May 12 Games

[Horizon Ian]

Jeff was in town this weekend, and we met up at the last minute to play some games at Game Kastle, Santa Clara.

He mostly wanted to test out a new Admin/Social deck. I've been wanting to test out my hybrid piracy deck, as I have been in a lot of situations where I'm demoing to someone who hasn't played before and didn't want to play the deck as intended.

What makes an Admin/Social deck? Heroic Actions. Lot of effects that mess with your opponent.

Besides showing someone I know from way back and his friend a round of Traveller, Jeff and I played something like four games. I played my Unsavory deck, a Sub Merchant that had way too few ways to generate AV, the deck below, and Jeff's deck.

Which game was closest? There was the game where we each had like two cards left, though I couldn't effectively pirate, so I felt like he was far ahead due to VP discrepancy. There was the first game where I jumped out way ahead but got stymied later. I'm just not sure. Jeff and I play a lot of games that end up close or, at least, end up where we are both virtually out of cards. And, this is without our playing a lot of piracy decks.

Anyway, to provide some value, here's the deck that got a couple of plays:

Mutual Funds
Empress Marava Far Trader ["The Fat Spider"]
2x Bulk Hauling // Jump Phobia
2x Chartered Psionic Research // Back Taxes
1x Down the Main // Myriad Difficulties
1x Employee Relocation // Makeshift Accomodations
2x Flex Ticket // A Favor Returned
2x Foreign Luxuries // Squabbling Crew
2x Humanitarian Evacuation // Buccaneer
1x Rhal'Kais Commission // Luxury Tax
2x Showing the Flag // Buccaneer
1x TAS Inspection // Old Debts
1x The Asylum Seeker // Specific Tolerances
1x X-Boat Route Review // Hostile Psionic Coven
2x Zhodani Science Expedition // Unexpected Booking

Mix of contracts I plan on trying to complete and contracts/complications I hope to be not good for my opponent.

Connections (6)
2x Crazy Eddy's Discount Depot
2x Rhal'Kais Chop Shop
2x Black Market Investors

Crew (16)
2x Baronet Cronin
1x Dwight Cain
1x Gvaerrggoursu
2x Jim Thorne
3x Kydut Naboh
1x Liach, T'zen and Giiar
1x Imlaii Ergarsuu
1x Mark Appleton
1x Marta Rodriguez
1x Rika Honami
2x Voypa

Events (16)
2x Catastrophic Overbooking
1x Cold Engines
3x Dramatic Renegotiation
1x Glancing Shot
1x On the Lam
1x Predatory Tactics
1x Strategic Serenity
1x Time is Money
3x Trouble on the Mains
2x Unearth

Gear (1)
1x Armed Gig

Heroic Actions (7)
3x Sinister Reputation
3x Prey on the Weak
1x Reap the Whirlwind

Upgrades (14)
1x Dreaded Visage
2x False Registry Markings
3x Hacker's Chainsaw
2x Missile Barbette
3x Narda Systems 150-MJ Laser
2x RVD Overtuned Thruster Plate
1x Tactical Display

Got to love only one gear. Because I move on to other things, I tend to forget my thinking on decks built a while back. I may have been thinking that I'd expect to get hit with a bunch of crew control, yet expected to be able to get a single action off with my heroics.

When you consider what AVs are possible even now, this deck seems AV lite. Before yesterday, I never saw it do its thing. What's funny about this deck is that it's thing can work with low AV pump as long as the opponent doesn't really make any effort to defend.

In the game I played the deck, I only pirated twice. Both times, I removed two upgrades, so I gained 10 VPs in two rounds between Hacker's Chainsaw and Rhal'Kais Chop Shop. Now, Jeff could have held back on playing a second upgrade one of those rounds. In those two rounds, my mighty AV was 3 and 4!

On the first round of the game, my hand was all permanents, so I put out like three upgrades, two crew, a gear, and a connection. Most of my EV was coming from heroics off the top, including two of my three Sinister Reputations. I got 3 VPs from a contract on round one. Round two, pirate for five. Round three, pirate for five. Round four, declare pirate, play Black Market Investors, Sinister Reputation to go to four Infamy Tokens with 16 VPs ...

It's really an Infamy Token deck that pretends to be effective at piracy. In a lot of our games, that works, as shown by how Jeff was keeping up when he played this deck and I played his and a Trouble on the Mains may have given him the game.

Besides being considerably less effectual if you don't get AV out, can't keep it out, or run into an opponent with decent AV and/or DV, this deck also doesn't like being a pirate right away. Far too many permanents to play, where I got to paying five for two cost cards. Also, I've only seen it be successful when it gets the Chop Shop in play and has enough soft targets to remove.

Anyway, I see the reason to build decks is to see your creations do what they try to do. As that happened, I found it pleasing to play. Now, my next project is to work on some straightforward decks.