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Runner Deck Types
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Clown Decks
Use cheap Icebreakers and then pump them up with multiple Clowns.
This method opens quickly, grinds to a dead stop as your Wild Card
becomes too expensive to use against their Mastiffs, and then
slowly gains momentum. By the end of the game, you can basically run at
will, without paying a bit, no matter how deep the Ice is.
In a Clown Deck, the lower-powered and cheaper-to-use Icebreakers
are the best choices: Wild Card, Shaka, Wizard's
Book, Codecracker, Jackhammer, Tinweasel,
Worm, Codeslinger.
To use all those Clowns requires extra memory, either in the
form of the Tycho, WuTech, and Zetatech Mem Chips, or
by using Daemons such as Imp and Afreet.
Stealth Decks
Use good, solid Icebreakers, and various "renewable" bit sources, namely
Invisibility, Vewy Vewy Quiet, and Cloak, to
continue to pay for them. This opens slowly, but proceeds at a
reasonable pace for most of the game. Near the end game, the Stealth sources
become insufficient to overpower multi-layered Ice, however. Another
disadvantage is that it is extremely difficult to make multiple runs in a turn.
You can afford to use the strongest Sentry and Code Gate breakers with this
deck, including Black Dahlia and Cyfermaster. However,
the strongest Wall breakers are all noisy, which negates the Stealth
bonuses, so the Wall breaker of choice is Dwarf.
The suite of Stealth programs and Icebreakers requires extra memory, again
from either Mem Chips or Daemons.
Evasion Decks
By using Shredder Uplink Protocol, Inside Job, and
Social Engineering (and a few others like LDL Access), it is possible to bypass
ICE entirely. These decks tend to concentrate more on avoiding negative effects
than penetrating ICE, so they tend to be very quick. However, there is
relatively little they can do once the Corp has layered ICE on thickly, so they
must win in the early game.
ICE Destruction
Instead of worrying about penetrating 15 levels of
ICE, just destroy the ICE as you go. Generally, this is VERY costly- all the
ICE Destruction (with the exception of Anonymous Tip, which isn't really
"destruction") costs approximately the same as the Corp had invested in the ICE
(ie: if it destroys 'rezzed ICE, you have to pay 'rez cost). However, combined
with piles of Restrictive Net Zoning, you can easily leave one critical fort
undefended for most of a game, despite the Corp's best efforts.
Tool Decks
"Make the tool fit the job"- play with a pile of
Icebreakers, each designed to be optimally efficient under certain
circumstances. What this means is, after you have placed each of your different
Icebreakers in play, you can make runs pretty cheaply, picking and choosing each
Icebreaker for optimal expense. This is somewhat counterintuitive to the "3
Icebreaker" (one for each type of ICE) crowd, but it does nicely sidestep the
need for Stealth and Clowns to penetrate deep layers of ICE. The other benefit
is that it's reasonably fast- generally you'll have SOME method of breaking any
given piece of ICE early on.
Requires memory upgrades.
The Bartmoss Memorial Deck
The Bartmoss Memorial Icebreaker can punch through anything, if you
are lucky. If not, have a Joan of Arc or two handy to martyr
themselves for the sake of continuing your run. A Junkyard BBS
will keep the Joans returning to play for you, and can also be
used to retrieve the Bartmoss Memorial Icebreaker if things go
badly wrong.
Blink Deck
This kind of deck is built around Blink, using Force Shields and "Green
Knight" Surge Buffers to soak up the bad rolls. It uses Dropp for when
the shields start to get overloaded, and Clowns or Social Engineering to
sail past unbeatable ice, like Liche or Wall of Ice.
(Thanks to Jared Goodwin for this description.)
Virus Deck
Details to appear soon.
Too Many Secrets
Details to appear soon.
Icebreakerless
Details to appear soon.
Bit-Denial
Details to appear soon.
Organ Recycler
Details to appear soon.
Credits
Thanks to Leonard Blado (BLADOLE@HSDWL.UTC.COM) for compiling the first
list of five Runner deck types (the first five in this document).
Created on: August 1, 1998
Last updated on: August 1, 1998 |
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