Community Data Pack Review- Democracy and Dogma

The reviewers found that this is the best pack in the Mumbad Cycle so far, so that bodes well for the rest of the cycle.

Anyone who wishes to do reviews should have their reviews for Salsette Island done one week after it is released.

Just a reminder, submit your tournament decks and results to ACOO.net, in order to provide data for knowthemeta.com. Thanks!

Sorry about the delay on this one. Life got in the way.

Synopsis:
Councilman- 5.0
Political Operative- 4.7
Bailiff- 4.3
Bio-Ethics Association- 3.7
Reflection- 3.7
Sensie Actors Union-3.3
Spy Camera- 3.0
"Clones Are Not People"- 3.0
Nero Severn: Information Broker- 3.0
Mumbad City Hall- 3.0
Political Dealings- 3.0
Sadjoyota- 3.0
Pack Average- 3.0
Clone Suffrage Movement- 2.7
Voting Machine Intitiative- 2.5
Surat City Grid- 2.3
Commercial Bankers Group- 2.3
"Freedom Through Equality"- 2.3
Political Graffiti- 1.0
Akshara Sareen- 0.7


Political Graffiti


MightyToenail-1/5
I honestly don't know why they print cards like this. It most likely buys you one turn, and that is it. But often times it won't help at all, which makes it even more useless. A waste of deck space.

AdorablePython-1/5
Looks like total garbage to me. If the point is reached where this could prevent the corp from winning by points, a single purge is enough. Which means that it merely delays the inevitable loss by one turn... at best. (Cyberdex is a thing)

Valdemart-1/5
Seems like Anarch are getting the short end of the stick - their only card in this pack is one you may throw away and won't ever remember it. Being a Run event with an awful self-trash condition and minor inconvenience that will at best delay the Corp winning the game with one turn, it also features some really uninspired graffiti (apologies to the artist, the composition is good, but the overall feeling...).

Nero Severn


MightyToenail-2/5
At first glance he doesn't seem too powerful. Then you think about it, and it seems better. Then you realize, "instead of jacking out when I encounter the sentry, what if I ran Andromeda, and therefore had my sentry breaker down already?" I suppose a Snitch/Blackguard/Au Revoir deck could use him, but it is unlikely.

AdorablePython-4/5
The ability to facecheck into the most dangerous pieces of ICE, and remain unscathed, must not be underestimated. He synergizes with Mongoose, Reflection and Au Revoir.

Valdemart-3/5
Yet another smooth Criminal that favors aggressive early playstyle. His ability's downside is that most Sentries do not bite that hard early in the game - he evades Komainu and Architect though. His console Reflection works well with him, giving him easy access to Underworld Contacts, and he may also benefit from Enhanced Vision to guarantee the information keeps flowing.

Reflection


MightyToenail-4/5
The ability isn't that great, and is pretty narrow in scope. Okay, that is out of the way. Now let's talk Consoles. Every criminal console has problems. Blackguard is huge, Desperado costs influence in a faction that needs all of the influence they can get, Box-E is just lame, Doppelgänger is usually worthless, Logos is limited in scope, Forger doesn't do anything in most match ups outside of Geist. So why wouldn't you run what is essentially a Dyson Mem Chip for one cheaper? Pathetic how we have gotten here.

AdorablePython-3/5
A cheap console that is also one of the few which comes with a link. Obvious synergy with Nero Severn and Au Revoir.

Valdemart-3/5
Really cheap for the benefits it provides, this little console gives almost everything a self-respecting Criminal seeks - some cheap memory, easy link for UC activation and a little information every time things go hairy. Misses the 4 rating just because for a credit more you can get the all-time favourite console Desperado, so it is information vs. credits (hence Nero's flavour text).

Spy Camera


MightyToenail-3/5
The best Consumer grade hardware yet. Why? It doesn't cost anything, the click ability can be useful, but the trash ability is amazing. And being able to have six copies means that you can use the trash a little more often than you normally would. Yes, it is better in Geist, who needs to find his Tech Traders as quickly as possible, and gets to benefit from the trash, but it could also be useful in the future if some sort of Crimshop becomes popular.

AdorablePython-3/5
Synergizes with Eureka! and Oracle May. Aside from that, determining the order of your stack by up to 6 cards comes in handy when you're looking for a specific piece. Very criminal-like. The trash effect might save you from spending valuable time and credits, only to run into an operation (at best) or a Snare! (at worst).

Valdemart-3/5
The handy gadget is more easy to justify then the rest of the Consumer-grade cards revealed/spoiled so far, giving an always nice trash ability which Geist would enjoy so much. Some help from Mr. Li to see more of your cards in less clicks might prove to be a decent way to dig for whatever you are seeking.

Political Operative


MightyToenail-5/5
I hear talk about how this will kill glacier. And it would, if not for costing influence in the two factions that actually see play. After the MWL, most Anarchs and Shapers are low on influence, and often will neglect to include this and simply hope that the threat of potentially having it is enough, similar to Plascrete. Sea scorch died to Plascrete, so now you can get away without including it. It is probably going to be the same with Plop the Pol Op (the new official name for the card). Councilman, however, is a different story.

AdorablePython-4/5
Trash this Caprice over here, trash that Shell Corporation over there, ... or the Crisium Grid in the middle of an Account Siphon. Versatile people, those politicians! Also synergizes with Drive By. Either the asset/upgrade is unrezzed and can be destroyed by using Drive By, or the corp rezzes it to avoid Drive By, making it vulnerable to Political Operative.

Valdemart-5/5
Needless to say this and Drive By will wreak havoc on any server that is giving you trouble. That includes trashing Caprice, Jackson and all those unacceptable ads of half-naked humanoid bioroids the politics see as threat This guy is going to be huge, maybe even more than the Councilman, seeing that he is only 1 influence.

Sadyojata


MightyToenail-3/5
This card is an excellent affordable backup breaker to a Panchabread deck. Because Panchatantra can give subtypes, this program can break through the majority of nasty sentries easily p, as well as Weyland morph ice, illicit ice, and it wrecks Bioroids, cheaper than with Gingerbread. Outside of Panchabread, it probably won't see play.

AdorablePython-?/5
For the most part, bioroids and tracers are the ICE with the most subtypes. Obvious synergy with Panchatantra, which gives ICE more subtypes. I can't give a sophisticated review or rating of this card, as we have to see the other upcoming Devas to evaluate its power.

Valdemart-3/5
Can't give higher rating here due to lack of complete information about the deva programs, but even now this AI looks promising - excellent strength and credit boost ratio for Shaper. The only downside is the amount of subtypes required, but then again other devas might fix this. To be continued.

"Freedom Through Equality"


MightyToenail-2/5
This card is much worse than its Jinteki counterpart. Why? Because you don't know when you are going to hit an agenda most of the time, so there is often plenty of time for the corp to trash it.

AdorablePython-2/5
Sure, it stays a bit longer in play than Power to the People. But generally speaking, I don't like cards that have to be played prior to stealing an agenda to have an effect. You can't really plan to steal an agenda

Valdemart-3/5
Seeing that it is "almost" free to play this card is actually not that bad. You would include it for the same reason you are including GFI in a Corporation deck - to modify the agenda point distribution between both sides. The trouble here is that it might get trashed off by another current or plain scoring, which prevent it from being rated higher. It is still better than most other currents for the Runner

Akshara Sareen


MightyToenail-0/5
Umm. A card that helps the corp fast advance? That you can't trash? No thanks. The sad fact is that this card would have been better if it also said: "Trash: The corp loses click, if able". But it doesn't, so now we are stuck with it.

AdorablePython-1/5
Unplayable. The corp is now able to fast-advance (even more)? Why would anyone want this?

Valdemart-1/5
Generally this is a really bad idea - giving the Corporation the ability to score 2/3s from hand is a suicide. Akshara is not entirely doomed though - DLR decks might want to include one or two copies for the additional clicks. Otherwise stay away from her, as she is actually a Corp card under cover.

Councilman


MightyToenail-5/5
This is the big deal of the pack. A neutral, zero influence card that shuts down Ash and Caprice. Plus it can work on assets too, so you can shut down that Chairman Hiro in a Cybernetics deck, or Director Haas in a Haas FA deck. Not as good as old Plop the Pol Op, but for non-criminal decks, it definitely warrants at least a one of.

AdorablePython-5/5
It counters Ronin, Contract Killer, Marcus Batty, The Twins, Caprice Nisei, Reversed Accounts, Test Ground, Allele Repression, Exposé and many more. Especially against the first four cards it could be a lifesaver.

Valdemart-5/5
I have to admit that if you are not playing Criminal (and these days a certain more vicious faction is a fan favourite) the Councilman will do more work for you than the Political Operative. However they both do almost the same and running both is not a bad idea. They both shutdown game-winners like SanSan, Caprice, Ash, Jackson to name just the top few without costing you almost any tempo. Be sure you will see them a lot in the coming years.

Voting Machine Intitiative


MightyToenail-2/5
I'm not really sure what the thinking is here. I think I'd rather score a Project Wotan, or something like that, because losing a few clicks hardly seems worth it for a 5/3.

AdorablePython-3/5
Bioroids and Turing like fewer clicks. In pure bioroid decks I'd prefer Project Wotan over this, though. Depends on your deck, I suppose.

Valdemart-2.5/5
The rating should be more like 2.5 instead of three, maybe because it is a really strange card to evaluate. It is really similar to Project Wotan, but I would give the edge to the Initiative just because you can use it to set back the Runner even if he/she is not running. In combination with ELP it disables click breaking of bioroids. Wotan does the same, but generally only increases the cost to break with several credits. So, HB just got a reasonable 3/5 agenda.

Clone Suffrage Movement


MightyToenail-2/5
Ah, the first of the political assets. CSM (as it will henceforth be known) will probably only exist in janky CI shutdown decks, but it still has good potential.

AdorablePython-3/5
Coupled with Oaktown Grid it becomes a Hedge Fund recursion machine! Who doesn't like Hedge Funds?

Valdemart-3/5
The theme is strange in this one - HB supporting the clones as more human then bioroids must certainly affect their business. The asset is a decent one, especially in EtF - install, get a credit, Runner wastes click and 2 to trash, or it stays and you recycle Hedge Funds, Archive Memories and generally all those good cards for days.

Bio-Ethics Association


MightyToenail-4/5
This is probably the only playable political asset, because it has a universally applicable affect (unlike CSM), and it can be played in RP, making it a lot harder to get to.

AdorablePython-3/5
In some very horizontal (read: shell) decks it could be a nasty surprise for the runner if the corp suddenly rezzes some of those. I can also imagine them in Industrial Genomics, where the ID makes them a pain in the butt to trash and the runner now has a limited amount of time before he gets overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sustained net damage.

Valdemart-4/5
Amazing addition to Hostile infrastructure, just throw some in RP or IG and watch the Runner stroll around the table as if you just dropped a hedgehog in their pants, which you might just did. Requires some setup but with the Museum of History around it might be easier to achieve, and 2-3 net damage per turn would surely channel your opponent's attention and clicks into trashing asap.

Political Dealings


MightyToenail-3/5
I'm not sure what to think here. It looks like it has potential, but that low trash cost worries me. Of course, you could create a heavily fortified server for it (especially in Weyland) and then run only 3 advancement cost agendas, allowing for some fast advance fun, but it doesn't quite seem up to par. However, the best use for it is in an Industrial Genomics deck running heritage committee. When you use a Heritage Commitee, most good players will assume you put a Snare! or ice on top, but you could put Braintrust there instead, and then FA it next turn using Dealings.

AdorablePython-3/5
Pretty costly and its lifespan might be too short. If you manage to protect it for a while, though, you have an interesting fast-advance tool. 1/3: advance, advance, advance. 2/4: advance, advance, Trick of Light. 3/5: advance, Trick of Light, Trick of Light.

Valdemart-3/5
Currenlty lacks the tools to make it more viable, this Seedy asset is the foundation to Jinteki's fast advance. Personal Evolution might try a 14-15 agenda decks of small agendas with some Heritage Comittee and Precognition to create awesome mind games. Do note that you can install this in the scoring server alongside Cyberdex and fast advance in a naked remote so protecting it won't be that hard. If only Councilman and Political Operative weren't in the same pack.

"Clones Are Not People"


MightyToenail-4/5
This card is a lot easier to control, and is therefore a reliable way to get some points, as well as play some mind games. My life will not be complete until I play this card, then install a card in 3 ice server unadvanced, have the runner go after it, and then fall of the Edge of World. Plus, it provides more ways to earn points in the Station Lockdown jank deck.

Adorable-Python-3/5
Play "Clones are not People" and score Clone Retirement out of hand in your next turn. Repeat that twice to get 6 agenda points without ever having an agenda on the table. Quite powerful. Of course you can do this with Hostile Takeover/Breaking News/Domestic Sleepers, too. Though you have to have 9 spare influence.

Valdemart-2/5
"CANP" will rarely see play. There, I said it. The problem is that if you have a consistent way of scoring points, you would simply score some more, instead of paying 3 credits for a current that might get trashed. As Meadbeard mentioned in the forums it can be quite scary in Harmony Medtech though, where those Medical Breakthroughs might be brutal.

Sensie Actors Union


MightyToenail-2/5
Way to hide the agendas! In a horizontal deck, this could be good, but getting it to trigger is near impossible if you are playing as NBN, since the runner never wants to take any chances with that (the Union) being an Astroscript. Though the female actress looks like she is on drugs or something. She's got that funny look in the eye.

AdorablePython-4/5
It propably won't last for more than one turn. But that's okay, because even a single application makes for a powerful effect. Clickless power-draw and a card (most likely an agenda) buried.

Valdemart-4/5
This card is just a bit short of being absolutely awesome. Burst draw on demand and card ditching - sounds quite familiar, doesn't it? Still the trigger condition makes this card much harder to play than Lord Howard, but even if it triggers only once, it is well worth the investment. The only problem in front of the Political assets is that a certain soulless Magician likes to facecheck every last remote out there

Commercial Bankers Group


MightyToenail-3/5
This is truly a Gagarin card. While it is even more amazing in RP, it will always have a home in Gagarin Deep Space, because three trash cost! I'm still dreaming of an IG deck that combines all of the political cards.

AdorablePython-2/5
Out of all the Political assets, this seems to be the weakest, I think. Only very specific decks (Gagarin+Encryption Protocols, for example) can use it to their advantage, so it's not really versatile or anything.

Valdemart-2/5
Unlike the Actors Union you want the Bankers to trigger at least twice to be effective, which is less likely to happen. Sending those financial sharks Off the Grid might actually net you some profit before you use the server for agenda scoring. Otherwise there are other assets that will net you more for less.

Mumbad City Hall


MightyToenail-2/5
This is a card that can only get better, assuming Damon continues alliance in future cycles, just as Currents were continued. But for now, there aren't any good targets other than Mumba Temple.

AdorablePython-?/5
Can't really give a sophisticated review or rating, as we have to see more Alliance cards to evaluate its true potential.

Valdemart-4/5
You know what you can do with your turn if you hold one of these? Install it for 1, then search RnD for Mumba Temple and Museum and install them. That's right, those are Alliance cards as well. Although a bit specific this card allows you to play your game here and now, drawing those useful cards exactly when you want them. The rez/trash/influence cost is also a beast. The upcoming Ibrahim Salem is also an Alliance thug, so you have even more reasons to play this.

Bailiff


MightyToenail-5/5
Weyland is slowly getting a power creep, and I like it. Yes it dies to Parasite, but it is really poor play to Parasite a tiny ice, so I'll take forcing the Parasite. Pre-MWL though, this would have been horrible.
Edit: I playtested this extensively over the weekend on jinteki.net in my Titan Anarch-Hate deck that I've been working on, and it doesn't play anything like we expected. It essentially serves as a Meru Mati for RnD, meaning that they never run it. It locks down RnD for a few turns until they force a Parasite. And most Anarchs have so much recursion that forcing the parasite does little. However, against the one shaper deck I played, it was a lot more effective. They weren't really sure what to do when I rezzed it, so I kept them out of RnD long enough to score out enough to get my Atlastrain (using Atlas for Hostile Takeover) rolling for the win.

AdorablePython-5/5
I'm super excited for this. At first it's a runstopper and gearcheck. After the runner has installed his or her breaker, it becomes a Pop-up Window. One of the best Weyland cards I have seen in a long time!

Valdemart-3/5
Seeing this card makes me really, really sad. If only there was no such thing as Parasite, over and over, and over, this ice would have been amazing. But the reality is that people will try Bailiff, will regularly spend 1 more than Ice Wall to rez him just to get him trashed at instant speed or they will just bounce off. Pop-up actually creates a 2 credit difference in Corp's favour each time it is passed, here it breaks even the first time and nets only 1 afterwards. Great design in a bad meta.

Surat City Grid


MightyToenail-2/5
I guess it helps ice like Woodcutter, but I'm not seeing it fully. I don't think it provides enough economy to warrant the low trash and the two cost.

AdorablePython-2/5
I don't like this card. Aside from very specific scenarios, like 3 or 4 layers of NEXT ICE, Akitaro Watanabe is superior to this. The only reason I don't rate this 1/5 is because it might be a substitute for Akitaro in influence-starved Weyland decks.

Valdemart-3/5
Not giving higher score for Surat only because currently glacier seems too slow. Otherwise this region might be a beast - just couple with Akitaro and you have a server where each ice is rezzed for 4 less plus you may rez a card in a different server. Seeing that soon Magnet will hit us the ability to ditch Parasite not supported with Datasuckers is not to be underestimated.