Revealing Assets

By XanCanth, in Android: Netrunner Rules Questions

I have a question about revealing assets. I realize that once a remote server is accessed the asset would be flipped and revealed but what about When I install an asset and I pay its install cost but can I place it facedown in the remote server so that the runner doesn't know which asset it is? What if it is an asset like PAD Campaign can I get the 1 credit to start the turn without revealing which server is providing it?

I only ask because I play as Jinteki and don't want to reveal which of my servers are the traps and which are just to have an asset that provides income. If i have to reveal it I would build my deck to be more one off operation sort of income I guess...

Installing an Asset is free. However, they are installed unrezzed (face down) and while unrezzed are inactive.

If you want to gaint the benefit of cards like PAD campaign, you must first pay the rez cost and turn them face-up.

However, your ambush cards do NOT need to be rezzed to work, as they trigger 'when accessed'.

One other thing--you install an asset face down, unrezzed, but when the runner accesses the server, it is not flipped face up. The runner gets to see it, but if he or she does not trash it, then it returns to its unrezzed state. You do have the opportunity to rez cards before access if you choose, for example, there's no reason not to rez a 0-cost Jackson Howard or Marked Accounts. I'm just lazy and I don't want to flip it again later. In the case of Encryption Protocols, a 0-cost asset which increases the trash cost of all installed cards, you would definitely want to rez it so its ability would be active, boosting its own trash cost.

Ok What about a card such as Ronin that can be advanced, I'm assuming I could put the 4 advancement tokens on it while it is unrezzed and thus unknown to the runner but I would then have to rez it(flip it) before i used its ability to do 3 damage? Based on your descriptions of the other cards these seems logical, for ronin I just didn't want to have it exposed while I work on getting 4 tokens since it only has a trash cost of 2

Right. The trick to Ronin is either to make it masquerade as an Advanceable Trap, then at the opportune moment, advance it, rez it, bam, dead runner. Fetal AI, Cerebral Overwriter, Project Junebug and Mushin No Shin usually are found in the same deck, so that actually running the 3-advanced card can either be directly fatal or put you at severe risk of a future flatline.

Edited by Grimwalker