Tech Talk - Top Regional Decks

Tech Talk – Top Regionals Decks!

Spring is finally here with all that entails – blooming flowers, shagging bunnies, and REGIONALS! Tech Talk has decided to take a break from our laser-like focus and spread our wings a bit by giving you the inside track on a couple of decks that will not only surprise your opponents but will very likely make you the talk of your local tournament. A caveat before we begin: This is still Tech Talk, so we're going to be providing decks that are, well, a little outside the norm.

First up, we present our slam-bang Runner deck, which we call "Wrong Number, Wrong Number, No Habla English, *SLAM*, Do You Think They Knew It Was Me?"


Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Android: Netrunner Deck Builder

Identity:
Chaos Theory: Wunderkind (Cyber Exodus)

Total Cards: (40)

Event: (3)
Infiltration (Core) x3

Hardware: (7)
Plascrete Carapace (What Lies Ahead) x3
Rabbit Hole (Core) x1
Dyson Mem Chip (Trace Amount) x3

Program: (15)
Aurora (Core) x3 â– 
Disrupter (A Study in Static) x3 â– 
Force of Nature (A Study in Static) x3 â– 
Net Shield (Core) x3
Pipeline (Core) x3

Resource: (15)
Access to Globalsec (Core) x3
Data Dealer (Core) x3 â– â– 
Public Sympathy (Cyber Exodus) x3
Sacrificial Construct (Core) x3
The Helpful AI (What Lies Ahead) x3

Influence Values Totals -
Anarch: 6
Criminal: 9
Shaper: 16


As you can no doubt tell, this deck is all about avoiding those nasty Traces, the Tags they saddle you with, and the horrible burn-y death those Tags inevitably lead to. We start out by making use of the new hotness Chaos Theory and her 40 card minimum deck limit. In order to really take advantage of the lower number of cards in the deck, we pack three copies of our core cards (Disrupter, Dyson Memory Chip, The Helpful A.I., and Access to Globalsec) to maximize our chances of getting the cards we want. Except, you'll notice, for Rabbit Hole. Rabbit Hole is a trap, folks, suckering you in to running three copies when all you need is one – it only gives you +1 Link for two credits, after all.

We've chosen the Icebreaker suite based on the element of surprise. Why should the Corp have all the fun, right? When you drop Aurora, Force of Nature, and Pipeline, your opponent will be surprised, that's for sure.

Public Sympathy and Plascrete Carapace are in the deck to completely shut down Scorched Earth, if anyone is still playing that card, which we seriously doubt since Public Sympathy and Plascrete Carapace simply make Scorched Earth useless. Completely useless. If you aren't already using your Scorched Earths as coasters, tune in to the next Tech Talk for some handy tips...

Infiltration is our economic engine. You should never be using it to expose cards. That's a waste. Get the two credits every time. Seriously.

Oh, and since everyone is running Jinteki now, three copies of Net Shield are simply mandatory. It won't really slow you down against other Corps. We watched an OCTGN game where someone running three copies of Net Shield just KILLED an opponent running a non-Jinteki deck. As a side note, Tech Talk may miss the next couple weeks, depending on how long the Net Shield guy's trial goes and when we get called as eye witnesses.

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Now, let's take a look at our Corp deck. It's a 109-card NBN deck that we've christened "The 24-Hour Newscycle and Its Effect on the Public Discourse." It's a lot like Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom but less preachy and more funny.



Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Android: Netrunner Deck Builder

Identity:
NBN: Making News (Core)


Total Cards: (109)

Agenda: (21)
Priority Requisition (Core) x3
Private Security Force (Core) x3
AstroScript Pilot Program (Core) x3
Breaking News (Core) x3
Executive Retreat (Trace Amount) x3
False Lead (A Study in Static) x3
Restructured Datapool (What Lies Ahead) x3

Asset: (21)
Security Subcontract (Core) x3 â– 
Ghost Branch (Core) x3
Marked Accounts (Cyber Exodus) x3
Melange Mining Corp (Core) x3
Net Police (A Study in Static) x3
PAD Campaign (Core) x3
Private Contracts (Cyber Exodus) x3

ICE: (28)
Chimera (Cyber Exodus) x3
Data Raven (Core) x3
Draco (What Lies Ahead) x3
Enigma (Core) x3
Hunter (Core) x3
Matrix Analyzer (Core) x3
Pop-up Window (Cyber Exodus) x3
TMI (What Lies Ahead) x3
Uroboros (A Study in Static) x3
Wall of Static (Core) x1

Operation: (27)
Archived Memories (Core) x3 â– â– 
Aggressive Negotiation (Core) x3 â– 
Anonymous Tip (Core) x3
Big Brother (Trace Amount) x3
Closed Accounts (Core) x3
Freelancer (Trace Amount) x3
Hedge Fund (Core) x3
Psychographics (Core) x3
SEA Source (Core) x3

Upgrade: (12)
Research Station (Core) x3 â– 
ChiLo City Grid (Trace Amount) x3
Red Herrings (Core) x3
SanSan City Grid (Core) x3

Total Agenda Points: 45

Influence Values Totals -
Haas-Bioroid: 6
Jinteki: 0
NBN: 80
The Weyland Consortium: 9


This is a super-slow fast-advance deck, which, in terms of surprise and bluffing, will confuse the pants directly off your opponents. You will *eventually* score an Agenda very quickly... Once you draw the right cards, that is.

This deck was specifically built to combat that horribly broken Noise deck that is running around riding roughshod over every single meta out there. You know, the one that wins by, like, turn three, when they mill 15+ cards into Archives and blow through your ICE using Crypsis and the ton of credits they've accumulated in those three turns while installing all those Viruses? That one. This deck kills that deck. Totally.

Overall, you'll want to enter every game without any set strategy. Just do whatever you can with the cards you get. Three copies of Research Station (if/when you draw them) will let you keep hold of parts of combos while Aggressive Negotiations will let you find a needle in the haystack of awesome that is your deck once you finally score an Agenda, and Archived Memories will let you drag the game out just that little bit.

You'll notice that we didn't include Tollbooth or Archer. That's because only posers run Tollbooth nowadays (it's like ordering a PBR) and you don't want to throw away scored Agendas just to get a piece of ICE.

So there you have it, folks! Think about these decks as we enter the fine month of April and kick off Regional season and be prepared to be the talk of the tournament (and possibly the entire Internet)!