Tech Talk - TMI

Each week,Tech Talk takes a look at a single card, analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, and how to play (and play against) it. This week, we focus on NBN's new Barrier ICE, TMI.

DOCUMENTATION: Wall of Static. Ice Wall. Is there anything better than an early-game Barrier? The satisfying *thunk* of a Runner bouncing off the unyielding End the Run subroutine of a digital barricade? No. No, there isn't. Well, except maybe a turn two SEA Source/Scorched Earth. That's pretty sweet, too.

But Tech Talk digresses - like the first fragile blooms of Spring, those Barriers are only good for a short time. Soon, the Runner is blowing through them without slowing down and so you say goodbye to them like you did to that girl that lived two blocks over when the summer ended and you were returning to your private high school while she was going back to her friends at the local public school. But with fewer tears, probably.

Wouldn't it be great to "keep the romance alive" with one of those early game Barriers, to be able to "make it last," so to speak? Enter TMI, the early-game Barrier you'll want to bring home to meet Mom (and Dad will probably high-five you awkwardly when he gets a load of her Strength-to-Cost ratio). Getting a 5 Strength Barrier for 3 credits is insane, so, you ask, what's the catch? Well, the catch, friends, is that you have to lock that down as soon as possible. Commit. Poop or get off the pot, as my dear old grandma used to say. Rezzing TMI immediately initiates a Trace2, which, if it fails, derezzes TMI, losing you your 3 credits and leaving you cold and alone. It seems that the official ruling is going to say that you can try to rez TMI again after the Trace fails (if you have the credits) but isn't it better to just make sure you get it done the first time? TMI is an early-game ICE due to more than just her low cost - she needs to get into play before the Runner builds up too much Link strength.

INSTALLATION: Don't rez TMI unless you are 98+% sure that you'll win the Trace. If you don't draw TMI until the mid- or late-game and you're playing against a Shaper with all sorts of +Link, just shake your head sadly and move on. If you can win the Trace by spending 1-3 credits, you might want to consider it depending on what Barrier breaker the Runner is playing - Corroder and Battering Ram will both need to spend 4 to get through while Aurora, if thery're running it, needs 6 credits to break, meaning you'll still come out ahead even if you pay a few credits to boost the Trace. Be aware, Morningstar can break it for 1 credit, so if you can't win the Trace without spending credits, period (aside, of course, from your recurring credits if you're playing NBN), leave TMI in your hand and toss it later when you exceed your hand limit.

Also remember that both Accelerated Beta Test and Priority Requisition "rez" pieces of ICE, which means that even if you use the ability of one of those Agendas, you're still going to have to win the Trace in order to keep it rezzed.

IMPLEMENTATION: NBN doesn't just like TMI, it *needs* TMI and its End the Run subroutine. Luckily, NBN's "recurring credits for Traces" ability means you'll usually get it rezzed with a minimum of difficulty, even into the mid-game.

Weyland and HB both have the economy to brute force the Trace to success but they have stronger Barriers in-faction, so paying more than a total of 5 credits (the 3 credit rez cost plus bumping the Trace by 2) for TMI is inefficient. However, the one pip Influence cost could make this a viable replacement for Ice Wall in HB decks that splash one or two for their early game ICE.

Jinteki probably doesn't want TMI - it has much weirder, trickier things to do with its credits.

COUNTERMEASURES: As with most post-WLA decks, get some extra Link strength a.s.a.p. TMI is a prime reason to play Helpful AI. That little trench-coat-wearing so-and-so is a perfect foil, giving you a little Link boost to eat into TMI's cost-efficiency and then giving you a +2 Strength boost to your Barrier breaker once TMI is up and running.