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Spinal Modem



Spinal Modem

Spinal Modem


Type: Hardware: Console
Cost: 4
Faction: Runner Anarch
Faction Cost: 2
+1 [Memory Unit], 2 [Recurring Credits]
Use these credits to pay for using icebreakers.
Whenever there is a successful trace during a run, suffer 1 brain damage.
Limit one console per player.
Set: What Lies Ahead Number: 002 Quantity: 3
Illustrator: Gong Studios
Recent Decks Using This Card:
[Core 2.0] Anarch
Eating the Virus
Pre-paid Game Card
Want to build a deck using this card? Check out the Android: Netrunner deckbuilder!


12 Comments

Is there anyone who thinks this card is at all good? Even without the brain damage, it'd only be a so-so card. For that kind of insane drawback (brain damage is a big deal) it should either cost basically nothing or provide a really awesome game advantage. This card does neither. Does anyone know what the deal is? Is this some kind of typo that somehow made it to print?

The pity is, I love the flavor; that's a great concept for a piece of hardware, with a great drawback. It just needs to be on a card that would be broken without it.
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EmeraldGuardian
Dec 13 2012 06:55 PM
I was talking to a friend about this last night. I think it's basically cyberfeeder 2.0. Potentially you could be getting 5 recurring credits a turn with 3 cyberfeeders out. That's pretty insane, since you'll be able to get past a couple pieces of ice with no credits.

I don't think it's worth the drawback, but it isn't weaksauce. I think I could make a functioning deck around it, I'm just not sure I would want to.
I don't know. Compare it to the toolbox, and you get the same 2 credits for Icebreakers, you don't get and bonus link, but you still get 1 MU. At about half the cost, I think the drawback is fair. Traces and tags are supposed to be scary, and I feel like the lore makes that especially so for the Anarchs.
It's a pretty awesome replacement for the Toolbox in Shapers if you don't want to run modded. Get all your Rabbit Holes out and with The Helpful AI, you've got a link strength of five, which is tough for most Corp decks to beat, except NBN, and if you're running cheap MU ice, or just have a few memchips, you can simply not play it against NBN.
If you simply can't run a card against a specific faction I would say that means it isn't very good.
With those recurring credits you'll probably break most ICE anyway, and trace can be payed for. Cant wait to see how much this drawback really hurts. With 3x Rabbit hole for 3 influence and 6 credits even NBN will not like tracing you.
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EmeraldGuardian
Dec 25 2012 07:07 AM
Okay I thought pretty hard about making a deck with this, just to try it out. The problem is I just ended up comparing this console to desperado, and it just doesn't seem nearly as good. Why should I use these two recurring credits when I can get one for every successful run (which i can use on anything, not just breakers) and not have to worry about whether I get traced or not?

I want it to be useful, really I do. I just have a hard time justifying it every time i try to put it in a deck. If someone can make it seem better I am all ears.
    • talism likes this
I have used this console with Whizzard before and I think it is pretty strong. Recurring credits for ice-breaking are a major advantage. As to the disadvantage, if you get some decent icebreakers in play then you can usually break the trace subroutines anyway, so that no link is necessary. I think this is a pretty balanced card, and it has excellent flavour.
This card is pretty good versus Jinteki due to their stuff lacking trace. It's NBN and weyland you have to watch out for.
The whole idea is that with the recurring credits for breakers, you should be breaking everything -- not getting traced in the first place. It seems like a solid candidate for Shapers -- not because of the link from rabbit hole and the like, but because of their capacity to tutor/break everything they hit.
Having said that, there is still some definite risk involved -- e.g. the trace on a TMI isn't subject to icebreakers. If you're playing this correctly, I'm guessing you'll suffer <1 brain damage per game from it. Sure, you'll catch a bad beat with 3+ brain damage in some rare circumstance, but if you're playing this early and well, you'll see a return of 12+ credits, which is pretty huge.
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CommissarFeesh
Nov 22 2013 11:39 AM

The whole idea is that with the recurring credits for breakers, you should be breaking everything -- not getting traced in the first place. It seems like a solid candidate for Shapers -- not because of the link from rabbit hole and the like, but because of their capacity to tutor/break everything they hit.


If you're running this out of a credit denial deck, you should be able to keep the Corp poor enough to win those few traces you can't break as well. Whizzard can make some solid use of this (if you're not using Grimoire-fuled Viruses obviously). My own personal preference for Whizzard is less Viruses and more Vamp and Demo Run.

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