How it wins
- Turn 3 board: Jacked-In Voodoo Boy or Mox Inciters in play, one rival attacker held back by Chrome Reverie, and a Gig of yours brought down to 1 by Trust No One.
- You take over once removal starts landing. Unlikely Bond trades your cheap Unit for their spent one, while Maman Brigitte: Spirit of Death and Pyramid Song pick off the rest - 12 removal cards in all.
- Placide: Voodoo Sentinel and a Go Solo V: Corporate Exile take the late Gigs, and MT0D12 Flathead gets through any Blocker while your Street Cred stays under theirs.
Strengths
- Twelve cards remove or bottom-deck Units, and bottom-decked Units can't be recurred from the trash.
- Judy Álvarez: Braindance Maestro feeds the Program plan: each BRAINDANCE Program you cast gives a Unit +1 power, and her Spend turns the top card of your deck into a new card in hand whenever it is a Program.
- Mono-Blue has a price and a payoff: no non-Blue card can join the list, but the 6 Blue RAM from three Blue Legends means no Blue card is too heavy for it.
- Seven Blocker cards (Mox Inciters, Rita Wheeler: No Stupid Questions, Lizzy Wizzy: Delicate Weapon) cover the early turns.
Weaknesses
- Little in the list attacks well before turn 4: Jacked-In Voodoo Boy needs a Program the same turn, and Mox Inciters, Rita Wheeler and Lizzy Wizzy are there to block, so you take few Gigs while you set up.
- Against Gear decks your removal shrinks, because Maman Brigitte only targets unequipped Units.
- Unlikely Bond is at best an even trade - one of your ready Units goes with their spent one.
Key cards
- Dying Night: V's Pistol
- Turns V's attacks into 2 Eddies and keeps your Street Cred low by dropping a Gig by up to 2.
- MT0D12 Flathead
- The finisher that ignores Blockers once your Street Cred trails.
- Unlikely Bond
- Your cleanest removal: a cheap Jacked-In Voodoo Boy for their best spent Unit.
- Mox Inciters
- Creates the spent Unit Unlikely Bond needs, then blocks the attack it forced.
- Chrome Reverie
- Cast after Trust No One, it is a free Legend Call as well as a lock: the geared Unit that Maman Brigitte can't target sits out until your next turn.
- Alt Cunningham: Soulkiller Architect
- Doubles up on removal by replaying a Program from the trash (you pay its cost, then it is bottom-decked).
First turns
Keep: Keep a hand like Jacked-In Voodoo Boy, Trust No One, Chrome Reverie and Mox Inciters.
Mulligan: Mulligan a hand like Placide, Flathead, Maman Brigitte and Les Élémens with no 1-Eddie Program and no cheap Unit.
- Trust No One aimed at your own Gig lets Jacked-In Voodoo Boy attack and usually draws a card; Mox Inciters follows to force their best Unit into an attack you can block.
- Chrome Reverie and Unlikely Bond carry the middle turns, and from turn 5 Flathead and Maman Brigitte come down, with Placide and V saved for the end.
Common mistakes
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Mistake: You spend Judy as 1 Eddie to pay for a card.
Better: Pay with Eddies or a face-down Legend and use her own Spend each turn instead: with 18 Programs among your 42 cards, it hands you a card close to half the time.
-
Mistake: Pyramid Song is cast for -5 power alone while your d4 shows a 3 or 4.
Better: Cast Trust No One on the d4 first: it drops to 1 and draws a card, Pyramid Song then gets both modes, and a Unit with power 5 or less loses 5 and is bottom-decked at 0.
-
Mistake: NetWatch Netdriver goes on a Unit that only gets spent when it blocks.
Better: Equip it to Judy once she is face-up. Her Spend every turn then digs for one card and the Netdriver draws another.
-
Mistake: Unlikely Bond trades away Rita Wheeler for a spent 4-power Unit.
Better: Pay with a Jacked-In Voodoo Boy and aim at their biggest spent Unit, ideally one wearing Gear, so your 2-cost body takes their best card off the table.
Matchups
| Against | Result | How it plays |
|---|---|---|
| Embracing Power (Arasaka) | Even | Arasaka wants to win with geared Units that Maman Brigitte can't target, but it has no Quick cards and starts slower than true aggro. Chrome Reverie on the biggest attacker and Unlikely Bond on a spent one keep you level. |
| The Heist (Mercs) | Favourable | The Heist wants to chip Gigs with small Units. Pyramid Song bottom-decks power-0 Evelyn Parker: Scheming Siren or Secondhand Bombus, and only one side's Flathead can be unblockable - fight for the lower Street Cred. |
| Johnny / Panam / Viktor | Hard | They want to press from turn one with geared Units Maman Brigitte can't target. Mulligan for Mox Inciters and Chrome Reverie; Unlikely Bond still takes a spent Unit with all its Gear. |
| Kerry / River / V | Even | They want a Cyberpsychosis turn on their most-geared Unit - Chrome Reverie on it takes the sting out - and MaxTac Suppression Team stops V's Go Solo attack. |
| Smasher / Dum Dum / V | Hard | Maman Brigitte has no legal target among their geared Units, and their attacks start before your 3-cost removal is online, so the opening hand decides it: keep Mox Inciters, Rita Wheeler or Chrome Reverie. |
| Jackie / Johnny / V | Hard | They want Wraith Marauders chains before your removal arrives. Keep Mox Inciters and Rita Wheeler ready as Blockers to break them. |
| Hanako / Jackie / Judy | Hard | They want the same long game with more draw and three Les Élémens to your one, and Hanako's swaps can win the Street Cred race. Save Unlikely Bond for their Flathead or Placide. |