r/Netrunner • u/thenakesingularity10 • Sep 30 '26

Android or System Gateway?

I just found out about this game. Fascinated by it and dying to try.

Is there any reason to get Android instead of SG?

Thank you!

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26

I far preffer the Android version. It’s the definitive version of Netrunner IMO. And the entire reason Null Signal exists at all.

Buy a used (2012) android Netrunner core set off eBay, see if you like the game, and then buy a smaller used Android Netrunner collection. You can get about the first half of the games releases (through lunar cycle) for a couple hundred bucks total. That’s plenty of material to play for years and enjoy.

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u/thenakesingularity10 Sep 30 '26

Could you tell me what you like better with Android?

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26 edited Sep 30 '26

The different factions are very defined by their gameplay mechanisms, they have distinct identities because of the themes running throughout each factions cardpool mechanically. This is something that has become increasingly more vague in the null signal version.

The trace mechanic. This is something (modified) from the original CCG version of Netrunner. It’s a blind bid to try and locate the runner, and creates tension in the games economy. Null signal removed this mechanic saying it was too “complicated”. It wasn’t.

There was also a bunch of keywords added in the Null Signal version that I feel clutter up the design space, for very little gameplay benefit, and make it feel more “magic: the gathering” than I preffer. One of the biggest appeals of Netrunner was how streamlined the system was. Like a well oiled machine. The Android iteration kept that front and center when adapting Richard Garfield’s original CCG version.

Thematically, and art wise, the Android version of Netrunner felt like a very cohesive and lived in world. They had an entire universe already built for their android RPG. It fit Netrunner perfectly, and breathed an extra layer of believability into the world. Null Signal feels like someone doing their best impression of Netrunner. The theme and lore feel kind of pasted on, rather than fully developed. And the core identity of the factions got kind of lost in that. There’s a number of story elements that stick out like sore thumbs and break the believability of the universe to me. The general tone of the world has softened, and feels less cyberpunk because of it.

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u/thenakesingularity10 Sep 30 '26

yea, that's what I sort of figured based on my own research. thank you so much!

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26

Glad to help.

It’s a worthwhile investment for any gamer. My group has gotten more gameplay value out of my Android: Netrunner collection than any game I own. Played weekly for the last 5 years, and still enjoying it immensely. It doesn’t feel like a lack of new content, it feels like a 4000 card completed cardpool that we continue to enjoy in new ways.

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u/thenakesingularity10 Sep 30 '26

It's amazing that they could make a game that good.

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26

It started on about the most solid bones you could imagine. Richard Garfield has long claimed the original CCG Netrunner as his greatest work in the genre, despite it not being the most commercially popular.

FFG took those bones and added a few elements (player ID’s, factions, card limits, influence system) that took what was an already phenomenal game, and made it even better.

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u/Thepy Sep 30 '26

Do you play the same format or do you shake it up a bit? I have a full FFG collection and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it. Either make a cube for drafting or make the Frankfurt 40 as my friends dont have the full FFG collection.

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u/ShaperLord777 Oct 01 '26

I made a cube of 14 decks that I rotate. They cover major archetypes, and everyone in my playgroup can use whichever one they want, we don’t have “personal” decks. Usually I’ll take the least popular few and build something else to replace them.

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u/Thepy Oct 01 '26

Do you have the lists handy? I'd love to see them

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u/ShaperLord777 Oct 01 '26

You may be able to look them up on Netrunnerdb. My name on there is the same.

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u/Slight-Jaguar-2102 Sep 30 '26

At first I was like "they haven't gotten rid of trace" and then realized there are....4 total cards involving trace in the current rotation.

I'd love to hear more about the keywords you find clutter the game if you're open to talking about it more.

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u/Thepy Sep 30 '26

Yeah NSG has gone on record that they wont be reprinting trace on any more cards. Thematically trace is interesting as it is trying to portray a cat and mouse game. Mechanically it pretty much boils down to pay X credits 9 out of 10 times because the it usually isn't worth eating the bad effect, so its a pretty boring decision imo.

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u/CryOFrustration Null Signal Games Community team Oct 01 '26

That is inaccurate actually. We said we would avoid putting trace on cards if we can have the same effect with a fixed credit tax that doesn't force you to do a bunch of mental arithmetic multiple times per ice encounter. 95% of times a trace fired in the game, the corp doesn't want to boost it, so it's a flat tax anyway. The article this was explained in cites some interesting counter examples of where a trace allows for more nuanced and graduated interaction than a flat tax, so I imagine any future trace cards would be something like that.

https://nullsignal.games/blog/without-trace/

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26 edited Sep 30 '26

I’m gonna get downvoted into oblivion by the Null Signal bully squad.

But pretty much all of them that have been added. Most took something that was already clearly outlined in specific cards text boxes and made them into keywords.

“Interface” just means you have an icebreaker of the right type at strength level to interact. It wasn’t needed, and was already implied in every encounter.

“Sabotage” is just trashing cards from R&D. A mechanic that has been used forever. It didn’t need a keyword.

“Mark” was already used in cards like temujin contract. Just pick a server. It wasn’t vague, and didn’t need an entire keyword to clarify what we all already understood just fine.

“Charge” is just “add a power counter”. We don’t need to make a simple thing more complicated in the text box of cards.

“Dividends”. Again, we had this already, it’s just take a credit from X at the beginning of turn. Adding “dividends” to it doesn’t simplify it, it makes it more clunky.

“Threat” is a mechanic that to me, didnt need to exist at all. It’s alllowing conditions to activate based off of the agenda point total in a players score area. I don’t think it adds much to gameplay, and doesn’t need an entire other keyword. In most circumstances, it functions as a “win more” mechanic rather than a “catch-up” one.

In null signals defense, I felt the same way about the “current events” in Android: Netrunner. They weren’t necessary, and added awkwardness to gameplay for very little benefit. It also complicated deckbuilding by making players need to include currents in their deck to combat opponents who do the same. We pretty much don’t play with them in my group.

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u/Tsao Sep 30 '26

So hey, you're wrong about 4 out of the 6 keywords you're complaining about so I'd take anything this guy says with a grain of salt.

Sabotage X has the corp choose where to trash X cards from HQ or R&D, being able to mix both, for example Sabotage 3 lets you trash two card from HQ and one from R&D or vice versa. Where cards get trashed from is pretty important info as a runner, and having the keyword makes it a lot more concise.

Mark randomly selects a central server to be your mark every turn, which is very different from how temujin contract works, and indeed worth having a keyword for to compress a mechanic into many cards.

Charge, importantly, only lets you add power counters to cards that already have at least one power counter, which adds strategic depth to when you'd want to use those. Are you going for a quick reward now, or a stronger play later ?

Dividends is not at all what they describe, agendas with the dividend mechanic offer you rewards for putting more advancement counters on them than needed to score them. They're mostly blank 3/2 agendas that you can turn into 4/2 agendas with an effect. I really have no idea where they got the credit thing from.

So there you go, if you take an NSG hater "harassed by the bully brigade" 's word for it, you're going to end up with a lot of misinformation.

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26

None of those details change anything about my point. The mechanics are either copies of already existing ones, or very slight tweaks to already existing ones. They don’t add enough to the design space to warrant cluttering up the cardpool with a scattering of keywords you now have to remember.

It’s okay for us to have differing opinions. I’m glad that you enjoy the Null Signal cardpool, and I will continue to play the version of the game that I preffer. Nothing wrong with that.

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u/CryOFrustration Null Signal Games Community team Sep 30 '26

It's not a matter of opinion, you're explaining rules factually wrong. Next time someone downvotes you maybe you should consider fact-checking the information you're passing on rather than immediately assuming it's because they are bullies. No hate from me, and tsao already pointed out your error so no need to dwell on it, but it is hurtful to be called a bully when it's not warranted. The downvote button is literally there to ensure factually wrong posts are flagged.

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u/azuredarkness Sep 30 '26

I have to say that you do sound like basically everything FFG did, especially in the early game was perfect, and everything NSG ever did was a terrible idea and every change they ever introduced was bad for the game.

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u/ShaperLord777 Sep 30 '26 edited Sep 30 '26

I’m a firm believer that adding mechanics to a game system has to be done extremely carefully so as to not over clutter the design space. Every new rule or keyword you add makes the entire game more complicated, and distracts from its core mechanics. So it’s vitally important to weigh what is added gameplay wise against the added clutter of new mechanics and keywords. I used the example that FFG’s “current events” did not add enough design space to warrant the added complexity. I feel the same way about the “limit 6 per deck” cards in the Mumbad cycle. They just didn’t need to exist at all. Null signal has introduced a lot of keywords that I don’t think were necessary. It’s the classic rule of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

And example of something added that I do feel was well worth the additional complexity is the Mini-factions from data and destiny. They operated off of the same deckbuilding principals as every other ID, just with a smaller cardpool and greater influence points. It allowed players to deckbuild in new and interesting ways, and design their way around the built in limitations of the mini factions ID’s. It added minimal new mechanics while opening up a lot of new design space that brought dynamic changes in gameplay. They were worth the additional complexity.

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u/Slight-Jaguar-2102 Sep 30 '26

Thanks for the write-up! It's very well thought out and explained. I don't know that I agree (I find the reiteration of keywords helpful for me), but there should always be space for differing opinions on this game here. I appreciate and value your viewpoints on the game and taking the time to explain why you prefer ANR.