| From: | Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | [SR] Deck of the Week -- the "Anti-Everything" deck |
| Date: | Fri, 9 Jan 1998 13:09:56 -0800 |
rec.games.trading-cards.misc.]
On the request of a friend, I'm going to post several decks I've created
for the Shadowrun Trading Game.
Traditionally, most CCGs have several "themes" running in them, for
which counter-cards are created. The easiest example is Magic: the
Gathering, with its various colors. As a long-term player will know,
when you direct your efforts to shutting down one particular color, you
sacrifice an ability to act against the other four colors. A Circle of
Protection, for example, only works against one color; a Red CoP against
a Black and Blue "bruiser" deck is just taking up space (and mana). So,
most often, these stopper cards are left to the sideboards and the more
theme-oriented, rather than competitive, decks.
SRTCG offers an interesting way to scoot around this particular
paradigm.
Most means for hammering a particular deck "type" -- one that relies on
lots of Spirits for the Shamans, for example -- appear in the Challenges
(such as Anti-Astral Barrier, which can swat down Spirits by the horde).
There are three Objectives in the First Run which take these directed
Challenges and turn them into "generic" Challenges -- Cermak Blast and
Cleanse the Hive, which create some bad-ass Insect Spirits; and Urban
Brawl, which pits your Runners up against a bunch of.. well, urban
brawlers.
So, we can stuff our deck to the gills with the Challenges that really
aim hard at particular deck types. Since, in the Shadowrun cardgame a
player can trash as many cards as he wants and fill it up to seven on
his next turn, you can certainly come across the card you need, when you
need it. We can improve the number of cards we draw with the Iron Lung,
and (better yet) draw out the Runners and Gear we need with Mr. Johnson
and Mr. Black -- leaving us with just the Challenges.
Since our three Objectives rely on tough-buff Runners to get through
them, the rest of the deck is fairly easy -- it's a basic Big Tough Guy
deck that Mike "Skuzzy" Nielsen, the game's designer, has mentioned in
various CCG magazines like Inquest.
The deck does have its flaws. The Big Tough Guys decks are s-l-o-w. We
can try and counter this with Cover Ups and Bar Fights (or Wanteds), to
prevent our opponents from going on runs until we're ready to get in the
game too. The other, more important flaw is that this can easily become
a Mr. Suitcase-style deck: so many of the killer cards are rares
(Anti-Astral Barrier, Security Decker and the Security Rigger among
them). I've tried to use as many uncommons as possible, but some rares
are almost essential.
The actual breakdown of the deck is:
Runners:
Bam-Bam x2 (R)
Kromagnus x3 -- Need the money.
Lord Torgo x1 (R) -- One of the best "anti" cards.
Gore Tusk x2
Skwraawk x2 (R)
Stiletto x3
Stomper x3
Thrash x3
Gear:
Katana x3
Hand Razors x4
(Stungloves would be nice, but aren't necessary)
Contacts:
Ganger Leader x1 -- Just enough to make it work.
Mr Johnson x1
Mr Black x1
Locations:
Iron Lung x1 -- Everyone's tough enough to go.
Specials/Stingers:
Cover Up x3
Riots x3
Rush Job x2
Wanted x2 -- Essentially a Bar Fight with Rep.
Objectives:
Anti-Astral Barrier x2 (R)
Booby Trap x2
Corpelight x2
Eyekiller x2
Heavy Sentry Gun x2 (R)
Runners on Retainer x2 (R)
Security Decker x2 (R)
Security Rigger x2 (R)
Security Cameras x3
Toxic Spirit x2
Total Cards: 63
Comments, criticisms, and flames welcome and appreciated.
-Matt
------------------------------------
With nomads I am numbered. -- E. MacColl
SRTCG Website: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/2189/ccgtop.htm
