Distributed Tracing

Distributed Tracing 3[credit]

Operation: Double - Gray Ops
Influence: 4

As an additional cost to play this operation, spend [click].

Play only if the Runner stole an agenda during their last turn.

Give the Runner 1 tag.

Sometimes, they want you to know that they know.
Illustrated by Kira L. Nguyen
Decklists with this card

Parhelion (ph)

#100 • English
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Parhelion
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Reviews

This looks okay if you only need one click for tag punishment. In HB, one click might be all you need. End of the Line is generally lethal on two brain damage and Hypoxia helps you get there. This can only be played if they stole an agenda last turn, which is unreliable, but this might still be better in HB than importing (say) Public Trail. Many HB brain damage decks have small agendas and Nightmare Archives, which makes it more likely there will be an agenda steal late enough that you've got your 2 kill cards in hand but not so late that the steal ends the game.

In HB, if your main tag punishment is Hypoxia, I'd probably prefer Public Trail over Distributed Tracing. (Influence is less tight if you're passing on EOTL and also Public Trail only takes one click so sometimes a Public Trail will allow 2 Hypoxias in a single turn, or possibly 1 Hypoxia and some other punishment card like Riot Suppression). A Distributed Tracing -> Hypoxia turn takes a lot of work (2 cards and 3 clicks and $4 for a single brain damage) and puts two cards in your deck that are almost entirely useless without the other. I suspect that probably isn't enough value for the corp. Nanisivik Grid seems like a much more reliable and cost-effective source of brain damage than that, and more versatile if brain damage is not immediately helpful (e.g. if they have Caldera in play, using Nanisivik to fire Tyr's "trash a Runner card and gain $3" subroutine is so much more lucrative than playing Distributed Tracing so you can manually trash Caldera).

Outside of HB, the usual suspects will probably prefer the condition-free Drago when they want a 2-click tag on the corp's turn. Drago's also reusable, so he is less bothered by disposable counterplay like No Free Lunch or Stoneship Chart Room.

Also, this art has a stellar concept, easy to miss at first glance.

(Parhelion era)

Good review! I hope there will be a playmat with this art, it is amazing!

Giving a single tag AFTER an agenda is stolen, at the cost of 3 and an additional , that is probably one of the worse tag giving card. But, it is also the only card in faction that allow this, aside from playing Sherlock 2.0 (no one plays that).

Even Public Trail is better than this. Distributed Tracing is there to allow the use of Hypoxia with only in factions operations (in the 2022 meta).

So, unless you are tight on influence AND you plan to use tag punishment as part of your game plan (like End of the Line), this might not be the card of choice for you. But if you are using tag punishment, it is a worth look at this card if you are an HB identity.

It is beyond me about why this is 4 influences. But so it goes. There is absolutely no reason to ever use it in another faction.

I enjoy the subtlety of people eyes watching the person of interest. (Who is that? Is it a child?) The details on the art and the quote perfectly get the effect and name of the card. Outstanding!

(Parhelion era)
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