Tremolo

Tremolo 3[credit]

Program: Icebreaker - Fracter
Memory: 1 • Strength: 2
Influence: 1

Interface → 3[credit]: Break up to 2 barrier subroutines. This ability costs 1[credit] less to use for each installed piece of cybernetic hardware.

2[credit]: +2 strength.

A repeated note, the alternation of fingers, the rhythm of stitches... the resulting intensity is always the same.
Illustrated by Bruno Balixa
Decklists with this card

Parhelion (ph)

#80 • English
Startup Card Pool
Standard Card Pool
Standard Ban List (show history)
Printings
Parhelion
Rulings
  • Updated 2023-03-25

    What is the cost of Tremolo’s interface ability if the Runner has 4 or more pieces of cybernetic hardware installed?

    Since costs cannot be negative, the interface ability costs 0.

Reviews

Breakers which require additional setup are hard to use, especially if it's card slots and/or influence you probably didn't want to use or installs you didn't want to make early. There's 6 cybernetics currently legal. Each of these is unique, costs at least one self-inflicted damage, $0-2, and the three imports cost 2-4 influence to Criminals. This is a lot of work to get a fracter running and expect to pay a $1-2 premium on Paperclip at least a few times before you have multiple cybernetics in play.

Might see niche-within-a-niche use in Nova, which has fewer problems with unique cards (seeing as it can only run single copies anyway) and influence. However, a Nova that isn't on conspiracy breakers might lose some critical cards on self-inflicted damage. It would not be great if an unlucky Snare or SDS score or cybernetic damage forces you to draw wildly for recursion.

(Parhelion era)

If you plan to use cybernetic, then this becomes one of the best barrier breaker in the game.

At one influence, it should be used by any deck that intend to use lots (three or more) cybernetics. At 2 cybernetics, it is already as good as Cleaver while boosting for cheaper. At 3 cybernetics, it make barrier really cheap to break, especially with support from cards like K2CP Turbine, Takobi, Leech or Ice Carver.

But the setup required for this is intense. Lets say you install 3 cybernetics, it would cost you between 1 and 6 , with 3, before you get the full benefit of Tremolo. On top of that, you would get the loss of tempo associated with the damage coming from the cybernetics (you will need to draw lost cards). Even worse if some of those damages are Core damages (loss of protection from the loss of handsize). That is an intense cost.

Hence, this is more of a late game fracter than anything else. You should not rely on this in the early game. This is probably a good breaker for criminals, but rather niche. It could be argumented that Marjanah would give equal results.

I have difficulty relating the art ot the name or the effect of the card. The name, along with the quote, does make senses (in a poetic way) with the effect of the cards, even if the link with cybernetics is more than tenuous. Middle of the road art, quote and fracter.

(Parhelion era)
3864

I think this analysis is about right, I run it in startup with Marjanah as you describe, with mixed results! Not always worth installing over Marjanah depending on the opponent/board state and I like the combo as Marjanah is the polar opposite - the cheapest thing in the world to install/start using. I suspect in bigger cardpools you're less likely to be wanting the cybernetics - the breaker's not so good you'd take the cybernetics just to use it but if you run a load of them anyway then as soon as you have 2+ installed it gets really good