The noob being myself. A lot of my friends have been playing for a while now and I thought that I'd join in to see what all the fuss is about. I've picked up the starter set, Creation and control and a few packs from the first cycle of boosters.

The Runner deck I'm currently looking at is a Shaper deck which focuses on getting lots of programs out on the cheap...

Runner -

Chaos Theory

Events -

x2 Modded

x3 Diesel

x3 Notoriety

Hardware -

x1 Dinosaurus

x2 Akamatsu Mem Chip

x3 Omni-drive

Programs -

x3 Self-modifying Code

x3 Cloak

x3 Dagger

x3 ZU.13 Key Master

x3 Gordian Blade

x2 Battering Ram

x3 Creeper

Resources -

x3 Ice Analyzer

x3 Personal Workshop

x3 Borrowed Satellite

x3 Daily Casts

x3 Professional Contracts

Chaos Theory is my Runner as she gives me a flat +1 memory unit straight out of the gates. The hardware of the deck is focused on either hosting progams (Omni-drive and Dinosaurus) or providing extra memory units (Akamatsu Mem Chip).

In events Modded looked like a good idea as it made it easier to play my more expencive programs (Battering Ram and Creeper). Diesel looked like a solid card as well to help keep my Grip full. Notoriety was a bit of a wild card but I figured that if my opponant couldn't or didn't get his defences out on his first turn I could sneak though an agenda point.

With my programs I tried to get a bit of everything into the deck. I thought that Self Modifying Code could help go and find the programs that I need when I need them (and give me a better chance of getitng Cloak and Dagger onto the table)

I did throw quite a few cards into Resources. Things like Ice Analyzer and Personal Workshop makes it cheaper to get my programs into play. Daily Casts gives me a bit of cash flow while Borrowed Satellite and Professional Contacts grant a bit more flexibility.

The deck is still very much on the drawing board at the moment and I'm hoping to get a couple of games in with it over the next week or two so I can get a better idea of how it plays. My one concern is that I don't have an offencive game plan with the deck. My basic starter Criminal deck just goes straight after my opponants HQ with cards like Account Siphon, Emergency Shutdown, HQ Interface, Pheromones, Sneakdoor Beta etc. The current idea for the Shaper deck seems to boil down to...

1. Play lots of Programs on the cheap

2. ???

3. Win

You seem to be missing one of the major elements of deckbuilding, which is influence. All your cards are Shaper or Neutral, but you can take 15 points of Criminal and Anarch cards too. That can really help with some of the weaknesses inherent in Shaper (such as Battering Ram being quite inefficient), or take your deck in an interesting new direction.

Also, Chaos Theory having an extra MU means you need MU boosts less than other runners do.

To be honest I'm waiting to gain a bit more experience before I start looking at influence (I've only played two games so far and this is my first shot at building a Runner deck from scratch). My thinking was to play a few games, come up with a list of problems the deck had and then look at fixing them.

Can you suggest any cards that I should keep my eyes open for in regards to the deck?

You have several sets of cards with overlapping exclusive function (ZUL3, Gordian; Akamatsu, Omni; Modded/ICE Analyzer, Workshop).

You are using less efficient breakers with influence available to use outside faction options.

If the purpose is to use Pro Contacts+Workshop to grind through your deck, prep everything you need, and then go, then focus it down to the essentials. Gain money, gain cards, prep the rig on the workshops(s), and cut anything that doesn't directly advance one of those goals.

Which cards do you sugest I use my influence on? Which Icebreakers should I bring in for that influence? (I currently have the Core set, Creation and Control and the first cycle of booster sets)

I've shaved the deck down to 40 cards...

Runner - Chaos Theory

Events -

x2 Modded

x3 Diesel

x2 Dirty Laundry

Hardware -

x3 Omni-Drive

x3 Dyson Mem Chip

x3 R&D Interface

x2 Dinosaurus

Programs -

x2 Paricia

x3 Self-modifying Code

x3 Cloak

x2 Dagger

x3 Gordian Blade

x2 Battering Ram

x2 Magnum Opus

Resource -

x2 Personal Workshop

x3 Daily Casts

Does this look a bit better as a base before I start to swap stuff out with influence?

Jamieson from Bad Publicity just wrote an article about his Store Championship win with a deck that tries to do the same thing. Check it out, here .

Well I've played a couple of games with the deck now.

The first one was against a Haas-Bioroid Next Design deck which I managed to win via digging through R&D using R&D interface. The second game was against an NBN cash focused deck which I lost pretty badly. This was a combination of me not getting great draws after my starting hand and my opponant slowing me down with cards like Closed Accounts and Freelancer once he'd stack up tags on me.

I think that I need to make the deck a bit cheaper in some places and I've had a look at bringing in some influence. I've cut nine cards from the deck and replaced them with cheaper ones. The new build looks like this....

Runner - Chaos Theory

Events -

x2 Modded

x3 Diesel

x3 Dirty Laundry

Hardware -

x2 Akamatsu Mem Chip

x3 Omni-drive

x2 R&D Interface

x2 Dinosaurus

Programs -

x3 Paricia

x3 Self-modifying Code

x3 Cloak

x2 Corroder - -

x2 Dagger

x3 Gordian Blade

x2 Magum Opus

Resource -

x2 Bank Job - -

x3 Personal Workshop

I'm hoping these changes will make the deck run a bit smoother. Half of the cards in the deck now either free or cost 1 credit to play so putting stuff onto the table or playing events won't put too much of a strain on finances. The decks strongest point, I feel, is the amount of programs it can have out. At one point I had a Paricia, all 3 Cloaks, a Dagger, a Gordian Blade, a Battering Ram and a Magum Opus in my rig with MU still open.

The decks strongest point, I feel, is the amount of programs it can have out. At one point I had a Paricia, all 3 Cloaks, a Dagger, a Gordian Blade, a Battering Ram and a Magum Opus in my rig with MU still open.

That's a good sign your deck needs LESS MU boosting - think about the clicks and credits it cost you to install those cards (particularly clicks). That's just slowing you down.

If you're totally sold on going for denial through trash, I'd swap Paricia for Scrubber - it's out of faction, but you have influence spare right now. It's a Resource, which means no MU required, and it can trash anything (not just Assets - so Upgrades too).

A better swap though, would probably be to bring in some Datasuckers. These will improve your efficiency (reducing ICE strength means less credits spend boosting Icebreakers). It'll also allow you to run with less fear of running out of Cloak credits.

Well a couple of games I've played has highlighted how much MU dependance can fluctuate. In my last game against Jinteki I didn't see a Dinosaurus or Omni-drive and I spent a lot of time maxed out on MU. Paricia for Scubber seems like a fair trade. I've also removed a Gordian Blade and Personal Workshop to fit a couple of Datasuckers into the deck...

Runner - Chaos Theory

Events -

x2 Modded

x3 Diesel

x3 Dirty Laundry

Hardware -

x2 Akamatsu Mem Chip

x3 Omni-drive

x2 R&D Interface

x2 Dinosaurus

Programs -

x3 Self-modifying Code

x2 Datasucker - -

x3 Cloak

x2 Corroder - -

x2 Dagger

x2 Gordian Blade

x2 Magnum Opus

Resources -

x2 Bank Job - -

x2 Personal Workshop

x3 Scrubber -

Having played (and evolved) the deck somewhat I thought I'd post up what the current build looks like...

Runner - Chaos Theory

Events -

x3 Modded

x3 Diesel

x3 Dirty Laundry

x2 Escher

x3 Sure Gamble

Hardware -

x3 Akamatsu Mem Chip

x3 Clone Chip

x2 Omni Drive

x2 Dinosaurus

Programs -

x3 Self Modifying Code

x2 Datasucker -

x3 Cloak

x2 Corroder - -

x2 Dagger

x2 Gordian Blade

x2 Magnum Opus

I'm still not 100% set on the build yet but it's been doing OK so far