Tech Talk - Server Diagnostics

Back in high school, we headed into downtown Chicago in the Tech Talk minivan post-Prom to party like suburban kids (which means we were going to go to Ed DeBevic's and try to get someone to buy us booze-o-hol). After wedging the minivan into loading zone (we left the hazards on), we rounded a corner and found a young street tough, like the ones we had been warned about, surrounded by a crowd. He was in the midst of fleecing a rube at three-card monte. In an attempt to impress our date (and, honestly, to allow us to afford desert after dinner) and because we were sure the street tough was only trying to fool his mark, not us, we slammed a twenty down and pointed at the card we were sure was the queen.

It wasn't. After three more bets, we couldn't go to Ed DeBevic's. Two bets after that, we were broke and dateless.

We often spend time (a LOT of time) reliving our most horribly embarrassing moments of failure as a sort of pastime so, as an exercise, our therapist has tasked us with making something out of these experiences. We think she's a quack but we have really good insurance here at the Ranch, so we keep listening to her anyway. We had a lot of trouble the last time, trying to build something positive out of our memory of throwing up on the girl who asked us to Turnabout. This one was much easier because we had already been thinking about how to make Server Diagnostics (Creation and Control) work.

Server Diagnostics gives you two credits at the start of each of your turns and it only costs three credits. Double the efficiency of PAD Campaign (Core) for only one more credit up front. Yeah, it costs half as much as PAD to trash, but still, that's pretty awesome. As long, of course, as you don't want to install any ICE. Oh, did we forget to mention that Server Diagnostics gets trashed as soon as you install a piece of ICE? Because it does.

That drawback leads most people to think of Server Diagnostics as a mid- to late-game card – once you have your remote set up, you can plop one down behind some existing ICE and credit up. It can't stay out in the open because its trash cost is nowhere near as prohibitive as some of the other econ Assets. However, unless you are running multiple well-defended remotes, that plan's not gonna do you much good, since you need to be installing Agendas in order to win (mostly), and you'll probably want to use the remote you built for doing so.

That's where we were the night we crawled into bed and had a vivid memory/dream of Prom night. Once we woke up (and sopped up the terror sweats), we started jotting things down in our dream journal. Well, it was supposed to be our dream journal. Instead, we started writing about three-card monte right below our notes on Server Diagnostics.

Peanut butter? Meet chocolate.

Shell game decks don't use a whole lot of ICE. They defend their centrals but they spread out so many remotes that most are ICEless. By giving the Runner a bunch of targets to worry about, they may decide that Server Diagnostics isn't worth the time. This is so crazy, it might just work. Wait, Dr. Jenkins doesn't want us to say, "Crazy." This is so in-the-process-of-healing, it might just work.

If we're going shell game, we're going Jinteki: Replicating Perfection (Trace Amount). Making the Runner spend a click running on a central before she can start poking at our remotes is exactly the kind of ability we're looking for. This kind of deck is all about straining the Runner's resources, in this case, her clicks. Jinteki gives us access to both Snare! (Core) and Fetal AI (Trace Amount) which, along with Neural Katana (Core) and Hokusai Grid (Humanity's Shadow), lets us put a bit of hurt on the Runner for trying to get some use out of the click she has to spend running on a central. And that hurt, in the form of lost cards, also taxes the Runner's clicks, causing her to need to draw more often. The fact that we're running light on ICE makes a card like the currently ubiquitous Professional Contacts (Creation and Control) or the always-has-been ubiquitous Desperado (Core) less of a threat, since credits aren't the resource we're planning on pressuring. However, look out for John Masanori (Opening Moves) and Doppelganger (A Study In Static) because "free" draws and runs will be this deck's kryptonite.

Let's talk Agendas. In addition to Fetal AI, we'll take full complements of both Braintrust (What Lies Ahead) and Nisei MK II (Core). Nisei is arguably the best 4|2 Agenda in the game (Geothermal Fracking (Opening Moves) gives it a run for its money), but don't get fooled into thinking that using a Nisei token to end a run on a central means the Runner needs to run a central again. Simply declaring the run is enough to satisfy Jinteki: RP's ability.

If we're goin' horizontal, we're gonna need Assets to install. Damage is more a source of resource drain in this deck (but we'll take a flatline if we can get it), so first we'll grab traps: Project Junebug (Core), Cerebral Overwriter (Creation and Control), Snare! (Core), and Ronin (Future Proof). We'll also want some money. In addition to Server Diagnostics, we'll grab Private Contracts (Cyber Exodus) (remember: don't rez it until you are ready to spend your whole turn clicking it). Then we'll go outside the box a bit and take a couple copies of Alix T4LB07 (Creation and Control). Alix is best dropped in your (probably) one and only defended remote so you can make the Runner pay to come get her (and don't get greedy – eight credits is a nice take, any more than that is gravy). Rounding out our Assets, we'll hire wunderkind Jackson Howard (Opening Moves) to let us draw into the cards we need faster, recycle Snare!s (and other traps), and hide Agendas we aren't ready for in the trash.

Operations are simple: Hedge Fund (Core) and Trick of Light (Trace Amount). Boom, done.

ICE is not as simple. We need some punishing ICE but also some plain old stoppin' ICE, too. Neural Katana (Core) is in and we'll go out of faction to grab Viktor 2.0 (Creation and Control) and Archer (Core). For simple stopping power, we'll add Himitsu-Bako (Opening Moves) (be careful with its tricksy ability while Server Diagnostics is active, since you won't be able to reinstall Himistsu-Bako without trashing it). Since we're packing Trick of Light, we'll grab a single Ice Wall (Core) so we have something else to advance. We'll also pack Chum (Core) so that any ICE might put a little hurt on and Sensei (Trace Amount) so any ICE might stop the Runner cold. We'll finish out ICE suite off with two no doubt controversial choices: Wall of Static (Core), for both punishment and stopping power, and Cell Portal (Core) because, well, a strength 7 Code Gate behind a Chum is hilarious (and, again, we're expecting to have money).

Throw in a couple copies of Hokusai Grid (Humanity's Shadow), and you have the deck we had to call...


DEATH-CARD MONTE

Identity
Jinteki: Replicating Perfection (Trace Amount)

Total Cards: (49)

Agenda (11)
Braintrust (What Lies Ahead) x3
Fetal AI (Trace Amount) x3
Nisei MK II (Core) x3
False Lead (A Study In Static) x2

Asset (18)
Project Junebug (Core) x2
Ronin (Future Proof) x2
Snare! (Core) x3
Alix T4LB07 (Creation and Control) x2 (2 Influence)
Cerebral Overwriter (Creation and Control) x2 (4 Influence)
Jackson Howard (Opening Moves) x3 (3 Influence)
Private Contracts (Cyber Exodus) x2
Server Diagnostics (Creation and Control) x2

ICE (13)
Cell Portal (Core) x1
Chum (Core) x2
Himitsu-Bako (Opening Moves) x2
Neural Katana (Core) x2
Sensei (Trace Amount) x2
Wall of Thorns (Core) x1
Viktor 2.0 (Creation and Control) x1 (3 Influence)
Archer (Core) x1 (2 Influence)
Ice Wall (Core) x1 (1 Influence)

Operation (5)
Trick of Light (Trace Amount) x2
Hedge Fund (Core) x3

Upgrade (2)
Hokusai Grid (Humanity's Shadow) x2


There are a lot of tweaks you can make right out of the gate with this bad boy:

Encryption Protocol (Trace Amount) would be a great addition, making all your installed Assets and Upgrades stick around a lot longer.

Janus 1.0 (What Lies Ahead) could directly sub in for Viktor 2.0, since we're looking to have pretty full coffers.

You could decrease the advancable trap count, lose Trick of Light and Ice Wall, and put in a few more Assets, things like PAD Campaign (Core) or Marked Accounts (Cyber Exodus).

Go out, try the deck as presented, then maybe give a few of the above tweaks a spin, too. Afterwards, come on back and let us know what worked and what didn't so we can all work together to get this motor humming.

I guess Dr. Jenkins is right, you can make something positive out of your pain. Now, how to make a deck that channels the pain of my failed engagement...