Corporate Operations - Onboarding

We begin the Android: Netrunner coverage with a detailed look into the seven core actions available to the Corporation during each of its turns. The Onboarding series will in depth describe each facet of the Corporation's defenses, turn and abilities, as well as the individual strengths and weaknesses of each of the Corporations.

Our primary focus in this phase is an understanding of the impact and uses of each of the Core actions. For the purposes of this article, we'll reference any ability that requires the use of one Time or more as an “Action” and represent a single Time with “T”.

The seven core actions allow for the setting of defenses and assets to speed the Agendas along, as well as beginning to control what the Runner knows and how well they know it.


T: Draw

Affects: HQ
Functions: Hand Replenishment, Bluffing

The Draw action serves to controlling the perception of information. HQ represents three things for the Corporation: possible actions, a liquid form of defense against successful HQ runs, and bluff opportunities.

The current number of cards in HQ represents the number of possible actions beyond Draw, Gain Advance, and Purge that the HQ can take. If there aren’t cards here, these are the only actions that the Corporation can take. Granted, the Corporation will always have at least 1 card here due to the mandatory draw that occurs at the beginning of the turn, so a zero is highly improbable here.

Because of the asymmetrical nature of Netrunner, It’s hard to say if card advantage truly exists or not. Obviously, it does in reference to protecting an HQ filled with Agendas, but it’s not entirely clear if this translates as a direct advantage to the Corporation. On the other hand, a full HQ means that there’s less in R&D, and the game is that much closer to over, as well as the chance of Agendas being stolen from R&D ever increasing.

Effectively, a larger hand means its’ harder for a runner to hit an agenda stored there. At your base hand size, the Runner has only a 1 in 5 chance (20%) to hit a single agenda stored there, while if you use and keep a full 7 card hand, you drop the chances to 14%. Obviously, the chances increase if more Agendas are stored in the HQ location, making it a priority to protect if you can’t seem to keep them out of your hand.

The final, important function of the Draw action is creating a bluff opportunity. When you draw with either your required draw or an Action draw, you can create a bluff by subtly reacting to the card. Positive or negative, your reaction to the information you just received can impact the Runner’s next decision and targets.


T: Gain 1c

Affects: All Servers
Functions: Credit Advantage, Bluffing

Gaining a Credit is an important, quiet action that helps with a major part of the Corp game, maintaining an Economy. Credits are the only way to affect the game state, and entirely rely on generating credits. The Corporation absolutely must have credits to stop the Runner.

Many times, the Gain option is used to reestablish after the Runner has attacked a server with a lot of unrezzed ICE. The Corporation may know that they are defenseless the next turn without any credits, and must take action to resolve this.

Credits, again, are the primary means of interaction with the game, and moreso than cards represent an advantage. A Runner with no credits can’t make an effective run, while a Corporation without credits cannot create the defenses that they need to keep the Runner out. Being ahead in credits is key for the Corporation.

There are a few ways within the Core set to generate a fair amount of credits quickly beyond this action, chief among them the so far underestimated Adonis Campaign (Core). This card gives the Corporation solid income of credits, and creates a convenient secondary target for the Runner, distracting them from other servers. At 3 credits a turn, this generates a significant credit advantage if allowed to run its course.

The other two options in the core set are Pad Campaign (Core) and Melange Mining Corp (Core), each carrying their own advantages and disadvantages. Pad Campaign provides a passive 1 credit gain with a 2 rez and a massive 3 credit trash cost, letting the Corporation gain credits at leisure and requiring a significant investment from the Runner to trash it. It isn’t as fast as the other two options, but get two of these up and the Runner will seriously have to reconsider allowing the campaigns to continue.

Melanage is sort of the odd duck of the Asset based credit options. Taking all three of the Corporation’s actions to use, it is effectively creating a lost turn. On top of that, it’s insanely easy for the Runner to trash at will, with a trash cost of 1. This is the best example of how to use your pre-Action rez opportunity to stop the Runner from trashing it before you can use it.

Installing Melanage as your final action one turn, and it surviving through the Runner’s next turn can grant you the opportunity to use the card early, gaining a quick, easy advantage while the Runner is still setting up. Basically, this and other cards can be rezzed at the end of the Runner’s discard step in order to be used immediately during the start of the Corporation’s turn. This idea also applies to the Adonis Campaign, allowing you to immediately start gaining credits from its use.


T: Install

Affects: All Servers
Functions: Defend, Bluff

Far and away, the Install action will comprise most of the Corporation's early turns, as the remote servers are prepared to defend against the Runner. This is an action who's usefulness is entirely linked to the composition of HQ at the time the Action is taken, as normally this is the only time that ICE can enter play.

Using Install actions to build a server allows for the scoring of Agendas, and the setup of various traps and assets that the Corporation can draw on later. Most of the bluffing that occurs in Netrunner is related to the structure of the installed ICE and how the Runner decides to deal with it.

Remember, the Install action can be used to create an empty remote server by installing a new piece of ICE in front of an open server. They key to these Installs is that it controls how valuable the card that is eventually installed there looks. If you're not installing the card now, how many points is it worth? It's probably an Agenda, right?

Continuing on this, if it comes around to the Corporation's next turn and they install two more pieces of ICE, THEN finally install something behind it, how valuable does the card that was installed behind the three pieces now look? Especially if the Corporation has a significant amount of credits to rez that ICE. Installing a lot of ICE quickly can prompt a Runner to try and run before you score whatever is behind the ICE, especially if you don't have very many credits to Rez.

Installing is an effective way of drawing the Runner's attention away from other Servers, or attempting to force them into a run. Just remember: don't draw their attention somewhere that they can steal easily from.


T: Play Operation

Functions: Dependent on Operation

Operations are perhaps the most overt actions that the Corporation can take. This is the only action that results in 100% knowledge for the Runner as to what the Corporation is up to. Operations also are the only action that results in a direct, immediate result on the runner, best exemplified by Scorched Earth (Core).

Most Operations don't affect the Runner, but, can have drastic effects on them. Playing Operations is more about timing and instinct than any other action. Knowing that you have the breathing room to use a Hedge Fund (Core) and when its better to take the time to hit the Runner with a Neural EMP (Core) can make the difference in a lot of games.

Base the choice of Operation on what you need and if you can take advantage of it immediately. Don't waste time if you see a run coming on building defenses with Shipment from Mirrormorph (Core). If you know you can take the option away with Shipment From Kaguya (Core) or you have the credits and tags on the Runner to use Psychographics (Core), take the option away immediately.


T, 1c: Advance

Functions: Bluff, Score, Setup
Affects: Remote Servers, ICE

Advancing provides a little information to the Runner, and merely highights targets. Obviously, it's got a better chance of being an Agenda than anything else if there's advancement on it, but there are traps out there too. It is possible to flatline in one shot setting up a Project Junebug (Core) behind a Matrix Analyzer (Core), then advancing Junebug once. If they fall for it and have played at least two cards that turn, they've just taken a massive blast to their skull and are probably flatlined.

Advancement also helps pull attention from the Runner, and can cause them to go into analysis paralysis by putting multiple cards in play that can be advanced. Not knowing which advanced card to run on can cause them to walk right into a trap, or forget which card that they exposed using Infiltration.

Remember, advancing an Agenda to scoring value does not require it to score. The maximum agenda cost in the Core set is 5, so advancing anything past that is just obvious that the Corporation is trying to trap the Runner (Or are they..?)


T,T,T: Purge all Virus Counters

Functions: Control, Resource Denial
Affects: Installed Cards

The Purge action is one of the strongest actions that the corporation can take, and is a plausible death sentence to a well-prepared Anarch runner. Though it does cost the Corporation an entire turn, the Purge action can take an uppity Runner down a few pegs, buying you valuable time to restructure as they rebuild their virus programs. The main card this counters in the Core set is Medium (Core), which allows for additional cards to be accessed by the Runner when making a successful R&D run. When paired with Demolition Run (Core) or The Maker's Eye (Core), this can potentially destroy or score the runner a good amount of Agenda points.

Purge also allows for control or preservation of a piece of ICE infected with Parasite (Core), resetting the count before the ICE is destroyed. In the future, this action will become far more useful as more Virus token generating programs become available to the Runner.

An interesting note about Parasite: Parasite is installed on and hosted by a piece of ICE, and therefore can't be installed to Djinn (Core) by the Runner. So, if they are at their maximum MU and have an open slot on Djinn, they still can't install Parasite without first trashing another program.


T, 2c: Trash a Resource if the Runner is Tagged

Functions: Control
Affects: Runner Resources

The final action available to the Corporation allows for the direct trashing of a Resource without having to successfully resolve a subroutine. If the runner stays tagged into your turn, the Corporation can eliminate their resources at their leisure, effectively allowing for direct control of the Runner's options.

A prime target for this ability is Armitage Codebusting (Core), especially when it has 6 or more credits remaining on it. This temporary help to the Runner's credit sources is easily dealt with by a single action, if the tag sticks. In addition, this card can stop the fairly annoying Wyldside (Core) from becoming a major factor in the Runner's preparations.

As more ways to tag the runner become available, this action will become more useful, allowing for better and better control of the Runner's resources.

These actions comprise your main abilities and the general flow of information across the table. This information flow is what can keep the Runner in check far better than any ICE can. Next week, we will dive into the hyper-defensive Haas-Bioroid and their ability to Install, as well as the basics of setting specific defenses up against the Runner.