Tech Talk - Net Shield

It's once again time for Tech Talk, that bastion of advice for using the cards that no one else seems to want to use. This week, we're taking on the Herculean task of finding the good in perpetual Core Set whipping boy, Net Shield. Probably because we hate ourselves...

DOCUMENTATION: Ask ten Netrunner players what the worst card in released so far is, and eight of them will say Net Shield (one will say Scorched Earth because they just got flatlined AGAIN and the last one will say, like, Diesel or Archer or Tollbooth or Inside Job because he's "that guy"). And it is really hard to argue with them. On paper, at least. C'mon, it only prevents ONE point of Net Damage per turn. Some people would run it if it let you cancel multiple points of Net Damage at 3 credits per point. And not only is its ability neither all that nor a bag of chips, but it requires 1MU. It is fighting for a spot with every other Program in the game. Um, Net Shield or Magnum Opus? Net Shield or Magnum Opus? Net Shield or... wait, what is WRONG with me?!? *Sound Of Net Shield Card Being Torn Asunder*

Poor, poor Net Shield. I don't think even Tech Talk can help you, you sad bastard.

But that's never stopped us from rolling up our sleeves and trying, now has it? Because it turns out that Net Shield just might be poised to become some serious tech. Talk. Sorry, sorry, it's hard to type Tech without the Talk these days...

Anyway, Net Shield. Yeah. See, the real problem with Net Shield, above and beyond its seemingly-janky ability and MU requirement, is that it is such a narrow card. Net damage is, for the most part, the bailiwick of one particular Corp, those goofballs of death over at Jinteki (they seriously have semis filled with murderous desk toys delivered every week, toys which are placed on randomly chosen employees' desks to test their loyalty and survival instincts). Yeah, Haas-Bioroid or Weyland might pack the odd Snare! NBN may even cultivate a Project Junebug of their very own, but for the most part, Jinteki is the one serving up the real Net damage sundaes with all the trimmings (including chocolate jimmies that are actually stabby little nano-clones).

And Jinteki? They're about to rise all Dark Knight style (minus Anne Hathaway in the Catwoman get-up, unfortunately). Forget Replicating Perfection, the original-flavor Personal Evolution teamed up with those Neural bad boys Katana and EMP, along with Project Junebug, Fetal AI, Chum + Data Mine, Wall of Thorns, Snare!, the spoiled Hokusai Grid from Humanity's Shadow (a Region that inflicts 1 Net damage whenever the server that houses it is successfully run), and maybe even a rented Woodcutter (because you can turn that Net damage into Advancement tokens, yo!) let those wacky, whacked-out cyber-samurais pile on the digital hurt. That one guy isn't going to be complaining about Scorched Earth anymore because he's got three Plascrete Carapaces and a Muresh Bodysuit in his pear tree but he keeps getting flatlined like it's Crouching Agenda, Hidden Net Damage out there.

For those of you who are confused about the previous paragraph, let me explain...no, let me sum up - Jinteki is about to become a force to be reckoned with. And, for right now, at least, Net Shield is the only protection we have. Sure, you can just take extra clicks to always fill up your hand before a run, but then you've slowed down to a crawl (and then what will you do when you run into a Jinteki: Replicating Perfection deck that wants you slowing down even more than it's "run a central first" ability makes you?). See, here's a little math for you. Damage costs you one click because, when a Corp can pile on the damage like Jinteki can, you *have* to draw up after every ding. That click is worse than one credit cost, because that click, especially in the mid- to late-game, could have been another run. So little old Net Shield saves you a click at the cost of a credit. If there was a card that let you get an extra click for a credit (with a maximum of one extra click per turn), you'd run that bad boy, wouldn't you? You'd run it all day and twice on Sundays. Well, that's kinda' sorta' what Net Shield does - it's like getting an extra click that you have to use to draw a card.

When you think about Net Shield that way, it's ability stops seeming so janky and it may actually be worth the 1MU. But, damn, it's still so narrowly applicable!

Good thing there's so many ways to not care about that, ways we'll talk about in a little section we like to call...

INSTALLATION: Net Shield is narrow, no doubt about it. Not all Corps dish out the Net damage (although a lot of Corp decks will splash a little here and there). But man, when you are up against a tuned-up Jinteki deck, it can really pay to have your Nets all kinds of Shielded. So how can you give yourself the option of running it against Jinteki but not regretting it against anyone else?

Aesop's Pawnshop (Core) is one good answer. The base install cost on Net Shield is two credits, so you'll always make one additional credit when you sell it later, two if you're running Kate and you install Net Shield first on a turn.

Test Run (Cyber Exodus) lets you pack a single copy in your deck and go get it only when you need it. Multiple copies of Net Shield don't do you any good anyway, so why bring more than one along? Games against Weyland or HB or NBN, you can just forget Net Shield until it comes up and then toss it when you hit your hand limit. Better yet, stick it on your Personal Workshop (Cyber Exodus) as a buffer so you can better manipulate when that Femme Fatale you've been simmering will hit the table. Once you get it out for free, then you sell it to Aesop's and, cha-ching, profit.

While Kate can get you your Net Shield at a discount, Chaos Theory can help you to not regret bringing one to the party. That extra MU she's carrying makes her base rig a little more flexible, so why not run a trio of specialized programs that you can Test Run onto the table, things like Snitch or Nerve Agent? Call it your Chaosbelt or maybe your Theorybelt. Whatever, call it what you will.

Some will say that Public Sympathy (Cyber Exodus) can fill the role that Net Shield plays by putting more cards into your hand. To that, Tech Talk says, "pa-tooie," which is an onomatopoeia for what spitting sounds like. Yeah, you won't have to draw as often *after* you take Net damage, but you still have to draw those cards at some point and then you're going to lose some of them without being able to use them. Net Shield lets you lose a credit instead, which can be better, depending on the cards you're holding.

One last note before we move on to putting Net Shield into Anarch or Criminal decks: remember that Net Shield can be used each turn, which means once one your turn and once on the Corp's turn. That can be ever-so-handy against Personal Evolution's ability or a surprise Neural EMP.

IMPLEMENTATION: So, Shapers seem to have some ways of dealing with the downsides of Net Shield that make it not such a terrible card. But what about Anarchs and Criminals? Would they ever run it?

Yeah, they might. Noise decks can get hit pretty hard by Net damage (and most damage, in general, but Net damage is just so easy to cause...) since they usually want to be installing as often as possible to mill all those lovely cards off the top of R&D. Wyldside can be a big help, but it costs a click and isn't foolproof, since you still have a hand limit. A single copy of Net Shield, especially in a deck that is running Test Run to eke out a handful of extra Virus installs, isn't the worst idea, especially in a Jinteki-heavy meta.

Criminals are probably the least likely to *need* Net Shield, since the clicks they spend to run also tend to generate economy, leaving them the occasional "extra" click with which to draw cards. However, Tech Talk would totally run a copy of Net Shield over a copy of Snitch (although both a very good against Jinteki).

COUNTERMEASURES: If you're running a Jinteki deck and the Runner installs a Net Shield, don't *ever* forget to take it into account. The surprise factor of your Net damage is too important to spring it when the Runner can keep himself alive. In fact, be a little more reckless in pushing Agendas through and laying down traps. She can only hide behind that shield once per turn, so make her take a couple different packets of damage whenever you can - for example, try sitting on a fully advanced Agenda until you have another one (or two) also ready to score, and then score them all at once. Net Shield indicates that you're facing a cautious Runner, so draw them out of their comfort zone or punish them for staying in it.