At first glance, I'd say this mirrors my first views of the dual-sidedness of Netrunner. In any given game of Netrunner, there are certain 'weapons' each side has to use against the other. There are also certain ways they can employ said 'weapons.' Maybe i should stop talking in general points and say it like i mean it.

The corp has many evil things they can do to a runner. Tagging, mean and evil ICE, Ambush, fastadvancement, and a plethora of other nasty surprises to be sprung whenever the runner is at their weakest (or the corp is at their strongest). A runner can never tell just what the corp is going to do until the game is begun (and more often than not, the runner can't even tell then).

The runner has some good tools too, different approaches: viruses, altered run styles (shredder protocol, LDL access, etc), among others, and the corp has no idea what's going to happen with that. Even the runner's choice of big breakers vs. small breakers has a significant impact on the game.

But there is one BIG difference here: the corp always knows one thing is going to happen. The runner is going to have to run. (Excepting those BP stacks i've seen so many lists of on the NR-L) And chances are, the runner will have to run a good deal before they hit enough agenda (or give enough BP) to win.

The corp has something of an advantage in this situation: the corp knows he has to have some protection of the forts. In ambush stacks, this means confusing the runner with numerous dataforts while having loads of ambushes in R&D (as unreliable, but fun, protection). In most other stacks, this means ICE.

On to the quote's pertinence: "One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him." The corp has many options, and no particular pattern forced upon them, giving them complete versatility. The runner, however, MUST run. (again, excepting those no-run BP stacks.) That leaves the runner with fewer options by comparison. Going back to the quote, we can see that the corp (one who has many) takes whatever actions they need to win, making the enemy prepare against that strategy during the game. This kind of preparation simply can't be well performed before the game starts. Conversely, the runner (one who has few) MUST prepare their deck to withstand all of these perils: tag (or damage, case depending) protection, capacity to break big ice, a way to deal with ambushes, and a way to defeat fast-advance. The runner has to be more flexible in gameplay while the corp is more flexible in deck construction. Failure to be flexible results in flatlineage or a swift loss.

Hm, maybe the next famous runner in Silent Impact should be called Darwin?

Just some thoughts.

Continuing the eternal search for the Truth,

Kaisharga