Interview with AugustusCaesar

Competitive Player Interview #1

As promised, we have some bonus content today since I will be taking a couple of weeks off from thinking/writing about ANR to actually playing more ANR (and maybe like going outside and “touching grass” or whatever).

(And by the way, I had fun doing this, so you can expect more “Competitive Player Interviews” in the future, when I’m too lazy to generate content on my own.)

If you’ve been paying attention to the competitive scene over the past year, you may have noticed some new names consistently coming up at the top of the standings. When a relatively new player rapidly and consistently starts putting up results, it’s good to pay attention and figure out what they’re doing right. I sat down with AugustusCaesar to try and figure out how someone is decidedly awesome at Netrunner after only a year of playing!

[NOTE: the following interview has been mildly edited for readability. Bolded emphasis is also the author’s to highlight notable responses.]

---

Rapanui (RN): You're starting to become a bit of a household name among ANR aficionados! What basic information would you like people to know about you? Tell us about your team, the TAI breakers.

AugustusCaesar (AC): I am a mostly online grinder that can’t get enough Netrunner gaming. I founded TAI Breakers with fellow like-minded grinders at the start of The Automata Initiative meta, which has become immortalized in our name. Our most recent flashy contribution is bringing a refined World Tree list to Americas Continentals.

RN: Quick follow-up: participation has been mostly online, yes?

AC: Indeed, I have missed only a handful of AMTs, but I do travel to big in-person tournaments when I can.

RN: What got you interested in Netrunner?

AC: I was aware of its existence in the old days from when my high school friends had brought it to board games club but never played it myself. When I stumbled on an internet video on the story of NSG’s revival of the game, I was immediately taken with the story and was hooked after a couple of games on jnet. (This was around Jan 2023 that I started playing).

RN: Do you have favorite factions/identities/cards?

AC: The first corp deck that really clicked for me was Loki Ag, so Aginfusion has always been my favorite ID. I also love Bankhar on the runner side. There are constant jokes on the team chats about how aggressive I play, being very happy to take 4 net from an Anansi regardless of what faction I’m playing, and Bankhar turning all ice into Anansis I can run my face into is great for my style.

RN: Do you have a formalized way of testing decks, or do you just play what "seems good"? Do you do a lot of deckbuilding, and if you do, is it a cooperative exercise or more of a solo effort?

AC: My personal testing style focuses on getting a lot of games of a deck, even if those are against Jnet randoms. I try to evaluate from that the impact of specific cards and combos, though without much structural rigor, which is something I’d like to get better at. In terms of deckbuilding, I have found I am much better at taking shell ideas from others and refining/adapting them (see the Punitive Ag which is an edited version of Sebastiank’s original RH), and I try to use this ability to help others refine decks as they come up with them internally. Though I also enjoy crafting my own ideas where possible, just with less competitive success so far.

RN: I've been playing for 8+ years and I still don't do my own deckbuilding. It's a tough gig. What event has been the most fun for you thus far?

AC: UK Nationals 2023 was incredibly memorable; the atmosphere in Sheffield was something else, with everyone getting together for food and games after the event. And the side events on day 2 were incredibly wonderful (still very sad I didn’t get to play Classique¹ as a result of making the cut). Honorable mention to Worlds 2023, which was similarly amazing in atmosphere but also has the baggage for me of being the tournament that taught me a hard lesson about tilting from bad luck. Getting to break Eternal in the team tournament was an amazing experience (even if I didn’t break it as much as Infinite Credits Wu).

RN: Let's play Overrated/Underrated². You're also allowed to say "correctly rated" or "pass". You can elaborate, but often it's more fun not to. Ready?

AC: Ready.

RN: Punitive Forks.

AC: Underrated.

RN: Caffeine.

AC: Overrated.

RN: Hoshiko.

AC: Correctly Rated.

RN: World Tree.

AC: Underrated, obviously.

RN: Hah, yeah that tracks. Playing What You Know.

AC: Very Underrated

RN: American Style Mac and Cheese

AC: Overrated if you’re lactose intolerant like me.

RN: Running Last Click.

AC: Underrated, they never have the punish.

RN: LMAO, not in my experience³. Install Advance Advance.

AC: Overrated.

RN: Rashida.

AC: Underrated. People seriously cut her; what are they thinking?

RN: The Star Wars franchise.

AC: Slightly overrated.

RN: And last but not least - Maw.

AC: Underrated. My first competitive epiphany as a runner was realizing how busted it was.⁴

RN: Almost done, hope you've had a bit of fun! If you could remove a card or concept entirely from Netrunner (or bring one back, possibly in a different form), what would it be?

AC: Is "#UnbanMti" enough of a response? I also wish to play with a fixed Crowdfunding since I missed that era of Netrunner, which sounds like a blast.

RN: That’s certainly a hot take! Lastly- do you want to shout anyone out in this interview? Go for it!

AC: I need to shout out all of the TAI Breakers, particularly the OGs Jai, Haveroffun, and Profwacko for embarking on the journey with me. But also everyone else in the team, all of which have helped me massively to improve so much at this lovely game. Instead of naming them all as we are now, since there are a lot of us, I’ll shoutout Kikai who is compiling a lot of info on current testing team info, including rosters (though that compilation isn’t out at the time I’m answering this yet).

AC: Oh, also I’d like to add Jan Tuno to this for being an awesome rival. It has got me twice since I stole It Nationals, but I’ll definitely get It in person at EMEA.

RN: Awesome! Hey, thanks so much once again for your time.

AC: Thanks so much for reaching out, I am enjoying the expansion on info about the Netrunner scene.

RN: Right on! See you on Jnet etc. Cheers!

AC: See ya around the nets!

1. Editorial note- this refers to the Ciara Maxey Memorial Classique side event, run to commemorate a player and raise funds for Mermaids UK.

2. The author (nor, presumably, the interviewee) are here to “yuck your yum”. If you think something is awesome and we disagree, just take it for what it is: an opinion. It’s fun to have opinions on things.

3. They also always have Above the Law when I have 1 or 2 counters on Environmental Testing. Not that I’m bitter.

4. There’s a fun historical note here, because the author remembers when playing Maw was considered kind of bad due to the tempo hit on Runner econ that 6 credits represented. I think it’s probably good that Maw is not just playable, but a worthwhile 6 credit investment.