First of all, I would like to apologize if this has been done before. I figure since the game has been out a bit and people have some experience now, they can better post about it.

I was playing Dominion the other day and I was ranting about how the card "Chapel" is arguably the most powerful card in the game.

Which got me to thinking…if you were to pick the most powerful card in Netrunner, which would you choose? Is it a pice of ICE? Maybe it's an event card? Maybe it's a asset. You can pick one for Corporation and one from the Runner side.

Note that this is an opinion thread, not a debate thread.

I'd say for the Corporation side, my choice would be Project Junebug . It's that 'gotcha' card that can immediately win the game for Corporation. It's won me many games and I don't see it leaving my Corporation decks anytime soon.

For the Runner side, I would choose Diesel . It's 3 cards for 0 and since your grip is your life, it can spell the difference between life and death. Plus, it can really get you that one card that you really need to win the game.

So what do you think?

Corp: Toss up between Tollbooth and Scorched Earth.

Runner: Toss up between Stimhack and Account Siphon

Corp: Snare

Runner: Account Siphon

Toqtamish said:

Actually, my Corp fave was between Snare and Junebug. I'm glad someone gave that card some love.

And I'm curious about Account Siphon. I've not really thought much of it, but now that you've brought it up, I'll be taking a second look at it.

Corp: Scorched Earth

Runner: Account Siphon

Scorched Earth is huge, influencing both side's deck construction and the runner's gameplay. Tag-n-bag needs a centerpiece, and scorched is it for the moment. Fortunately, it's strong, but has a counter in Crash Space, and it's not game winning in itself, or even with a data-raven counter or sea source.

Account siphon isn't nearly as bad, simply because it's not game ending. An early game 15 credit swing is probably game-crippling, but there's still the illusion of a chance. Crash space again combos into it, and if you're scared of tag-n-bag enough to buy off the tags immediately, it's still a pretty solid deal.

Definitely Precognition for Corp, that card is really amazing. Not really sure what Runner card I'd take.

Snare! influences play and bluffing on both sides of the fence. If the Corp has 4 credits, EVERY card has the potential to do 3 Damage and give the Runner a tag (costing an action and 2 credits to clear). For 4 Credits that's 6 Actions of loss (3 Draws, Action and 2 Credits). That's huge. Scorched Earth comes a close second because it can win the game. Because Scorched Earth requires enough other support, it's not an auto include in all 4 Corp factions, though it is the defining feature of a deck designed to win 'the other way' for the Corp. The other damage dealers are the various HB and Jinteki ICE, Private Security Force and Project Junebug.

On the Runner side there are a lot of tricks that can be considered the best card. Sticking with the 'what cards might be auto include in all decks' I'd have to go with Wyldside. Though there are a few 'tutor' cards, there are only two card draw accelerators currently. Diesel (Card+Action = 3 Cards) really only accelerates your card draw by +1 per card (you could have drawn a Card instead of taking the action to play Diesel). On the other hand, Wyldside is +1 card per turn, which could easily be 10-20 cards in a normal length game.

I've been seeing a lot of love for Wyldside, much of it deserved, but losing 1 click per turn is pretty huge, especially against HB. Obviously having to spend a whole turn to get past Heimdall unscathed is pretty suboptimal, but it's a nice option to have in a pinch. More importantly, though, I want to be able to charge into unrezzed ice without worrying that Ichi's gonna try to scramble my brain (or worse, my rig! )

Corp: Tollbooth/Archer (tie)

Runner: Forged Activation Orders

Melange Mining Corp and Account Siphon.

Scud-O said:

I don't know, I just have a hard time justifying Archer right now. Maybe once there is a larger variety of cheap Agendas to sacrifice it'll look more appealing.

Toloran said:

You don't need to "sacrifice" anything…it combos really well with Priority Requisition is a great credit muncher should a Runner decide to try and bypass it. Until then, you don't always have to rez ICE a Runner encounters…it's a risk, yes, but once you have the combo, it's a nice protection for your agendas.

radioactivemouse said:

Meh, it works out to be effectively the same much of the time since if you aren't using priority requisition, you'd be sacrificing some 2 cost agenda that's mostly valuable for it's effect such as Hostile Takeover or Breaking News.

Toloran said:

I really didn't want this thread to be about "debating" a card's effectiveness (see original post), I just gave justification as to why someone would choose that card. Maybe it doesn't work for you, but it works for others…certainly enough to merit a "best card"

My main purpose was to see how people "see" the cards and possibly open up new strategies for me or other people. In the responses I've seen, it has certainly opened my eyes up to cards I normally disregarded.

Corp: Precognition by far.

Runner: account Siphon is a game changer