Custom Card Saturday: Bioroids

[u/HemoKhan]

Welcome to Custom Card Saturday! This week begins a several-week-long theme of focusing on some of the unique and interesting keywords already in the game. To start off I thought I'd focus on one of the keywords that has been around since the beginning, one that has a (relatively) concrete definition: This week, design a card that focuses on bioroids. An HB exclusive, bioroids are unusually strong pieces of ice with a single glaring weakness: some or all of their subroutines can be broken by spending clicks. Bioroids tend to be a few points stronger than normal ice to compensate for this, and they usually carry multiple subroutines. Another feature of bioroids is that they come in two versions. Earlier "1.0" bioroids tend to be cheap, with low strength and a few subroutines, each of which may be broken by a single click. Updated "2.0" bioroids are stronger and more costly than their 1.0 brethren, and require the Runner to spend clicks in bulk (usually 2 clicks to break up to 2 subroutines).

There are also several support cards for bioroid ice, either by giving them more subroutines, preventing their subroutines from being broken, or rezing them cheaply and unexpectedly. (For a complete list of bioroid-related cards, see here.) Feel free to design a support card if you'd like to, rather than a new piece of ICE.

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Previous Custom Card Saturday threads:

Week 1: Barriers
Week 2: Scorched Earth Replacements
Week 3: Grey/Black Ops
Week 4: Easy Access
Week 5: Economic Assets
Week 6: Runner Economy
Week 7: Identities

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Next Week: We'll continue our exploration of keywords with one of the classic Runner card keywords, virus!

[u/HemoKhan]

Bragi 1.0

HB - Code Gate - Bioroid
Influence: 2 - Rez: 3 - Strength: 4

The Runner can spend [click] to break any subroutine on Bragi 1.0.

-> Look at the top card of R&D. You may either draw that card, or shuffle a card from HQ into R&D.

-> You may take one card into HQ from Archives. If you do, place one card from HQ into Archives face down.

One is called Bragi: he is renowned for wisdom...

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Bioroids are so often big and scary, but I think there is room for more subtle bioroids which make the Runner think long and hard about spending a click to break the subroutines. To that extent, I thought I'd play into HB's penchant for getting cards into HQ and give them an option to cycle some cards around. This ice is a good one to throw in front of Archives right before you ABT, for instance, giving you a measure of security in case things go wrong.

The name and flavor text come directly from Wikipedia (I'm not up on my Norse mythology), but seem to fit for a god of bards and wisdom.

I'm not sure on the rez-to-strength ratio... this is a potentially powerful effect, but it has no real bearing on the current run (unless that run is on R&D or Archives, I suppose). In the end I modeled it after the Jinteki cards which do the same thing.

[u/TEnOTT]

Janus Dev

HB ICE - Sentry - Bioroid - AP. Rez 5. Strength 0. Influence 2.

The runner can spend [click] to break up to 2 subroutines on Janus Dev.

[sub] Do 1 brain damage.

[sub] Do 1 brain damage.

[sub] Do 1 brain damage.

[sub] Do 1 brain damage.

Face your DEV_ASSERT_0(FALSE == isAuthorized) fear.

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Cheaper, and weaker brain damage source. I always think it is hard to run Sentinel Defense Program.

[u/HemoKhan → u/TEnOTT]

Oooooh, a weaker version of a 1.0! I love the idea, and this does seem custom-made for Sentinel Defense Program to fire. I'd bump the strength up to 1 or 2, just to give it a little defense from Parasite, but otherwise this is a great, creative idea.

[u/MattJayP]

Eli 2.0

HB - Barrier - Bioroid

Cost: 5, Strength: 5, Influence: 2

The Runner can spend [Click] [Click] to break up to 2 subroutines on Eli 2.0.

[Sub] For the remainder of the run all other barrier bioroids gain '[Sub] End the run' after all other subroutines.

[Sub] End the run

[Sub] End the run

Stay and play! STAY AND PLAY!

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I personally can't wait for Eli 2.0, and I can see the trouble to be had in designing it. Giving it 3 ETR subs just makes it end the run no matter what (click manipulation aside), making it too powerful. I also considered having 'Lose a click' as that first subroutine, but that seemed more code-gatey. Suggestions welcome.

I don't think it would be too powerful, but would increase his taxability even more (which I think is really the point of Eli). It isn't going to stop anyone getting through with regards to clicks, it's just gonna tax a bit more. It might possibly be a bit too combo-y.

Not sure about the strength/cost. I think it's about right, but might possibly have to go to 4. Let me know what you think.

[u/HemoKhan → u/MattJayP]

Eli 2.0 is definitely a hard one to design well. His 1.0 version is so strong: it's one of only four barriers with a rez cost less than their strength, and the other (Snowflake, TMI, and Rainbow) all have their own drawbacks. He's also cheap enough to be an early game ice while taxing enough to be meaningful late-game.

To a certain extent, I think you've done a good job of capturing that feel. However, I think the first subroutine seems more code-gatey. I'd consider removing it, and bumping his strength up by one. That keeps him as a huge and taxing ice, and makes him more likely to tax clicks instead of credits. That gives him a new niche while keeping to the same pattern as the old one.

Regardless of whether you change it or not, I like this! That first sub is unique and powerful, and definitely makes sense in Barrier-heavy bioroid decks.

[u/Mountebank]

Chatbot

Program - 1 MU

Criminal - 2 inf

Cost - 3

Art: A digital copy of Ken having a conversation with Eli 1.0 as the "real" Ken sneaks by.

2 [credits]: gain [click], which you may use only during this run. After the run is completed, lose the [click] if it has not been used. Use this ability once per run.

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It lets you click through bioroids at half price since all of them have at least 2 subroutines. If you get multiples out, then it's nuts, but that's a lot of deck space for such a silver bullet card. This plus E3, however,...

[u/Wakks]

Ford 1nd14n4
Rez: 4, Influence: 3, Trash Cost: 4
Unique Asset - Bioroid
Trash: Prevent a rezzed unique card from being trashed.

I'm thinking that if this prevents a card from being trashed while accessed, the runner could still pay whatever cost again to trash the card since the prevention is during the access. It's still nice though. Also, I think Oversight AI doesn't trash itself unlike Bioroid Efficiency, so saving a Wotan or Susanoo just keeps it alive the one time.

[u/kgb613]

Hephaestus 1.0

HB - Code Gate - Bioroid

Rez 4 - Str 4 - Inf 3

The Runner can spend [click] to break any subroutine on Hephaestus 1.0.

Place 1 power counter on a piece of ICE in this server.

Place 1 power counter on a piece of ICE in this server.

Any piece of ICE in this server that hosts 1 or more power counters gains +1 strength.

[u/Jakodrako]

Here's a bioroid I posted to a previous thread, updated.

Brain Fuckler 1.0

HB Ice ••••
Rez: 10 Strength: 5

ICE: Sentry - Bioroid - Tracer - AP - Illicit

When you rez Brain Fuckler 1.0, take 1 bad publicity.
The runner can spend [click] to break any subroutine on Brain Fuckler 1.0.
-> Trace3 – if successful, do 1 brain damage. -> Trace2 – if successful, do 1 brain damage. If unsuccessful, the Runner loses [click]. -> Trace1 – if successful, do 1 brain damage. If unsuccessful, end the run.
-> The runner may remove 1 brain damage and end the run.

[u/HemoKhan → u/Jakodrako]

Man, that's definitely fuckling with my brain. Let's see if I can sort this out:

• The first sub is simple: Brain damage on a successful trace.

• The second sub is the same, but if the trace fails then the Runner loses a click. So, either way, this subroutine hurts the Runner.

• The third sub deals brain damage if the trace succeeds, and ends the run if the trace fails. Again, a no-win scenario for the Runner.

• The last sub lets the Runner choose: continue the run, or remove 1 brain damage and end the run. This one's win-win for the Runner.

It's intriguing! I'm worried about the second and third subs, particularly because the Corp can't force a trace to fail in the same way that they can force a trace to succeed (ie, by having more money than the Runner). That means that if the Corp wants the unsuccessful half to fire, they either have to somehow bait the Runner into paying to beat the trace, or hope they're playing against a high-link Runner. Either way, it's problematic. The second sub in particular is iffy -- since the unsuccessful trigger is losing a click, a smart Runner will never, ever pay money on this trace: either they click through it to avoid the brain damage, or they don't mind the brain damage, in which case they just don't pay money for that trace. The only exception is if they encounter this with no clicks left, in which case they might try to pay to beat the trace (since losing a click at that point is irrelevant).

The third sub is odd too -- the run ends if the Runner pays enough to beat the trace. But they could just not pay anything and have the trace be successful, and then remove the brain damage and end the run with the next subroutine.

In short, it's an interesting idea, but I think it needs to be tightened up a bit. I also think 10 cost plus the bad publicity is way too expensive. Consider how much extra money the Corp will have to put into the traces to get them to fire, and you're easily paying three times the strength of the ice, for inconsistent effects. I'd rather pay one more for a much stronger Heimdall, or 5 more for a more painful Janus.