Silver

Worlds Cut Game Analysis and PAX Unplugged East Coast Champs report

As promised, we begin with Worlds 2024 Top Cut game synopsis and commentary. I finally got around to watching it all, and I have typed up impressions for people who don’t have the time. YouTube link here:

Worlds 2024 Top Cut Game Observations

R1- Jan Tuno (Esa) vs. Jai (Asa)

Early game Jan Tuno focuses on setting up (a default posture for an Esa deck) which lets Jai fire multiple Rashidas and make money via assets. Jai’s plays are all operating under the threat/constraint of Bankhar on HQ’s single ice. On one turn Jai performs 5 installs, which is a common move out of Asa: install, asa trigger install, rez Wage Workers, install, install, bonus click, install. This pseudo-5 click turn creates a ton of pressure for the runner and it’s why I would never cut Wage Workers from an Asa deck. This is followed by a 3 point steal from Archives to capitalize on multiple Sabotage triggers that have occurred. Ablative fire to reinstall Rashida and get Asa trigger. Be careful with overwrites to avoid game losses or penalties, Jai almost had that happen mid-game. Because Esa isn’t effective at trashing, Asa is able to get full value from Fully Ops. Lucky Luminal off the top for Tuno creates a large mid-game lead (5-0). Offworld -> PtB trigger, swings tempo massively. Time crunch made the end of the game confusing, but Jai conceded after only being to get to 3 clicks after install Spin Doctor, Fully Op, double Biotic Labor (unable to score Ikawah in remote for full win, unable to score Vitruvius in hand for attempt at timed win).

R2 - Ruben Pieters (AgInfusion) vs. Santa (Freedom)

Mostly an access lottery game, could have gone either way as Pieters still had a Nisei Mk2 counter available for the endgame push, but I think the percentages favored Santa overall near the end.

R3 – Nykride (Sable) vs The King (AgInfusion)

This is one of the most polarized matchups in the format. Sable’s run-based econ (Bankroll, Info Bounty, Bravado) is just a huge liability when the opposing deck’s plan is simply to make you encounter Spider, Snake, Saisentan or Bran over and over again. I think to win this, you have to slam Hermes early, get a lucky random early access, and build up a ton of Twinning counters so you can go ham on centrals in the midgame and never let it get to the late game. While Hermes came down reasonably early, none of the rest happened and Brandon made no unforced errors.

R4 – Sokka/William (Lat) vs. Tzeentchling (Asa)

This game is Netrunner at its best, which means its gaming at its best.
If there’s a cut game to watch carefully, it’s this one.

- Asa opens on Greasing the Palm (forgetting to net 2 credits, presumably due to tournament fatigue or Sokka’s AT Field ) + Asa trigger, 2 more installs and click for a credit.

- Sokka follows up with a power-opening of his own, dropping SMC and immediately pushing the I Like to Win button (Trick Shot) . No rez of the ice on R&D prompts an SMC search for Turbine, worth remembering that this might be an optimal early play because it helps contest early and midgame Gatekeepers.

- Paricia, a key card in the matchup, joins the party after Tzeentchling starts ticking up an MCA, but the MCA is kept safe by Tatu Bola.

- Tzeentchling scores a Vitruvius with 2 counters. Each Vitruvius counter is a free, instant speed Archived Memories. You should almost always try and get at least 1 off your first agenda score if possible, but 2 is fantastic and definitely tilts the game in Tzeentchling’s favor. Sokka uses this moment to trade his massive credit lead to bleed as much tempo from an already-stalled Corp by trashing econ assets. This is double-incentivized by the fact that emptying servers makes Fully Op less effective. Nonetheless Tzeentchling keeps Wage Workers behind unrezzed ICE which Sokka is unwilling to contest and WW can regain tempo extremely quickly. Tzeentchling reloads his remotes and fires a Fully Op for 2 cards and 6 creds to start regaining tempo. The ability for Vitruvius to bring back the Fully Op threatens to take over this game.

- Pinhole kills WW. Tzeentchling takes it to 4-0. Revolver overwrites Paricia- Sokka signals that at this junction in the matchup, having a full breaker suite to contest is far more important to him than asset control. Tzeentchling scores out a Luminal, taking it to 6-0 and creating 3 clicks out of thin air. With 2 Vitruvius counters, this puts him in a commanding position.

- Sokka then does what I consider to be the key move of the game after a resolved Trick Shot (Ikawah steal, 6-3) which is to run archives, partly to keep Tzeentchling honest, but also put Audacity on Cupellation. This shuts off a score-a-2/3-from-hand play which Sokka would otherwise be cold to since his deck does not slot Clot. Scoring on the table is very, very difficult against a fully set up shaper sitting on 18 credits when you’ve gone wide. No server is taxing, all installs can be checked- so although the game is 6-0 here, the Corp’s position is actually unenviable. Try to figure out a line that can win the game for Tzeentchling from this position assuming Sokka always checks face-downs in remotes; it’s a good exercise (Andrej discusses one possibility immediately on stream).

- When faced with a Gatekeeper and requiring a Simulchip reinstall, Sokka nukes his Turbine after dealing with the Gatekeeper to recycle Propeller. Again, this is instructive in re-evaluting the importance of one’s board as the game goes forward. Many players would be reluctant to nuke the Turbine and might instead choose the Cupellation, but the Cupellation is a lock piece which cuts off an avenue for the corporation to steal the win as soon as they draw a 3/2.

- Tzeentchling makes a timing error, failing to recognize that he needs to rez Spin Doctor at the same time as Manegarm. This allows Sokka to trash it and go fetch the overwritten agenda from the bin. I think there’s a universe where a takeback is allowed, but that universe is not the cut tables at Worlds. I wouldn’t blame someone for not allowing a takeback here (I wouldn’t have), information has been gained (commitment to breach) even if its largely immaterial in this particular situation. I file this type of thing as “Magic the Gathering residual heuristic timing error” since instant speed abilities can be triggered whenever you want in Magic¹ (at least that’s why I screw up timing windows). An Ablative trigger from Archives (!!!) allows Tzeentchling to do the Spin Doctor thing anyways.

- On Sokka’s next turn he does decide inevitability is starting to tilt against him and opts to nuke the Cupellation to rummage Tzeentchling’s hand, probably because Tzeentchling is now credit-deprived. So even Audacity can’t win the game for him before a Deep Dive finisher. The game is not finished with a Deep Dive however, but with a Just Touch the Agenda two runs on HQ heads-up move. I highly recommend everyone watch this game as an example of extremely high level play under time duress and how both players expertly try and setup to the endgame they want. This could have easily gone differently. Absolutely S-tier resource management by Sokka/William here and excellent overall strategic management by Tzeentchling.

R5- Sokka (Lat) vs. Santa (AgInfusion)

Early pinhole check for Charlotte/Rashida hits Offworld Office. These early incorrect calls feel bad on the runner side, but they’re often the right play, percentagewise. Its worth noting that early Agenda pushes vs. Lat or Arissana can be massively punished, so this was definitely Santa betting on no SMC. Sokka chooses Sable for DJ Fenris- it’s difficult to land a Deep Dive vs. AgInfusion, and any extra clicks can help.

The game “actually” begins at 5:42:00 - Shaper Efficiency vs. Glacier’s Icy Grip.

3 Simulchip + DJ Fenris[Sable] means its going to very difficult to tax the shaper out, but my guess is that Santa was going to try and force Sokka to nuke all three Simulchips so that he can maneuver into a lock. Unfortunately, Santa forgets a Sable click on a key turn and burns his remote trying to protect a Nisei Mk2 with 1 advancement, which probably drops his game win odds from 70% on the Nisei Mk2 score to something like 5%. Santa opts (as one does…) to use the tournament floor rules to his advantage and get a time win on a 2-2 score through his higher seed. I have no problem with this. The fact is that Netrunner games run a bit too long for the commonly allotted time and this type of thing is OFTEN a consideration in a player’s mind (see East Coast Champs Synopsis below), and if this nudges the printing of some brutal endgame wincons for both sides, I’m there for it. I hate grinds. Games should end. Say all you will about the evils of Dyper or Railgun or Reeducation/Djupstad… games end on time.

This is a reality of playing games. Tournaments do not take place in a Platonic timeless void. People have lives to live and stuff to do. Knowing and understanding the meta-rules and how they can benefit you is fine. Santa was playing quickly but trying to create a game state that could not be contested in the physical time left for the tournament round. If we want less of this, then we want powerful wincons that can end games from positions of dominance. That creates a different type of dissatisfaction because then there are fewer “clawback” games. Pick your poison!

[EDIT: THIS WAS NOT INTENDED TO “CALL OUT” ANYONE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THE ABOVE COMMENTS IN YOUTUBE ARE TOTALLY VALID!!! I JUST HAPPEN TO DISAGREE W/R/T THE BALANCE OF ENDING GAMES VS LETTING THEM RUN LONG- APOLOGIES!]

R6 – Sokka (BtL) vs. DeeR (Lat)

Yoink!

(richard_garfield.jpg)

R7 Finals – DeeR (PE) vs. Aruzan (Lat)

PE making it to the finals of Worlds (for the first time since Mihn Tran in 2014, see: https://www.acoo.net/deck/5101/worlds-championship-2014-2nd-minh-tran-personal-evolution/) was somewhat of a personal vindication. I’ve complained about PE a lot in the past, but given its very uneven tournament result history, mostly I always just blamed myself for not Gittin’ Gud enough to understand how to play against it properly. The truth is that the ID was always good AND I was always scrubby playing against it. One thing Aruzan has in his favor going into this game is an open decklist. PE lists can vary from “entirely geared to flatlining you” to “I’m just going to score out once you are decked” and the specific traps and card choices can greatly affect the correct play pattern.

A few things I’ve learned over the years:

1. Forced multiaccess (Conduit) bad. No shit Sherlock.

2. Selective multiaccess (Stargate, Deep Dive) good.

3. Installrunner bad. (But see #7)

4. Ending turn with full grip good.

5. Checking remotes: do it, but never last click. Clear that Snare! tag (very easy to forget).

6. If something is being advanced, make a decision about whether you’re going to run it ever, and then stick to that decision. Don’t let them mind-game you with advances.

7. Don’t run with an installable card in grip that you need. Installrunner is permissible with Killers and Decoders and Buffer Drives.

Some notes:

- Aruzan does not take the first opportunity to Burner. This is a premium card in this matchup since it lets you sculpt/set-back without accessing. Best to let some agendas and traps build up in HQ first, even if it means HQ gets iced.

- DeeR gets the score to 4-1 off a Regenesis → Fujii play fairly early.

- Pichação Deep Dive offers Aruzan 4 points with lethal net damage, but because Deep Dive is a good great excellent card, Aruzan opts to just even the score to 4-4 with a Fujii steal, then draws up.

- DeeR scores a House of Knives and sets up a Holo Man remote.

- Aruzan runs the remote on his last click (see rule 5 above) which is definitely a risky move, but if that’s a 3-pointer, it’s GG- and Rashida and HoK #2 would be huge trouble. Note that he was overdrawn when he did this so that a HoK counter + Snare! was not a game loss. It ends up being a Cohort Guidance Program, and Aruzan trashes it and the Holo Man. This is probably one of those unintuitive moves that distinguishes people who are able to make top cut at Worlds. If Aruzan doesn’t run last click here, I think this game ends with a DeeR win.

- DJ Fenris for Quetzal is another corner case non-Steve use. Basically, you’re paying 3 for a Fracter that has infinite strength but can only be used once per turn. Making this choice is easier when you have open decklists and know that it has to be exactly one of two Data Loops as the innermost ice on R&D to punish this.

- The last few turns of this game are extremely tight / intense Netrunner. It boiled down to access lottery as Aruzan was very credit depleted and wasn’t going to be able to contest the remote consistently. Watch the video at 1.75x speed though, because the final game is untimed they play at a glacial pace.

Netrunner at PAX Unplugged

[Skip Time Forward 2 Months]

Netrunner was popular at PAX Unplugged. When every other vendor at this place is trying to get you hooked on a Skinner Box, it’s nice when you come across a group doing things differently, consistently year-after-year and creating a dedicated following (shout out to Pine Box Entertainment who are trying to do something very similar with the 7^th Sea and Doomtown CCGs).

I was informed that at one point on Friday there were over 50 people learning the game. When I say Dawn might be an inflection point for an exponential takeoff, I’m not joking. It’s not just up to NSG to make it happen. It’s on the whole community. Advocate. Teach. Promote. Be excited about our little game. Don’t just show people the rules, teach them the tricks and key cards so they don’t come to a meetup to feel like they’re just getting “pub stomped”. Anyhow, I woke up at 5AM on Saturday and took the train to Philly to go play in the East Coast Champs. Shout out to NotAgain for running and judging the event. We got 11 people, which is a bit low, but this one was mainly for bragging rights and taking our FFG cards for one last spin.

East Coast Champs Tournament Synopsis

I took Student Council Sportsmetal as my Corp because I felt like it.

I took Aruzan’s Arissana Worlds List as my Runner because I want more Arissana reps going forward.

Round 1 vs. [REDACTED] (Hoshiko)

[REDACTED]

0-1

Round 2 vs. John (Asa)

John was coming back to the game after a long hiatus, but still managed to get to a 5-3 advantage right as time was getting tight. I was able to snag 3 points and hold the lead just at the nick of time.

1-1

Round 3 vs. Biebeljuice3x (Ob)

Grinder deck that seeks to kill with Urban Renewal. It basically boiled down to a lucky 3 point steal and not dying until time was called. I’m not sure I could have won this one with full time, as my plan A was Deep Dive and it was going to be difficult with a Border Control on R&D.

2-1

Round 4 vs. LilBird (Lat)

LilBird was on a non-standard Lat list with Matrioshkas and The Artist (a pet card of mine, so it was awesome to sit across from it). The deck had a lot of inevitability tools, but Sportsmetal can gain a tempo and score lead early and run with it, and that’s pretty much what happened.

3-1

My last two games ended up being vs. Worlds Runner-Up DeeR, so it instantly made the train ticket and 3-day pass 100% worth it.

vs. DeeR - Match 1 (Swift Lat)

I don’t have too much recollection of this game beyond my draw being kinda grim. I didn’t see any Fully Operationals or feeder agendas to gain the tempo advantage until way late. Nonetheless, I did manage to sorta-kinda-not-really make it a game by scoring a Luminal that almost evened the score to 5-4 but DeeR was able to find the win before even needing to Deep Dive. I had 4 Trick Shots played against me this game thanks to DJ Steve.

vs. DeeR - Match 2 (Asa)

DeeR was playing a hybrid Asa deck with both Holo Man and MCA Austerity Policy (if I recall correctly… the Holo Man was definitely there since it finished the game). This one was close. I was able to snag 4 points very early from a Pichação Deep Dive but I understood the cost in tempo would require some backing off for a bit. I don’t recall exactly how the wheels fell off after the game was 6-2 (thanks middle age and sleep deprivation) but after the game DeeR mentioned I ran HQ too much which is highly unusual for me since running HQ is something I typically do not do nearly enough. Instead of going for a bunch of single accesses from HQ and R&D to get a lucky win, there was probably 3-4 turn window where I could have just focused on installrunnering and then been able to at least consider a remote contest at some point.

It was nice to play against such a strong player and (almost) steal a game, but instead fate equilibrated Arissana Associated Karma.

Trick Shot Is Too Strong (In This Cardpool)

All right Jai. Here it is. I’m changing my mind. In a card pool with SMC and Muse and Overclock and Swift and DJ Fenris… Trick Shot is indeed too strong. I’m officially changing my vote on that poll you ran at Worlds. It’s a bit sad for me because seeing a ton of aggressive run-based Shaper has been a refreshing change of pace, and Trick Shot is one of the prime incentives to be doing that sort of thing.

Happy Holidays to All

So, come back soon to Rapa-Nui’s Netrunner blog since I seem to be wanting to write regularly again. Next week I’ll be doing a retrospective on what I think my best writing has been, what my worst takes have been, what I’m going to miss most about the FFG cards, what I’m going miss least about the FFG cards. I wish I had done more winning this year, but I feel like I improved overall and learned quite a bit. If you also wish you had done more winning this year, well at least this isn’t you:

“Rip” as the kids say these days.

1. Barring weird shit like Split Second or Morph.