A Beginner's Guide to Deck Hardware

by Muneki Tada
(translated from the Japanese & edited by Jens Kreutzer)

Constituting a distinct subtype of Hardware, there are a lot of cards in Netrunner with the Keyword "Deck" written on them. Their defining characteristic is that no two decks can ever be in play at the same time: Other than the Deck that was most recently installed, all other Decks automatically trash themselves. Another common point is that all Decks combine multiple abilities of various kinds; it is only the benefit of granting additional MU that is shared by all Decks.

Since there can never be more than one Deck in play at a time, I think that in Constructed play, Runners will almost never want to put more than one type of Deck into their stacks. Though on rare occasions, Runners might want to put in a variety of different Decks so that they might better react to the strategy of the Corp they are facing, it mostly boils down to the Runner looking for a Deck that fits his or her own strategy best and then putting in one or two copies of that Deck only. As often as not, it will turn out in the end that no Deck at all finds its way into the stack in question.

In this article, I'm going to compare the various abilities of the individual Decks in an uncomplicated way, and if this helps you to choose the right Deck for your stack, I will be glad. For this purpose, I've tried to group all Decks into five categories, namely General Purpose, Anti-Trace, Run Support, Heavyweight, and Special. Of course, others might choose different categories for their analysis, or might debate whether a certain Deck should rather belong to another category, but please bear with me.

General Purpose

I have included those cards into this category which combine three or more abilities and are comparatively cheap to install. The line for installation costs was drawn at 6 bits. There is no theoretical basis for this; it is just because there are no Decks in the 7-9 bit range. Most cards that belong to this category are not very picky about Runner strategies with which they work well. Especially Little Black Box is just an excellent addition to about every Runner stack. In fact, if you're considering to put a Deck into your stack, I think it's a good idea to measure it against the merits of Little Black Box first.

1. Raven Microcyb Eagle

Among the three General Purpose Decks, this is the only one that doesn't increase hand size, and with its installation cost of 6, it finds itself on the expensive side of the spectrum to boot. While one gets the feeling that the benefits it grants are not really up to par in comparison with the other two Decks, the fact that the bit it provides for icebreaking can be used with noisy 'breakers as well prevents it from being completely worthless. Further, the Net damage prevention helps against some of the pain inflicted by Setup! or TRAP!. In a stack that needs to spend bits for running, and that intends to make comparatively many runs, or for a player who tends to favor this play style, you could say that among the General Purpose Decks, this card also has its niche.

2. Sunburst Cranial Interface

Before the advent of Little Black Box, this card would have been considered the general-purpose Deck with the most appeal. Even today, its abilities can still measure up to Little Black Box. Especially if you compare Cranial's Stealth bit with Box's linkage bit, you'll find that you will get much more mileage out of the former. Even if you rely on noisy 'breakers in your stack, you can still use the Stealth bit as long as the outermost ice of the assaulted fort isn't a wall. Further, because it is Cybernetics and increases hand size, Cranial is a card that is comparatively strong against a tagging strategy. Though when compared with Little Black Box, Cranial seems to lose out a bit in terms of general power level, it can be said that it is the more aggressive Deck of the two. Plus, since it's common while Box is rare, it is also easier to get.

3. Little Black Box

This card from the Classic expansion has a cheap installation cost, but boasts four abilities, which is the maximum among all Decks. Although you could argue that is it in a way half-baked because all of the abilities are rather weak, if you compare it with other Decks that give +1 MU and prevent one brain damage, it becomes clear that at this cost, it really packs a punch. Whenever you are building a new stack and cannot find a Deck that fits your strategy, and you still have some card slots to fill, just try putting in Little Black Box and you probably won't be disappointed with its performance.

Anti-Trace

Those Decks with the ability to defend against traces (especially traces with low trace value) fall into my "Anti-Trace" category. Especially The Deck and Techtronica Utility Suit will allow the Runner to thwart trace attempts almost completely.

4. The Deck

Together with Access through Alpha, this is the most powerful base link in the game. With this card, Runners can make it almost impossible for the Corp to trace them. But since The Deck only grants +1 MU apart from this ability, and since its installation cost is pretty steep, it isn't worthwhile to put it into each and every Runner stack. However, if the Runner needs to protect many sensitive Resources (like Loan From Chiba), or if the local metagame has many Corps that use a lot of tracing, it is a really good idea to use this card. For other cases, there are many other (and cheaper) ways of tag prevention.

5. Techtronica Utility Suit

This Deck prevents one meat damage and provides 5 bits per turn to be spent on increasing a base link. With these bits and a base link like Baedeker's Net Map, you could prevent a full-fledged Manhunt from taking effect each turn. Though no The Deck, Utility Suit is a very strong defense against tracing (and Tag'n'Bag in general). Since it is much cheaper to install than The Deck, it could be said that Utiliy Suit lends itself to becoming an easy way out of getting traced, if that is your problem. Perhaps it could see some play as a backup option (together with an alternative Deck in the stack or just by itself), to be installed only when facing a trace-heavy Corp.

6. Pandora's Deck

This one gives the Runner +2 MU and 3 bits for increasing link value. If you want linkage bits while going about extending your memory, Pandora's Deck will do the job. I think that in Sealed deck play, the 2 MU are really useful, so you might consider putting it in.

7. PK-6089a

PK-6089a doesn't at all compare with the power of The Deck or Utility Suit. It seems to be a diminished version of Pandora's Deck with regard to installation cost (which is cheap), and power level as well. Even if thought of as a substitute for situations in which neither Utility Suit nor Pandora's Deck are available, PK-6089a is rather hopeless. Only when viewed from the perspective of its low installation cost is there any reason to consider playing with it.

Run Support

Cards that increase MU and provide self-renewing bits for icebreaking or other benefits for runs, but have no more than two abilities, fall into this category.

8. Parraline 5750

For convenience's sake, I put Parraline into this category, but it must be admitted that it isn't a very potent card. The installation cost in itself is not that expensive, but it is hard to say whether the Deck really delivers anything for the buck. Because it supplies a bit that can be used by noisy icebreakers and is a common card, it can perhaps be thought as a Deck that might see some action in a Sealed tournament.

9. Bodyweight Data Creche

This is the Deck with the lowest installation cost. Its effect of enabling additional runs is a very special ability. But this ability comes into play only right after a succesful run was made. This means that if the Runner stack doesn't provide large amounts of bits for running, or isn't specifically built to allow runs that don't cost any bits, Bodyweight Data Creche won't have any efficient function. As long as the Runner strategy allows Bodyweight Data Creche to be applied to some effect, the ability to grant additional runs is of great worth indeed. That is because you could argue that the Runner gains additional actions, even though technically, the additional runs don't actually count as actions. You cannot say that this Deck is an effective addition to every Runner stack out there, but it definitely has great potential.

Heavyweight

These are Decks that cost 10 or more bits to install. Though they have appropiate powers to go with the cost, you cannot help thinking that there aren't many opportunities for putting them to good use. Should you consider putting one of these into your stack anyway, you probably would never want to choose anything else than Cortical Cybermodem. That is because among these four Decks, Cortical Cybermodem is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of power level.

10. Raven Microcyb Owl

Providing 3 Stealth bits is an excellent ability, but in this case, it really doesn't justify the extravagant installation cost of this Deck. If you think about it, Stealth programs or other Stealth Decks, or a combination thereof, will prove to be a better option than Raven Microcyb Owl. Having to anxiously wait for an opportunity (and the spare bits) to install this monstrosity during a game is something a Runner can do without.

11. Cortical Cybermodem

This is the only Deck that gives a +2 hand size increase. Because of its other abilities of providing 2 MU and 2 bits per turn for icebreaking, it represents a well-rounded and pretty potent card, as long as you don't think too much about its installation cost. But this very installation cost of 11 bits makes it hard for the Runner to actually let this potential come to fruition. If you want the selfsame abilities Cortical Cybermodem provides from other cards, you'll need the triad of Tycho Mem Chip (5 bits, +3 MU), MRAM Chip (1 bit, +2 hand size), and Vewy Vewy Quiet (4 bits, 2 Stealth bits, needs 1 extra MU). Unlike the Cortical bits, Vewy Vewy Quiet bits are Stealth bits, though. So if you plan on using these three cards anyway, Cortical Cybermodem might be of some value, but if you keep the abilities split up into the three cards listed above, you can install them one at a time, which leaves more room for adapting your play to the present situation than the installation of Cortical Cybermodem. If you have the bits to spare, you might think about including it in your stack, but it lets the Runner really sweat it out until it is finally installed.

12. Arasaka Portable Prototype

This is the only Deck that has an agenda point as part of its installation cost. Now, if it were an agenda point only, it would be a powerful card. But with the 11 bits that are needed in addition to the agenda point, this high cost casts serious doubts on the usefulness of Arasaka Portable Prototype. In fact, it is one of the worst cards in the entire game, and it is next to impossible to think of a situation in which you'd prefer it over Cortical Cybermodem (perhaps in a Bad Publicity stack? - nah, not really).

13. Artemis 2020

If you compare it with Cortical Cybermodem, Artemis 2020 is one bit cheaper to install, but it lacks Cybermodem's +2 hand-size increase. If you're thinking about using this card, it's probably a better deal to take Cortical Cybermodem instead.

Special

This category might have been dubbed "The Rest" just as well, but this last Deck has indeed a pretty special "ability":

14. Omnitech "Spinal Tap" Cybermodem

Rather than providing a unique benefit, this Deck is characterized by the possibility of dealing damage, which can be considered a part of its cost. Because of the random brain damage that may befall the Runner, if this Deck is to be used, he or she will need to construct a stack that can deal with this damage. But if you think about the possibility of receiving two brain damage each turn, you really need some guts to install Omnitech "Spinal Tap" Cybermodem in the first place. Perhaps it fits into a strategy that uses other "suicidal" cards like Quest for Cattekin or Lucidrine Booster Drug.

• Deck Hardware in Netrunner - Feature Articles - (by Jens Kreutzer and Muneki Tada)

• On Decks (by Jens Kreutzer)