| From: | "Abadia, Teos" <Teos.Abadia@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: [SR] Deck of the Week -- the "Anti-Everything" deck |
| Date: | Thu, 15 Jan 1998 11:31:35 -0500 |
very glad to see this e-mail, and I hope more people will send in decks.
Analyzing another's deck-building strategy can make you a much better
player and deck-builder.
> ----------
> From: Matb[SMTP:mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM]
>
> 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.
>
Okay, so is your logic is that you won't have to worry about what
challenges are in someone else's deck, while being able to stuff your
deck with a wide variety of challenges to target other deck types? If
you had normal objectives, you would have to worry about how applicable
your wide variety of challenges would be (astral barrier against a
non-mage deck would be useless), but because of your choice in
objectives, you can simply put any non-applicable challenge on one of
your objectives. This makes it a good tournament deck or deck to use
with a player you have never played against before.
> 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.
>
The only thing I would note (and I know you know this, but this may
benefit the wider audience) is that I have seen a distinct advantage in
building a deck that produces runners quickly and allows runners to run
often. Key to this is reducing how often you have to draw for cards
instead of taking nuyen. Iron Lung really helps, but proper deck
building is just as good. If you can count on almost any combination of
your cards being useful (such as all gear cards being usable by nearly
all runners), then you won't need to discard and you won't need to draw
a lot of cards, and you can instead take a card and nuyen each round and
hopefully be playing a card nearly every round. I like to play this
way, and a sure sign that my deck doesn't meet a new player's strategy
is when I discard, since I almost _never_ discard. So, I find it
interesting that your strategy includes discarding and drawing cards.
Doesn't that slow down the deck too much, particularly with expensive
runners? Does 1 Iron Lung card in the whole deck come up often enough?
Is it a key card, or a nice to have? I would almost think it has to be
a must have.
> 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.
>
Here's something I would like to see: small guy decks. I have managed
to build some pretty good tough guy decks, and this one is a good one
too. Have other people on the list built what they consider to be good
"small-guy" decks? How do they handle big-guy decks, and what cards
specifically are the equalizer? Or is it a general strategy of winning
by speed and numbers? Or by sleazing instead of fighting? Just curious
to see more decks and strategies. Another question: how do the list's
decks (including this one, Matb) shape up to multiplayer vs. one on one
games? Do you substitute some cards based on the number of opponents?
> 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.
>
A friend of mine plays a big guy deck with about three more rockers, and
it runs very quickly. Of course, it is vulnerable to Riots and Wanted
cards taking down his cash source, and a bad shuffle can make it very
slow or very weak. Nonetheless, it works very well. I do really like
your strategy of slowing down an opponent's game through Wanted and
Riots cards.
> Runners:
> Bam-Bam x2 (R)
>
Why 2 Bam Bams? Would another runner with Stamina be better? Scorpio
might do well, by adding guard and stamina at a price that is 2 cheaper.
Curious as to why you chose Bam Bam.
> 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
>
I like the choices, although I might try to choose two cheaper ones
somewhere in the lot. Two Scorpios (or even Cannonball) for a Bam Bam
and a Gore Tusk. Of course the armor is nice, but the stamina and not
being anti-social can make the difference. Why do you choose a second
Gore Tusk over another Stomper, for example? I guess you only have to
worry about Anti-social if you run on other objectives.
Another thought. Drake and Cannonball would give you demolitions, which
would be good for Cermak Blast and increase your cash flow.
> Gear:
> Katana x3
> Hand Razors x4
> (Stungloves would be nice, but aren't necessary)
>
The hand-razors make you vulnerable to Infected Chrome, but that's okay.
I'll submit my big-guy deck to you later to see what you think of my
very un-cyber big guy deck. Still, I would be interested in hearing more
about how your very two-track gear choice works. Do you find yourself
wanting a little variety, like a Harley or Doc Platinum (probably too
expensive, right?)?
> Contacts:
> Ganger Leader x1 -- Just enough to make it work.
Might be another reason to add another Stomper instead of a Gore Tusk or
Bam Bam.
> Mr Johnson x1
Do you really need this? I always wonder about Mr. Johnson. A cost of
six for its first use (3 to play, 3 to use). Add that to the guy you
chose (cost avg of around 6 for your deck) and you are paying something
like 12 to play someone (and 15 to play a Lord Torgo). Is it worth it?
You could have a False Mentor, Doc Platinum, Heavy Armor Full, or other
interesting card here instead.
> Mr Black x1
Is this worth it? Isn't hand razors gear-cyberware? If so, your Mr.
Black would only help for the three Katanas. Again, another card you
could replace, perhaps with another Iron Lung location.
> Locations:
> Iron Lung x1 -- Everyone's tough enough to go.
I might add another Iron Lung.
Z-Zone?
> Specials/Stingers:
> Cover Up x3
> Riots x3
> Rush Job x2
> Wanted x2 -- Essentially a Bar Fight with Rep.
Very lethal! I like the combination.
> Challenges:
> 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
>
You might swap Incubus for Booby Trap, as the random factor can slow the
opponent down more than loosing their most edxpendable runner.
I never have been that keen on Eyekiller, but I guess it does come in
handy if your opponent is heavily armored. How well has this card
worked for you? (Maybe I should try it)
> Total Cards: 63
>
>
> (It'd be
> nice to toss in a few Bulldog Vans, since then you can clear both your
> opponent's Objective and your own in the same turn!)
Possibly. Still, if your that strong your domination is probably in
hand or it is late in a close game.
> On occasion, I've found it worthwhile to replace the Riots with GAQS,
Cool. Always a multidimensional card. It can kill an entire team, or
save one of your best fighters.
> and add an Urban Brawl to the mix (two of each Objective). The Hive
> Objectives suffer - slightly - from being Awakened Challenges; between
> Sleeps and Stun Gloves, they can be avoided. Typically, however, most
> players pack their decks with GAQS, anyway, so Urban Brawl is usually
> a
> much harder Objective to pull off than Cleanse the Hive.
>
I disagree on Urban Brawl being tougher, even against mage decks. I
find that mage decks are still frightened by the final requirement, even
if they can get past the challenge spirits. Urban Brawl can be tougher
than cermak.
> Comments, criticisms, and flames welcome and appreciated.
>
Hope you and the rest of the list finds these interesting. I look
forward to your response. The list has been quiet of late, probably
because we have answered the bigger questions and are awaiting the new
release. This is a good time to talk about strategy and deck building,
so I encourage others to post decks! Look for mine some time soon.
Teos.
