Rebranding Team

Rebranding Team

This agenda was made to support Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach and Ad Blitz. The facts is that it is NEVER used.

With Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach, it can give any asset the advertisement subtype. Meaning that Rashida Jaheem and NGO Front could trigger the ID. But since you first need to score this agenda (4 advancements is no joke for an asset spam corp) and then still have enough game left to trigger your ID by using non advertisement asset (you will have few of those). This is circumstantial at best. And the effect on the game would be very limited.

For Ad Blitz, this could be an interesting case, but would need quite a combo. The main problem of this card is that it require the corp to pay to rez every asset it brings back AND pay 1 per asset that you get back from archive, making the endeavor quite expensive. But it combine well, because you'll want to use Ad Blitz at mid or late game (after you've used them up) and getting the ability to bring back asset that would not have the advertisement subtype could be good in theory, but in practice, they do not help much when you are already in the later part of the game. There are better way to combo out for the win.

So, there is no reason outside of trying for make a janky deck (which is always a good reason to make a deck) to use this agenda.

Here are some asset that could be good to bring back with Ad Blitz (which are not already advertisement).

Good art and good quote, both of which gives the correct vibes about the agenda. Well done.

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Improved Tracers

Improved Tracers

This will probably be the last review for this agenda. Let's begin by stating the obvious (in the Q2 2023 meta) : nobody use this agenda. Is this a missed opportunity?

First, it is the intention of Null Signal Game to phase out the trace mechanic. But because of this, new runners have no link.

Giving +1 strenght to tracers can help with many ices. Some ices are widely used, such as IP Block and Turnpike, and giving that boost will tax the runner. But this is good for slow games. You would have to score this one point agenda, which means you will need to pack more agendas in you corp deck. So, it need to help you corp game plan.

Let's compare this agenda to two other in faction agenda that cost the same to score : AR-Enhanced Security and License Acquisition. AR-Enhanced Security is an ideal agenda for the asset spam corp archetype. It penalize the runner for trashing assets (or anything). While License Acquisition is good if you intend to rez at no cost a powerful but costly asset (usually SanSan City Grid, but could be a lost Rashida Jaheem).

Which strategy does Improved Tracers help? If we consider that you want to tax more the runner and thus, make it less likely for the runner to have the ressource needed to run often, then a glacier corp archetype would be the most obvious choice. Giving a +1 strenght to multiple ices (or +2 if you have two of them scored) will tax the runner. In a glacier, if you were to use Surveyor, with only 3 ices, it would be at strenght 7 or 8, that cost a lot to pass.

This would be a good counter to runner that use K2CP Turbine to boost their icebreakers. Pushing ice strenght past 7 makes it difficult for the runner. Of course, this will do nothing when they use Boomerang, Afterimage or Tsakhia "Bankhar" Gantulga. But you can't have everything.

Here are the ices with the Tracer subtype.

Here are the runners with 1 (or 2 for Sunny) links.

The art for this agenda is strange and does not invoke anything related to trace. The quote however is good, but is too generic and could be applied to anything, again failing to invoke anything related to the trace mechanic. It does not get a passing grade.

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15 Minutes

15 Minutes

Best 1 pointer agenda in the game, period. This is the only agenda where the corp has a chance to get it back, how could you ask for more?

Of course, it was even better when Exchange of Information was part of the meta, but it has rotated as of Q2 2023. Still, with 15 Minutes, NBN can put 4 points (with Post-Truth Dividend) that can be scored from hand without the help of a combo card. That can make a fair big difference. And being able to protect your 7th point really matter!

For corp that put 6x 3 points agendas, when needing 20 points, they can slot 15 Minutes and Post-Truth Dividend to be able to score their 7th point.

Another possible combination is to use Arella Salvatore and SanSan City Grid to score multiple 1 point agenda in a turn, once setup.

On top of that, the agenda is colorful, the art meaningful and the quote is full of spite for the runner. Amazing card!

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Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach

Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach

Last review date from 7 years. This need some new review.

The best quote from a fellow player that explain this identity goes as follow (from the runner perspective) : "credit, credit, Sure Gamble, ****you!"

Early, you will be able to slow down the runner by taking away their ability to use their credit pool to gain more credits. By mid game, you will have much less effect, but you still take out some credits from the runner with no interaction on their part. In an average game of 16 turns, you should be able to take at least 10 from the runner.

The most obvious and most used strategy with this identity is to do credit denial and then use Hard-Hitting News when the runner tries to interact with the corp. After, you can use a kill card like BOOM! or become a prison with cards like Market Forces and Self-Growth Program.

Because you need to put a lot of asset on the board to trigger the identity, Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach tend to be of the "asset spam" type. Which makes it weak to runner that use Maw, Aeneas Informant, Security Testing, Miss Bones and Apocalypse. Because of this, AR-Enhanced Security is often used as part of the agenda suite, to punish the runner when trashing assets.

This identity can be bothersome for the runner, and it is a solid tier 2 corp (it is tough when you compete against the like of Azmari EdTech: Shaping the Future or NBN: Reality Plus). But it is so much fun (at least for the corp player).

As of Q2 2023, here are the advertisement cards available to trigger Spark Agency: Worldswide Reach.

Notable also are Rebranding Team to make EVERY assets as advertisement (seldom useful) and Ad Blitz to bring back A LOT of advertisements on the board (at a huge cost, to trigger the ID only once).

The art display a corp that should be infuriating, along with a quote that pushes the concept along. Despite this, I think the art could have been more evocative of provocative advertisement, maybe the designer played it safe here. Still good, even with the missed opportunity. Nice!

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New Angeles Sol: Your News

New Angeles Sol: Your News

What do you get from playing a blank identity with the NBN card pool? You get to play a NBN identity that no one know what to expect from.

NBN has a very strong card pool. Here are some of the most imported card from NBN, as of Q2 2023 :

This means you get basically 3 additional influences when playing NBN. Spin Doctor is in EVERY corp deck, be it in startup or standard. The only card that is more prevalent is maybe Hedge Fund, maybe.

On top of this, NBN has most ices that have on encounter effect.

So, you have influence to do any archetype. Combo kill, fast advance based on tags, rig shooting, glacier, anything. And unless you play in the cut, nobody knows what you would be up to, since you have a blank ID.

Good art that evoque a kind of normal (basic) news reporting agency or channel. Funny that it is so blank, as if the designers foresaw the future of this identity. Nothing but the truth.

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