The Cookbook to CI7 - Part 4 Running against CI7

Running against CI7

A lot of runners don’t really have any practice against CI7. This typically means they don’t know any of the tricks to beat it, and CI7 often does a lot better than it really should. In the previous article, we talked about how to setup as a CI7 corp. This was the last of the articles on how to play CI7. This article is focused on the other side, running against CI7.

The Cookbook to CI7 - Part 3 Setting up as CI7

Welcome back. In the previous article we talked about how to combo through all the various hate a CI7 has to deal with on their winning turn. In this article we are talking about setting up to get the combo. It should be clear that most combinations of combo-hate that a runner-deck brings can be beaten, so getting through the setup phase is the main way that CI7 loses the game.

Setting up as CI7 is typically pretty simple, despite being the most skill intensive part of it. You have to draw cards until you have the combo - overdraw to trash any doubles (or play them outside of the combo turn), and generally have enough money to hold any of the cards you need. The skill in setting up comes from many things, such as knowing where to ice against who, what to mulligan against, and just gaining money and cards at the right times. Lastly there is also the factor of recognising whether or not you can combo early, and whether or not you can make any swaps to make it easier. In this, like all things, practice makes perfect, but here are some hints on things you can do.

The Cookbook to CI7 - Part 2 How to combo through hate

How to combo through hate

Welcome back to our series of articles on how to play CI7. In the previous article, we talked about how the deck work, and how to do the base combo. In this article, we are talking about how to combo through Anti-CI7 hate cards. There are two types of Anti-CI7 hate. There is the hate that stops you before you’ve set up, and the hate that interrupts you in the middle of the combo.

The Cookbook to CI7 - Part 1 Introduction

CI7 (also known as Cerebral Imaging 7-point shutdown) is the ultimate in combo decks for Netrunner. The aim of CI7 is to score 3 agendas worth 7 points in one turn. It is a complicated deck to pilot, but if you consider yourself an intermediate-level player, then you should definitely be capable of doing so.

In this series of articles, you will learn about the CI7 combo. The basic building blocks of the deck, and how to pilot it into winning you the 7 points in one turn. The various articles will be:

1. Introduction to CI7 - This is what you are currently reading. What is CI7? How does it work? What is the deck? What is the base-combo you use to score 7 points in one turn?
2. How to combo through hate - This is a list of ways CI7 can work around the various tools runners use to give it a bad time.
3. Setting up as CI7 - How to get to the point where you can win in one turn.
4. Running against CI7 - How to deal with CI7 as a runner.
5. Conclusion - Some final words, as well as a cheat sheet of quick responses for the combo.

At any time feel free to double check cards or terms in the handy-dandy CI7 Glossary! You may also want to check out the Heuristics cheat sheet.

What is CI7?

So you might have heard of CI7 here and there. Some degenerate players, such as world-champion Dan D’Argenio love to play it. Sometimes it gets brought up as a hard-counter to many of the meta-defining runner builds. It is a strong but complicated deck, and looks to be in a better place than ever thanks to the latest MWL tournament update.

The Cookbook to CI7 - Glossary

CI7 - The deck with Cerebral Imaging that wins by scoring 7 agendas in one turn

Pile - 3 cards to be played by AD

Slot - One of the 3 cards in an AD-pile

Combo - The act of using various cards in one turn to score 7 agendas

AD - Accelerated Diagnostics

EC - Efficiency Committee

JH - Jackson Howard

PS - Power Shutdown

SFMM - Shipment from MirrorMorph

SFSS - Shipment from SanSan

SFK - Shipment from Kaguya

AM - Archived Memories

RO - Reclamation Order

BL - Biotic Labor

SM - Subliminal Messaging

Interns - Interns (Who'da thought?)

CT - Cyberdex Trial

CVS - Cyberdex Virus Suite

GFI - Global Food Initiative. Can be any 5/3 agenda for the purpose of the combo

PV - Project Vitruvius. Can be any 3/2 agenda for the purpose of the combo

Installable - one of the 6 cards that needs to be installed for the combo to work. Typically GFI, PV, EC and 3x JH.

X1/X2 - These refer to installables when the specific one doesn't matter, e.g. in the base combo it could be PV or GFI in either order.

Hate - Any cards that the runner uses that make it harder for CI7 to win.
Plop - Political Operative
CC - Clone Chip
SacCon - Sacrificial Construct
Peddler - Street Peddler
Bounce - Cards returned to hand from Leela's ability

The Woes of Weyland - Part V: Capital Competition

Economy Creep

Hmm...

How could I even suggest that Weyland has monetary problems? What is this lunacy? Aight, here's the dealie. Weyland's economy is as good as it's ever been. The issue? Every other faction's economy (Corp and Runner) has considerably improved.

Long gone are the days of NBN and Jinteki haplessly clicking for credits. Sweeps Week alone catapulted NBN's economy (particularly if found turn 1 against Andromeda) and is seen in triplicate in basically any competitive NBN deck, while Near-Earth Hub's inherent synergy with assets heavily bolstered the likes of Marked Accounts (and the classic PAD Campaign).

The Woes of Weyland - Part IV: Flatline Frustration

A Tragic Trajectory

The glory days.

I'm sure this part came as no surprise to you all. Since Core Set days, flatline has always been one of Weyland's 'things'. One of their most influential cards is the notorious Scorched Earth - the bane of many a careless and/or unlucky Runner, depending on who you ask. In the earliest stages of A:NR history - from 'pure core' through early Genesis Cycle - Weyland was a genuine force to be reckoned with. Its ability to rapidly rush out agendas behind small gear-check ice like Ice Wall and Wall of Static, transitioning into Archers and Oversight-ed Hadrian's Walls, all while maintaining the ever-present threat of flatline - in the form of the dreaded SEA-Scorch combo - was something that none of the other Megacorps were capable of at the time.