[Startup] Remotes don't exist and can't hurt me

Lewis.P 96

This is a very simple premise. As many good mark cards as I could fit into Sable. Then a Deep Dive, for multiaccess, and Katorga Breakout to get back whatever you need. Rigshooter got your breakers? Get them back. Game went long and you're out of money cards? Get them back. Want to play a criminal deck that can Deep Dive 3 times? Get it back.

All of the cybernetic hardware you could ever need to add value to central accesses, and to turn late game Tremolo into an ungodly breaker, with No Free Lunch as flexible tag avoidance, in case the Networking isn't enough.

So yeah, that's about it. I've had fun with it, you can spend a click to get a click, 2 credits, gain another credit and make the Corp lose 1, a draw and a bonus R&D access if the Corp lets you, which always feels insane to get working. And Mark decks are just fantastic anyway, as someone who doubted the Mark mechanic when it debuted, this is the most fun I've had in startup in a long while!

4 comments
24 Jan 2023 Satoshi

This is a really nice deck and I have also had a lot of fun playing it! The economy is great and you can usually play cards smoothly without any hiccups.

However, I'm going to argue that it's stronger with some changes:

Deep Dive is super fun, and when you manage to play it, you feel like you hit the jackpot in a pinball machine or something. However, Deep Dive is seriously a nonbo with WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ.

Consider that on the turn you deep dive, you likely access 4 cards in R&D (if your WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ is charged up.) Then, when you play deep dive, you see those 4 cards again, because there's no shuffle after WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ!

It's quite possible to see 8 cards from R&D on your turn just by running R&D with a fully charged implant, since you can do it again and again in one turn, and if you keep trashing cards you'll see more stuff.

In the games when I've lost, it's because either (1) you get locked out before your economic engine starts rolling or (2) you get locked out of HQ, and are unable to exploit PAN-Weave and charge up the WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ. This can happen particularly if there's Funhouse or Mestnichestvo over HQ because Cat's Cradle is kind of garbage vs. bigger codegates.

Suggestions:

  1. I have tried running Conduit instead of Deep Dive. This way, even if they lock you out of HQ you still have a wincon in R&D.
  2. I have tried running Sneakdoor Beta, which is super fun and makes it almost sure that you can get accesses with PAN-Weave and WAKE Implant v2A-JRJ. However it makes the deck clunkier due to MU issues, you really need Cezve also. But, PAN-Weave is so oppressive to the corp that I think this ends up being worth it.
  3. I've tried dropping Deep Dive and using the inf to replace Cat's Cradle with Hyperbaric, which is nice cause you can charge Hyperbaric using Cezve, and it will hold its own against bigger codegates. (Unity is also an option with less inf cost I guess...)
  4. Someone suggested -1 Deep Dive and +1 Endurance. That gives you room for Sneakdoor Beta and a Cezve, and helps secure your runs once your rig is set up, and majorly helps for cracking the remote, and helps against the Ob Superheavy Logistics: Extract. Export. Excel. Stavka + HafrĂșn shenanigans. But, now you have a very expensive rig.
26 Jan 2023 Lewis.P

@Satoshi Thanks for the suggestions! I'll admit the Cat's Cradle and Deep Dive are mostly there as remnants of when this deck was a "wheeee, new Borealis toys", and I do definitely think your third suggestion, of cutting them and adding 2x Hyperbaric and 1 other card (maybe an additional Cezve, because it really hurts if you don't find them early enough?) is a strong one. Not personally a fan of the Endurance addition, although I totally see the logic behind it, because, in my games, it's a rare thing if I have 8 credits spare.

So yeah, thanks for the suggestions, there's a lot of food for thought there, and I'll probably give this deck with the Hyperbaric change a go at my local scene, see how things go!

26 Jan 2023 revengeanceful

@Lewis.PI love the look of the deck. Reading the above, I think if you cut the Cradles and Deep Dive to add 2x Hyperbaric and the third Cezve, you end up over on influence. Any ideas on how to tweak to accommodate those changes? Still a new player and trying to get a sense for deckbuilding. Thanks!

30 Jan 2023 Lewis.P

@revengeancefulThanks! I personally made the above changes, but also swapped a Steelskin Scarring for a Stoneship Chart Room. I found it very useful to have the option to charge either my WAKE or my Hyperbaric, while keeping a draw card in the deck. I don't think this is by any means the best option, as the Stoneship is very unreliable as a 1-of, but it adds a little versatility and gives you a nice one-off charge. I personally like it!