Here we go. Honor and Profit Review - the Fight the Meta Version
When reading this review of cards, please remember. This is for how you can break the meta! This is for things that make you think! This is for things that TOTALLY ... well usually... do not work in the competitive scene... but maybe they make you think
Rating out of 5.
Harmony Medtech
2/5 - This Identity will do good in the real world I think. Its low deck size and low influence may make it tough, but it could be a problem for runners. Not so crazy, not so interesting. It will do its job and I think we'll see it here and there.
Nisei Division
5/5 - Yes! No one used Psi (besides Caprice in recent days) and now ... now you will try to think of decks that take advantage of the psi. I hope that the next couple of data packs throw in a few more Psi cards, play around with it. The problem is that these Psi cards do a wide range of thing. One tags or brain damages. Several are Ice that (kinda?) stop the run. Caprice screws up the run. Some other do damage. You couldn't include them all, cause how would that work out for focus? But if a few more come out... The storyline in the HP insert talks about the Nisei Project - I can only hope that draws more Psi cards to the game...
Tennin Institute
1/5 Oh boy. More advancing traps. Yay. More fast advanced options. Yay.
House of Knives
3/5 - Well. Netdamage flatline decks will be more likely. Now instead of hoping the runner makes a mistake, or manipulating the table into mistakes, a quick toss of two of these scored and a few Neural's or even properly laid ICE...
Medical Breakthrough
2/5 - This will allow some sort of Fast Advance (maybe?) out of Jinteki. It will be far slower than the Astrotrain at least, but it could come in handy. I could actually see Runners running Data Dealer the other sack an Agenda card to slow down the Corp relying on this. That would be a meta change!!
Philotic Entanglement
3/5 - Same as with House of Knives, flatline by choice rather than mistake are more likely. Could be interesting. Thing is though, they score it and win, no matter that they had 6 points. Score will come first, check win condition, then fire - same as PE.
The Future Perfect
4/5 Woo! Works against stealing Psi Agenda... but its a 5/3! That's ... that's super hard to score in the deck of porous Jinteki ICE... will this start off a thought of a Jinteki Glacier deck? Might need more ICE for that, but still. With Tenma Line in this pack, and a couple of scary ICE that could be encountered, toss in 3 NAPDs and you have 15points already, few Braintrusts... Braintrusts you actually try to over advance? What? Braintrusts you actually want to use their Ability on? Whaaat? thats Challenging the Meta.
Chairman Hiro
2/5 Eh. Eh eh. Eh. Director Haas rarely see's play because even with a 5 trash cost and an extra click she is too risky. The first thing a Corp learns is that you cannot completely keep the Runner out. They will eventually get in, and killing a click and 2 Agenda points is too good to resist. With Hiro, maybe it will be better - only rezzed when a kill is about to be made, and only played a turn or two before? I give it a 2 only because I so badly want to build a CEO Deck when NBN Weyland's top brass are revealed. To bad each is 5 inf, unless we get a 20 or 25 inf Identity (hah... hah... hah)
Mental Health Clinci
1/5 - An even better PAD+Sweeps week card. Yay.
Psychic Field
2/5 - Its Psi, so I'll give it that in being able to create a psi deck with it, but other than that it will see a ton of play. The whole expose or access clause makes it stupidly good in any deck trying to kill the runner, and any deck using Netdamage to slow them down - One neural after the runner hits this and pop! So eh on the Challenge the Meta scale.
3/5 - I actually give this a 3 ONLY because it may bring Data Dealers and Frame Jobs might be worth running. And that's meta changing. Of course I've been running Data Dealers with Notoriety for a couple of weeks now and surprising the hell out of everyone with it!
Tenma Line
4/5 - Remember that Ice Trap Deck I posted long ago? This is what we were waiting for. this is the card that can make that deck go up a tier or so in level. Definitely not competitive, but at least not as combo jenky wish lucky as it was before!
Cerebral Cast
3/5 - I actually really like this card. Not only does it play with Psi, but the choice between a Brain and a Tag? If you run this the runner has to think - what kind of tag punishment is he running? He through this out here - if I take the brain am I going to regret it but if I take the tag... then does he have a scorch in the wings? is this some in house Jinteki Sea Source? Could make for some interesting new decks!
1/5 - Its an OK economy card but it doesn't do anything to play with things. Though at 1 inf you'll probably find it splashed into the Weyland Bad Pub don't care what you got for money deck. Not redefining the Meta here.
Mushin No Shin
2/5 - Again, trap deck fodder, and mind game fodder, but hardly meta changing. Or breaking.
Inazuma
4/5 - If only because I think this card will make those whirlpool, Cellportal, trap of death ice cards work. Don't rez it till you're ready, Power Shutdown those Data Suckers or Code Gate Breakers, catch one of them out with a Grim or an Ichi and you can suddenly have a true whirlpool of death server run.
2/5 - It's the non Psi Ice counterpart to Psychic Field, so that's kinda nifty. Not really Challenge the Meta defining though.
Pup
1/5 - Cute. And pretty effective as an early taxer. Just slots right into existing Meta Ice Packages though
Shiro
2/5 I actually find this interesting. I kinda wonder how it works with multi access though. Really, like curious here. It says Top Card, if the Corp pays and you are seeing 3... do you see the other 2? I think so. I do like the Arrange in any order thing, if nothing else to set yourself up for the future.
Susanoo-No-Mikoto
3/5 - I give it a 3 because with the Trap Ice Deck idea, this card can really shine. The 7 Strength Sentry doesn't hurt either, putting it as scary as an Archer in a lot of situations, especially if Archives has a couple Shi.Kyu or Shocks in it.
NeoTokyo Grid
2/5 - I like it in the sense it is a SanSan, Engineering the Future sort of hybrid region, but I don't think that it will be too 'Meta Challenging'.
Tori Hanzo
3/5 - She get's a three cause she isn't going to kill anyone, but I totally want to splash the Purple Jinteki HB deck over into Tennin Institute now and Brain Damage Kill!
Plan B
2/5 - It enables more Mind Games but other than that it isn't too exciting. I could see a couple deck Idea's that float around it, will have to try a few of them out to see if its worth playing to Challenge the Meta
Guard
0/5 - Boooarrring
Rainbow
0/5 - Again... Snore.
Diversified Portfolio
4/5 - I had this HB Sideways Deck back in the days just after Creation and Control. It had something like 10 Ice in it and it just installed sideways without bothering to defend. Confuse and delay and make the runner fear. Now with Shipments galore, things like Thomas Haas, and GRNDL Refinery that deck actually won me several games at League Night - Ill post it up in the future here.
Fast Track
0/5 - Yay. Tutor for Agenda's. I do want to stick one in my NEXT deck but completely not Challenge the Meta Worthy
Later - Runner Cards!
