I played the game when it first came out with the core set. I gave it away, didn't enjoy it out of the box with just one core. I'm thinking of getting back in now and am planning to buy the Core 2.0.

While waiting for it to show up, are the deluxe expansions playable out of the box? I know the rules and can use substitute tokens obviously, but can two complete decks be made without any core components?

Also, any particular deluxe that would be good for relative newbs?

S h i t t y decks, but theoretically yes. Easiest for newbies would probably be Creation & Control as Shaper/HB are pretty straightforward whereas Jinteki, Anarch, and NBN are more skill intensive.

Thanks, Grimwalker! It's ok if decks aren't great, just trying to get toes wet while waiting on Core 2.0

@Hurdoc Terminal Directive is actually the best "deluxe" as it were for the purposes you suggest and gives the biggest boost of cards.

I don’t think you can build functional decks out of *just* TD Though. If that’s not a requirement, sure—go for TD.

Check following link:
http://www.knowthemeta.com/Buyers-Guide/

Maybe helpful

3 hours ago, Aingeru said:

Check following link:
http://www.knowthemeta.com/Buyers-Guide/

Maybe helpful

That doesn’t answer OP’s question. I know you found a good link and you’re really excited to share it, but it’s not the answer to every thread ;-)

1 hour ago, Grimwalker said:

That doesn’t answer OP’s question . I know you found a good link and you’re really excited to share it, but it’s not the answer to every thread ;-)

...

On 20/11/2017 at 7:27 PM, Hurdoc said:

Also, any particular deluxe that would be good for relative newbs?

At the moment if you're getting the Revised Core, the packs that go best with it aren't any of the deluxes: it's the datapacks of the latest cycle (Kitara). They've got "spiritual successors" for a lot of the original core cards that didn't make it into Revised Core, so they really complement the starting box very well.

They also just announced Reign and Reverie, which will be a new deluxe coming out after Kitara with cards for all factions, so it'll probably also be a good buy for a beginner. But it's at least 3 months away right now, so get started on Kitara rather than buy any of the old deluxe boxes.

(I might have misunderstood your question though: if what you were saying is that you already HAVE the deluxe expansions, and wanted to play with just them until you get your core, then my answer is irrelevant, sorry! To answer that question, I think you can construct a legal deck out of each of the original 4 deluxes, but without any of the basic economy staples of the core set it'll be barely functional. The ones that work best are probably corp side D&D and runner side O&C.)

22 hours ago, CryOfFrustration said:

At the moment if you're getting the Revised Core, the packs that go best with it aren't any of the deluxes: it's the datapacks of the latest cycle (Kitara). They've got "spiritual successors" for a lot of the original core cards that didn't make it into Revised Core, so they really complement the starting box very well.

Would you also recommend to get them for players returning to the game after a longer hiatus? I currently have all of the deluxe sets and the first four cycles. Note, that I don't care about tournaments, so I'm not affected by the cycling out of the first two cycles.

On 11/24/2017 at 7:15 AM, Mep said:

@Hurdoc Terminal Directive is actually the best "deluxe" as it were for the purposes you suggest and gives the biggest boost of cards.

What I don't like about it, is that it's focused on only two Runner and Corp factions. Granted, that's still more than any of the old Deluxe sets included, but it still makes for an 'uneven' starting point, imho.

2 hours ago, jhaelen said:

Would you also recommend to get them for players returning to the game after a longer hiatus? I currently have all of the deluxe sets and the first four cycles. Note, that I don't care about tournaments, so I'm not affected by the cycling out of the first two cycles.

Well, depends on who you play with. Is it just a closed meta of you and a couple friends and you don't observe rotation at all? Or are you taking it out to casual meetups and playing with people who use rotation?

If it's the former, then maybe not. There's a lot of fun cards in Kitara, but there's also cards that are "replacements" for cards that rotated out, and if you're not using rotation that could be problematic. For instance, are you gonna have 3 Account Siphons and 3 Diversion of Funds in the same deck? (That one's not out yet, it's been spoiled in the 6th pack) That would probably be a little on the broken side, and frustrating for your opponents. OTOH, there's also a bunch of good fun cards, and it's probably a better cycle to get than Mumbad (which was right after you stopped), as that had a bunch of cards that enabled some very frustrating decks to play against. Flashpoint too had some absolutely broken cards that have since gotten on the banned and restricted list, and might unbalance your meta if you're not using it. I guess you could get Red Sands? Or Terminal Directive? Or you could choose to join us in this fun new post-rotation future (if you own the first two cycles and the original core, then you already own all the cards in the revised core set), get Kitara, and go find a local group to play with

2 hours ago, jhaelen said:

What I don't like about it, is that it's focused on only two Runner and Corp factions. Granted, that's still more than any of the old Deluxe sets included, but it still makes for an 'uneven' starting point, imho.

I still HIGHLY recommend that you observe rotation, for game balance purposes. HB:ETF with access to NGO Front/Jinja City Grid, Noise with access to a suite of new Virus tech cards that were designed on the assumption that he would never see them. Corporations with access to Distract the Masses/Preemptive Action and Jackson Howard, being able to combo Economic Warfare with Midseason Replacements, etc.

I think your best strategy for jumping back into the game is just to start with Kitara cycle cards, and then only purchase from the Mumbad/Flashpoint/Red Sand Cycles on an as-needed basis. Cull everything that’s rotated otherwise there will be some gross combos.

Hmm.

I had a look at the currently available cards in the Kitara cycle, now. There's really a lot of cool cards there. Many have a more interesting design than most of the early cards. So... it's tempting.

But buying cards that are basically just replacements for cards I already own doesn't make me happy, i.e. card rotation sucks!

For the moment I was just planning to build a bunch of decks using my card pool, bring them to our board game meetings and let my opponents choose one to play. I.e. I'd try to create decks that are fairly well balanced. In the past I've done something similar with Call of Cthulhu decks, and that worked pretty well. I suppose the problems would only start once someone gets sufficiently hooked and either wants to build their own decks using my card pool, or starts their own collection. I guess, in the latter case I'd restrict myself to the same card pool as the other player. I'm not sure how I'd deal with the former case.

I suppose, I'll first make a few inquiries how the other regulars think about it. If one or more would be interested in starting with just the Revised Core Set and Kitara, I'll follow suit.

Thanks for your advice!

In that case maybe try building the decks recommended here: https://runthenet.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/recommended-teachinglearning-decks/

They are pre-rotation, so you can probably build them with what you already own. There's a Jinteki list floating about as well on another blog post on there. (These are not mine, but the guy who made them is very highly regarded in the community.)

EDIT: Turns out deleted those decks from NRDB and republished them. The links in the blog post go nowhere, but you can find them if you search for his name on NRDB: https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklists/find?faction=&sort=popularity&rotation_id=&author=thebigboy&title=teaching&is_legal=&mwl_code=&packs[]=1&packs[]=8&packs[]=21&packs[]=28&packs[]=35&packs[]=51&packs[]=55&packs[]=2&packs[]=3&packs[]=4&packs[]=5&packs[]=6&packs[]=7&packs[]=9&packs[]=10&packs[]=11&packs[]=12&packs[]=18&packs[]=19&packs[]=22&packs[]=23&packs[]=24&packs[]=25&packs[]=26&packs[]=27&packs[]=29&packs[]=30&packs[]=31&packs[]=32&packs[]=33&packs[]=34&packs[]=36&packs[]=37&packs[]=38&packs[]=39&packs[]=40&packs[]=41&packs[]=42&packs[]=43&packs[]=44&packs[]=45&packs[]=46&packs[]=47&packs[]=48&packs[]=49&packs[]=50&packs[]=52&packs[]=53&packs[]=54&packs[]=56&packs[]=57&packs[]=58

8 hours ago, jhaelen said:

What I don't like about it, is that it's focused on only two Runner and Corp factions. Granted, that's still more than any of the old Deluxe sets included, but it still makes for an 'uneven' starting point, imho.

This is true, which is why the new deluxe expansion will include cards for all factions. Finally FFG is trying, all be it poorly, to find a path for new players to get into this game easily.

BTW my play group enforces rotation for the reasons already expressed here. The rotation was done for a reason. I expect more changes down the road.

17 hours ago, CryOfFrustration said:

EDIT: Turns out deleted those decks from NRDB and republished them. The links in the blog post go nowhere, but you can find them if you search for his name on NRDB: [...]

Ah, thanks for this. I recognize the name. I already had a look at his Cube Draft card lists