| From: | Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Deck of the Week No. 5: The Late-Comers |
| Date: | Sun, 22 Feb 1998 17:52:51 -0800 |
simple themes. The first is freebies: Any Runners or contacts who can
grab items from the deck for free has a shot at being in this deck.
(Almost - I want to make this a deck that works, too.)
The second, and the reason why I called it "The Late-Comers", is to use
Red Widow and Yamaha Rapiers to their full usage: Start a shadowrun with
the minimum number of Runners, and then add in the ones who will
increase the Bonus from my Objectives only at the very end. It's also a
good way to bring in skills I might need in a hurry.
Lastly, the deck works (more or less) as a decker/shaman deck.. kinda
sorta.
Runners (19)
* Gutter Rat
Hatchetman x2
Kraker-Jack x3
Macabre
Red Widow x3
Redline x3
Sam the Sleuth
Shade x3
Static
* Wheeler
Wishbone
Only three rares, which kind of surprises me :)
Pappy would be in here if I had any extras. Titan's in the same camp,
sadly. Wheeler is kind of an oddball, but he allows me to immediately
deploy a Yamaha Rapier -- yes, I'm not doing the usual
Wheeler/Yellowjacket combo -- which tunes the remaining cards in the
deck better and gets me up to speed quicker. Redline works well with
the Rapier as well; I might do the Ancients thing when Underworld is
released. Maybe.
There are a lot of Runners I'm skipping: The Mole, for instance,
although he leads to the very powerful Mole-Excalibur-Crash combo.
Grizzly and Shellshock, the Mercs, who really move the heavy gear.
Scatter, who is a shaman and gets them very cheap, didn't make the cut;
too high an upkeep, not to mention low stats and being anti-social.
Dirk Montgomery is a pretty funky choice; I've already built a deck
around him, however (DOTW-4, The Skinhead-Detective deck.)
Gear (14)
Elemental x3
Evaluate x2
Watcher Spirit x2
Yamaha Rapier x4
Harley Scorpion
Ranger-X x3
Not much to be said here. Evaluate's a beauty, as it lets me know
exactly what the Requirements of an Objective will be; no use going
charging after a run with minimum gain.
Contacts (3)
* Squatter
Troll Bouncer x2
Squatter's a pretty obvious choice, given how often I might end up
trashing Rapiers. The Troll Bouncer's just to make a little nuyen; he'd
probably be replaced with the vicious Shady Manager when Underworld
comes out. (Maybe there'll be an even better choice.)
Locations (2)
The Iron Lung x2
A no-brainer on the Iron Lung.
Specials (9)
Cover Up
Rampaging Mutant
* Just a Rumor
* Lofwyr's Schemes
* NERPS
Luck of the Irish x2
Moonlighting x2
Cover Up is really nice, if I can't meet an Objectives requirements.
The Mutant acts like a cross between Cover Up and Just a Rumor; once
again, if I can't tag an Objective, I'll try and delay having to deal
with it. Lofwyr's Schemes can be a lot of fun to play on an opponent,
and I might eventually be foreced (by Rush Job or circumstances) to
pursue a run I would otherwise shy away from. Who knows? Maybe there's
buried treasure.
Challenges (18)
Elite Security Guards
Feeding Ghouls x2
Halloweener Hell
Hellish Traffic
Hit and Run
Lone Star Patrol
Mafia Goons X2
Manticore
Razor Head Turf
Security Cameras X2
Security Consultant
Street Scum
Swarm of Drones
Voiceprint ID Scanner
Yak Attack
No real theme here; most of these Challenges have a sleaze requirement
of foo-2, so the alarm will probably be triggered at some point during
the shadowrun. Because I only have limited nuyen, I went with the
Halloweeners and the Yaks, who can be pumped up very quickly.
Objectives (7)
Assassination
Harlequin's Game x2
Fort Knocks
Gang War
Haunted High Rise
Tiki Head Enigma
I'm tempted to try something goofy with Courier Run: Assign the
"parcel" to Red Widow; remove her from the team via the Rapier; wait for
the team to make it through to the Objective and then use another Rapier
(or, if possible - Nets - her own ability) to bring her back in. The
same would go for Urban Brawl. It's a lot of bikes being trashed for
minimal gain, however.
You might notice Steal Wiz Softs is missing; it's not worth trashing a
bike to bring in a Decker when the bonus won't even cover the amount.
The High Rise and Tiki Head Enigma Objectives, however, need Shamans,
and Harlequin's is just plan evil -- and it's a Challenge I can make
sure I can always get to, as well.
Total Cards: 65/7; 185 Rep.
The Rapiers, as Skuzzy noted in a magazine article, can also be used to
sabotage another player's Run; I don't have any Cortex Bombs, and am
only beginning to collect Dr. Apoc's and Hellblasts, but it is an
interesting route to go.
Comments, criticisms, and cookie recipes welcome.
-Matt
------------------------------------
With nomads I am numbered. -- E. MacColl
SRTCG Website: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/2189/ccgtop.htm
