As someone that is currently playing a lot of Criminal and is far too anxious to change to something else, I always have a Stimhack on me in-case of an absolute emergency. I love this card, and I hope I can explain why.

Stimhack has very clear positives and negatives right from the start. Firstly, it's free to play, allowing for you to make a reasonably funded run for as little as one , even when your pool is completely empty. Next, it lets you boost your -- perhaps already hefty -- economy, and make a run so over-funded that not even the most advanced Weyland space-ice will stand in your way. Oh, you used your entire turn gaining 7 's from a Melange Mining Corp.? That's nice; I gained 9 's from a single and can still spend the other 3 kicking your ass; as long as I spend all the 's in this run, of course. Also, it's a Run event, meaning that it carries all the quirks of a Run event, such as the ability to use it in conjunction with Planned Assault, making it even more likely that you can play this card whenever you like. Lastly, it costs one influence to use in your deck, meaning that you can splash this thing rather freely, assuming you want to use it outside of the comfort of its home faction; Anarch.

On the more negative side, however, Stimhack lands you with an unavoidable, unpreventable, un... something else... chunk of brain damage. Once you deploy this bad boy you'd better make sure this run is worth it, because what you don't pay in 's you're going to be losing in IQ. This, to some people, is a massive turn off, and I can see why. Nobody wants to have their hand size permanently reduced by one, or worse, up to three if you really like to run it. I would like to make the case, however, that this negative side effect is what makes Stimhack truly special.

This card is not to be used lightly, y'see, and, in some circumstances, perhaps not at all. I've always felt it most suited to an end-game rush when perhaps yourself or the Corp are so close to winning that one poxy agenda could swing the game for either of you. If I want that agenda, you can bet your ass that I'm going to sacrifice the memory of my mother's face in order to get it. The punishment of Stimhack is what makes it such a remarkable tool, as you're going to be thinking VERY carefully before you even consider playing it. And, sometimes even the Corp's defences, assuming they have them, aren't going to stop you. If you're set up with, say, a Gordian Blade, an Aurora, and a Femme Fatale, any decent amount of 's is going to break through their ICE like there's no tomorrow; which there won't be, as you'll have stolen that agenda out from under them and won the game like it was nothing.

My own personal preference involves the use of the Silhouette: Stealth Operative ID as, with her, I almost always know exactly what I'm running before I do so, making the use of a Stimhack more of a risky yet well-informed and tactical decision than just an expensive shot in the dark.

To conclude, then, Stimhack is one of the biggest Risk=Reward cards going in Android: Netrunner that is easy to get your hands on. It's cheap to splash, free to play, and has the potential to win you the game in the right scenario; which comes up much more frequently than you might expect. Sure, you have to blow out a piece of your brain in order to achieve such a thing, but, if you're in such a dire situation that you need to make a well-funded run right this second, a spot of brain damage is probably the least of your worries.

It is a great card, I'm not sure why I rarely slot it. —

This card kicks ass.

With Celebrity Gift you're basically selling information to the Runner for , which might sound a bit questionable at first due to Netrunner being all about information, but that would be ignoring how much Netrunner is just as much about misinformation. This is one of my favourite cards in the game because it is just useful, intelligently designed, game-changing fun. And, with it now being implemented into the Revised Core Set, anyone will be able to use this cheeky sod right out of the gate.

Looking at the basic fundamentals of the card, Celebrity Gift costs 3 s and takes two s to install; as a in its lowest form is a , let's go with the idea that Celebrity Gift is going to cost you 5 s. Because of this, you're going to need to reveal at least 3 cards from your hand in order for this card to be worth playing, although, realistically, you're probably going to reveal your entire hand because, well, why wouldn't you? If you do this, you will gain 10 s from 2 s, which is crazy.

This allows for Celebrity Gift to be a big economic benefit to Jinteki -- it's home faction -- as well as whatever other faction you're likely to shove it into, although this is probably much less worthwhile due to the influence cost and your option for other, cheaper alternatives such as Hedge Fund, Successful Demonstration, or Medical Research Fundraiser, even though I would recommend Celebrity Gift for more than just its economic benefit.

Celebrity Gift's best feature is that it allows you to seriously mess with the mind of your opponent, making them wonder what the hell you're actually planning to do with all that crap in your hand.

Show them a hand full of traps? They'll avoid your HQ, which is good; allowing you to guard it safely or bung them wherever you like, making the Runner think twice before they run anything, which is really good.

Show them a hand full of agendas? They'll rush your HQ, which is bad; unless you booby trap your HQ beforehand, which is good.

Show them a mixture of both? They'll be considering either of the above, which is great; until you then install one of those revealed cards into a remote server, tearing their mind in two, which is fantastic.

Celebrity Gift is all about screwing with your opponent and getting paid, two things that should never go underappreciated in Android: Netrunner. You're dangling a carrot in front of the Runner to get them to give chase, and when they do, you pull the carrot away and kick them in the face.

Also, the artwork is adorable, goddamn.

This can pair well with [Cerebral Imaging: Infinite Frontiers](/en/card/03001) as you have more control on the information you sell. You can filter out your agendas for cash. —