Future Proof Card Review

Genesis - Future Proof Staff Review

65% - 325 out of 500
66% - Runner 149 out of 225
64% - Corp 176 out of 275

Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released data pack Future Proof. We’ve used a one through five scale; five being the best. The cards are listed in numeric order. Our reviewers are listed in alphabetical order. Let us know in the comments how you feel about the cards in this pack!

The Corp pulls in two top cards this month and the Runner doesn’t fare too badly either. Overall a solid pack that adds some good cards for each side.

Top 3
Project Beale 24 out of 25
R&D Interface 22 out of 25
Eli 1.0 20 out of 25

Bottom 3
Burke Bugs 9 out of 25
Corporate War 12 out of 25
Ruhr Valley 13 out of 25


[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_retrieval-run-future-proof.png'] Retrieval Run 14 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
This is an excellent alternative to Deja Vu. If bringing back programs is paramount to your deck's strategy then Retrieval Run might be the way to go. While Deja Vu can be used to potentially spring back two virus cards it does not aid with the install cost (clicks or credits). Retrieval run can bust out your previously played program for no cost whatsoever above and beyond the easily payable three credits it costs.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: Easy way to cheat in expensive programs. Probably better than Deja Vu if you're only looking to bring back a program

The case against this card: Lacks the versatility of Deja Vu and since I can't imagine wanting both, I gotta go Deja Vu (of course this all changes when they print more compelling expensive programs).

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
The effect is good, but for 3 credits, I would rather play a Test Run. In the current Anarch archetypes, this card is not better than Déjà vu, and even if it was, people protect their Archives because of Noise and/or Datasucker, so it will usually cost more than 3 credits. I see combo potential in this card, but it isn’t a big deal now.

Scud - 3 out of 5
While it is a good effect, it takes a little too much "doing" to get it to go off. Noise would love it, since it gives him potentially three more Virus installs BUT he has to run the Archives an extra time and, let's face it, the Corp is going to make running Archives painful for Noise (if, of course, they know what they are doing). Whizzard will like it if he can draw and discard programs that cost more than three + the cost of an Archive run + the click to play Retrieval Run + any clicks to draw the card and enough cards to have to discard (so Morningstar, I guess). Out-of-faction, the card will probably find a place in draw-heavy (Quality Time, Diesel, Mr. Li, possibly even Wyldside) Chaos Theory decks that try to play more like Criminals. Andromeda will like it, since it means she can be less sad about tossing a program if she doesn't use four cards her first turn.

Lluluien - 2 out of 5
The most obvious use right now for this card seems to be allowing Andromeda to gain a click for running in turn 1 by throwing a program in the heap to retrieve later with this. She might even gain a few credits on the deal (particularly if she’s fetching a Femme). This would work better for her if Sneakdoor didn’t already threaten Archives. I think that point reveals where the card may truly shine at some point in the future. There are a few Runners that don’t significantly threaten Archives already, and if at some point in the future there are 2-3 expensive programs the Runner wishes to get installed, this may be exactly the vector they need for applying pressure there as well. In the meantime, I think the card is relatively weak while it’s biding its time waiting for that future to arrive.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_darwin-future-proof.png'] Darwin 16 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
This card came dangerously close to a perfect rating from us. This is an excellent example of a high risk, high reward card. Its primary use will be to get through the early game ICE at a far reduced cost when compared to Crypsis. Darwin will save you on credits, clicks and eventually will prompt the corporation to waste his entire turn to purge virus counters. A good player will be able to leverage Darwin to great effect.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: AI icebreakers are big game, theoretically only needing one breaker is awesome. Does a pretty good job of fighting cheap ice. Nice if it's your only virus since it will almost certainly induce a purge and you won't lose much.

The case against this card: Takes a couple turns for it to become very useful. Takes a lot of work to make it fight bigger ice, meaning you probably need other breakers, at which point you probably don't need Darwin. Three influence seems like a lot.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
A slow and cheap Crypsis. Ok. I can see this working in a Shaper deck, with all the mod cards making it stronger and recurring credits to make it faster, but I don’t think this card will be good in Anarch decks. Purge hurts it too much, and it can’t be Stimhack’ed like Crypsis, which is a deal breaker for me. I’ll stay with Crypsis by now.


Scud - 3 out of 5
First off, Darwin is an orca with legs, man! Throw that in a tank with a shark that has arms and SyFy would score, like, a 1.7 with the 18-40 male demo. Seriously, though, Darwin just gave Noise a super awesome one-shot run tool. Install him off Personal Workshop (by paying off his counters) when you have Grimoire in play, pay one to add another counter, Surge, Surge, and run Archives with a Strength-6 omni-breaker and still have a click left over to ditch a tag or do something else. Out of faction, three copies of The Personal Touch make him a reliable 4-Strength omni-breaker, which is pretty nice. Making the Corp have to consider purging Viruses just to get rid of a counter or two is a nice option to have.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I think you have to give some amount of consideration to any AI breaker that comes out, simply because their versatility gives them more ways to interact with the rest of the cardpool than your average card does. That said, Darwin just feels too unreliable to me. There are way too many people excited about this card for me to discount its value though, so I’m reserving judgement on it until I try it out myself and see how much everyone’s excitement matches how it feels in practice. The issue I’m going to be watching out for most in my Anarch deck will be whether or not the extra turns I get from Darwin purges will be worth the setbacks I get from having the rest of my viruses be collateral damage in the virus purges.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_data-leak-reversal-future-proof.png'] Data Leak Reversal 14 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 2 out of 5
While this will be most likely used to aid Noise in his milling exercises, it is relatively situational. The cost of it is low, so if you are forgoing the Personal Workshop/Noise combo due to lack of influence, this is a very finicky alternative.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: Trashing cards from R&D is super powerful, so any effect like that is worth looking at. At 1 influence, probably the easiest way for non-Anarch to get some milling action. If the corp for some reason chooses to not trash it, it can get out of hand pretty quickly.

The case against this card: If it's active the corp can trash it, so you're probably not getting more than 2-3 activations. Not the easiest thing to set up.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
If you had any doubt that Fantasy Flight Games wants to promote a Joshua B. deck archetype, I think you don’t have it anymore. This card is great, even as a resource that the Corp must immediately trash, since it costs zero credits to play. My main problem with Anarch credit denial decks is that Whizzard is not as good as he should be, so I’m not sure if Data Leak Reversal is enough to make it popular.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Data Link Reversal is probably a 2, but it's getting an extra point because it plays so well with the Runner strategy I love the most - resource denial. Vamp the Corp to zero, install DLR, mill two, make the Corp decide whether or not to take two credits and trash DLR, which leaves them broke for another turn, or try to get back on their feet. Better yet, install three and guarantee the ability to mill 8 cards over the next two turns. Staying tagged mixes well with keeping the Corp broke so that they can't retaliate effectively, so that is the best home for this card. However, having one around in any deck that floats tags occasionally can give you a neat little trick up your sleeve.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I think Scud is right about how well this plays with a resource denial deck, so much so that I’m willing to say that I think a Vamp deck is the best home for this. Having said that, I think I’ll go a step further and say that I believe Shapers will be the ones most interested in this card. Magnum Opus is the best engine for a Vamp deck, and Shapers need a way to significantly threaten Archives. The low influence cost here makes this a viable inclusion for that strategy. Furthermore, with Shapers getting a lot of R&D hate because of R&D Interface already, this will be a handy way to counterattack Corps that go all-in on R&D defense. Unfortunately, I don’t see this card being very reliable elsewhere.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_faerie-future-proof.png'] Faerie 18 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
If early game runs make you nervous due to all the damaging and program trashing that Sentry type ICE is sending your way then Faerie is your lady. She is the artificial pair you wish you could grow for yourself when sprinting against the likes of HB and Jinteki. She is a solid addition to any deck existing in a meta that punishes the brave early game.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: If you want to break one sentry one time, nothing does it better. Being free lets you drop this early and run with abandon since all the ice that really hurts you are sentries. If you don't end up needing it, can be pawned later for great value.

The case against this card: You really want this early, so you probably want 3, but at 3 influence Criminal is the only faction that can realistically do that. Not really a replacement for just running smartly.

Hraklea - 4 out of 5
This card is very solid, and fits the Criminal playstyle perfectly. You can face check everything with no fear, you will be able to break the most dangerous piece of ice in the game for 6 credits. I also love this card as a counter against Oversight AI. Archer? Bye. For 3 influence, I’m not sure about using Inside Job in my Anarch deck anymore.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Walk through Archer or Flare for 4 credits? Janus for 6? Uh, yes please. Faerie takes care of all those stupid ICE that hurt when they first get rezzed in your face because most of 'em are Sentries. Criminals will like this card as a CYA (that's Cover Yer @$$, for those who don't know) tool. Shapers might like to have one around to Test Run a few times, so even at three pips, she's pretty good. Oh yeah, and with Tinkering, you can get through anything you can match strength on.

Lluluien - 4 out of 5
I see this as a timeshifted Forged Activation Orders that you are using for scouting purposes to make sure that all your naked face-checking of ICE is that much less likely to get you burned. It comes with the slight limitation that it requires 1 MU until it’s used up, but trades that for the enormous bonus that you don’t have to actually use it to cover your hide until the moment it’s actually about to be flayed. Every time you face-check an ICE and it’s not a murderous sentry, you get to keep Faerie in play. All the rest of the benefits of cheaply avoiding an Archer or a Flare make the extra copies in your deck retain their usefulness, and that’s just a bonus on top of functionality that already makes this card great.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_mr-li-future-proof.png'] Mr. Li 18 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
Wowie Mauie. What a neat draw mechanic. Allowing you to see two cards and then bury one of them is an excellent way to ensure you are getting what you want, when you want it. His cost is reasonable and for the criminal player who doesn't need to fill their mit quickly he may be the way to go. It bears mentioning that with an influence value of two, he may be better suited in decks with the slower more methodical decks of Shapers and Anarchs, but time will tell.

highjack - 4 out of 5
The case for this card: Selection is often just as good as raw drawing. Great when running multiples of unique cards (Mr. Li included!) because when you draw whatever unique you already have, it can just go on the bottom, saving it for a rainy day. Drawing cards is awesome.

The case against this card: Resources are innately weak due to tag trashing, which makes it hard to rely on this if it's your only card draw (especially in Criminal, which tends to get tagged). Creates Sophie's Choice moments when you draw two cards that you want.

Hraklea - 4 out of 5
Drawing two cards per click as a standard action? Really? Oh god, I’m hyped for this. I couldn’t care less about putting a card on the bottom of my deck, more cards means more options, and more options means more power. It is just that simple. Mr. Li is a godlike. Favorite runner card of the pack for me.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Mr. Li gives you some nice draw power, helping you to find what you need a little faster. However, having to put the other card on the bottom of your deck can be, except when you have Test Run or Special Order, pretty bad. Mr. Li plays well with Replicator, though, allowing you to draw and stick any second/third copies of Hardware you haven't installed yet back into the deck, which makes Personal Workshop a better fit for Replicator decks, and that's nice. Overall, draw filtering is good, so Mr. Li gets a three. Poetry!

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I think highjack’s comments on this card are right on; the only reason I don’t rate it higher is that I think Criminals have an awful lot of timing issues with playing this card optimally. It’s easy to sap a lot of energy out of Criminal’s immensely powerful early game by giving up even a handful of credits a turn or two too soon, and that’s coupled with considerations between this card and Account Siphon tags as well.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_indexing-future-proof.png'] Indexing 17 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
We love cards that initiate runs so Indexing was already in good standing, but it is the ability that will allow this card to permeate metas around the world. This card will allow the calculating player to count cards to the corp's dismay and will also allow Maker's eye runs to be precision guided. It will require some forethought to execute properly so it did not receive a stellar rating from our end but do not let that dissuade you from running Indexing to its maximum potential.

highjack - 4 out of 5
The case for this card: Five is a lot of cards. If you have a read on what the Corp player is looking for, really lets you mess with them. Unlike Maker's Eye, has high upside even when you don't hit an agenda.

The case against this card: Really need to be able to make two runs on R&D so that if you see an agenda you can get it, which makes the zero cost slightly deceptive.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
Honestly, I don’t see the reason to use this. I rather use The Maker’s Eye over this, and I can’t see myself running them both. The cool thing about this card is that it adds bluffing in the runner side of the game, as you can manipulate the Corp play to make him/her waste clicks to draw cards, or pretend there was nothing there and then go for an agenda card in the next run. The card is fine, but I’m not hyped.

Scud - 4 out of 5
"Any Agendas? No? Ok, well, here are your next five draws in the worst order I can possibly come up with, then." Indexing is nuts. In a game based on hidden/unknown information, seeing what your opponent is going to draw for the next five draws is great. If that's all Indexing did, it would be an okay card. But Indexing goes ahead and lets you REORDER THE CORP'S DRAWS. That, my friend, is fantastic. You can stall them to give yourself time to set-up OR you can make it harder to draw ICE, letting you run more freely for a few turns. Not to mention knowing exactly when you should hit R&D again for the juicy-juice, and by juicy-juice, I mean Agendas.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I think the effect on Indexing is extremely powerful, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t get to take any agendas you find on the run on which you activate it. This card blows Maker’s Eye away if you are currently in a position to make R&D runs cheap, because any agendas can be placed on the top and more R&D runs can be initiated to fetch them. If you’re looking to finish the Corp off on a tight game and R&D is an expensive run, then Maker’s Eye will be far better. I think the best use for this card could be precision R&D milling; if Noise uses this, not only can he mill agendas off the top to avoid additional R&D runs, but he can wipe out other key cards as well, like Scorched Earth. That said, it’s influence cost is pretty prohibitive for the popular Noise Workshop build.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_r-d-interface-future-proof.png'] R&D Interface 22 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
Let it be said that HQ Interface is and excellent card. But, what is in the corp's hand can be controlled by it's owner. This makes HQ Interface a potentially dangerous/useless card in some cases. Now, R&D Interface does not suffer these weaknesses. At least not on the same scale. It is very difficult for the corporation to manage their R&D making this card a stellar addition to any deck with the influence available.

highjack - 5 out of 5
The case for this card: Having three out and the ability to run R&D every turn represents a soft lock since the only way for the corp to ever see an Agenda is play Anonymous Tip. Basically all the pros of HQ interface apply here, except that R&D accesses tend to be better than HQ accesses.

The case against this card: Have to access all the cards, making it a gamble against Jinteki. Four to install isn't exactly cheap.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

Ok, it costs one less influence than Medium. What else you got? The thing is that Shaper is not as “R&D based” as people are thinking it is. Until now, it only had The Maker’s Eye. I can see the threat of stacking this and Medium together, but R&D is not that easy to run. I’m not really worried about this breaking the game, but I might try it on my Shaper deck.

Scud - 5 out of 5
Stupid good. Nowhere near broken, but stupid good. I'm excited to see what new kinds of Corp decks get made trying to play around it. Lots of drawing (hello, Anonymous Tip), fewer Agendas in larger decks, heck, even Research Station might start getting some mainstream love.

Lluluien - 5 out of 5
For the cost of 1 mid-game R&D run, all future R&D runs are twice as efficient. That’s a good enough value for this card to receive a score of 5 already. I think another very important part of this card that no one seems to be talking about is that it gives you a lot more opportunities to take advantage of a temporary weakness in R&D. If R&D is weak, but the Runner runs it and finds an untrashable card, then it’s hard to further exploit its weakness. However, being able to access two cards means only one of them needs to be scoreable or trashable for additional attacks to potentially be worthwhile.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_deep-thought-future-proof.png'] Deep Thought 16 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
A shaper virus! A peek at things to come perhaps? Either way, this card can be used to great effect to predict the corp. That is until they realize how much of a handicap that is for them. Then they will be cycling whole turns to make sure you can't see the future. Either way, a win/win for the runner. Low influence value will help this gem see play out of faction and make for some very interesting strategies and deck builds.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: Probably demands a virus purge as soon as it's active. If you were only going to be accessing one card from R&D, saves you a click. Awesome with Noise, letting you know if the top is mill-worthy.

The case against this card: The corp gets the chance to purge it before you ever get the chance to use it. If you're playing this and running enough to get it active, there's a decent chance you're playing a deck that cares about more than just the top card of R&D. Probably not worth two influence.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

I’m starting to think that people in US don’t like to ice their R&D. This cards is very “meh”, in my opinion. It only needs to be purged once to be turned into crap. I’ll definitely try it on my Anarch deck, but not because it is that good, but because Noise is broken. Maybe one of the Creation and Control ID’s will be about virus cards too.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Deep Thought is a sort of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" card for the Corp. If you get three counters on it, you can snipe R&D when it's good for you, you know when they'll draw into the SEA Source or Scorched Earth, and they'll generally have to waste clicks drawing. But, it's a tough choice to ditch a whole turn to purge tokens, especially if Deep Thought is your only Virus. And if you've got a couple R&D Interfaces in play, so you can kind of get the same benefit, the Corp's decision is that much harder. At only two pips, expect to see Deep Thought popping up all over the place. Criminals would like it in an HQ Interface build so they know what's in hand. Anarchs...well, it's a Virus, which means three more cards milled by Noise Shop.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
On the one hand, I think the effect sounds extremely powerful. On the other hand, it seems to me that running R&D 3 times successfully isn’t a trivial task at the point in the game where the information is most beneficial, so I think a Corp purge may be a more powerful counter to this than people might initially give it credit for. I can’t think of what slots I’d be willing to switch out right away for this in the Runner builds I know best.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_new-angeles-city-hall-future-proof.png'] New Angeles City Hall 14 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 2 out of 5
Not too much to be said here. If you get tagged a lot and find you are running short on clicks/Decoys, this is your guy. It is unique and trashes itself the second you rip an agenda so its downsides are many. If you feel your deck needs it, go nuts. But there is probably a better way to deal with your tagging issues.

highjack - 2 out of 5
The case for this card: Tag avoidance that works on the Corps turn is a nice option. Cheap enough so that even if you never use it, you're not out too much. If you really wanted tag protection in your noiseshop deck, this seems pretty good.

The case against this card: I'm not sure what you're doing when you have this out, but it pretty much cannot be winning. I feel like I say this with ever new anti-tag card, but there are better options.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

This is a good counter against tag and bag, in my opinion. It is not as safe as Plascrete Carapace, but it is not a dead card in every other match up like Plascrete Carapace is. As a Weyland player, I’m sad, but I think the game needed a card like this, so I guess I should be happy for everyone else. But I’m not.

Scud - 4 out of 5
New Angeles City Hall is pretty close to a 5 for me. It is a multi-use and reusable Decoy (albeit more expensive). You can avoid as many tags as you can pay for and you can keep doing that until you steal an Agenda. This is great Breaking News/Posted Bounty protection (so therefore, good Tag'n'Bag protection) as well as a great Account Siphon/Vamp enabler, letting you save clicks clearing tags. Oh, yeah, and Joshua B. gets you five click turns for 2 credits, which can be pretty awesome.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I think this card might have a pretty narrow use because of the trash trigger on stealing an agenda. This could be a pretty powerful ability for Noise Workshop decks though, because they typically steal a lion’s share of their agendas all at once from the Archives. A trashed agenda is not a stolen agenda, so it will not activate the trash clause on New Angeles City Hall. This is still a pretty expensive effect for Noise, particularly since the tagging effect he’s most susceptible to is Breaking News, but the cost of losing Noise losing his resource economy cards is immense, so it’s likely to have a happy home in that deck.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_eli-1-0-future-proof.png'] Eli 1.0 20 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
Here we have an excellent new choice for a low cost barrier. Wall of Static and Ice Wall can finally take a breather. HB needed a new early game end run and Eli fits the bill. While he is not stopping the prudent planner due to his pay a click to bypass subroutine text, he is still an excellent piece of Bioroid ICE for the ANR strategist.

highjack - 4 out of 5
The case for this card: Since bioroids are Stronger Together, each new good one makes all the other ones better. Pretty expensive to break (for a three rez ice) regardless of if they're clicking twice or paying four (probably). Even E3ing through it hurts. One influence is also nice.

The case against this card: While all the ways of getting through are pricey, you are giving the runner a choice, which isn't great. Each new good bioroid makes E3 a more reasonable card, subsequently weakening them.

Hraklea - 4 out of 5

This is one of the best out of faction central server protections in the game, maybe losing to Pop-up Window. The influence cost for this card is insane, and 2 clicks to go through it is a lot in the early game. I’ll probably be using Eli 1.0 in every Corp deck I make from now on (Jinteki, I’m looking at you!). Favorite corporation card of the pack for me.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Finally another low-cost Bioroid! And Eli 1.0 is pretty good, too. 4 strength and 2 ETR subroutines means that breaking him will never be trivial (3 credits for Battering Ram, 4 for Corroder, 5 for Snowball, 6 for poor old Aurora), even if they Runner uses clicks (because anyone who pretends half a turn is trivial is lying). One pip of Influence means this kid is going to show up all over the place.

Lluluien - 4 out of 5
The 1 influence cost is definitely the best feature of this card, since every Corporation faction needed a little more variety in their turn 1 ICE. There are only a couple of reasons I don’t give this card a 5. First, bioroids are obviously much better once they are stacked 4 routines deep, which is harder to do if this is an out-of-faction splash. Second, Gabe is still the most important Runner plague, and this isn’t all that much deterrent to him. He gets 2 credits for those two clicks by breaking in, and several game-winning Criminal events (Account Siphon, Emergency Shutdown) are enabled by breaking into HQ. Cracking Eli with clicks is cheap if it lets the Runner play such an event at a key time.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_ruhr-valley-future-proof.png'] Ruhr Valley 13 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
Neat. This region makes saving money on Bioroid ICE by waiting to your last click to run impossible. The runner must truly waste a click in order to reach the sweet nectar of whatever server this guy is squatting behind. The cost of Ruhr runs a tad high in our opinions to see the inside of your deck sleeves on a constant basis but a deck could be built to take good advantage of its ability.

highjack - 2 out of 5
The case for this card: If you were building a super server of bioroid ice, this would fit right in. Nice potential to trap a runner that was waiting until their last click to run.

The case against this card: Six is a lot, especially for a card you might only get two "uses" out of. Is six credits worth making the runner lose two clicks?

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

This is good, but expensive. Again, it is a great addition to Jinteki decks, but other than that, I don’t where this is worth the spot. This is one of those cards that I won’t like to use it but I won’t like to face it either. It is a cool upgrade, but I think it is too expensive for an upgrade that can be rezzed as a surprise effect.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Ruhr Valley is almost a 4. Costing the Runner a second click to initiate a run is great – that's one-half of a turn just to make one run. The trash cost of 4 is respectable. It pairs nicely with a lot of Bioroids and HB: Stronger Together to make very taxing servers. It's three pip Influence cost means we probably won't see it much outside HB, although Jinteki: Replicating Perfection might want to rent a little space in one of those towers...

Lluluien - 2 out of 5
Six credits is a brutal cost for this card. If you install it in a remote server, it may not get run often enough to make this card worth its rez cost, though that single click is admittedly much more critical when you’re running against bioroids. Installing it in R&D may sound like a good idea to try to capitalize on the number of times the server gets run, but then the Runner can hunt this down and trash it on his own timeframe instead of on the timeframe dictated by when assets are installed by you.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_ronin-future-proof.png'] Ronin 19 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 5 out of 5
SlySquid's dream come true. A Jinteki card with first strike capability. No more waiting for your opponent to mess up, Ronin puts you in the driver seat. Having two in play, loaded with tokens has the effective stopping power as dual Scorched Earth builds. Also the mere existence of this guy will make Junebug kills a great deal more common place. What a great addition to the Jinteki arsenal.

highjack - 4 out of 5
The case for this card: While not actually a trap, cards like this make all traps better. Should make for some interesting mindgames.

The case against this card: If the runner figures out what it is (expose or just honest running) can be a pretty big tempo hit if you've invested the time to get counters on there.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
Don’t get me wrong, this card will help Jinteki. A lot. But it is not broken, or even powerful, it is just… necessary. Fixing Fantasy Flight Games mistakes is not a good reason to give it a good score, so I’ll stay with a 3, which means the card is properly balanced. I’m excited to see Jinteki trap based decks working with this.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Is it a four-advance Junebug? Is it a Fetal AI about to score? Is it a Braintrust the special ability of which someone is actually trying to trigger? Or is it...Ronin? Three Net damage is nothing to sneeze at, so Runners all over the world (but mostly here in Chicago, stupid Jinteki-lovers) will be forced to run on cards with three Advancements just to be sure. I'm a solid member of the "Expose effects are training-wheels" camp, but I think I'll be dusting off those old Infiltrations before our next League day...

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
This card definitely needed to be printed, but it suffers the same problem as many of the rest of Jinteki’s cards in the shell-game: advancing costs a lot of money. Not only do you pay a credit to do it, you also forgo getting a credit with the click. Ronin will be a fantastic card when it works, and an expensive liability when it doesn’t. I’ll hope to play against one of the “expose effects are training wheels” runners when I use it.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_midori-future-proof.png'] Midori 14 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 2 out of 5
The 4chan spoiler kind of made the actual Midori a bit of a let down. She has the ability to swap ICE from your hand into play potentially dealing some good damage or just plain old stopping a run. There are some stipulations though. If we're right, you are only forced to interact with the first ICE in a server. When you approach any subsequent ICE you can always jack out. This limits her usefulness. We could be wrong on this, but even still she requires a great deal of setup and lucky draws to function well.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: It's free. Fights Parasite and Femme. Lets you reset Chum. If this ends up getting ruled that you can swap after the runner has decided to not jack out, power level goes up a bit (seems unlikely, but certainly possible).

The case against this card: Even though the card is free, takes a fair bit of money to do most exciting things.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
Cell Portal, baby! Ok, I’m not really confident about this card, but I’ll definitely try it. This is like the Joshua B. case, Fantasy Flight Games wants it to happen (Whirlpool, Dedicated Server, Brainstrust, etc., all leads to a “flatline loop combo”), but it refuses to happen, no matter how hard they try. Midori is good enough to give me something to do until Creation and Control comes out: Cell Portal, baby!

Scud - 3 out of 5
Ah, Midori, the super-server Jinteki build enabler, letting you tailor your big server to your needs on the fly, dropping Chums and Whirlpools in front and Cell Portals in the back. Good times. There is some discussion about whether or not the swap takes place AFTER the Runner commits and therefore can't jack out. Personally, I hope the Runner can still jck out because that allows more opportuinities for bluffing. If the Runner *must* encounter the new ICE, you better put something beefy down. If they have the option of jacking out, then the mind games begin. I can't wait to swap out a Wall of Thorns for a Snowflake or some other small ICE and have the Runner chicken out and turn tail. Those kind of mindgames seem very Jinteki to me.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I really like this card for the amazing variety of things that Midori’s effect can accomplish. What remains to be seen for me is just how powerful any or all of those things may be. I think she may suffer from timing and tempo issues that cause problems for some other cards in this datapack as well (see Midseason Replacements).
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_nbn-the-world-is-yours-future-proof.png'] NBN: The World Is Yours* 15 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
So NBN finally gets its new identity. A forty card minimum equals decks that will run 18 agenda points, the first of its kind. This will allow for a sleeker fast advance build but will be affected by the reduced influence availability. While 12 influence is just enough to squeak in a set of Scorched Earth, the deck would then lack some critical boosters such as decent low cost ICE and potential economy help. It is too early to make any solid predictions regarding The World is Yours* but we are really interested in seeing what the community will make from its slim architecture.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: 18 agenda points! Makes it possible to run only fast advanceable agendas (although, a whole lot of one pointers). Hand size of six makes running HQ an even lower EV prospect. Easier to assemble combos.

The case against this card: Three less influence is pretty huge. If I was playing Noise and sat down across from someone with a 40 card deck, I would literally (not literally) squeel with glee.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
Cool, a Corp version of Chaos Theory. I’m not sure about the 12 influence, but this allows NBN to run only 3 advancement agendas, and that’s veeery scary. The extra cards in the maximum hand size is good, maybe now people will start playing Anonymous Tip. Has anyone already “scanned” this card? I’m curious. =P

Scud - 4 out of 5
Most of the naysayers are talking about 44 card decks that rely heavily on Traces and come to the conclusion that 49 cards and the original ID would be better. And they are right. But this identity is going to surprise a lot of people. Unlike the other IDs, you don't want to run at the top of the minimum range, you want 40 cards. This ID is supposed to outrace the Runner and it can, especially when combined with some of the other new NBN cards from this set. The deck is still going to be fragile for a while because it is still missing a few pieces, but I think this ID will start shifting the game immediately.

Lluluien - 2 out of 5
I have some serious doubts about this identity. Losing the 3 influence is a big deal. I genuinely don’t believe that going from 45 cards to 40 cards is that big of a deal. The ID may encourage different deck archetypes due to pushing off 4 other cards in addition to the 5, but that’s not something that required this ID - we could’ve made a 45 card deck before. Yes, you can put only 3 advancement agendas in the deck, but you’ll be using 12 of them, and 12 cards in 40 is going to make R&D a murderhole. The +1 hand size encourages a light defense for HQ, but that’s a strategy I’ve been championing for NBN for 3-4 months already, and additional handsize does nothing to shore up the weakness in this strategy (Vamp, Siphon, and Shutdown). I’ve tested 6-7 different builds with this ID and haven’t been satisfied with any of them, mostly for the same reasons. Those reasons are numerous, but they all essentially reduce to the conclusion that there just isn’t a significant enough reason to use this over NBN:Making News. If this ID takes off someday, I’m going to predict that it’s because NBN gets some useful early game ICE that doesn’t require tracing. I’ll leave you with some food for thought - if the Weyland Government Contracts agenda were an NBN card, I would think this ID is amazing. That gives you a few hints as to where I think this ID is good and bad.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_project-beale-future-proof.png'] Project Beale 24 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 5 out of 5
And here it is. This is what all NBN players have been salivating over and waiting for whether they knew it or not (Jamieson’s top pick for this pack). With perfect synergy when paired with AutoScript Pilot Program, this potential hulk of an agenda card shines like a beacon of hope for the NBN fast advance build. Heck, even the slow advance build... Basically any advance build. It will be difficult to explain yourself if you own this card, play NBN and leave it in your binder. Project Beale is a new auto-include for any fan of the cards in yellow.

highjack - 5 out of 5
The case for this card: The lead designer acknowledges that 3/2 agendas are so powerful that this will be the last one NBN receives for awhile, if ever. Lets you have an agenda makeup that, while requiring the runner to steal four, lets you win with three. Could theoretically be the only card you need to win the game.

The case against this card: It's going to tempt you to build a Psychographics combo deck. Don't do it!

Hraklea - 4 out of 5
This is good. An agenda with the ability to score more agenda points, it couldn’t be better than it is. In the current state of the game, it is hard to give a low score for any 3 advancements/2 points agenda. Project Beale seems to have synergy with Psychographics, but I’m not sure about how safe is a NBN server to leave it on the board for long.

Scud - 5 out of 5
It's a 3/2 Agenda for the Runner and a 3+2X/X Agenda for you. I honestly expect that its ability will most often be triggered by Advancing the card three times and then dropping two AstroScript tokens on it to get the game winning seventh point. Dreams of a Psychographics-fueled 11-Advancement Project Beale winning you the game in one fell swoop are pretty pie-in-the-sky. The real strength is simply that it is another in-faction 3/2 Agenda for a faction that really, really wanted one.

Lluluien - 5 out of 5
This card really is as good as the hype, but it’s ironic that most of that reason is because it’s a 3/2 agenda and not because of the ability text. I think most people knew and acknowledged that all along. That’s more of a statement about the rest of the current NBN cards though, and not necessarily a reflection on Beale’s ability. I think Beale is actually a lot more interesting in a deck that intends to be mostly agendas with 5+ advancement requirement, because the Runner steals it for 2, while you intend to score it for 3+. There probably needs to be more support for long-lived agenda installations before this becomes a viable strategy. However, if the lead designer says we’re not going to have more 3/2 agendas, then you can be pretty certain that the support for long-lived agenda installations is coming.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_midseason-replacements-future-proof.png'] Midseason Replacements 16 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
Yes, it is expensive to pull off. Yes it has some prerequisites to satisfy before you can abuse it. But all in all, this card is a tag spewing wrecking ball. Having better synergy with the old NBN identity this card punishes the frugal runner or the just plain poor. Dishing out tags that could take literally multiple turns to remove. Good bye resources, goodbye runner's bankroll, hello Scorched Earth. Brutal.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: Potential to give the runner oh so many tags. Even if the runner matches the trace, you paid five to drain them for six or more (probably at least eight).

The case against this card: Pretty expensive for a situation that likely will only come up three times a game.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

The effect of this card is pretty godlike, but I can’t ignore the fact the all “play only is an agenda was stolen/scored this turn” are not that good in the current metagame. I’ll definitely use this in my Weyland Tag n’ Bag deck, but I don’t think this is as dangerous as people are thinking.

Scud - 4 out of 5
First, I want to weigh in on the theme aspect of this card: It represents the Corp getting a line on you when you steal an Agenda and then making you their next big Reality TV star, and that makes it one of the coolest flavor cards in the game. It is also a major game-changer, if only for NBN since no one is going to pay four Influence to have access to one copy. The nice thing is that the card plays well with both existing NBN IDs, just at different points in the game (mid-game for original flavor NBN, early game for new skool NBN). You can slow the Runner to a crawl even if they manage to beat the Trace or have New Angeles City Hall out, since draining them of credits is almost as good as piling on the tags (which drains them of credits and clicks as they clear them).

Lluluien - 2 out of 5
I’ve tested this card a lot already, and there are so many timing issues with this card that I just can’t endorse it. First, the Runner has to steal an agenda in order for you to play it. Keep in mind this means you’re going to have to get it played before they have 5-6 points, because you’re not going to get any clicks after they steal the 7th point. Second, it’s got to be in your hand when the agenda is stolen, but you don’t want many copies of this in your deck since you’ll likely only use it once (if ever) in a given game. Third, you have to have the money to take advantage of this at the time it happens. That’s a big deal since the Runner typically has access to more money than NBN does. Noise might be an exception to this, but you only need to tag Noise once to really cripple him. Fourth, you have to have some way to punish having multiple tags to take advantage of this, otherwise you could just use SEA Source, Breaking News, or Posted Bounty. Those ways at this time are essentially either Private Security Force or Psychographics, both of which add another card to the combo/timing problems (or two, since you would often follow Midseason with PSF+Psycho), and one of which significantly extends the financial burden. This card sounds great, but it’s reliability is completely crippled by all of the timing aspects surrounding it.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_flare-future-proof.png'] Flare 18 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 5 out of 5
Sweet NBN justice. A brand new ICE that really fleshes out their in faction roster. Sly said it best that normally an ICE like this would have three separate subroutines each with a trace2, but in this form of a brutal trace6, when paired with the original NBN identity Flare will dominate the field and dissuade runs on whatever servers it occupies. Also the damage is unpreventable... UNPREVENTABLE!!!

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: Really powerful effect. Hardware will likely start showing up more and more, so having some way to fight it (even if it's pretty conditional) is nice.

The case against this card: Due to the prominence of Emergency Shutdown and Femme, people had already started souring on Tollbooth. All those same issues are present here. Pretty expensive.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

This is awesome. Trashing hardwares is good - and this is way more reliable than Power Grid Overload -, damage is good, and sentries that end the run are good too. The problem is that NBN can’t afford using two different expensive pieces of ice, and Tollbooth is better than Flare. I don’t expect to see people using this that often.

Scud - 4 out of 5
For the record, I don't think Emergency Shutdown is all that big a deal PROVIDED you rez your ICE at the right time. And, in that "right time" window, Flare is up there with Archer and Janus. You only need to hit with Flare once to make it a winning proposition. The tempo hit to the Runner is pretty hefty: they lose the clicks and credits they spent on the Hardware you fry, two cards, and the click they spent initiating the run. (As a sidenote, Emergency Shutdown seems a lot less scary if you stop thinking about your big ICE as an all-game investment and think of it more as a way to mangle the Runner once or, if they are stupid, twice.)

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
This card is great, but I see the decision to play Flare mostly as an analysis of whether or not Tollbooth or Flare is better for your deck. Both ICE are very expensive, and both ICE have the same most critical vulnerabilities - Femme bypasses them for 1 credit, and Emergency Shutdown is hard to completely deny in a faction with porous ICE. Most decks probably won’t include both, which makes me rate this card a notch lower than I otherwise might have.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_dedicated-response-team-future-proof.png'] Dedicated Response Team 16 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 4 out of 5
This card may very well usher in a new breed of tag & bag deck for a number of different identities. Most notable will be the newly playable NBN and Weyland shell game builds. It is early, and deck builds are being tested but we may have a new alternative to the tried and true Scorched Earth.

highjack - 3 out of 5
The case for this card: If the runner trashes it unrezzed, no big loss. If you manage to get a single use out of it, two credits for two meat damage is pretty good. Doesn't need to be on the server the run happened at.

The case against this card: I'm not sure anyone was really in need of more ways to punish tags.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5

I was excited about this card when it was spoiled a few months ago, but I’m not anymore. The only good thing that I can think about this card is that it costs less influence than Scorched Earth, so NBN decks can use it without making too many sacrifices. This is great when it hits after a Snare!, but that won’t happen consistently enough to be worth to build a deck around this combo.

Scud - 3 out of 5
The truth is you'll get one use out of Dedicated Response Team. So, is two credits for two Meat damage good? Well, it's 2/3 the cost of Scorched Earth for 1/2 the damage. It does have the benefit of being an Asset, which not only provides the normal benefit of being able to bluff an Agenda, it also means you can install it in order to not clog up your hand because the Runner is going to have to trash it if she finds it.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
I don’t think this card will see an extensive amount of play due to having 3 pretty restrictive conditions. First, it’s an asset, so it can only help guard central servers unless more than one remote is in play. That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem except that one of the best uses for this card will be making the Runner hunt it down in an expensive remote server. Second, it requires the Runner be tagged in order to activate. That narrows the potential builds this card may find its way into. Third, it’s 3 influence for a card you’re likely to only get to use once. That’s awfully pricey. If you’re in the narrow slice of deck builds that are Weyland faction, can support two expensive-to-run servers, and has tagging ICE, then this card is probably great. Okay, so those last two caveats are pretty redundant - if you’re running Weyland, this card is probably great.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_burke-bugs-future-proof.png'] Burke Bugs 9 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 2 out of 5
Zero to rez, zero strength, trace0. Interesting combination for a potential early game blitz of the runner's rig. This card relies on the runner being dirt poor but should prove to be effective nonetheless. We're scoring it lower on the scale due to it's complete late game uselessness. But perhaps someone out there will turn the Bugs into a whirlwind of rig destruction.

highjack - 1 out of 5
The case for this card: Trashing a program is pretty powerful, even if it is runner's choice. You can sell it to the Subcontracts for a nice profit.

The case against this card: Given that corp money tends to be more valuable than runner money, it's pretty bad when you have to keep pumping money into it to get any effect. Spending a lot of money to trash the runners worst program doesn't seem great.

Hraklea - 2 out of 5

So no Weyland cards useful for Weyland, because this is a NBN pack after all, right? The only way I can see Burke Bugs working is to be paired with the Core Set NBN identity. Without recurring credits for trace, this is a very lame card that will cost you a lot sometimes, won’t hit most of the time, and almost never will be worth it to use it.

Scud - 2 out of 5
Burke Bugs is a little bit like Pop-Up Window, but instead of getting you money, it allows you tax the Runner one to break it (if they have a Killer installed) or force her into a bidding war for one of her programs. If you're flush with cash, you can pump the Trace to a point where the Runner has to make a decision about the value of her programs and which she can reasonably lose. As far as tricksy early-game ICE go, this one is neat.

Lluluien - 2 out of 5
It’s obvious to anyone looking at the card why it’s weak - it’s packed full of zeroes. The only strength of the card is that it has one more critical 0 as well in the rez cost. In my experience, both deck slots and credits are precious to a Corp deck, so I’ll probably never play this card. In spite of all that, trashing a program is a powerful ability, even if the Runner gets to pick which one; that’s the only thing that keeps me from giving the card a score of 1.
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[CRB='forums/uploads/an/med_corporate-war-future-proof.png'] Corporate War 12 out of 25

Bad Publicity - 3 out of 5
Finally an alternative to PSF worth using. This agenda has a potentially very satisfying condition which may help to recoup your losses while scoring it. On the other hand, if the runner gets the best of you and disrupts your economy, scoring this could be the last nail in your coffin. Still, benefits outweigh the risks with this colorless wonder.

highjack - 2 out of 5
the case for this card: Corps often run Private Security Force with no intent to use the ability, just because they need an agenda. Instead, here you get a nice little bump. If you had a couple credits left anyway, it won't hurt too bad.

the case against this card: It doesn't really say if you have at least seven credits. If you followed the general advance strat of install-advance, next turn score, you really needed to be at 11, which can be a tall order. Will create situations where you have it and just don't want to score it (whether you can or not).

Hraklea - 1 out of 5

An agenda that punishes you when you score it sucks. An agenda that requires 4 advancements for 2 agenda points sucks. Now, imagine how much sucking would be those two things together in the same card. Well… you don’t need to imagine, Fantasy Flight Games made a favor to you and released such a card. Enjoy.

Scud - 3 out of 5
A solid alternative to Private Security Force, Corporate War is an interesting 4/2 that wants to be scored at just the right time. With the game at the point it is at now, with aggression and tempo being the watchwords of the day, this Agenda may not really come into its own. One things shift back toward larger, more secure servers, this one will shine.

Lluluien - 3 out of 5
Timing issues are a real hindrance to so many cards in this pack. While I think there are decks in which this agenda may find a nice home, I think highjack had an exceptionally good point earlier in his analysis of why the card will effectively say “at least 11” instead of “at least 7”. Because of that, I actually think the place this may show up most frequently is Jinteki. They are the faction most likely to score it in a non-standard way, and they’re also the faction which needs the economy boost the worst.
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