These notes serve as a supplement to the release of Downfall, the first expansion of the Ashes Cycle. We’ve compiled summaries of the major changes to the Comprehensive Rules, some explanation about updates to the way cards are written, and specific clarifications & common questions for the 65 cards in Downfall itself.

Our goal is to help you learn what you need to know about the new cards as smoothly as possible, so you can get straight to the fun of playing with them. If you’re reading this after Spring 2019, do keep in mind that future rules updates and set releases may invalidate some of the information here. If you still have questions after reading, you can review the release notes for the newest sets and the Comprehensive Rules, or contact us directly via email or on Twitter. Thanks for playing!

— Null Signal Rules Team, 18 March 2019

Contents

Rules Update 1.2

Style and Templating Updates

Card Specific Notes

Rules Update 1.2

This update to the Comprehensive Rules (henceforth referred to as “CR1.2”) brings several substantial changes as well as a lot of clean-up. While there are no major new mechanics introduced in this expansion, we’ve worked to make the rules more clear in several specific areas relevant to Downfall cards, and we continue to make general improvements to make the details of the rule system more comprehensive.

Full Changelog

• Moved the list of changes to the previous version of the document to a new appendix, section 13, and removed older version history.

• Major revision to checkpoint system from its initial implementation, including reordering the steps, moving the handling of triggered abilities into a structured timing system, adding missing checkpoints to various timing structures, removing redundant checkpoints from various timing structures, and adding implicit checkpoints after any cost is paid and after a timing structure completes. Updated the timing structure reference appendices accordingly.

• Decoupled the icon from paid abilities.

• Expanded rule 1.15.1c into two rules, one for determining the final value of a modified cost, and one for paying costs of 0. Added an example.

• Expanded rule 1.15.9 on nested costs to include abilities using “unless”. Issued non-functional errata to cards that used “unless” in ways that did not follow this structure: Universal Connectivity Fee, Old Hollywood Grid, The Black File, and Anansi . Also issued non-functional errata to clean up Port Anson Grid, which previously followed this structure.

• Added companion to the list of resource subtypes.

• Clarified rule 4.1.2a. There was a small bug preventing cards from being referenced as they moved from zone to zone. It has been fixed so that only when a card becomes hidden information does the game stop tracking it.

• Moved up and expanded rule 5.2.2 (previously rule 5.2.3) to clarify when an action is completed. Also annotated various timing structures to clarify when those structures are completed.

• Added section 5.4.3 to clarify what happens when an ability (namely, the ability on terminal operations) ends a player’s action phase prematurely.

• Added rule 6.1.3 to support the checkpoint update and clarify the procedure for skipping to a different phase of the run, most importantly in the case of the run ending.

• Expanded section 6.5.2 for further clarity on forced encounters.

• Cleaned up the steps of installing a card in section 8.3 to make it a simple reference list of steps by moving details and stipulations to the rules on installing cards in section 8.2.

• Added rule 9.8.6 to describe how abilities that “repeat this process” function.

• Updated rule 10.4.1 and rule 10.4.2 to clarify that the player and card dealing damage to the Runner are responsible for that damage.

• Cleaned up the timing of traces and abilities that care about traces in rules 10.8.5 and 10.8.6.

• Expanded section 10.11 on swap effects to properly cover zone change swaps and require players to follow any standard rules for cards that are swapped.

• Issued functional errata to Chum to clean up the timing of its delayed trigger condition and remove the use of “unless.”

• Issued functional errata to Sundew to give it a structure that actually works with the timing rules. It now pays out 2 the first time each turn the Runner spends any clicks no matter what, then forces the Corp to pay 2 if those clicks are spent to take an action and a run is initiated on Sundew’s server during that action.

• Issued functional errata to Neutralize All Threats to require the Runner to reveal the card that triggers its first ability. This allows the Corp to confirm that the Runner is not required to trash cards they access later in the turn.

• Issued functional errata to Ultraviolet Clearance to make the install optional to remove hidden information problems.

• Issued non-functional errata to Bug Out Bag to clarify that “counters” referenced in the last part of its ability refers only to hosted power counters.

• Issued non-functional errata to six cards with an “even if it cannot normally be trashed” clause to be more direct—this really meant “even if it has no trash cost” and was redundant in some cases—and removed the rule in section 7.7 that previously explained this wording. The affected cards are Demolition Run, Imp, Keyhole, Singularity, By Any Means, and Freedom Khumalo: Crypto-Anarchist.

Checkpoints

We introduced checkpoints in CR1.0 as a framework for better specifying how and when a variety of game actions take place: things like checking if the Runner’s memory is overfull, trashing hosted cards whose host was uninstalled, and other cleanup that the game needs to regularly perform. For CR1.2, we did a thorough review of what steps need to be included in a checkpoint and where exactly they need to happen during turns, runs, and other sequences of steps the rules describe. We also overhauled how checkpoints interact with conditional abilities.

You can review all the new checkpoint rules in section 10.3 of CR1.2, but if you weren’t familiar with the previous version of the checkpoint system, you shouldn’t need to worry about it any more now than you did over the last few months. Checkpoints are still an “under the hood” mechanism: you won’t see them referred to on cards, and most of the time they’ll tell you to do things the same way you already expect them to work. But when you find yourself in a complicated game state, they’ll be there to help you or your friendly local judge figure out precise timing in a systematic way.

Checkpoints occur automatically all the time: before each time a player gets priority to take an action or trigger abilities, after a player pays any kind of cost, and at the end of every timing structure. A few timing steps mark out explicit checkpoints or have a reminder that one of the standard cases for resolving a checkpoint applies. You can think of “A checkpoint occurs.” as a reminder to make sure everything on the board is correct and to check for any conditional abilities that need to trigger.

Checkpoints and Abilities

It’s important to note that CR1.2 is still not a 100% complete specification of the timing of all the effects in the game. The old Rules Reference had a lot of ambiguity in this area, and with each rules update, we’re aiming to defeat more of those ambiguities with clear, comprehensive, and precise systems. We want to make sure those systems accomplish what we’re trying to do the best way we can, with minimal side-effects and changes to the game as we all know it, so we’re taking the time to be careful and thorough.

The most obvious place we haven’t gotten to yet is timing within resolution of an ability. When does an effect happen all at once, versus in separate steps that wait for abilities to trigger in between? Where exactly are the divisions between those steps? We now have a unified way to frame these questions: they all amount to, “While resolving an effect, when do checkpoints occur?” But that framing on its own doesn’t give us an answer.

To find that answer, we need to review many existing rules and rulings, codify principles to generalize them, and write errata for cards that don’t follow those principles. Because of the breadth of effects in the game and the multitude of ways card text has been written, this is a major project. To give you a guideline until we can complete this work, we’ve added rule 10.3.6 to CR1.2. It reads, “While resolving the effects of a card ability, a checkpoint occurs in between each separate instruction.” There isn’t a definition of an “instruction” in CR1.2, but in most cases, you can assume that if an ability uses multiple sentences to tell you to do a sequence of things, each sentence is a separate instruction. Sentences that aren’t telling you to do something, but just clarifying or modifying another sentence, aren’t instructions.

We’re already planning for the next rules update after this, and we hope to make a lot of progress in this and related areas.

Costs and Modifiers

We’ve made a few changes to the rules on costs. First, we’ve added rule 1.15.1c, which explains how to calculate a value when multiple effects are increasing or decreasing it at the same time. Second, we now specify (in rules 1.15.2 and 10.3.5) that paying a cost is always followed by a checkpoint. This formalizes the timing of abilities like Heinlein Grid, Sundew, and Corporate Defector, which trigger after a cost is paid but before the effect connected to that cost resolves.

Finally and most importantly, we’ve added another case to the rules for nested costs in section 1.15.10. A nested cost is a cost that can be paid in the middle of resolving an ability. Previously, the rules only talked about “positive” nested costs, written in the form, “[player] may [pay cost] to [effect]”. In other words, pay something while the ability resolves, and another part of the ability also resolves. However, many cards have a “negative” form of nested cost, “[effect] unless [player] [pays cost]”, meaning they pay something while the ability resolves to stop another part of the ability from resolving. We formalized this wording to clearly belong to the same classification as “positive” nested costs.

In making this formalization, we realized that it would be confusing to have the word “unless” appearing in ways that didn’t involve a nested cost. Fortunately, only a few cards used “unless” in other ways—some of which had other issues that merited cleanup anyway—so we issued errata rewriting those cards without using the word. See the Card-Specific Notes section below for details of those errata.

Example cards: The Nihilist [8], Loot Box [51], Increased Drop Rates [54]

Completing Actions and Timing Structures

We made several small changes relating to the ends of things. We expanded the rules about actions (Everything new is in section 5.2.2.) to ensure that they specified when an action is completed, since Mirrormorph introduces a trigger condition based on that. The new section 5.4.3 clarifies what exactly happens when a Terminal cuts off the action phase outside the normal progression of the turn. Timing structures are now annotated to indicate when they are completed, helping clarify which abilities are happening in those structures and which trigger after they close. And finally, we expanded the rules in sections 6.1 and 6.5 explaining what exactly happens when an ability jumps the game to a different point in the run timing structure, including not only abilities like the various Deflector ice, but also “end the run” effects.

Damage and Player Agency

The damage rules in section 10.4 were previously imprecise about which player is responsible for what. Since Jinteki has a theme in Ashes that involves caring about the cards trashed by its damage effects, we corrected those rules to specify which player is responsible for the damage and for the resulting trashing of cards from the Runner’s grip. In particular, if a card instructs the Corp to “do damage,” the Corp is considered to be the player who trashed the cards lost to that damage. If a card instructs the Runner to “suffer damage,” the Runner is considered to have trashed those cards.

“Repeat this process”

During the development of Downfall, we found that a couple of the cards were easiest to write as a recursive loop. In the past, such effects would have relied on a “for each” summation or some other construction, but we found that a repetition was simpler. We added section 9.8.6 to the comprehensive rules to explain how to resolve these types of effects.

The most important thing to note is that how to repeat an ability depends on how many times the ability says to do so. Let’s look at the two examples from Downfall:

With Complete Image [45], we have the simple instruction of “repeat this process”. This is the basic case for a repetition effect. To resolve this type of ability, repeat the entire ability, including the repetition instruction, as long as the repetition instruction stays relevant. For example, if you name Sure Gamble, and the net damage trashes a copy of Sure Gamble, you get to name another card. If the second net damage trashes the second card you name, repeat again!

With Fully Operational [36], we have the instruction to “repeat this process” a specific number of times, in this case “for each remote server with at least 1 card in it and at least 1 piece of ice protecting it.” To resolve this type of repetition ability, after resolving the ability for the first time you determine the number of repetitions that will occur. Once that number is determined, it is “locked in”, and you repeat the rest of the ability that many time. For example, if you play Fully Operational with two remote servers matching the criteria, you will get to choose to gain 2 or draw 2 cards three times total: once initially, followed by 2 repetitions.

Swapping

In CR1.1, the rules for swapping were pretty sparse. The first of the two rules was a vague description of the process of swapping two cards with a list of exceptions. The second rule was an explanation for how to swap two sets of cards with each other; the astute observer may have noticed that no card exists in the game that even does this!

To that end, we expanded section 10.11 on swapping, adding much more detail on how to handle a swap effect and completely removing the rule on swapping two sets of cards. Some highlights are:

• You must follow the normal rules for a card that is to be swapped. No more putting a second region into a remote server via a swap effect!

• If an installed card is swapped with an uninstalled card, the newly installed card maintains the old card’s position in the play area, but it enters the play area in the state that it would normally be installed. For example, if you swap an installed piece of ice with one in HQ, then the new ice protects the server the old ice was protecting, from the same position relative to the other ice protecting that server, but the new ice enters play unrezzed.

• Swapping agendas between score areas is now properly codified in the rules. This is consistent with past rulings on how effects that swap agendas work.

Example card: Project Yagi-Uda [40]

Trashing Corp Cards

Six cards have abilities involving trashing Corp cards during a run, and use a confusing parenthetical phrase: “(even if [the card] cannot normally be trashed)”. This text was confusing enough to warrant a FAQ update in the very first official FAQ. What was really meant by this is “even if [the card] has no trash cost”, but the text chosen doesn’t really say anything like that. In CR1.1, we had a rule (7.7.2c) calling out that wording and its meaning, but we were dissatisfied with this solution. For CR1.2, we’ve removed that rule and rewritten those cards without the “cannot normally be trashed” wording, replacing it with new reminder text where appropriate. See the Card-Specific Notes section below for more details on this errata.

Cards issued errata: Demolition Run [Revised Core – 2], Imp [System Core 2019 – 13], Freedom Khumalo: Crypto-Anarchist [Kitara – 81], Keyhole [Spin – 61], Singularity [Revised Core  – 4] , By Any Means [Kitara – 1]

Style and Templating Updates

With the release of Downfall, Null Signal’s first set, we knew this was the chance to make any major changes to card templating. One of the major tasks we wanted to tackle as the rules team was to standardize how abilities are written. We re-examined a lot of issues with past card text, not just from a mechanical standpoint, but also from a stylistic perspective. This lead to us to creating an internal style guide document, which goes into such detail as “use the numeral 1 instead of ‘a/n’ or the word ‘one’” or even:

If an effect references a piece of ice/hardware directly, or if the effect otherwise does not require the implicit separation of ice/hardware into individual units, “piece of” is not used. In all other non-specific cases, or if the effect depends upon the separation of ice/hardware into individual units, “piece of” is used.

There are many differences from how cards have been worded historically that you may notice as you read NISEI cards. The style guide document, among other tools and processes we have put into place, ensures that future cards will be worded consistently, even if they are a bit different from how cards were written in the past. While some parts of the new style may seem strange at first, we firmly believe these changes will make future cards much more intuitive and simpler to understand overall.

Note: We will continue to examine past wording for abilities, and even the changes we’ve made for this first set. Our goal is always to maintain as much consistency as possible, while striving for as much clarity as possible. We have not made these changes lightly, and we will not in the future, but don’t be alarmed if we end up making little nips and tucks here and there.

The sections below highlight many of the more far-reaching changes we’ve made. Some of the smaller adjustments include:

• The order subtypes appear on cards has been given a list of rules and priorities.

• Some of the trickier but infrequently used concepts, such as using a single program to break all subroutines, have been given new wording.

• Modifiers have been given specific words based on the context under which they appear (e.g. we are using “gets” and “has” for ice/breaker strength, but “gains” and “loses” for abilities and subtypes).

• We have standardized trigger conditions and game state checks across the board, so that whether a card is for a Runner or Corp it should read roughly the same.

• “Sunset” clauses specifying the duration of an effect have been standardized to “for the remainder” (historically both “for the remainder” and “until” have been used)

Player Pronouns

We are no longer using gendered pronouns to refer to players on cards, and instead will use the gender neutral singular “they” where “you”, “the Corp”, “the Runner”, or “a/the/each player” does not suffice. It is shorter, clearer, and more inclusive than the previous “he or she” wording.

Trace Formatting

Clarity comes in many forms. Sometimes, when we talk about clarity we’re talking about making sure an ability is written in a way that communicates what it does effectively. Other times, we’re talking about the literal physical clarity of the letters and symbols on the card. Traces are just such a case.

To make our cards more accessible to people with impaired vision, we decided to write traces using brackets instead of superscript. We are sure that many people will welcome this change.

Example card: Trebuchet [60]

“Immediately”

Previous usage of the word “immediately” has been sporadic and often unclear. We have decided to move away from using the word, except in very special circumstances where using “immediately” with a timeframe such as “before” adds clarity, as seen with The Class Act [18].

Losing Abilities

Those of us on the rules team have always found the concept of “blanking” a text box really weird: even though Employee Strike is active, we can still clearly see that the text box of the Corp’s identity is indeed not blank! Instead, to reflect the way some abilities cause cards to “gain” other abilities, we will be using the word “lose” for abilities that should go away.

Example card: Direct Access [28]

Accesses Revealed from R&D

Previously, ambushes and such said something like “If Snare! is accessed from R&D, the Runner must reveal it.” This construction implies that the Runner only has to reveal the card at the start of the access, but really what it should say is something that implies the card remains revealed throughout the entire access. Moving forward they’ll say something more like “While the Runner is accessing this card from R&D, they must reveal it.”

Example card: Increased Drop Rates [54]

Self References

Self-references have historically been a source of much consternation – not just for us on the rules team, but for players all over the world, too. Due to the traditionally literal way that card text is considered by the rules, having the title of a card inside its own text leads to some weird situations. If it gets copied by another card, what happens? Perhaps in a literal sense Netrunner’s answer makes sense, since the card referenced isn’t the right card. But in an intuitive sense, it is lacking.

Moving forward, we refer to cards in their own text using the construction “this ”. In most cases, the identifier for the card will be its card type. But in some cases, such as during accesses, we will use “this card.” This primarily accomplishes two things.

First, it makes it a lot clearer how copying abilities works. If Loki copies subroutines from a Loot Box, the text “this ice” clearly refers to the Loki the text is copied onto. This reads much more intuitively than copying Kitsune does.

Second, it makes it much clearer how multiple copies of a card work together. Some very common questions from newer players involve confusion on this matter: do card abilities stack, if you have multiple copies can you use both, etc. “This card” clearly refers to only that copy of the card, whereas the title of the card could be read as referring to any copy of it.

Example cards: Isolation [1], Chisel [3], Climactic Showdown [6], Fencer Fueno [7], The Nihilist [8], Trickster Taka [9], Flip Switch [13], Lucky Charm [14], Bukhgalter [16], “Baklan” Bochkin [17], The Class Act [18], Spec Work [22], Gauss [24], Pelangi [25], The Artist [27], Direct Access [28], Whistleblower [30], Architect Deployment Test [32], Calvin B4L3Y [33], Nanoetching Matrix [34], Hagen [35], Cold Site Server [38], Project Yagi-Uda [40], Sting! [41], Storgotic Resonator [43], Saisentan [44], Complete Image [45], Letheia Nisei [46], Remastered Edition [47], Congratulations! [50], Loot Box [51], Increased Drop Rates [54], Divested Trust [55], SDS Drone Deployment [56], Afshar [58], Sandstone [59], Trebuchet [60], Secure and Protect [61], Reduced Service [62], Vulnerability Audit [63], Rime [65]

Cost Modifiers

Another common new player question that we decided to solve with language is “How long do discounts to costs apply?”, also known as the Reina/Blue Sun Conundrum. In most cases, we took one effect with several different wordings across Netrunner’s history and made one unified way to write that type of ability. For cost modifiers we did the reverse: we took “lower[ing] the cost”, which was confusingly used in a few different applications, and made a new construction for each of those applications.

Some of the cost modifiers remain unchanged and should thus be familiar.

• “As an additional cost” — This still creates a new cost that is tacked onto the specified cost.

Example cards: Isolation [1], Spec Work [22], Cold Site Server [38], SDS Drone Deployment [56], Secure and Protect [61], Reduced Service [62]

• “Ignoring all costs”/”Ignoring the [play/rez/install/additional] cost” — This still makes you skip paying the indicated costs while still getting to Do The Thing.

Example cards: Always Have a Backup Plan [11], Whistleblower [30], Architect Deployment Test [32]

Where previously “lowering” and “increasing” a cost were used in all cost modification situations, we now have three different ways to write cost modifiers that clarify when and for how long the modification applies.

• “Is lowered/increased by N” — This language is used for modifiers that apply statically at all times.

Example card: Demolisher [2]

• “Costs N more/less to [effect]” — This templating is used for a cost modifier that applies to an interaction (installing, rezzing, or trashing) with a specific card. It’s different from the next construction in that we know the modification and we know under which circumstances it applies, but we don’t know when exactly it will apply.

Example card: Az McCaffrey [10]

• “Paying N more/less” — This templating is used for a cost modifier that applies to a specific moment. It’s different from the previous construction in that the rest of the card ability explicitly defines when the discount applies.

Example cards: Masterwork (v37) [15], The Artist [27], Rejig [29], MirrorMorph [31], Secure and Protect [61]

Host Language

We have cleaned up the language for how cards create, destroy, and refer to host relationships. Cards dealing with host/hosted items should read much more clearly the first time around now. A few highlights include:

• The word “hosted” from now on is always relative to the card the text appears on. For example, the phrase “hosted power counter” can be read as “power counter on this card”.

• The Nihilist reads “you may remove any 2 virus counters from your installed cards.” Notably, this doesn’t use the word “hosted”, and thus allows you to remove 2 virus counters from among any of your installed cards, even choosing to take 1 each from 2 different cards. The word “any” in cases like this helps highlight the more permissive behavior.

• We will not be using “from the bank” in the future. The bank is the implied source for any and all tokens, and if a player is to move tokens from some other location the card will be explicit.

Example cards: Chisel [3], Fencer Fueno [7], The Nihilist [8], Trickster Taka [9], “Baklan” Bochkin [17], Pelangi [25], Cold Site Server [38], Project Yagi-Uda, Storgotic Resonator [43], Remastered Edition [47], Focus Group [52], Sandstone [59], Reduced Service [62]

Run Language

At the heart of Netrunner is, well, the running. Perhaps no phrase more iconic appears in card text than “Make a run.” However, there was previously a major problem with it: the verb “make” in relation to runs was used for three completely different concepts: (1) to instruct the Runner to initiate a run, (2) in trigger conditions looking for a run that has become successful, and (3) in trigger conditions looking for a run that has become unsuccessful (confusingly, after the run has ended).

We really wanted to break up these different functions with different wording. At first, we assumed without even thinking about it that “make a run” should stay as the phrase for the Runner initiating a run, and set about looking for new language for the other uses. This led to several weeks of bashing our heads against really clunky constructions, such as “Whenever a run becomes successful” and “If a run succeeded on the Runner’s last turn.”

Eventually, we entertained the idea of keeping “make a run” for referring to the outcome of a run, and changing things on the other end. This led us to the very clean, simple, and active instruction: “Run.” Run R&D. Run a remote server. Run any server. These are clear and concise, and switching to this allowed us to keep “make a run” in other places without any clunky card templating. Once we settled on this, the rest followed suit pretty easily.

For complete clarity, here is how we will write all run related language moving forward:

• “Run ” — The instruction for the Runner to begin a run on a specific server.

Example cards: Stargate [4], Khusyuk [21]

• “Run any server” — The instruction for the Runner to begin a run on a server of their choice.

Example cards: Always Have a Backup Plan [11], Direct Access [28]

• “Make/made a successful run”, “Make/made an unsuccessful run” — Reference to a run becoming or having been either successful or unsuccessful.

Example cards: Fencer Fueno [7], Lucky Charm [14], Whistleblower [30], Complete Image [45], Daily Quest [48], Focus Group [52], Reduced Service [62]

• “When[ever] a run begins/ends” — Gone are the days of cards caring about runs “initiating”. We will now simply refer to runs beginning and ending just like turns and other timing structures.

Example cards: Masterwork (v37) [15], Direct Access [28], Tiered Subscription [49]

• “Additional cost(s) to run” — Updated to match the new run instruction.

Example cards: Always Have a Backup Plan [11], Cold Site Server [38], Reduced Service [62]

• “Attacked server” — Reference to the server on which the Runner is running.

Example card: Project Yagi-Uda [40]

Parenthetical and Reminder Text

Netrunner has had a complicated past with parentheses, from reminder text, to rules text, to the confusing paradoxical loop on cards like Colossus (Terminal Directive [48]). We have decided to do away with parentheses in all but the most special of circumstances where they allow us significant gains in clarity and/or brevity. We will no longer be using parentheses as reverse-exceptions, such as “(paying all costs)” or “(from HQ)”, nor will we use them for text that should just be in the card text sans parentheses, such as “(cannot be prevented)”.

In addition, we are introducing to Netrunner for the first time actual reminder text, which will be marked not just by parentheses but also italicized text. Reminder text does not serve explicit rules function, but instead helps players with unusual, ambiguous, or new interactions.

Cards with parentheses providing clarity/brevity: Khusyuk [21]

Cards with reminder text: Whistleblower [30], Storgotic Resonator [43], Secure and Protect [61]

Searches

Speaking of reminder text for unusual or new interactions, one of the cards with reminder text in this set is Secure and Protect, which uses reminder text to remind players to shuffle R&D after searching it, instead of after resolving the card. Back in the early days, search effects were always written in the form of “Search for , . Shuffle .” This lead to shenanigans with chain reactions, since technically with a found card could cause abilities to trigger before the deck is shuffled.

Long story short, the search rules were expanded to include an implicit shuffle immediately after performing the search, but before resolving any further effects. This change has been in the rules for a while, but card text hadn’t changed to work with it. The reminder text on Secure and Protect puts the shuffle at the correct place in the sequence of resolving its effect. We’ll continue to write search effects with similar reminder text for now, but eventually we may let the rules handle shuffling after searching, and leave the instruction off of cards entirely.

Card Specific Notes

FAQs, errata, explanations, and Pronunciation guides

“Even if it cannot normally be trashed”

Demolition Run (Revised Core [2])

Old text:

Make a run on HQ or R&D. You may trash, at no cost, any cards you access (even if the cards cannot normally be trashed).

New text:

Run HQ or R&D. During that run, you may pay 0 to trash any card you are accessing (even if it has no trash cost).

Imp (System Core 2019 [13])

Old text:

Place 2 virus counters on Imp when it is installed.

Once per turn, you may remove 1 hosted virus counter to trash a card you access at no cost (even if it cannot normally be trashed).

New text:

Place 2 virus counters on Imp when it is installed.

Once per turn, you may remove 1 hosted virus counter to trash a card you are accessing (even if it has no trash cost).

Freedom Khumalo: Crypto-Anarchist (Kitara [81])

Old text:

Once per turn, you may remove X virus counters from your installed cards to trash a card that you access at no cost (even if it cannot normally be trashed). X is that card’s rez or play cost.

New text:

Once per turn, you may remove any X virus counters from your installed cards to trash a non-agenda card you are accessing (even if it has no trash cost). X is that card’s rez or play cost.

As discussed in the Rules Update section, the “even if it cannot normally be trashed” clauses on Demolition Run, Imp, and Freedom Khumalo were unclear because they did not actually address the question the clause was trying to clarify (namely, cards without trash costs), and in fact it raised further questions of how these cards interact with other abilities. These three cards have been updated with the new reminder text and with text that matches how other similar abilities will be worded moving forward.

Freedom Khumalo received some additional changes as well: we added “any” to the cost in virus counters to match the style on The Nihilist, and we clarified that the ability doesn’t work on agendas (already established in external rulings) by stating it directly on the card.

Singularity (Revised Core [4])

Old text:

As an additional cost to play this event, spend .

Make a run on a remote server. If successful, instead of accessing cards, trash all cards in the server at no cost (even if they cannot normally be trashed).

New text:

As an additional cost to play this event, spend .

Run a remote server. If successful, instead of accessing cards, trash all cards installed in that server.

Keyhole (Spin [61])

Old text:

: Make a run on R&D. If successful, instead of accessing cards, look at the top 3 cards of R&D. Trash 1 of those cards at no cost (even if it cannot normally be trashed) and the Corp shuffles R&D.

New text:

: Run R&D. If successful, instead of accessing cards, look at the top 3 cards of R&D. Trash 1 of those cards, then the Corp shuffles R&D.

Singularity and Keyhole don’t have the Runner access the cards they trash, so whether the cards have a trash cost or can “normally be trashed” is irrelevant. We’ve simply removed the parenthetical from these two cards and updated their text to our current style.

By Any Means (Kitara [1])

Old text:

Play only as your first .

Until the turn ends, whenever you access a card not in Archives, trash it at no cost (even if it cannot normally be trashed) and suffer 1 meat damage.

New text:

Play only as your first .

For the remainder of the turn, whenever you access a card not in Archives, trash it and suffer 1 meat damage.

While By Any Means does trash cards while they are being accessed, it does so as part of a conditional ability resolving, not in step 7.8.3 when the Runner has their regular opportunity to trash cards. So we’ve removed the parenthetical here as well without needing any new reminder text.

“Unless”

Universal Connectivity Fee (Lunar [67])

Old text:

The Runner loses 1 unless the Runner is tagged. If the Runner is tagged, he or she loses all credits in his or her credit pool and the Corp trashes Universal Connectivity Fee.

New text:

If the Runner is not tagged, they lose 1. If the Runner is tagged, they lose all credits in their credit pool and the Corp trashes Universal Connectivity Fee.

Old Hollywood Grid (SanSan [97])

Old text:

Agendas accessed from this server cannot be stolen unless the Runner already has a copy of that agenda in his or her score area. This applies even during the run on which the Runner trashes Old Hollywood Grid.

New text:

The Runner cannot steal agendas accessed from this server, even during the run on which they trash Old Hollywood Grid. Ignore this ability for any agenda the Runner has a copy of in their score area.

The Black File (Mumbad [99])

Old text:

The Corp cannot win the game unless the Runner is flatlined.

New text:

The Corp cannot win the game except if you are flatlined.

Anansi (Kitara [51])

Old text:

Whenever an encounter with Anansi ends, do 3 net damage unless the Runner broke all subroutines on it.

New text:

Whenever an encounter with Anansi ends, if the Runner did not break all subroutines on it, do 3 net damage.

These cards originally used the word “unless” for a condition based on the current game state, but we now only use “unless” to indicate a nested cost. The new wordings are functionally identical to how the cards worked before “unless” had special significance.

Chum (Original Core [75])

Old text:

The next piece of ice the Runner encounters during this run has +2 strength. Do 3 net damage unless the Runner breaks all subroutines on that piece of ice.

New text:

The next piece of ice the Runner encounters during this run has +2 strength. When that encounter ends, if the Runner did not break all subroutines on that ice, do 3 net damage.

Chum was always notorious for having strange timing on the delayed conditional ability created by its subroutine. It would trigger as soon as it “could tell” that the Runner hadn’t broken all the subroutines, which could happen in entirely different steps of the run depending on whether the ice was bypassed or otherwise had something change the timing of the encounter. Since it also used “unless” in a way that didn’t denote a cost, the time was right to update that ability to a more clear and consistent timing.

Sundew (System Core 2019 [92])

Old text:

The first time the Runner spends at least 1 on his or her turn, gain 2 unless the Runner just initiated a run on this server.

New text:

The first time the Runner spends 1 or more during their turn, gain 2. If those were spent to take an action, the first time during that action a run on this server begins, pay 2.

Sundew presented multiple timing-related issues that resulted in lots of confusion about how it interacts with other cards. Primarily, because it triggers from the Runner spending rather than from a condition later in the process of taking an action, it relies on information about the reason the was spent before that information is actually known. Maybe Jinteki’s clones can predict the future, but the game rules can’t! Since it also uses “unless”, it was time to finally address it.

Although the new text is functionally quite different, in practice it operates quite closely to its original intended behavior. It now pays out 2 the first time each turn the Runner spends any clicks no matter what, then forces the Corp to pay 2 if those clicks are spent to take an action and a run is made on Sundew’s server during that action.

In almost all cases, this results in the same outcome, but importantly it does change its interaction with events that can initiate runs but do not have the subtype run. For example, Cyber Threat (Lunar [13]), used to always cause Sundew to pay out, but it now will force the Corp to gain and then lose 2 if it does initiate an appropriate run.

Port Anson Grid (Lunar [44])

Old text:

The Runner cannot jack out while running on this server unless he or she trashes 1 installed program.

New text:

As an additional cost to jack out during a run on this server, the Runner must trash 1 installed program.

Even before we updated “unless” to signify a nested cost, Port Anson Grid was confusingly worded. While it does make sense that trashing a program is a cost, it’s not paid as part of resolving Port Anson Grid’s ability. So when does the Runner have to trash an installed program? We’ve rewritten the effect to a more clear and standard template.

Other Errata

Neutralize All Threats (Data & Destiny [43])

Old text:

The first time each turn you access a card with a trash cost, you must trash it by paying its trash cost, if able.

New text:

The first time each turn you access a card with a trash cost, reveal it. You must trash that card by paying its trash cost, if able.

The Runner is now required to reveal the first card with a trash cost that they access each turn while Neutralize All Threats is active. This allows the Corp to confirm when the ability on Neutralize All Threats triggers, thus making it clear that the Runner is not required to trash cards they access later in the turn.

Bug Out Bag (Red Sand [64])

Old text:

Place X power counters on Bug Out Bag when you install it. If you have no cards in your grip at the end of your turn, draw 1 card for each counter on Bug Out Bag, then trash it.

New text:

Place X power counters on Bug Out Bag when you install it. If you have no cards in your grip at the end of your turn, draw 1 card for each power counter on Bug Out Bag, then trash it.

Bug Out Bag was intended to draw cards based on how much you paid when you installed it, but it’s possible to host other counters on it besides the power counters that implement its effect. While “counters” referenced in the last part of its ability does refer back to the power counters hosted in the first part, we added “power” to make the card more clear.

Ultraviolet Clearance (Terminal Directive [38])

Old text:

Gain 10 and draw 4 cards. Install 1 card (paying all costs).

New text:

Gain 10 and draw 4 cards. You may install 1 card.

We issued functional errata to Ultraviolet Clearance to make the install optional, removing hidden information problems. Our philosophy is that cards should not require a judge to verify whether they are played correctly. We also removed the unnecessary parenthetical: paying all costs is the default, and card text should only list what is functionally required in most cases.

Questions and Answers for Older Cards

Mlinzi (Kitara [115])

If the Runner has fewer cards in their stack than required to trash by a subroutine on Mlinzi, can they still choose to trash the top cards of the stack to not suffer the net damage?

No. The Runner must be able to pay the full cost in cards trashed in order to not suffer the net damage. (This reverses a previous ruling, which did not consider Mlinzi’s effects using the rules for costs. Since rule 1.15.1c now makes clear that trashing cards from the stack in Mlinzi’s subroutines is a cost, those rules should be applied.)

Downfall Cards

Isolation [1]

If the Runner has exactly 2 and plays Isolation, trashing Dadiana Chacon, do they suffer meat damage?

No. Both the credit cost and the additional cost are paid at the same time. Dadiana is inactive by the time her last ability meets its trigger condition, so it never becomes pending or resolves.

Chisel [3]

Can the Runner use Datasucker to help trash ice faster with Chisel? What about cards like Null: Whistleblower?

No, Datasucker can only reduce the strength of ice during the paid ability window of an encounter, which is after Chisel’s ability will already have resolved and either trashed the ice or added a virus counter to itself. Null, on the other hand, has a conditional ability with the same trigger condition as Chisel, so the Runner can choose the order to trigger and resolve those abilities. Chisel looks at the strength of the ice at the time its ability resolves, which will include Null’s effect if that was resolved first.

If the Runner encounters a Tollbooth hosting a Chisel with 5 virus counters, do they still have to pay 3?

If it’s the Runner’s turn, their “when encountered” abilities resolve first. Tollbooth is trashed by Chisel before the Runner has to pay, and its ability then cannot resolve.

Stargate [4]

What happens to the other two cards revealed by Stargate?

The cards not trashed are returned to R&D in the same order they were originally in.

If the Runner uses Stargate and the run is unsuccessful, can they try again the same turn?

No. Stargate’s restriction to “Use this ability only once per turn” applies to the entire ability, not just the “if successful” effect.

Utae [5]

(Oo-ta-ay)

Climactic Showdown [6]

If the Corp does not trash a card for Climactic Showdown, does the Runner access 2 additional cards from the chosen server or from the server they are accessing?

If the Runner accesses HQ before R&D that turn, they access 2 additional cards from HQ. If the Runner accesses R&D before HQ that turn, they access 2 additional cards from R&D.

What happens if the Corp does not have any installed ice when Climactic Showdown resolves?

The Runner cannot choose a server. Climactic Showdown removes itself from the game and the rest of the ability does nothing.

If the Runner makes a successful run with Divide and Conquer after Climactic Showdown resolves?

Card text is resolved in the order it appears. The Runner accesses Archives, then accesses 3 cards from HQ, then accesses 1 card from R&D.

Fencer Fueno [7]

(FU-ee-no)

What are the applicable uses for credits on Fencer Fueno other than trashing accessed cards? Can the Runner use the credits to break the subroutine when accessing Archangel?

Once a run becomes successful, the credits on Fencer Fueno become available for the Runner to spend for any purpose until that run ends. The Runner can feel free to spend the credits on anything as if they were in their credit pool, including but not limited to the trace from Ash 2X3ZB9CY, the psi game from The Future Perfect, or even using a Self-Modifying Code during an access encounter with Archangel.

The Nihilist [8]

(NAI-uh-list or NEE-uh-list)

Can the Corp choose to trash the top card of R&D if R&D is empty to keep the Runner from drawing with The Nihilist?

No. Since “unless” designates that trashing the top card of R&D is a nested cost (rule 1.15.10b), the Corp must trash a card to stop the Runner from drawing. If they do not trash a card, the Runner draws.

If the Runner’s stack is empty, does The Nihilist force the Corp to trash the top card of R&D?

No. Since “unless” designates trashing the top card of R&D as a nested cost (rule 1.15.10b), the Corp can choose not to pay that cost. In this case, “draw 2 cards” resolves but does nothing.

Trickster Taka [9]

(TAH-ka)

Can the Runner avoid the tag from Trickster Taka’s last ability?

Yes. Just like with avoiding the tag from Data Raven, the ability only requires the Runner to make a choice. Once the choice is made, whether or not the effect is prevented does not undo or invalidate the choice.

Az McCaffrey [10]

(rhymes with “jazz”)

Always Have a Backup Plan [11]

If the last ice you encountered during the first run of Always Have a Backup Plan is swapped to a different server, uninstalled, or derezzed, what happens during the second run?

In either case, the Runner does not encounter that piece of ice, and thus no ice is bypassed.

If the first run with Always Have a Backup Plan is deflected to a new server, which server does the Runner run the second time?

The second run is made against the server that is being attacked when the first run ends.

Flip Switch [13]

Does the Runner still have to pay the additional cost from Port Anson Grid if they use Flip Switch to jack out from a run on its server?

Yes. When the ability on Flip Switch resolves, the Runner must trash a program to jack out. If they do not trash a program, they do not jack out.

Does the third ability on Flip Switch trigger Armand “Geist” Walker?

Yes. Geist only cares that it’s an ability with a icon; it doesn’t have to be a paid ability.

Lucky Charm [14]

Can the Runner use Lucky Charm to prevent the “when encountered” ability on Data Raven from ending the run without having to take a tag?

Yes. Just like with avoiding the tag from Data Raven, the ability only requires the Runner to make a choice. Once the choice is made, whether or not the effect is prevented does not undo or invalidate the choice.

Can the Runner use Lucky Charm to prevent the first subroutine on Fairchild from ending the run if they decline to pay the credits?

Yes. Since “unless” designates paying 4 as a nested cost (rule 1.15.10b), the Runner can choose not to pay the credits. “End the run” then becomes imminent, and the Runner can use Lucky Charm on it.

Can the Runner use Lucky Charm to prevent the Security Nexus trace from ending the run?

No. Even though the Corp is the one resolving the trace, the ability originated from a Runner card and thus cannot be prevented by Lucky Charm.

Masterwork (v37) [15]

Can the Runner use Masterwork (v37) with Az McCaffrey to install a 0 cost piece of hardware when they have no credits?

Yes. The two cost modifiers are combined into a net of 0.

Bukhgalter [16]

(boo-GAL-ter)

Does the Runner still gain credits from Bukhgalter if another card is used during the encounter where all subroutines are broken by Bukhgalter (i..e Datasucker to reduce strength)?

Yes, what matters is that all subroutines were broken using Bukhgalter.

What happens if the encountered ice gains additional subroutines after the Runner uses Bukhgalter to break all of the other subroutines?
Nothing happens. Bukhgalter already triggered and resolved, so the Runner will not gain credits again, and adding new subroutines cannot force the Runner to return the credits gained.

“Baklan” Bochkin [17]

(BAHK-lan BOTCH-kin)

Can the Runner use “Baklan” Bochkin to take a tag, even if they are not encountering a piece of ice?

Yes.

Can the Corp re-rez a piece of ice immediately after “Baklan” Bochkin derezzes it?

No. Baklan’s ability is used during the encounter ice phase, which does not allow the Corp to rez ice.

The Class Act [18]

If The Class Act is uninstalled during the turn the Runner installed it, do they still draw 4 cards?

No.

Which comes first, The Class Act’s first ability or discarding to hand size?

The Runner discards to hand size first, then draws four cards. They don’t check hand size again that turn.

If The Class Act’s first ability is the first time the Runner would draw cards that turn, does her second ability apply to that draw?

Yes.

How many cards does the Runner draw at the end of the turn after installing The Class Act if Genetics Pavilion is active? How many do they look at?

The Runner only draws 2 cards. The Class Act triggers at Step 5.7.2d of the Runner’s turn when the end of their turn is formally observed, but Genetics Pavilion remains active until the Runner’s turn officially passes to the Corp’s turn after step 5.7.2f. If The Class Act’s second ability is applicable in this situation, the Runner will look at 3 cards and put one on the bottom before drawing.

How does The Class Act work with Window?

If the Runner uses Window’s ability without having drawn cards previously that turn, they will look at the top two cards of their stack, put one on top and one on the bottom, then draw the card they put on the bottom.

How does the first draw effect in a turn resolve with The Class Act if there are fewer cards in the stack than the Runner will draw or look at?

If the Runner is to draw as many cards as there are in the stack or more, the Runner looks at all the remaining cards, puts one on the bottom, then draws all of them. If both players agree to the shortcut, the Runner can simply draw all the cards in the stack.

If the Runner is to draw exactly 1 fewer card than there are in the stack, the Runner looks at all the cards in the stack, puts one on the bottom, then draws all but that bottom card.

How does The Class Act work with Lockdown?

If the subroutine on Lockdown resolves, the Runner cannot draw cards for the remainder of that turn. If this happens during the turn on which the Runner installed The Class Act, the Runner does not draw 4 cards. Since the Runner will not draw any cards that turn, the second ability on The Class Act will never apply during that turn.

How does The Class Act work with Game Day?

Determine how many cards the Runner needs to draw to be at their maximum hand size. If it’s more than 0, X in The Class Act’s ability will be that number plus 1. Cards drawn by Game Day’s effect are considered to be drawn all at once.

How does The Class Act work with Levy AR Lab Access?

After the Runner shuffles their heap and grip into their stack, they look at the top 6 cards of their stack, put one on the bottom of their stack, then draw 5 cards.

How does The Class Act work with Oracle May?

If Oracle May is used and no other cards have been drawn that turn, after revealing a card of the named type, the Runner looks at that card and the next card in the stack, puts one of them on the bottom of the stack, draws the other one, and gains 2.

How does The Class Act work with Mr. Li?

The Runner looks at the top 3 cards of their stack, puts one on the bottom of their stack, draws the other 2, then puts one of those cards on the bottom of their stack.

Lat [19]

(rhymes with “hat”)

Which comes first, Lat’s ability or discarding to hand size?

The Runner discards to hand size first, then checks whether to draw a card from Lat’s ability. They don’t check hand size again that turn.

If Lat has Safety First installed, which comes first?

Both Lat and Safety First meet their trigger conditions when the Runner’s turn ends, so the Runner can choose to resolve them in either order. Note that both abilities check the number of cards in the Runner’s grip when they resolve, so the ordering of the two abilities can affect whether each other draws the Runner a card.

Khusyuk [21]

(hoo-SHOOk)

What happens if the trace on Ash 2X3ZB9CY is successful during a Khusyuk run?

Khushyuk replaces the Runner’s access step with its own ability, but Ash still prohibits the Runner from accessing any card other than itself. The Runner reveals cards from the top of R&D, but does not access any of them, nor do they access Ash.

What happens if the trace from the second subroutine on SYNC BRE is successful during a Khusyuk run?

The Runner reveals cards from the top of R&D, but does not access any of them.

Supercorridor [23]

When does Supercorridor check the number of credits the players have? If they have a different number of credits at the end of the Runner’s turn, but resolving another ability (such as Citadel Sanctuary) causes them to have the same number of credits, does the Runner gain 2?

Supercorridor checks the number of credits the players have when its ability resolves. Even if the players have a different number of credits when the Runner’s turn ends, it will still trigger, and other abilities can cause Supercorridor to end up paying out.

Gauss [24]

If the Runner is able to uninstall and reinstall the same Gauss in a single turn, will it have +6 strength that turn?

No. Whenever a card becomes uninstalled, it becomes a new copy of itself without any memory of its previous state.

Pelangi [25]

(peh-LANG-ee)

Can the Runner use Pelangi to give an encountered Wraparound “fracter” or a made up subtype?

No. Whenever a player must choose a subtype, they must choose one that exists, and if applicable they must choose one that is applicable to the card type in question. For a complete list of all subtypes by card type, see rule 2.15.7.

Rezeki [26]

(rez-ECK-ee)

Direct Access [28]

Playing against Replicating Perfection, can the Runner use Direct Access to run on a remote server if they have not run on any central servers yet that turn?

Yes. The identities lose their abilities as soon as Direct Access becomes active, before the run begins and the attacked server is declared.

Playing as Apex, can the Runner use DaVinci to install a non-virtual resource during a Direct Access run?

Yes.

If the Corp most recently named “event” with Azmari EdTech, does the Corp gain 2 when the Runner plays Direct Access?

No. Direct Access becomes active at step 8.6.4 of playing an event, causing Azmari to lose its abilities before it would meet its trigger condition at step 8.6.5.

Does the Runner gain 1 from Ken Tenma when they play Direct Access?

No. Direct Access becomes active at step 8.6.4 of playing an event, causing Ken to lose his abilities before he would meet his trigger condition at step 8.6.5.

Can Skorpios Defense Systems remove Direct Access from the game?

If the Runner chooses to shuffle Direct Access into their stack, then it is never trashed and thus Skorpios never has a chance to act on it. If the Runner does not choose to shuffle Direct Access into their stack, then it is trashed after the run completes and the effects are fully resolved, so Skorpios has its abilities again and may remove Direct Access from the game.

If the only successful run the Runner makes on their turn is a Direct Access run, does Tennin Institute get to place an advancement token on a card?

No. Tennin checks the Runner’s previous turn when the Corp’s turn begins. It does not need to have its ability when the successful run happens.

Rejig [29]

The Runner has an Astrolabe installed and has installed programs with a total memory cost meeting their memory limit. If they Rejig their Astrolabe into another console with +1 MU, do they have to trash programs?

Yes. After the Runner adds the Astrolabe to their grip, their installed programs exceed their memory limit, so they must trash programs down to their new memory limit before continuing to resolve Rejig.

Which uninstalled card does Rejig refer to?

The cost reduction for installing the card with Rejig is based on the install cost of the card the Runner chose to add to their grip.

Whistleblower [30]

What does Whistleblower do? Won’t the Runner steal the agenda anyway?

Whistleblower skips the usual sequence of steps for accessing a card, and lets the Runner steal it before any “when accessed” abilities resolve. Once the agenda is stolen, it is no longer being accessed, which stops other “when accessed” abilities from resolving. It also lets the Runner ignore additional costs to steal agendas like the one imposed by Red Herrings or the one on Obokata Protocol.

So if the Runner names Fetal AI with Whistleblower and accesses a Fetal AI, do they still suffer the net damage?

Whistleblower and Fetal AI both meet their trigger conditions at the same time. If it is the Runner’s turn, Whistleblower resolves first, and the Runner steals Fetal AI (without paying 2) before Fetal AI’s “when accessed” ability resolves. Since Fetal AI is no longer being accessed, its ability does not resolve.

MirrorMorph [31]

If the Corp is playing Mirrormorph and the third action they take on their turn is to play a Terminal operation, do they get a bonus action?

Yes. Playing an operation is not normally considered complete until step 8.6.11, after the “after you resolve” ability from the Terminal ends the action phase. If Mirrormorph were already pending at that time, it would be cancelled as per rule 5.4.3b, but it only meets its trigger condition at the next checkpoint after that (5.4.3d). Therefore Mirrormorph’s ability is the very next thing to happen after the action phase is ended.

Note that in this circumstance, if the extra action from Mirrormorph gives the Corp any clicks, they will not be able to take additional actions to spend those clicks, since the game has already progressed to the discard phase.

If the Corp clears Employee Strike with one of their three actions (or between), does MirrorMorph trigger?

Yes.

If the Corp’s third action is to install a Calvin B4L3Y, can they rez Calvin and use its action with MirrorMorph?

No, there is no window to rez cards between completing your third action and resolving MirrorMorph’s ability.

Is there a paid ability window for the Runner to install Clot with Clone Chip after the Corp’s third action, or can the Corp immediately use the bonus action to place the final advancement counter on an agenda and score it in the next paid ability window?

There is no paid ability window between completing the Corp’s third action and resolving MirrorMorph’s ability. Clot must be installed before the third action (or in the middle of it, if the action includes a nested timing structure with a paid ability window) to be able to stop the Corp from scoring with their extra action.

Architect Deployment Test [32]

What happens to the cards the Corp looked at but did not install when resolving Architect Deployment Test’s ability?

They remain in R&D in the same order they were found.

Calvin B4L3Y [33]

Does Calvin B4L3Y’s last ability trigger when it’s unrezzed or not installed?

No.

Nanoetching Matrix [34]

Does Nanoetching Matrix’s last ability trigger when it’s unrezzed or not installed?

No.

Hagen [35]

(HAH-gen)

Fully Operational [36]

If the Corp has one remote server with ice protecting it and a card installed in it, how many times does the ability resolve?

Twice. The ability resolves once, then it is repeated for the one matching remote server.

How many times does NASX trigger while resolving Fully Operational?

All of the times. All of them. (It triggers for each iteration in which the Corp chooses to gain credits).

Can the Corp increase the number of repetitions for Fully Operational while it is resolving (e.g. by drawing a piece of ice and installing it with Jinja City Grid)?

Only if this happens during the initial resolution. When the instruction to “Repeat this process” would resolve, it then counts your servers, and that number of repetitions is locked in.

Hyoubu Institute [39]

(HYOH-boo)

Project Yagi-Uda [40]

(YAH-gi UDD-ah)

If the Corp swaps a rezzed piece of ice with an unrezzed one, does the Runner still approach the swapped in ice? If so, is the Runner still allowed to jack out?

Project Yagi-Uda explicitly allows the Runner to jack out right after the swap occurs, regardless of when the ability is used. If a piece of ice is swapped while it is being approached, the Runner is still approaching that position and the Corp can rez the new piece of ice. If a piece of ice is swapped to HQ while being encountered, the encounter will end and the Runner will proceed to pass the position now occupied by the ice swapped from HQ.

Can the Corp swap a card in HQ with a card in R&D or Archives?

No. Only installed cards can be chosen as targets for abilities unless specifically noted, so cards in central servers cannot be chosen as the card “in or protecting the attacked server” to be swapped.

Sting! [41]

How much net damage does Sting! do?

The first copy of Sting! Scored or stolen just does 1 net damage. Assuming no agendas are swapped or forfeited, the second copy does 1 net damage if the same player scores or steals it, or 2 if the other player does. The third copy does between 1 and 3 net damage: 3 if that player just scored or stole their only copy of Sting!, 2 if they already had one and their opponent had one, and 1 if the same player has all three.

Storgotic Resonator [43]

Does Storgotic Resonator get a counter when the Corp clears a Runner current matching the Runner’s identity faction?

No. Currents are trashed by the game rules, not by a player.

Does Storgotic Resonator get a counter when the Corp trashes a daemon hosting a card matching the Runner’s identity faction?

No. Cards trashed because the card they were hosted on was uninstalled are trashed by the game rules, not by a player.

Saisentan [44]

(sigh-sen-tan)

Does the extra damage from Saisentan’s “when encountered” ability trigger itself?

No. The damage from trashing a card of the chosen type is not dealt by a subroutine, so it cannot meet the trigger condition of the ability again.

How does Marcus Batty interact with Saisentan?

If Marcus Batty is used during an encounter with Saisentan and resolves one of its subroutines, Saisentan’s ability does apply and can trigger the extra damage. If Marcus Batty is used outside of an encounter with Saisentan, or if the “when encountered” ability did not resolve (perhaps due to Hunting Grounds), then there is no chosen card type and the resolved subroutine just does a regular 1 net damage.

How does Project Kusanagi interact with Saisentan?

Subroutines added to Saisentan by Project Kusanagi can meet the trigger condition for Saisentan’s ability just like its printed subroutines.

Complete Image [45]

If the Corp names I’ve Had Worse and trashes one with Complete Image, does the Runner draw right away or later?

The Runner draws from the ability on I’ve Had Worse before the next iteration of Complete Image. The Corp names the next target card after the draw is complete.

If Complete Image doesn’t trash the named card but Potential Unleashed does, does Complete Image repeat?

No. “If you trash a copy of the named card” is specifically referring to the card trashing caused by Complete Image’s net damage.

Letheia Nisei [46]

(LEE-thee-aa)

What does Letheia Nisei actually do?

If the Corp wins the Psi game, the Corp may choose to trash Letheia and force the Runner to go back to the top of the server and progress through all the ice protecting the server again. Since her trigger condition is “the first time each run the Runner approaches this server”, once the Runner gets through the ice a second time, another copy of Letheia Nisei cannot trigger.

Loot Box [51]

What happens if Loki gains Loot Box’s subroutines and they resolve?

With the recent changes to self-reference templating, “this ice” refers to Loki and Loki will trash itself when the subroutines resolve.

Increased Drop Rates [54]

If the Runner avoids a tag from Increased Drop rate, can the Corp still remove bad publicity?

Since “unless” designates taking a tag as a nested cost (rule 1.15.10b) and costs cannot be avoided (rule 1.15.1a), the tag cannot be avoided.

If the Corp does not have any bad publicity when the Runner accesses Increased Drop Rates, is the Runner forced to take a tag?

No. Since “unless” designates taking a tag as a nested cost (rule 1.15.10b), the Runner can choose not to pay that cost. In this case, “remove 1 bad publicity” resolves but does nothing.

Divested Trust [55]

Can the Corp use Divested Trust to stop the Runner from winning after stealing their 7th agenda point?

No. The Runner wins the game while Divested Trust’s ability is still pending.

If the Corp uses Divested Trust to snatch a 3-point agenda from the Runner, but the Runner steals that agenda again, how much damage does Punitive Counterstrike do?

Punitive Counterstrike looks at the printed agenda point value on each agenda at the time it was stolen. Since the card moves between zones between the two times the Runner steals it, the game does not consider it to be the same agenda, and Punitive deals damage for both times it was stolen, for a total of 6 damage.

If Media Blitz is copying Divested Trust, can the corp use it?

No. Media Blitz is neither an agenda nor in the score area, so it cannot be forfeited.

What if there are multiple agendas in Archives while the Corp has Divested Trust scored?

The Runner accesses cards in Archives one at a time in the order of their choice. After an access is complete, they then choose the next card to access. They do not have to choose an order for all of the cards up front. The Corp will have to decide whether or not to use Divested Trust each time the Runner chooses to access an agenda, without knowing the order that any other cards in Archives will be accessed.

Afshar [58]

(aff-shar)

What happens if Afshar is protecting HQ and gains additional subroutines?

The additional subroutines can be broken normally. Afshar’s ability only affects its printed subroutines.

Sandstone [59]

Can the Runner spend virus counters from Sandstone for Yusuf, Freedom, etc.?

No. Players can only pay costs with items they control, and the Corp controls the virus counters on Sandstone as per rule 1.13.2f.

Trebuchet [60]

(TREH-byoo-shay)

Rime [65]

(rhyme)

When can Rime be rezzed?

Rime’s ability means that it can be rezzed in paid ability windows that allow the Corp to rez assets and upgrades, not just the special paid ability window while it is being approached. It cannot be rezzed during paid ability windows that don’t allow rezzing non-ice cards, most notably the paid ability window during an encounter.

Can the Corp rez Rime with the ability on Architects of Tomorrow?

No. Rime is not a bioroid.

Can the Corp rez Rime when they could rez Tyr’s Hand or Zaibatsu Loyalty?

No. Rime can be rezzed during paid abilities where ice cannot normally be rezzed. It does not apply to special rez abilities from other cards.