How do you get good at a game that always changes?

What do you do when the game you play today will be totally different 6 months from now?

Netrunner is a “Living Card Game.” Every month or so a group of new cards are introduced to the game. Sometimes these cards introduce entirely new play styles and possibilities. Sometimes they hardly do anything. Sometimes they lie dormant for a year until someone figures out they are actually really good (looking at you, Turntable!).

Either way, the game is constantly evolving.

There are times when you will really like these changes. Maybe you thought Near-Earth Hub was the greatest thing to happen to NBN. Right now, Tech Trader is my favorite card. Sometimes you will, shall we say, have strong negative feelings about the changes: Museum of History comes to mind.

These changes are at the heart of what makes Netrunner such a great game (and other LCGs as well). And they bring with them an important lesson:

The game will change, and so must you.

If you really enjoy a deck or strategy, go for it as long as you can. But one day it will not work anymore and you will have to change the deck, the strategy, or both.

If you really hate a certain deck or strategy, learn to cope as long as you can. But one day it will not work anymore and you will rejoice.

I don’t particularly enjoy playing against Museum decks, but I love Netrunner. Therefore I have to learn how to play against it until some new strategy or card emerges. My idea: Hindsight. Shaper event. 5 credits. 2 influence. Turn all cards in archives face-up. Remove Hindsight from the game. There, I fixed Netrunner. Happy?

We had to adapt to Scorched Earth, Andy-Sucker, Katman, RP Glacier, AstroBiotics, Foodcoats, and now Dumblefork and IG/Museum. That’s the nature of the game.

Long term, you can’t rely on a single strategy. You have to go deeper than that.

Develop Character Traits Alongside Your Skills

Adaptability: Like animals confronting the introduction of a new predator to their environment, so too must competitive Netrunners confront realities of new cards introduced to the card pool.

Your fast advance strategy was untouchable. Then Clot was released. You either gave up and tried a different strategy (a completely acceptable move) or figured out how to adapt your deck to deal with the threat. Cyberdex Virus Suite was a good choice. But now Councilman is a possible counter to CVS. What will you do?

Perseverance: Adapting to these new predators can be difficult. No, it is difficult. The new cards and strategies that are easy to adapt to don’t really catch on.

What I notice a lot these days as I peruse online discussions about Netrunner is a sense of hopeless resignation.

“Well, Netrunner is dead.”

“_______ is totally broken.” (The list of cards/interactions seems to grow longer every day)

I’m calling it right now, folks. Netrunner is a game of problem solving. You solve problems when you play, and you solve them when you build decks.

Strong decks/interactions/economic engines are simply new and challenging problems to be solved. Netrunners are an intelligent group. We can do it. If someone can dream up a deck as evil as the IG Museum, then someone is smart enough to build one that can beat it.

It just might take a while to find. Hence the need for perseverance. Don’t give up, people. Keep building and trying and losing and learning.

Perspective: Netrunners may be smart, but there are a good amount of us with short memories. We forget so easily ebbs and flows of this game. Cards, IDs, strategies, and decks are strong for a while. Then they aren’t. Or people get bored and want to play something else.



Conversely, cards, IDs, strategies, and decks are terrible or unplayable for a while. Then they aren’t. Seemingly overnight they become terrifyingly strong. Admit it, you never thought Whizzard and IG would be the decks to beat a year ago.

But even their time will come. Just as each deck before them had 15 minutes (or a year and a half. Well done, NEH) and took a back seat to something new.

If you are loathing the state of Netrunner, take heart. It won’t be like this forever. In a month or two there will be a new unbeatable super-deck that breaks Netrunner again.

In Conclusion

Improving your competitive Netrunner game can be more than just an exercise in getting better at a game. It can be about getting better at life.

Who among us couldn’t benefit from a little more perspective or perseverance? For whom won’t some adaptability go a long way?

I’ve been down in the dumps about IG decks. But when I step back and remember that they are temporary and smart people are working on the problem, things start looking up.

If you practice the character traits that make you a more mature human being, you’ll probably get better at Netrunner.

You’ll also be able to survive those nasty predators. Happy Evolving!