Criminal Event: Run

Play cost: 0 – Influence cost: 4

Run HQ. If successful, take 1 tag and the Corp loses 3 credits. Gain 2 credits for each credit lost this way.

“In KK, we say ‘harimau mati karena belangnya’. It means don't tell the world how much money you have if you plan on keeping it.” —JokoR

4 stars

All joking aside, I think Transfer of Wealth is even better than the card it's nearprinting, Diversion of Funds. DooF is a 2 click 9 credit swing (net of 4 for you, and net of -5 for corp), while Transfer of Wealth is a 2-ish click 7 credit swing (net of 4-ish for you when factoring in tag removal, and net of -3 for corp) that also lets you access cards.

I don't know how else to put this, but Transfer of Wealth is removing a drawback people didn't even realize was a drawback. The whole point of these cards is that they're a replacement effect, but I guess we don't really need to think about that anymore.

I'm genuinely thinking that Criminal might be the faction to play in Eleva…

Jinteki Ice: Code Gate

Rez cost: 8 – Strength: 5 – Influence cost: 2

Sub: You may install 1 piece of ice from Archives, ignoring all costs.

Sub: You may rez 1 installed piece of ice, paying 2 credits less.

Sub: Resolve 1 subroutine on a rezzed sentry.

Sub: Resolve 1 subroutine on another rezzed code gate.

1 star

This ice is expensive, expensive enough that I don't think it'll see a lot of regular play. Vampyronassa is the code gate in faction to compare to, and Mycoweb can just genuinely be useless early. It's fine, it'll lead to funny Anemone flatlines from odd angles, and if you can get a Cloud Eater on the board, for the low low price of 18 credits, you too can do 3 net damage to a runner without a decoder. That's some value right there.

Honestly, Probably in the bin for me, but it'll be funny when it works.

Unique Jinteki Asset: Executive

Rez cost: 1 – Trash: 3 – Influence cost: 4

When your discard phase ends, place 1 power counter on this asset.

The first time each turn an agenda is scored or stolen, you may remove up to 2 hosted power counters. Do 1 net damage plus 1 net damage for each power counter removed this way.

“I make the best company.”

2 stars

Phat is PE at home as an asset. He'll see regular play in A Teia and Au Co. for sure. With a trash cost of 3, Phat is slightly above the curve when it comes to trash cost, but also isn't particularly scary until a turn or two has passed. Overall, Phat's fine, capably of generating flatlines out of odd angles, and otherwise a good way to hit runner tempo and be annoying.

Jinteki Identity: Division

Minimum Deck Size: 45 – Influence: 15

When your discard phase ends, if there are 3 or fewer cards in HQ, you may pay 1 credit to place 1 advancement counter on an unrezzed card you can advance. (You cannot score that card this turn.)

The Looming Future.

3 stars

This Identity on its own is fine, but with Sericulture, Jinteki's new 3/2, this identity becomes wild. Having the clickless advance means you can score a Sericulture without needing the 3 credits and install click for La Costa Grid. From there the single counter on Sericulture can let you score out a 5/3 with minimal support. I think any PT Untaian will automatically have 3 Sericultures, and the Identity won't see much play otherwise. Can we appreciate the art though? It's my new Jnet background.

HB ICE: Code Gate

Rez cost: 3 – Strength: 0 – Influence cost: 2

While this ice is the only piece of ice protecting this server, it gets +4 strength.

Sub: You may install 1 card from HQ. Sub: End the run.

“It is a fallacy that conscious observation can change reality. The consciousness of the observer isn’t required at all.” —The Encyclopedia Silica

4 stars

This card is genuinely good. In wide decks having an incredibly cheap 4 Strength code gate can serve as an effective check on the runner, with the only breaker in the current format breaking it for less than 3 credits being a Buzzsaw that's boosted with GameDragon or Leech. And honestly, I'm okay with the runner spending two clicks and 6 credits to trivially break my 3 credit ice. The subroutines are also solid, and for my wider decks, this works great as central defense in a way that's just annoying enough to dissuade the runner from certain runs.

Shaper Program: Icebreaker – Fracter

Install cost: 4 – Strength: 2 – Memory cost: 1 – Influence cost: 1

This program costs 1 credit less to install for each other installed icebreaker. (Programs trashed as part of installing this program don't count.)

Interface → 1 credit: Break 1 barrier subroutine.

2 credits: +2 strength.

On the shoulders of giants.

1 star

Rising Tide is a Shaper card that shapers need to pay influence for. With DZMZ and breakers installed, Principia is functionally a "click to sell to knickknack later" card. Will I ever use this thing to break ice? Almost never, but I see it in a few decks for the econ aspect, being sold later when I don't need duplicate breakers to boost Echelon's base strength or something. That said, don't use this for breaking ice in a faction that has Propeller. It's not worth it. You deserve better.

Shaper Program: Trojan

Install cost: 1 – Memory cost: 1 – Influence cost: 2

Install only on piece of ice.

Host ice gains barrier, code gate, and sentry.

"The Net operates almost as much on dream logic as it does digital logic. If you believe something to be true, it often is." —The Encyclopedia Silica

3 stars

Arissana got a new toy.

Let’s compare it to Pelangi. is this better than Pelangi? Yes. Pelangi’s once per turn requirement is not ideal, and Chromatophore wants to be slapped on a problematic ice and then you run that server over and over now that you’re free of the burden of having to actually deal with the ice.

Notably, it doesn’t work with Physarum Entangler, since Physarum depends on the ice being not a barrier, and not being a subtype other than a barrier. Speaking of which, it’d be nice to have an anti-Chromatophore, which removes all subtypes on host-ice.

Shaper Event

Play cost: 0 – Influence cost: 2

Draw 1 card for each click you have remaining.

Every day starts the same: tea, news, a threedee puzzle. Then it's off to work. Magdalene won't let being fired get in the way of completing her masterpiece.

3 stars

With Ritual replacing Diesel, fans of energy drinks everywhere must mourn. For we have lost the baseline Diesel, the only energy drink that can fuel our caffeine jittered runs is Blueberry Diesel. Unfortunately I hate blueberry flavored drinks, so the Diesel that'll course through my veins will be underwhelming in flavor. NSG wasted a perfect opportunity to print Ultra Guava Hype Diesel, or a variety of other phenomenal flavors, and that we instead are stuck with the same tea is a sheer disappoint to me as I grow older and realize my caffeine tolerance is tanking faster than the S&P 500. On a more serious note, Ritual is a fine Diesel replacement if you play it first click. Otherwise it's remarkably mediocre and not worth play…

Criminal Event: Run

Play cost: 2 – Influence cost: 2

Run any server. If successful, gain 6 credits.

“…one-hundred and twenty-seven rounds fired, and two police hoppers totaled. Miraculously, no officers were hurt, though the suspect remains at large.” —Abdul el-Sattar, KKN 6

3 stars

First I want to talk about the art, which fucking whips. The card looks cool, and I’m going to try my absolute hardest to get top 4 at a megacity tournament just so I can own a Clean Getaway playmat. It’ll be peak.

What about the card itself? It’s literally Dirty Laundry but in Blue with an additional influence cost if you want to play it outside of Blue. Given the additional influence, it’s probably not justifiable to run out of faction unless you want a run-based econ package. It does make sense why new Dirty Laundry was printed in Crim, since their whole econ suite is mostly run-based.

Will Clean Getaway be good? I mean yeah. It’ll be as good as Dirty Laundry was in Crim. It’s not exactly an excitin…

Criminal Hardware: Weapon

Install cost: 1 – Influence cost: 2

Whenever you make a successful run on HQ, you may trash this hardware to derez 1 installed Corp card.

“You think I’ve finished messing with you? Yeah, nah.” —Barry “Baz” Wong

2 stars

Probably a niche utility card? Derezzing an ice seems good, but I don’t think it’s worth a click, a credit, and a successful run on HQ. It’s one of those cards whose effect is terrible on its own, but gets upgraded to becoming merely okay once you have other cards to extract value from derezzing or rezzing ice.