Asset deck? Glacier deck? …why not both?
Since I joined the Null Signal Games Design team in 2021, one of my obsessions has been remixing the vertical vs horizontal Corp formula and proposing new hybrid archetypes.
As a new player, do you remember how you’d start setting up a second double-iced remote server? You didn’t know much about tempo back then. You just wanted to have fun with both assets and agendas. But tight Corp deck slots and econ, plus pressure from Runners, taught you to give up on lasting assets in your vertical decks.
Check out the new Jinteki identity A Teia in To Catch A Psychic, the new fiction by Erin “Chouxflower” Celovsky!
Well, not anymore! Unlearn that hard lesson and reawaken the naïve deck builder in you: Jinteki opens its web to all who want to fall into it! A Teia, originally designed by Development team member Jalan, a.k.a.“Bilby”, is the first identity exploring that hybrid path. It offers you the tempo to double the fun – and save on install costs while you’re at it!
There’s now a warm and safe nest in the jungle for your asset. Do you need a Daily Business Show in your second remote? An economy asset? All are welcome, and we’ll soon be previewing cards you can import to take Jinteki to very innovative places.
There are in-faction options too of course – including the brand new Political asset Front Company:
⬩ Front Company
Jinteki Asset: Political – Seedy
Rez cost: 2 – Trash cost: 2 – Influence cost: 2
Rez only during your turn.
The first run each turn cannot be made against a remote server.
The first time each turn a run on Archives begins, if this server is not protected by ice, do 2 net damage.
“Do you take walk-ins?”
Illustrated by Mauricio Herrera
Look familiar? That’s right, perfection is getting replicated – now with extra Political spice. A Front Company installed in one of your remote servers will grant extra defensive value to the other, taxing the Runner’s clicks and resources.
Political assets, which last appeared way back in the Mumbad Cycle, reward you for not protecting them with ice. While none of these are at the power level of the original Political assets (all of which have been on the banned or restricted lists at times), our rework of the mechanic ensures that it is useful in a broader variety of decks. Political assets will still provide their full potential with an asset spam identity, but, now, they can also be played in other archetypes. Front Company is a great example: its flexible effect will fit into glacier A Teia just as well as in your horizontal decks.
Rolling back to our new identity, A Teia also ensures the Runner will have to keep an eye on both remotes all the time. But with the ability to ignore ice install costs, checking both remotes will get more and more taxing. Distract the Runner from your central servers and make them second guess your double installs. Do they have the resources to check both servers? Can they afford to leave that support asset feeding your gameplan alone? They may navigate your tricks to steal an agenda from server A, but they have to wonder: there can’t be another agenda in server B, right? Right? And if you stick around for the next few days of reveals, you might even see cards that allow you to pivot from a dual remote plan to a single one!
When your opponents see this identity, they will never be sure what kind of shenanigans you’re brewing. These secret facilities can shelter many different gameplans. In A Teia, there are so many assets and upgrades in and out of faction to experiment with that you’ll never feel you have enough influence. The sandbox is huge!
Welcome to Jinteki’s new toolbox! We hope you’ll enjoy experimenting with it as much as playtesters did!
