access cards in remote servers is a nice synergy for this as a high value asset

Final Thoughts

• Probably best to use it in a deck that is taxing the runner's credits so them trashing it will hurt for them
• Optimal use is probably to use it for 3-5 turns in a row, then the runner trash it, so don't worry about defending it too heavily

Japanese for Four.Nine; in Japan these are unlucky numbers as they sound like Death.Suffering, which incidentally is the options this card presents to a runner.

Pros

• can force the runner to take -1 Agenda Point by paying for 1 more net damage than runner's current grip
• Corp is in total control of how many credits to spend, compared to how much net damage they want to cause
• works from Archives

Cons

• Corp must always spend credits to make it do anything
• does not work from R&D
• won't ever flatline the runner as they can choose if they take the damage

Notable interactions

• Philotic Entanglement does another damage for one of these in the runner's score area, so combined with some 1 point agendas, can let Philotic kill a runner even with a full grip of 5 cards
• can be used by Data Dealer or Frame Job to benefit the runner while they also dispose with the -1 AP
  • however, if you know the runner has Data Dealer or Frame Job, you can choose not to trigger it on access (paying no credits) and they then do not have an option to steal it
• can be used in Harmony Medtech with 6x 5/3 Agendas to make a deck where the runner must steal 3 agendas - half of them! - to win, while the corp can win by scoring two
• can be priced to cause seemingly non-lethal damage when actually it will drop the Runner's grip size enough to let Ronin or several Neural EMP(s) flatline them next turn.
• this is one of the best cards to force the runner to encounter from Kitsune, when your strategy revolves around the runner having -1 AP

Final Thoughts

• Not comparible to Snare! as it can't flatline and doesn't protect R&D.
• Shock! is often superior as Archives protection as it costs the Corp nothing to trigger, and stays in Archives after firing
• When giving the runner the -1 AP or disrupting with some net damage are both acceptable, consider bidding low, eg 2. It is surprising how little damage you need to threaten, they will often take the -1 AP just to get it out of your servers so they don't have to worry about accessing it again.
• Shi.Kyu is a good choice when you want to force -1 AP on the runner, or as extra HQ/Archives protection

Commonly referred to as 'SMC'.

Pros

• can tutor for any program, including non-icebreakers
• can be used midrun to tutor a program needed to break a just-rezzed piece of ice

Cons

• can be difficult to have available in mid-late game
• Can be expensive to pay full install cost of an expensive breaker + 2

Notable interactions

• Leprechaun is the perfect place to install this, as the MU cost of programs is irrelevant to Leprechaun
• can also be installed on Djinn, and then used to install a breaker (installing the breaker elsewhere, not on Djinn)
• Clone Chip can be used to install this, then immediately use this to get the program you need - effectively turning Clone Chips into extra SMCs - this can even be done mid-run
• with an installed and sufficiently loaded Datasucker, SMC can be used to fetch a Parasite and destroy an ice on facechecking it, before its subroutines fire - this technique is known as 'Parasite bombing'
• including single copies of efficient one-use breakers like Deus X and Sharpshooter is powerful with SMC able to fetch them exactly when needed
• As a 0 program, it can waste Kate "Mac" McCaffrey's program install discount
  • However, it can be used during the Corp turn to get Kate's discount a bonus time (since the discount is once per each player turn)

Final Thoughts

• a faction-defining card for Shaper, it fits into many, many different Shaper decks
• Clone Chip very frequently pairs with it, to get the same instant-install effect from the heap
• it is an interesting contrast with Test Run
  • SMC shines as a way to safely facecheck ice, but can require a large amount of credits on hand to pay ability cost, install cost of breaker, cost to boost breaker, and cost to break subroutines.
  • Test Run on the other hand shines as a way to affordably break a rezzed ice this turn, as it lets you to temporarily install any breaker without paying its install cost - perfect with Femme Fatale

Pronounced: Ko-ma i-nu

Pros

• can deliver crippling net damage if facechecked
• combos with many different cards to flatline the runner regardless of how many cards in grip
• can be taxing to run with full grip
• can become even more taxing if runner increases their grip size

Cons

• 5 for 1 str is a prime target for Parasite
• won't ever flatline the runner alone
• does nothing to a runner with an empty grip
• brain damage slightly anti-combos with this as brain damage makes this no more dangerous, and less taxing

Notable interactions

• In Jinteki: Personal Evolution, the runner can never continue past this ice with zero cards left as accessing any Agenda will then flatline them
• If runner cannot break this and you have a House of Knives scored, you can spend a HoK token to do a net damage during the ice encounter to flatline the runner
• Fetal AI can be safely scored behind this if the runner can't break it
• If bypassed - eg from being targeted by Femme Fatale - runner can now pass this ice for free as it never gains any subroutines. Although, Chum in front of this will fire if this is bypassed, even with no subroutines.

Final Thoughts

• possibly the most vicious ice to punish early game face checking, there is a reason it costs 4 influence
• great in Jinteki decks that are looking to tax the runner, and/or flatline the runner
• be sure to include combo cards in your deck, then you'll often be able to flatline runners who don't respect Komainu
• when choosing the rest of your ice, watch out for vulnerability to Parasite

Pros

• allows setting up a 3-advanced bluff, which is incredibly high stakes for the runner to run or not run
  • a 3-advanced ambush such as Cerebral Overwriter can be crippling for the runner to access
  • but a 3-advanced Agenda could be a 5/3 agenda that is easily scored next turn
• amazing raw economic value, doing 4 and 3 worth of activity for a play cost of only 2 and 0
• can be used to install and advance even non-advancable assets and upgrades, allowing for new varieties of bluffing

Cons

• must be used to install a card in a new server, so it is difficult to install with more than 1 ice or upgrade protecting it
• prevents the card from being rezzed on the runner's next turn, so it cannot be used for tricks like midrun rez-and-trash of cards like Thomas Haas, or with Will-o'-the-Wisp. Ambushes work because they trigger on access, even if unrezzed.

Notable interactions

• Very vulnerable to expose effects, so if they are common in your meta, consider running Zaibatsu Loyalty
• Great to bluff with Cerebral Overwriter, Project Junebug, The Future Perfect and Ronin.
• if you actually want use this without bluffing, some very 'hard' End the Run ice to use with it are Wraparound (not easily broken by AI breakers or Parasite), Guard (can't be bypassed by Inside Job, some resistance to Parasite), and Chimera (can exploit the runner missing a decoder, killer or fracter)

Final Thoughts

• extremely powerful effect for the right deck, but won't work unless the Corp player is willing to take some risks