Join us for Part 2 of Reign and Reverie! God this box is good. Look at all these good cards! Let’s be a PEEPING TOM and make a FAST BREAK for the BUILDING BLOCKS of our future corporate endeavors.

Sportsmetal: SPORTSMETAL. Great tempo ability, encourages gameplay where you get to keep MOVING FORWARD and DOING STUFF which is very positive. Killer flavor too. The question is, how many agendas is the right number? Maybe a standard suite with extra Hyperloops? Going hard on 3/1s doesn’t seem like a great plan to me.

Hyperloop Extension: Decent? It’s a 3/1. If the Sportsmetal million agenda deck ends up being good, this will be in it. Million agenda decks tend to not be very good though.

Meridian: Awesome. And kinda spooky looking for HB! Fairly amazing subroutine with the downside that obviously they can just get through it and steal your agenda. But maybe it’s a Hyperloop or a Rashida or an NGO! Seems good.

Gatekeeper: Awesome. +6 strength! That’s a lot of strength! And you get to draw 3 cards and have a pseudo-Jackson effect, then end the run. Seems like a seriously good gearcheck to me, that’s a really strong facecheck.

Divert Power: I dunno man. It’s good in specific situations with Adonises and Breaker Bay Grids or having a bunch of Vanillas, but if they don’t work out you’re gonna be sad.

Fast Break: So is Sportsmetal just like…a bioroid sports league? That’s pretty sweet. Anyway this card is kind of a weird Clearance except it’s unbelievably bad early game, and probably mid game, and likely late game. This might not be very good.

Game Changer: This is raising more Sportsmetal questions. Are these humans? Do they play in the same league as the bioroids? Why would bioroids need a pep talk? Why is that dude wearing a snail shell for a hat? Game Changer is the payoff card for the million agenda deck…except you want to use a lot of extra clicks to score a big agenda, which presumably doesn’t belong in the million agenda deck??? Maybe you just have one or two Elective Upgrades, Ikawahs or SSLs.

Giordano Memorial Field: The other payoff card. Potentially extremely annoying. Obviously significantly worse than Ash early game but has the potential to be unbelievably obnoxious in the late game. With Meridian and Hyperloop it seems reasonable that there could be 4+ agendas in the Runner’s score area by late game, in which case this is seriously good. For some reason that flavor text is the best I’ve ever seen. The feeling I get from these cards is that Sportsmetal is supposed to get through the early game, feed the Runner a few agendas and then make some huge power plays to close out the game from behind…which, when you think about it, is a thematic slam dunk.

jam metal Sportsmetal: Go Big or Go Home Agenda (12) 1x Corporate Sales Team 2x Domestic Sleepers 2x Elective Upgrade 2x Hyperloop Extension 3x Project Vitruvius 2x Remote Enforcement Asset (5) 2x NGO Front 3x Rashida Jaheem Upgrade (6) 2x Arella Salvatore ●●●●● ● 1x Ash 2X3ZB9CY 1x Calibration Testing ●●● 2x Giordano Memorial Field Operation (9) 1x Archived Memories 2x Biotic Labor 1x Game Changer 3x Hedge Fund 2x IPO Barrier (6) 3x Meridian 3x Vanilla Code Gate (6) 3x Fairchild 3.0 🦄 3x Gatekeeper Sentry (5) 2x Architect 3x Surveyor ●●●●● ● 15 influence spent (max 15, available 0) 20 agenda points (between 20 and 21) 49 cards (min 45) Cards up to Reign and Reverie Deck built on https://netrunnerdb.com.

Here’s a jammy Sportsmetal list I threw together. Keep slamming stuff into your remote while getting delicious sporty forward tempo.

Saraswati Mnemonics: Fairly undeniable click compression that is very carefully worded not to allow fast advance. It’s a fairly serious nonbo with NGO Front which is obviously a bummer. It does work exceptionally well with Junebug, Gene Splicer and other advanceable traps though! It also lets you chain agendas extremely efficiently which might be its real strength. For example, you could install triple advance a Nisei one turn and still be able to score then IAA a 5/3 (or even better, another Nisei) the next turn. That could be huge. Note it says “in” not “in or protecting ” so you can’t get a huge Colossus or something going really easily.

Jumon: The last 6/2 we got was Mandatory Upgrades, which gave you an extra click every turn. Is this worth that much to you? And does it replace your Niseis? Probably not. What this does do exceptionally well is let you never advance 5/3s, NGO Fronts and advanceable traps. Which is really, really cool. Don’t know if this will make it into competitive decks, but pretty sure scoring one (or two!) will feel amazing. Also, I love how it ties into Saraswati.

API-S Keeper Isobel: I think this is meant to be one of those cards that helps you benefit from a failed trap. Historically, those are not good. Cool art but not sure it’s that exciting.

Neurostasis: Wooo, mind games! Isn’t this an NBN effect? Anyway it’s a gigantic tempo hit to the Runner, which is great, but it’s an advanceable trap with no upside if it fails, which typically means it’s not that good. But this card is for shell game type people which has never really been my jam, so I’m not going to be the best judge.

Otoroshi: MIND GAMES. Seriously though that’s a hell of a rez/strength ratio, especially for a sentry. This strikes me as something you could score a lot of cheeky points with if the other player doesn’t know your list.

Thimblerig: At it’s basic level, this is a 2 cost code gate gearcheck. That’s not bad. I’m not quite sure what you do with the swapping…maybe you could put it on the outside of a server to protect against DDoS or Inside Job? It’s a nice bonus ability more than something to build around. That said, you can do cute stuff with hosted condition counters like Rover Algorithm or Eavesdrop maybe.

Hangeki: The wording on this is a little weird. Does the Corp have to choose something that can be accessed? What happens if they choose an ice? As far as I know the Runner can’t access installed ice, so is it just an automatic -1 point? Assuming it works the other way and you have to choose something the Runner can access, this seems pretty crap because it relies on you having an installed failed trap. Which is not good.

Daruma: MIND GAMES. Except this could also be useful outside of mind games. Maybe they Stimhack your Nisei and you swap it out for an Obokata they can’t steal, or a Rashida or something. That seems potentially decent!

Mushin mnemonics Saraswati Mnemonics: Endless Exploration Agenda (9)

3x Jumon

3x Nisei MK II

3x Obokata Protocol 🦄 Asset (14)

2x Cerebral Overwriter ●●●●

1x Neurostasis

3x NGO Front

2x Project Junebug

2x Rashida Jaheem

2x Ronin

2x Snare! Upgrade (1)

1x Daruma Operation (12)

3x Dedication Ceremony ●●●●● ●●●●

3x Hedge Fund

1x IPO

3x Mushin No Shin

2x Preemptive Action Barrier (4)

2x Himitsu-Bako

2x Vanilla Code Gate (5)

2x DNA Tracker

2x Thimblerig

1x Tollbooth ●● Sentry (4)

2x Otoroshi

1x Komainu

1x Swordsman 15 influence spent (max 15, available 0)

21 agenda points (between 20 and 21)

49 cards (min 45)

Cards up to Reign and Reverie Deck built on https://netrunnerdb.com.

Yep, it’s a Mushin deck. Use Saraswati on everything, score Jumon as fast as possible then never advance everything.

ACME Consulting: I love the theme on these cards. It’s a cyberpunk Pinkerton Detective Agency, that’s so cool! That said…I’m not sure about this ID. It has a few very good combos in Universal Connectivity Fee, Hydra, Data Ward and IP Block (and Pachinko, which realistically will just be worse IP Block)…but outside that, I’m not sure it’s worthwhile. Plus when you get Employee Struck you’re just going to have a bunch of crappy ice. The Universal Connectivity Fee thing is really cool though and you’ll definitely catch a lot of people out before they learn to play around it (ie AI, Kit, Laamb, Engolo or stashing credits on Liberated Accounts or Bankroll).

Fly on the Wall: It’s baby Breaking News! I can’t wait to get someone with Arella/Cali Testing into EoI like the good old days. 3/1 is kind of a hard sell, but maybe you can do the classic install, advance, HHN fork. Fantastically literal art too.

SIU: This has CTM written all over it and that’s enough to get me interested. The rez cost to trace ratio is a little off but the fact that it’s start of your turn with no other condition attached could easily offset that. Maybe last turn they didn’t run but went low to install a bunch of resources, then you hit them with this…seems good.

Peeping Tom: I actually think this a pretty solid little taxing ice. Combos really nicely with Standard Procedure, which is a card I thought would be much better than it has actually turned out to be. Plus Find the Truth is getting popular again, so if you’re smarter than me and can actually remember what you’re opponent is drawing you can get value. It does get hilariously shut down by Hunting Grounds though.

Hydra: Great subroutines, but it costs 10. Ideally you get it on the outside in ACME and you slam them for 3 net, a tag and an ETR and gain 5, otherwise you get to gain 5 and give them a tag and an ETR. You know what? This might be nuts. People are not typically prepared to break a 6 strength sentry and if it only end up costing you 5 that’s an amazing deal. Might be worth trying out in Azmari too. The main issue I can see is that multi subroutine high strength ice in the form of DNA Tracker and Anansi is very much in the metagame, which means people are prepared to answer them. You really don’t want this to get Maxwell’ed at 10 credits. I’ll be trying it though.

Eavesdrop: We’ve seen the hosted condition counter thing before and it’s never been good. I doubt this will be either.

Attitude Adjustment: it’s another Jackson replacement! Hooray! This card just shows how insane Jackson was, really. It’s a pretty decent little flood stopper in theory. All those 2s are very pleasing too. Seems worth trying out.

Arella Salvatore: First of all, Philbert is the least cyberpunk name imaginable. As for the card, this is incredibly hard to judge at face value but I have a feeling it might turn out to be insane. I used to love scoring multiple agendas in a turn with SanSan City Grid, Astroscript and Team Sponsorship. Arella, Calibration Testing and Team Sponsorship might make that a reality again. Even ignoring that, it’s extremely legit click compression. Arella lets you chain agendas like nobody’s business. Scoring a Beale or Vitruvius and then using Arella to install a Corporate Sales Team (or chaining a Nisei into a Nisei!) is really good. Since it doesn’t specify that the card has to be advanceable, and it ignores all costs, no reason you couldn’t use this to jam another ice onto your obnoxious Surveyor remote, or throw down a Bankers or Rashida. I’m definitely going to be trying this one out.

Rush EoI Acme Consulting: The Truth You Need Agenda (10)

1x 15 Minutes

1x Corporate Sales Team

2x Fly on the Wall

3x Global Food Initiative 🦄 ●●●

3x Project Beale Asset (6)

3x NGO Front

3x Rashida Jaheem Upgrade (5)

3x Arella Salvatore

2x Ash 2X3ZB9CY ●●●● Operation (11)

1x Attitude Adjustment

1x Closed Accounts

1x Exchange of Information

3x Hedge Fund

1x Preemptive Action

2x SEA Source

2x Standard Procedure Barrier (5)

2x Data Ward

3x IP Block Code Gate (4)

1x Gatekeeper ●●

3x Peeping Tom Sentry (5)

2x Hydra

3x Surveyor ●●●●● ● Other (3)

3x Universal Connectivity Fee 15 influence spent (max 15, available 0)

20 agenda points (between 20 and 21)

49 cards (min 45)

Cards up to Reign and Reverie Deck built on https://netrunnerdb.com.

Classic plan – drag them through your remote then SEA Source or FoTW into EoI.

The Outfit: You’ve gotta appreciate that the final Weyland ID we get is just straight up the Mafia. I think this ID has a ton of potential. Obviously it absolutely screams rush, and rush Weyland backed up by the threat of Hard Hitting News (which this ID is very good at delivering) is well positioned right now. Hostile Takeover for net 8? Gain 3 when they spend all their money trashing your Illegal Arms Factory? Gain money off Mining Accident? Gain an absolutely fucking absurd TEN CREDITS for ZERO from Too Big to Fail? Sign me up. Make money, jam agendas, blow up their house. This is as Weyland as it gets.

Broad Daylight: Cute, but it’s a hard sell in a Clan Vengeance meta, especially when Weyland already has great agendas. Similar design space to the tempo meat damage of Urban Renewal. Might be worth trying out anyway and see if you can snipe key events or breakers.

Drudge Work: Looks like everyone except Jinteki gets a way to deal with flood this box. Seems really great for the Gagarin variants that play a lot of 3 pointers and grind you out with assets. Maybe SSO too?

Blockchain: Is this some honest to god BABW support? Boggs, you’re too good for us. Seems not great though in all likelihood. I can’t see this getting to a point where it meaningfully taxes Paperclip, especially for a 7 rez cost.

Formicary: Neat little sentry gearcheck. The ability is actually pretty sweet – maybe they go for an Indexing or DoF and you hit them with this out of nowhere. Not as sexy as some cards in this box but could see play.

Building Blocks: Is this…Blue Sun support??? Sweet! Chiyashi, Tithonium, Blockchain – get in here!

Too Big to Fail: Very powerful for rush decks that don’t care how much bad pub they have. As mentioned, seems bonkers in The Outfit. I could see this going into Titan as well, where you’re usually pretty poor. Killer flavour test and theming in general.

Under the Bus: Well that’s a literal interpretation of that phrase! Pretty good way to kill Film Critic and Beth, maybe Maxwells, especially if you’re getting paid for it. I can see this being dead a lot of the time though.

Fugheddabouddit The Outfit: Family Owned and Operated Agenda (10)

3x Global Food Initiative 🦄 ●●●

3x Hostile Takeover

1x Oaktown Renovation

3x Project Atlas Asset (8)

3x Illegal Arms Factory

2x NGO Front

3x Rashida Jaheem Operation (17)

1x Archived Memories ●●

1x Audacity

1x Consulting Visit

3x Economic Warfare

3x Hard-Hitting News ●●●●● ●

3x Hedge Fund

2x High-Profile Target

3x Too Big to Fail Barrier (2)

2x Ice Wall Code Gate (4)

2x Hortum

2x Mausolus Sentry (8)

3x Archer

2x Data Raven ●●●●

3x Surveyor 15 influence spent (max 15, available 0)

20 agenda points (between 20 and 21)

49 cards (min 45)

Cards up to Reign and Reverie Deck built on https://netrunnerdb.com.

Nothing complicated here – money, good ice and Hard Hitting News. Score points and kill em dead.

Lady Liberty: This is the kind of card that gets people really excited to build around it, and it’s great to see some of those in the final pack. Will you live Vanity Project dreams? Maybe run it in Blue Sun so you can keep resetting it? I can’t wait to get blown out by this.

And that’s it! Barring unofficial sets, which I dearly hope to see, this is the last impressions and theorycrafting article I get to write for Android: Netrunner. Thanks so much for reading them, it’s been excellent fun writing them all. Stay tuned for the Reign and Reverie awards and more Meta Snapshots!