Honor and Profit Review Part 2

Our staff has put together an analysis of the newly released Honor and Profit deluxe expansion. In this second part we will be looking at cards 19 through 36. 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 expansion!

Sorry for the delay in this and the lack of formatting, still working out the kinks from the upgrade.

Shiro 22 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
Shiro, castle, in japanese. Yagura’s older (and bigger) brother is a lot more expensive to rez but its effects are direct and very powerful. Having a mini Precognition just by laying this ICE is certainly very powerful, thus nullifying any R&D lock imposed on you. I imagine a server with the fortress (Shiro) and the towers (Yagura ? - tower) making R&D impossible to steal agendas. The flavor and mechanics here are very cool! There’s an inherent satisfaction in not paying the credit on the second subroutine and just pick up the top card (the Snare!) of R&D that you just pulled from the 3rd position of your top 3 and “shove” it in the Runner’s face (don’t actually shove cards in the Runner’s face, that’s not very polite and you may incur painful situations by doing so). I understand that you’re paying more for the effects than for the stats, although a 5 strength Code Gate is imponent, and because its effects are very powerful. It is kept at 4 influence points, to ensure some restriction to go out of faction.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
For argument’s sake, let’s say your R&D is loaded with Shocks, Snares and Shi. Kyus. Then you could comfortably put Shiro anywhere. Forcing the springing of in deck traps is a pretty cool idea if you ask me. Also, it’s a high strength, 2 subroutine codegate! Very reasonably priced as well.

Grimwalker - 3 out of 5
I think if this goes on R&D it becomes a must-break for the runner, and if it goes elsewhere then it's a big risk. It's no Tollbooth, but it’s another 5 Strength Code Gate! Not easy to hit with Yog, inefficient with Gordian, Torch is what it is. The rez cost is a little steep, and I'm not sure what the Mind Game is if you pay the money to keep the runner from accessing the top card, unless it's just there to prevent the card from being unplayable in the event that you happen to topdeck three agendas--hitting a piece of ice should never be an actual *boon* to the runner. Playable in decks that can afford it.

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
I can't downvote a Code Gate stronger than 3, I simply can't. I'm not a big fan of its subroutines, but this one protects your R&D very well considering how hard it is to break it. Sadly, it is not really that problematic to Atman.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
I find this a very costly card for the effect. Jinteki is getting a lot of Code Gates here and I would rather have any of the others over this one. The best thing is Jinteki is draining some credits from the runner as this is taxing to run against and anything over Yog break strength is nice to see.

Scud - 4 out of 5
And the Jinteki awesome-ICE train keeps on rollin’, ya’ll! High-Strength Code Gate that lets you baby-Precog AND force the Runner to encounter any one Ambush you happen to find? That’s a spicy meatball, if your meatball recipe is like my dear, departed mother’s: pain, suffering, and a dash of oregano.

SlySquid ~4 out of 5
Do you run Snares, Shocks and Fetal AIs? Would you like the runner to hit them more often...? Meet your new best friend! This card is crazy on so many levels, it's prob one of the best ice to have over R&D but it could really go anywhere if your deck is housing a lot of traps or you just want to control your draw using a server that the runner plans to hit over and over... And even if they have a breaker it's still a STR 5 and will tax a lot of credits...
Love this card as a one of in almost every deck


Susanoo-no-mikoto 24 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 2 out of 5
The art is interesting. I wonder if behind Susano is Orochi, the eight-headed serpent. Anyway, 9 credits is a lot to ask for a piece of ICE that is handled pretty easily by Femme Fatale, Knight and to some extent Dagger. I like the uniqueness of the card, of the effect, and it being unique, as it is a deity! In magical christmas land, you build a nasty server in Archives and put this ICE on the scoring server beaming up the Runner to face the horrors in the Archives. The amount of times you’ll be able to actually pull this off will be rare. Overall, I don’t believe that this ICE will be capable of imposing its presence for long and will be dealt in short time by the Runner. This also sucks against Sneakdoor Beta, which is a program Criminals already run a lot anyway.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
I love the reasonable cost for this high strength ICE. I would have loved a front-loaded ability to really make it commonplace a la Toll Booth, but Susanoo-No-Mikoto is still a brilliant card. I think running low numbers of it would be prudent as this thing is going to work exactly once per game. Essentially a trap in and of itself, it would be best paired with shocks to almost lock down a win on a reckless runner. If there was a Whirlpool, followed by a Datamine, backed up by a Hokusai Grid over a heap filled with shocks (or one point agendas in a PE deck) you may just rock the kill. But that all seems a bit much, you know?

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
A big Sentry, good; ETRs, also good; one subroutine, blerg. I wouldn't run this without some program destruction because a Femme or a Knight means you paid $9 for a ticket to Sad Town. I would consider this probably not worth it given that the only things that can fire from Archives are Shock and Shi.Kyu, so you're not going to get a spectacular game-ending effect. You'll hit them for a couple of points of damage and force them to either go get their Femme or spend the rest of the game paying past a 7 STR Sentry--I'm not impressed. I'm tempted to point out Chum makes him better, but Chum makes everything better.

Hraklea - 4 out of 5
This is what Wall of Thorns should be. Strength 7 is already hard for everyone, but a sentry? Geez, Fantasy Flight Games was not kidding when they designed this piece of ICE. Good luck trying to break this one.

Jamieson - 4 out of 5
I like this ICE alot but its down fall is the popularity of Knight. Which can just eat this beast for so cheap. One subroutine is a downer. Really good in Jinetki and anyone not using Knight is going to have to pay up. This is going to be a burden until you have some set up and traps in the archives. Very nice misdirection ICE that complements this factions perfectly. Would only use one of in my deck, not just because it’s unique but because Ii don't want to see it till I'm ready for it.

Scud - 4 out of 5
The Jamesteki/Fatal Calligraphy-style multi-one-pointer deck LOVES this card. Power draw, fill your Archives with death, then pop this on the Runner and watch her die. Corporate Troubleshooter behind her will let you ensure the kill. Even if you don’t try to create the trash compactor from Star Wars, this is a beefy ICE that is going to either tax the Runner heavily OR draw out Femme/Faire.

SlySquid ~5 out of 5
I love this card! Put one in your deck just for the server you are trying to score behind and watch the runner pay out the nose ago pass it, that's not even talking about all the fun stuff you can load in archives also don't forget if you have no ice they can't jack out of archives so they will eat all your shocks. It's just a beast...


NeoTokyo Grid 16 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
You need 2 turns to get the investment back, so, for starters I’ll just say this is slow. However the prohibitive trash cost will make the Runner think twice before trashing it with creds. On the long run, agendas will cost you 2 cheap to advance, making you progress that much faster. Instead of building an economy (to rez the ICE) and then advancing the card, this helps you to do both, at the same time. The potential is there and if you can make it work you got yourself another drip economy card. In addition this Upgrade triggers off of Tennin Institute Identity ability, Trick of Light, Shipment of Kaguya, Shipment of Sansan, etc which is a nice add-on to this card.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
The high trash is really swell. The cost to rez is a bit steep though. With this ability, I’d almost prefer the runner to trash NeoTokyo Grid as you won’t make your money back on it very quickly. Even further out is the possibility of profit. Better to force the runner to spend what he/she may not want to, but in this case, I highly doubt they’ll care.

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
I like upgrades that are more trouble than they're worth to trash, but this seems unspectacular. This gets a slight bump in a Tennin deck, but only slightly. This seems to encourage that annoying cherry-tapping advancement strategy that some Jinteki decks go for and I can never seem to get right. I reserve the right to be proved wrong by someone who's better at janky bluffing decks.

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
There's no reason to waste your "region slot" on this. This will hardly give you enough credits to be worth its cost. That said, I can see it being dangerous paired with Tennin Institute. Still not a fan though.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
Again we see a nice high trash but there are many better upgrades available. Does not work with cards protecting the server so ICE does not count.

Scud - 3 out of 5
This card can shine when it is built around. It isn’t a card that you just toss in willy-nilly. The high trash cost for such a “mediocre” ability will often lead the Runner to not trashing it, so you can benefit longer. If they do kill it, you didn’t lose much. Win-Win-Win (in the right deck, like Tenin, for example).

SlySquid ~2 out of 5
Aside from comboing with Tennin and Matrix Analyzer I think you would almost always want a PAD campaign over this NeoTokyo Grid, let's face it there are other card that will trump this card in deck construction... Nuf said..


Tori Hanzo 20 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
This card and House of Knives and you’re guaranteed brain damage for 2 credits, which is nothing less of amazing. This also works with Hokusai Grid and even with a Shock!. There aren’t many ways to freely distribute brain damage and for a good reason. But there are many ways to distribute net damage, especially during runs. Tori Hanzo makes any server a nightmare as brain damage for 2 credits is very frightening. Two activations later and the Runner is in a lot of trouble. It’s a shame that a Neural Katana will deal 1 brain instead of 3 net, Snare! the same, but cards like Shock, Yagura, Swordsman and such get only more fierce. I don’t mind the influence, but I don’t think it’ll matter much as Jinteki is the only Corp that can dispatch net damage in a quantity that makes this card good.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
Realistically, Tori Hanzo requires a bit of set up to do any real work with a lasting effect. Then it becomes a bit of a balancing act. There will only be a small window when you’ll be able to utilize her and even then I have a feeling that in order to make her sing, you may require Hokusai Grid. It is my feeling that the max amount of brain damage she’ll typically be able to dish out will be 2. After that, she’ll get trashed for a mere 2 credits. Kind of gimmicky if you ask me, and not the awesome Teddy Ruxpin Gimmick, but the “works once and then you have to change your deck” gimmick.

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
Manageable Rez cost, probably the correct trash cost, and I have ideas about how to play her that would make worth having one or two in the deck pretty viable. Is she spectacular? No. She's one I'd want to have in order to leverage Threat of Activation, which is a wonderful phrase I learned recently that I plan to remember next time I sit down and pull out the binder of red cards.

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
The effect is very cool and versatile, but its high cost and cheap trash cost makes it too fragile to be reliable. I doubt you'll be able to keep this installed for too long.

Jamieson - 4 out of 5
High Influence and seems pretty niche to see it out of faction. Some timing issues might need cleared up in the next FAQ but overall a nice combo card. Any time you can pull off brain damage in Jinteki you have gained the upper hand. Even though its combo card all the cards she works with you probably will be placing in your deck anyway so you're not going out of the way to use her.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Brain damage against Jinteki is scary, yo. A more-reliable way to deal Brain damage is, therefore, horrifying. Her low trash cost means you’ll probably only get to use her once but even one Brain damage can change the flow of the game to the Corp’s advantage.

SlySquid ~4 out of 5
I've not played with or against this card but it is still a very new set and I feel that this card holds a lot of power, in a faction that almost can't build a deck that doesn't do net damage, this card is useful almost anywhere.
It's the set up that I'm not a huge fan of but I know that won't stop people from using and abusing Tori Hanzo.


Plan B 17 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
This is a nice card to have around. Combos very nice with Mushin no Shin. In Jinteki, even if the Runner exposes it and leaves it alone you can pile Trick of Light tokens for future use. It becomes more dangerous as you approach match point, as any ambush does. It is also quite situational, as it requires you having an Agenda in hand, Plan B installed and the required advancement tokens placed on it. Still, it can bail you out in some situations and it’s a card the Runner has to be aware of.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
If you’re a player that can bluff, you should rock at least a couple of copies of this. Especially in a non-trap faction deck. If you are holding traps and the runner knows it, Plan B loses a bit of potency. The more cautious the runner, the more chance you have of wasting all your install credits on this as it requires an access to spring. Also, you’ll be scoring something worth 2 points max as it would be very difficult to get the runner to hit this with any more than 3 advancement tokens on it. The only problem with cards like this is they require a stone cold player to use with any consistency. Once you’ve sprung this on a repeat opponent, it’ll be hard to bluff it past a second time...

Grimwalker - 3 out of 5
Pretty nifty card. Unfortunately, like most Ambush assets, it's worthless once it's exposed. You can't activate it unless the runner runs on it, so they could just let it sit there like a bump on a log and you've wasted your investment. I'm not quite sure how often it will work, though. Best used late game when the runner cannot ignore advanced cards.

Hraklea - 1 out of 5
I like the idea of having a neutral ambush but this one is very very weak. If you don't have influence to use a better ambush than this one, retire your deck. This card is not worth the effort.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
Having this as neutral was nice. But Jinteki is where it will see the most play. The hard part here is that it has to be run against to be used.Opens some fun combo plays but might be left behind in most cases.

Scud - 2 out of 5
GRNDL Refinery existing makes this card a lot better, and it still only hits a 2.

SlySquid ~3 out of 5
Mushin No Shin, Trick Of Light, Plan B and a few 3/2 now you are cooking... Worst part about this card is the fact that after an ambush or two the runner normally goes for the R&D lock (assuming that wasn't there goal out of the gate) and the trash cost on this guy (like most ambushes) is almost non-existent and easy to burn through your deck, and thats not even all that bad...


Guard out 24 of 35
Ashtaroth - 2 out of 5
Inside Job? Denied! The new Feint? Nope! This ICE has a very unique effect and will only get stronger as more “bypass” cards come out. I only score it as low as its utility, right now, is still very narrow and paying 4 to prevent a 2 cost event all the while being easily broken by the most common Killers does not bode well in its favor, however it has potential to grow into a strong option for the Corps later on.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
If your meta sports a lot of blue, this is your guy. Totally preventing that early game Inside Jerb could make Guard the keystone in any fast advance/rush deck. The peace of mind that it offers will see it placed in a great many builds. Get used to seeing this Tron-er-iffic defenceman.

Grimwalker - 4 out of 5
You could score an agenda behind this ice if you time it right, since you really do have to install a breaker, so good for scoring out that first Astroscript or Medical Breakthrough. Femme and Garrote are expensive installs, Faerie and Mimic will roll right past it but them's the breaks. The best ice to go with Mushin No Shin.

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
I won't deny that Inside Job is a very strong card and that it is good to have a counter against it, but... it could be a little better, couldn't it? Four credit for a piece of ICE that both Femme Fatale and Mimic break for 1 credit is a pretty bad sentry. It should be cheaper and weaker.

Jamieson - 5 out of 5
This is the ICE we have all been needing so badly. So nice its open for use in any deck. I have no doubt this will be auto include with how much criminal we will be seeing. Solid end run protection.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Great early game ICE in Rush decks, but this little bugger will pull his weight in almost any Corp deck.

SlySquid ~4 out of 5
This game consists of two types of ice, ice that taxes the runner and ice that outright stops the runner, both of which should make the runner want to find a breaker to combat it. The question you need to ask is am I going for early or late points...? If you want to score fast and rush aggressively this guy is going to do work, but only until the runner has an answer... Great card and I think it's super balanced!


Rainbow 14 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 1 out of 5
The stats are pretty okay, a 3 rez for 4 strength. But being able to be broken by almost any breaker of the game is not a place where you want ICE to be. There are already better options to fill the position this ICE wants to. If in the future you get a card that benefits you for having a Sentry, Code Gate and Barrier at the same time this can get a little bit more value.

Corps3mourn - 1 out of 5
Roll out the runner’s welcome mat, because here comes Rainbow! As the card pool stands, I would honestly question the mental soundness of anyone using this curious piece of ICE. What will the future hold? Ooooo! Maybe Double Rainbow! 4 credits for a strength 5 ICE that has the additional types of Trap and AP!

Grimwalker - 1 out of 5
If I want a piece of cheap ice that will force the runner to go get any particular breaker, there are better ways to do it. It's too porous for ETR ice and not inconvenient enough for Tax ice. At this point I can't actually ever conceive of using it unless something really goofy comes along. For this cost I could have had an Eli, an RSVP, a Viper, a Caduceus...you couldda had a V8! I really don’t see what its role is unless something is coming in Lunar Cycle that cares that your ice be Neutral (and we have seen several neutral ice spoiled in whole or in part.)

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
I have no idea why some people loved this. I know that it can't be broken by Mimic and Yog.0, but it has been a while that the days of "Anarch breakers only" decks are over.

Jamieson - 3 out of 5
Strange and Interesting. On average its going to cost 4 credits to get through this guy so I think its decent early game. Its a taxing play more that a stopper. Make sure you try it before you cast it aside.

Scud - 3 out of 5
It’s okay if you don’t get it. Just try it. Even if the Runner drops a ‘breaker turn one, click one, they still have to pay a decent amount to get through. This is a solid little piece of early-game taxing ICE that doesn’t cost Influence and has a great cost-to-Strength ratio.

SlySquid ~3 out of 5
I love the idea of a card that's only purpose is to tax the runner, I hear everyone harping on the fact that anyone can break it but the simple fact is that only Torch (not counting situational breakers) does it for a credit! Now let's look at the most popular breaker set up in the game ATM, Mimic, YOG and Corroder which only one can break and it still cost it three credits. This card is perfectly designed and I think it's highly underrated.


Diversified Portfolio 15 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 2 out of 5
It’s hard to evaluate cards like this. I don’t really know how bad Replicating Perfection wants this, and how many servers do you have to create for this to be good. Early game this can act as a small Beanstalk Royalties and in late game it can net you more, so there’s some flexibility to this card. But is it better than the tools already at the disposal of Jinteki? Maybe another Asset-heavy strategy with another Identity will make a better use for this, as for Jinteki I think it already has the tools it needs for the asset-heavy strategies.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
If your deck builds horizontally in the remote department, you’ve got yourself a new economy card! Otherwise, it’s pretty bland. In a typical deck build Diversified Portfolio will generally make you only 1 or 2 credits. For 80% of the decks out there, it’ll be a pass on this little fella.

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
Another card that's very vanilla but is a nice tool for a certain kind of deck. Replicating Perfection is an obvious one, but I've also built an asset-heavy NBN deck that would consider running it. I like that it exists, as we don't see a lot of asset based decks, but ask me again when we get to Donut Taganes in the Runner cards.

Hraklea - 2 out of 5
I don't think any non-Jinteki Corp will every be able to play this. You need 4 remote servers to make this a Beanstalk Royalties that costs one credit. You must really need your influence to use this rather than any other economy operation.

Jamieson - 3 out of 5
Not many players build heavy horizontal so this will really depend on how you play if you use it. It has a sure home in replicating perfection. I wouldn't be too worried about seeing it. Its nice to see a card that rewards an underutilized play style though and I do think asset economy will be on a come back.

Scud - 2 out of 5
I’m sure there are Jinteki decks for which this card will come closer to a 4, but overall, right now, there are better economy cards. The fact that this is Neutral excites me, though, because that hints at multi-remote decks being more popular across the board in the future.

SlySquid ~2 out of 5
I can't get behind this card, even if everything is going right it's still a mid to late game card. Unless you have a deck with Shipments from MerrorMorph, Anonymous Tips and a ridiculous amount of assets I don't see this worth a slot in many decks, and that's coming from the guy that had an average of 6-11 servers at the plugged in tournament...


Fast Track 28 out of 35
Ashtaroth - 4 out of 5
Fast Track is a good card in Fast Advance. There, the obvious has been pointed out. Now: it is a search effect which is always pretty good and the game still lacks some; in R&D it’s an “agenda” that’s not an agenda for the Runner; as more agendas keep coming out this card only gets better as it searches for a card that not only helps you win the match it also may provide you with a very potent effect. I also think that some ICE fortress decks, whose agendas are all 5/3 may want this card, as their agenda count is lower and this helps the Corp get to the agendas faster. Still, you relay pretty much every possible information to the Runner by playing this card. You literally represent the following: there’s winning points in my hand and soon on a remote. Because of that, this card will find its spot in fast advance strategies more easily to negate the Runner any chance to use the information given, but I wouldn’t discount seeing this card in slower decks.
Overall Jinteki got a lot of really good tools to play with. New archetypes, awesome ICE, awesome Upgrades. The cards in this edition are very interesting and we’ll see them a lot, for a long time. On an overall note I’d give the Corp side a 4 out of 5. My top picks are: Id - Tennin Institute; Agenda - House of Knives; Asset - Health Mental Clinic; Operation - Mushin no Shin; ICE - Pup; Upgrade - Tori Hanzo.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
Now before the hate starts rolling my way for only giving Fast Track a 3 out of 5, let me ‘splain. Unless you are playing NBN with Astroscripts, any deck with San Sans, or super low scoring agendas, you’re going to pass on this. Otherwise, “Hey runner, there’s an agenda either in play or in my hand now.” If you can play the game, you shouldn’t have too much trouble ferreting out its location. Now I’m not saying it’s not good, it is good. It’s ? good due to utilization restrictions. Worth noting is that some Red players will also be able to use this to trick the runner into pressure running into a trap or two… maybe.

Grimwalker - 4 out of 5
The worst thing I can say about this card is that not every deck will need it. Yes, yes, Astroscript, of course, but there are any number of other agendas worth grabbing on demand. How many games have you ever lost because you had an advancement server going but couldn't draw into the agenda you needed before the runner either trashed your SanSan or found their silver bullet icebreaker?

Hraklea - 3 out of 5
Maybe my math sucks, but it is really hard to be in a situation where you can search and score an agenda in the same turn, and telling the Runner that you have an agenda in HQ is very risky. Maybe the US meta don’t see as many HQ Interface/Nerve Agent than I thought, but that will change as soon as this card became popular.

Jamieson - 5 out of 5
Should this have been a yellow card. Since thats where it going to fit. Most builds won’t need to fetch out agendas and thats fine. But having this card exist is really scarry in those Fast advance builds now thought. What makes it incredible insane is that its not a double. Agendas can be fetched, played and scored in some cases on the same turn. REALLY REALLY powerful card.

Scud - 5 out of 5
Not every deck is going to NEED Fast Track but every deck will certainly have turns where they would have benefitted from having one in hand. You can still install and advance the Agenda if your scoring server is more secure than your HQ. I have a feeling that this is the pinnacle card for this phase of the game, where the Corp power-level is rising. With it printed, I think we’ll see a bit of a shift back toward the Runner now.

SlySquid ~4 out of 5
I'm not going to go into a huge explanation on how this works with NBN, if you found this review I'm going to assume you can figure it out... It's nuts! But for us everyday "ill score it when I see it" kinda players it loses a lot of steam. I think the most I'm excited for is people not exploiting Astros but Medical Breakthroughs, it's going to be so much more fun to play against...


That does it for Corp and now on to the runner. We are moving on with only 6 reviewers for the rest of these reviews.

Iain Stirling: Retired Spook 16 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
Iain Stirling is a very intriguing card. On one hand you can build a slower passive economy deck, that wants to stay behind at first, but when established batters one the Corporation very efficiently. Iain even has 1 link, so you can go for a Underworld Contacts based economy. On the other hand an aggressive and fast build will serve this Identity as well since you can establish an early lead, building up only in mid-game and, as you are going for the win fast, the Corp can’t remain to stay passive, so if the Corp ever gets the lead you start gaining the credits to impose your game. I have to say though, 10 influence seems very tight. Even with this deluxe expansion Criminals will still want to import from other factions, so deckbuilding with Iain might be tough since you don’t have a clear plan in what to do with him. However, the ability to gain 2 credits for 3 or 4 turns is something and if you’re meta is full of Hostile Takeovers and Breaking News, Iain might become a strong option. Iain opens up a lot of new choices for deckbuilding, but I think it might take a while for him to find a proper build.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
The comeback kid, Ian Sterling. The reduced influence hurts, but the link helps. I am so skeptical of this identity. In blue, you generally want to be the one applying the pressure, setting the pace of frantic game. Ian’s ability is for those games where your game plan has kind of fallen off the rails. Pair this with his reduction of out of faction choice and the issue is potentially compounded. Now, I give him a 3 because he could be used in a late bloomer deck that plays to his ability by winning in one fell swoop after the corp has done some work, but we may be a little far off from seeing a deck like this come to fruition.

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
If your out-of-the box advantage is to wait until after the corporation has scored an Astroscript, Efficiency Committee, Government Contracts or House of Knives, you’re gonna have a bad time. Some madman will try and make this work and maybe succeed with only 10 influence but it probably won’t be me. I have thoughts, but they’re probably bad decks.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
Iain is a very interesting ability; you have to be behind/losing for the ability to be active. IDs change in rating so quick though so watch out for this one. I love runners with base link so thats always nice to see but it is the influence count that makes this one hard to build. I really don't like the sit back and wait approach you need to take with him, thats hard for me to get past right now. In a world where fast advance Corp decks are King its hard for Iain here to be able to find play time and dig out that hole we will make for himself. Criminal likes to attack fast and early and he doesn't want to do that. Strange faction choice for this. Shaper would have loved this ability to allow for rig building time. Delay scoring is all he has right now. The Source should see play in these decks and Key Hole.

Scud - 3 out of 5
I may be coming in on the high side of the rating for this guy, but I’m very excited by the different style he seems to promote. A slow and steady Criminal interested in the long-game is different enough to get my attention. His ability seems to be a bit weak for the loss of Influence, but when blue is your color, you don’t NEED a lot of outside help, right?

SlySquid ~ 3 out of 5
Iain is the ID that I like the most in this set, I feel like he wants to play a control style game and that's what I think the future of this game is going to come too. Now I don't mean just econ control but more cards like The Source and Donut that throw the corps gameplan off, I think it's become a viable way to play recently but as time goes on it will become better and better and I think cards like Stirling embrace that well.
As for the influence set at ten, well at first glance I think it's far too low but the more thought I give I come to the conclusion that the other factions are getting a few "control" cards that will make him over powered at 15 influence in the near future... Over all I really like this card.


Ken "Express" Tenma: Disappeared Clone 22 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
In a faction that’s already known for its run events, this seems like a no-brainer. Ken Tenma is a force to be reckon with. The additional 2 influence from the normal 15 we see ables this Identity to have a larger array of surprises at your disposal and I think that’s what really sells him. It’s an ID that rewards the Runner for the thing you want to be doing anyway, running. Planned Attack (see below) can be used to mount a “run events” toolbox for Tenma which puts the Corp in a awkward spot as you can have various specific cards for various game state that just screw the suits in an abysmal way and get away with just one copy in the deck. I do believe this is an ID that’ll see heavy play.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
I’m giving him the gears right now in an event heavy deck. I have to say, he’s not bad. Ken keeps your credit pool at a steady level through his ability, and the extra 2 influence help you squeek in that last copy of Indexing. He embodies the current criminal prime directive of fast and furious. His ability tailors him to basically one type of build however, raising his predictability through common card choices. All in all, if your game is on and the luck is flowing even half your way, he can pay off. If not, well, I suppose he is no better or no worse than ere’body else.

Grimwalker - 5 out of 5
I love this art, let's get that out of the way. He looks like a cross between a late-90's X-Men character (note his button) and the Shadowrun street mage I played in High School. And that hair, people are already calling him Sonic the Hedgehog. So let's count the ways he's a Criminal's Criminal: Inside Job, Account Siphon, Early Bird, Dirty Laundry, Running Interference, Legwork, the list goes on and on. It's a modest benefit but then so is Engineering The Future, Gabe, and Mac, and I think you'll see Speedy giving those slowpokes a run for their money.

Jamieson - 3 out of 5
In the land of run events you would think Ken would be king. My issue is if he didn't have the extra influence he would have been a 2. With that same run event card you can be running HQ with Gabe and gain 2 instead of 1. The problem that criminal has is they have too many good choices in there card pool and that includes runner IDs but when you boil it down you have to compare the card against Gabe and I don't think Ken can win that battle. I feel you could move to a slower pace with playing run events in the late game rounds nullifying this ability. 17 influence limit is great. Really opening up to some diversified criminal builds.

Scud - 4 out of 5
He’s probably somewhere between a 3 and a 4, but I’m gonna top him off because I’m personally so excited to start using him. I think one of the biggest challenges when building a Tenma deck will be not overdoing the Run Events. In that way, he’s a bit like, hold on to your hats here, The Professor (the easiest mistake to make with The Professor is packing too many Programs). Tenma will make for a very interesting version of the Doppelganger/Siphon/Vamp/Medium deck, especially with the Central-only ‘breakers.

SlySquid ~ 4 out of 5
Easily the most powerful of the three IDs to come out of this pack, because who doesn't like cards that reward you for things you want to do anywho!? It's why people still love Noise...
Aside from the influence being insanely high "Express" is really just the cherry on top of what will become a deck that almost never changes, that's not to say it won't be powerful, I feel like it will have more of an Andy feel like when someone figures how to run the deck most efficiently it then will become the standard.
I like the fact that he is a Clone, I love theme and love the thought of running Jinetki and a renegade clone as you're runner... Now to wait for the anarch clone!


Silhouette: Stealth Operative 20 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 4 out of 5
I’m a fan of Chaos Theory as with 40 you can just focus on what really matters and eliminate any fluff in your deck. Silhouette follows the same mindset. I’ll see Blackguard, maybe combined Snitch, be ran with Silhouette, but I’m just happy running a fast, efficient build, using the information this ID can give me to fine-tune my plays during the match. Go for the hand, look at the remote, it’s an agenda? Inside Job it! Go for the hand, look at one ICE, “Oh, is that so?”, Special Order the breaker. Information is very important in any bluff game and the constant feed Silhouette grants you, can be just enough to tip the scales into your favor. This Aeon Flux-esque warrior has a lot of tricks up her sleeve and a good build will be very potent. I’ll try her out, since she’s the one I like the most out of the three.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
Silhouette was the big one. The one that was fueling the forums and the fervid speculation regarding the expose mechanic. Before I go too far into this first impressions, I want to say that Zaibatsu Loyalty does this identity and the entire deck build a lot of damage. Yes, it would be expensive for the corp to pay for the hard counter over and over, but with the predominance of Jinteki after the big box, it won’t be uncommon to see in the metas. Especially if Silhouette takes hold. The ability is great. The 40 card minimum will make for some serious consistency. She is solid. Just be wary, there is a hard counter to her, you will come up against it, and you will lose games because of it.

Grimwalker - 3 out of 5
She's been spoiled the longest and her console was released in the Spin Cycle, so she's not quite so exciting to see at this late date. That said, I think Expose decks could be a thing, particularly given we're about to enter a Jinteki reign of terror (Psychic Field being the built in counter but there can only be so many of them). People have been running Snitch/Blackguard decks, and she's a natural choice for that, coupled with Emergency Shutdowns and maybe a Xanadu/Rook splash to ratchet up the pressure.

Jamieson - 4 out of 5
This is the ID out of the 3 I love the most. We have already seen the power she has by winning a regional. Being played with or without Blackguard this deck is poised to be a threat. I loved Chaos Theory when she came out because she could run 40 card minimum and its great seeing that move over to blue. These streamline decks can run so quick and dangerous and criminal has the tools to power this easier than CT did. Her expose ability is such a great power especially when the corp has all those new traps and toys. Still the struggle is deciding if exposing is better than gaining 2 credits.

Scud - 3 out of 5
I’m a fan of 40|15 IDs and I think Silhouette’s ability is pretty keen. While you certainly *can* build around it, using Blackguard, Snitch, Rook, Xanadu, etc., I don’t think you *have* to in order to put together a strong deck. Sure, you’ll want to make sure that you have some tricks to leverage your ability, but starting the game with only 35 cards in your deck can make consistency a real benefit. (Andy, of course, starts with 36 in her deck, so this is, you know, 1 better—whatever that means…)

SlySquid ~ 3 out of 5
Rihanna is just an all around great ID, she plays lean and mean at 40/15 and she has a power that is always going to be useful.
Criminals are already all about speed and out of the gate power and now having the ability to trim a little more fat out of your deck and dropping to a 40 cards is going to make her consistency so much better, that in tandem with the amount of pressure her power is going to add she is going to make the corp make a lot of very hard choices.
I love the fact that she works with almost every deck but I love that she makes Quest Completed and Doppelgänger valid options even more, it's the reason this game can hold on to us and keep us coming back for more, it's ever shifting and always growing!


Calling in Favors 16 out of 30
Ashtaroth 2 up to 5
Alright, there’s another high variance card, but more flexible though. I think you’d have to have 10+ connections in your deck to make this work. Where I see this working the most is in Runners that have 1 link, since they can mount Underworld Contacts economy, thus having cards that do something rather than being there for the sake of being. Kati Jones, Professional Contacts, Fall Guy, are all connections that see heavy play, so this might work. 3 Connection and this is the same as Easy Mark, 4 connections and it’s better and from then on it just get’s better in value. With that said, your deck will be heavily overhauled if you want to play this card, or rather, if you’re building towards having a lot of connections in your deck, or if you happen to have built a deck with a lot, consider this card, otherwise, keep away and play other economy cards.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
As an economy card, in the current card pool? Calling in Favors falls a bit flat. Considering that Aesop’s Pawn Shop is generally the go to economy boost that resource heavy builds reach for, this card is counter intuitive to that game plan. It deserves a 2 for sure as you could build for it currently, and it will indeed age well like a fine cheese or a Marg Helgenburger.

Grimwalker - 1 out of 5
I suspect this may be a trap card. Your strategy is what advances you to a win, but winning is dependent on scoring points, not successfully executing your strategy. The degree to which this card would like to dictate your deckbuilding choices is a pain, and frankly Criminals have more convenient methods to make a quick buck than packing your deck full of Connection resources that don't actually get you into servers.

Jamieson - 4 out of 5
There is no shortage of connections these days. We have a way to search for them and now a way to additionally profit off them. Playing this card for zero and then pulling a gain off it is insane. What really pushes this to the 4 mark is the 1 influence letting it easily be used out of faction. Connection decks are coming and love seeing a different way to build an economy engine.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Connection-heavy decks can work. Hostage can make them work even more smoothly. This card will be very nice in those decks that are built to take advantage (which will mostly, I think, be Criminal decks, honestly, so the 1-Influence cost isn’t as great, for now). You’ll want tag-protection, of course, so the deck will be slower than the usual Criminal… Hmm, maybe an ID that doesn’t mind being behind a little?

SlySquid ~ 4 out of 5
I know 4 might be a little high but I feel that with all the connections you are holding hostage this card fills the same roll as Stimhack in a lot of decks, if your deck is tailored to utilize this card it can easily help you trick the corp into thinking you are broke just like Stimhack, leading them to believe they might be able to get an easy score. Let's face it, it's not like the connections aren't worth playing!


Early Bird 17 out of 30
Ashtaroth 3 out of 5
You get a pseudo-Doppelganger console effect, only available on your first click. One thing’s for sure: this card is safe. Running first click seldom bores any ill and then you still have a full turn to continue pounding the Corp or prepare for future runs. Inadvertently this card makes Notoriety and Quest Completed a little better, as you have more leeway to make them work. I think this is good with Silhouette as you run HQ, you expose a card and then make a much more educated play. The effect is not back-breaking, so, it’s a good little card, that enables some synergies (Desperado, Datasucker, Data Leak Reversal, etc) while giving you a bit of value.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
SO, I tried it. 2 copies in a Ken deck. Never wanted to use it. I’m sure there will come a time when Noteriety and Quest Completed decks will want to abuse it and Doppelganger to the max, but for a guy who has a plan, Early Bird is not typically the right answer.

Grimwalker - 2 out of 5
Running on your first click is often a good thing, this makes it better. Express likes this card, as you might guess from the artwork, but it's got stiff competition for those blue event slots. It's a potential trap card as it restricts your options and could incentivize sub-optimal decision making. In a Jinteki heavy meta, this is not the card you want to see when you need to fist back up after net damage. You're trading a credit for a click, and clicks are more fungible, so it's above baseline from an economic standpoint, at least.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
Any time you can get a free click thats great but this ability fits more into a select deck style. I think it will be hard to pick this card over other options. If you are going for those Quest completed, Notoriety scores this card can help.

Scud - 4 out of 5
Nice for early aggression against a Corp that leaves you an opening, this card really shines once you’ve set up, especially if your set-up includes cards that augment your run—R&D/HQ Interface, Medium, Nerve Agent, Desperado, Datasucker, etc. Also, this card is a nice enabler for Notoriety and Quest Completed, letting you play two of them (or one of each…).

SlySquid ~ 4 out of 5
Not much to say about this card other then if you can use it you more then likely will... I still like Doppelgänger more but maybe that's just me...
I think this card is built flawlessly and I love the introduction of Priority events, my hats off to you FFG...


Express Delivery 19 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
If you ever are at a crossroad, you can just play this and see what you get and then build up your plan. This would be a lot better if the other three cards would went to the bottom of your stack, as you could then keep a note of the bottom cards and this would then be a dig through card, but no such luck, instead this is just a more refined draw card effect. If you want to dig deep, just play Quality Time.

Corps3mourn - 3 out of 5
It’s like if Mr. Li and a Special Order had a baby… I love it! Not every deck requires draw, but for those that do in blue, here’s your card! Often times I would find that I would Li, need both cards, bury one and have to use a special order to randomize the deck again. Those days are over. Super solid event.

Grimwalker - 5 out of 5
There is Much and More that I could say about this card. I'm almost as excited for this one as any other runner card in the pack. People splash Quality Time and Diesel because they need to dig for a specific card and they're not afraid to discard cards they don't need and this is less influence than Diesel, cheaper to play than QT. It's not a world beater on its own but it makes almost any deck more consistent. I will put down $20 right now that whoever wins Gen Con will have this card in their deck.

Jamieson - 1 out of 5
I’m not feeling the synergy of this card right now. Usually when I want to use a search card I want to find a specific card in my deck. If that card is not in the top 4 in this case I’m out of luck. When I use draw cards it is usually to fill my hand or thin my deck. This only lets me grab 1 and then the stack is shuffled. If it was not shuffled you would have seen me say how great this was since it would be feeding Eureeka and Oracle May. I would rather take Mr. Li over this in faction and won't be using it out of faction.

Scud - 3 out of 5
Blue has a lot of cards that you wouldn’t mind seeing. Getting to pick the best out of four of them is sort of like getting your choice of exactly which slice of your favorite pizza you get—they are all slices, regardless. This is NOT the only draw card you want in your deck, it’s the OTHER draw card you want in your deck, one that could possibly tutor up any type of card at any given time.

SlySquid ~ 4 out of 5
I like this card a lot it's tie with Diesel in my mind, I think diesel is a little better but it's not as influence friendly and I think for me that's the the straw that that broke the camels back, I'd love to have three diesel in all my decks but I feel like this gives you the same thing for less...


Feint 15 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
The amount of cards this enables (HQ specific: Emergency Shutdown, Bug, Unregistered SW, Lemuria Codecracker, etc, and general successful run specific) may warrant its utility. Other than that, there’s isn’t anything much you can say about this card. It’s an enabler for decks with a plan in mind, whether that plan is any good or not, it remains to be seen. I can easily see this in Silhouette or Gabriel Santiago, but I don’t think this is better than any of the cards they’ve already at their disposal.

Corps3mourn - 2 out of 5
Guard kind of snipped Feint’s wings a bit, but the card still has it’s uses. The central only Quest Completed decks being the primary focus. Making cheap and easy runs past taxing ICE in order to access that sweet 5/3 agenda is the name of the game and Feint falls neatly into that strategy. Otherwise, you probably won’t be utilizing this card. It is perfect for its purpose, but not everyone will be reaching for it.

Grimwalker - 3 out of 5
As a general rule I dislike straight combo cards and this card is a dead draw on its own. But this will activate a lot of effects and could prove to be a tremendous headache for the corp, and probably only gets better with time.

Jamieson - 2 out of 5
This is a great card to trigger off those criminal cards that need the HQ run. But this only works on HQ and I am seeing a lot of people playing a least 1 copy of guard in their decks now and that sits over HQ. I would rather have Inside Job and the ability to use it on any server.

Scud - 2 out of 5
An interesting enabler, Feint is a bit like Early Bird in that cards that augment your runs work well with Feint, allowing you to reload your Datasuckers after a purge, for example. It also activates Emergency Shutdown, et., al. Three pips of Influence means we won’t see it outside Criminal very much, so that narrows its usefulness.

SlySquid ~ 3 out of 5
Feint is going to be a great addition to Gabe/Silhouette with Emergency Shutdown/Quest Completed and other cards that need a preliminary runs to be used and if your deck is packed with cards like that then this card will do a crazy amount of work. Not to much more to say...


Legwork 24 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 3 out of 5
It’s cool that we get this card, although if the Corp sees one, it can play around it pretty easily. I think this will go in a lot of decks to enable a run where you can see all the cards in the Corp hand, although, it’s fairly risky against Snare!, Shocks, Shi.Kyu and whatnots, so its value may increase or decrease by the amount of probability you have of encountering people with Snare! in you meta.

Corps3mourn - 4 out of 5
Had the text have read “may access”, Legwork would be a perfect 5. Cards that offer the chance to peek nearly an entire hand historically required an investment of 12 credits. Now you can rip it as a surprise! Be wary of Jinteki trap decks as there is the possibility that you may access your death.

Grimwalker - 3 out of 5
It's a Maker's Eye for HQ, what's not to like? A wise man once told me "HQ is where the agendas are." This will see a lot of play, and makes cards like Hemorrhage and Expert Schedule Analyzer more interesting to be in the same deck. Laramy Fisk is going to love it.

Jamieson - 5 out of 5
Change the colour of Markers Eye and its still a fantastic card. In a faction that already rewards you multiple different ways for HQ runs this is going to be showered with love, In faction and out.

Scud - 5 out of 5
Best Runner card in the set. HQ pressure is getting more and more important and now we’ve got more options to apply it. I mean, c’mon, you’d give The Maker’s Eye a 5, right?

SlySquid ~ 4 out of 5
This card really induces a lot of anxiety!
On one hand you could get three agendas and the other a few shocks and snares, I know that's the case with its big sister Maker's Eye but the corp has so much more control of what he has in his hand.
The card I think would work best with this (aside from cards that prevent you from being flatlined) is Imp, I can see you stealing an agenda and trashing an Midseasons all in the same run! Lol fun stuff...


Planned Assault 28 out of 30
Ashtaroth - 4 out of 5
Search effects are very good! This holds particularly true to the Runner side. This card allows for less copies of a certain card and adds variety of effects. You’re playing against an upgrade heavy deck? Go for Singularity. The Corp just got a Bad Publicity? Fetch that blackmail. This card has only growing potential, as more run events come out (which they will), even if, at its worst it’s just another copy of Account Siphon or Stimhack, or whatever event you want, it still ensures consistency in your deck. The art is astonishing, which is a good thing, as you’ll look at this card a lot.

Corps3mourn - 5 out of 5
How many times have you played a game where you were literally dying to draw your last Indexing or a Same Old Thing? No more. Reasonably costed, reasonably influenced, win condition searcher. Most factions/identities can make use of this today, and the rest of them over the course of due time.

Grimwalker - 5 out of 5
I saw red for about 48 hours with this card, but the increased level of Account Siphoning will only mean that people will just have to adjust to the new meta. On balance it's probably a fantastic card even for just all the other Run events out there, and I bet Express could get some mileage out of playing against the meta. Ultimately it doesn’t increase the number of Siphons in your deck, it just makes them less efficient.

Jamieson - 5 out of 5
Wow - What's more to say about this card. Great cost to play and reasonable enough influence to move it out of faction. We all love our event cards and now we can fetch them when needed. Golden!

Scud - 4 out of 5
In an aggressive deck packing a lot of Run events, this card is going to help you do exactly what you want to when you want to. Add in Same Old Thing and/or Levy AR Lab Access and you can do it all game long. Two pips of Influence means we could see this splashed but needing Run key events will restrict this card to certain kinds of decks (or more precisely, certain decks won’t benefit enough from it).

SlySquid ~ 5 out of 5
The ice placement on turn one use to be so easy!
Criminals=HQ, Shapers=R&D and Anarchs were a bit of a wiled card but a little less played so it balanced out...
NOT ANY MORE! You better hope for two ice in your opening hand because you are going to see so many Indexing's in Criminal and Account Syphons in Shapers and with this card only being two influence it is going to see a lot of play and it will only get better with time.
I'm not sure this card is going to help or hurt the game...

Drop back in on Wednesday for the final installment.