Card of the Day

Written by Foolkiller

Access to Kiribati is a nice Base Link card that is cheap to install and somewhat economic to use. Runner decks designed to bankrupt the Corp are where this card really shines, however. In other types of decks, other links work better.

Kiribati has the obvious advantage of a low installation cost which means you can put it into play early and still afford to use it. No special bit engine is required to fuel Kiribati, so a simple income pattern, such as Broker, Score! or Newsgroup Filter, will provide you with adequate finances to use this Link.

The second advantage of this card is that it allows you to pay exactly what is needed to beat the Corp's trace limit. This avoids the need to pay many bits to achieve a high link when you only need a few points.

In a deck designed to deplete the Corp's finances, Kiribati works very well. It is easy to get into play quickly, which is important as the Runner must begin attacking HQ immediately. Waiting until you can afford a "better" link can cost you the advantage of an early lead. If you must run early you must be prepared for an early Tag'n'Bag attack from a Chance Observation, or Hunter ICE. Kiribati gives you that security at minimal expense until you achieve a lock on HQ's finances. Since Weather-to-Finance Pipe and Credit Subversion have 0 play costs, you can use what few resources you are able to generate to install Programs and pay to avoid the few traces the Corp might use against you. Playing with the Taxman virus will ensure that the Corp is never suitably financed to bother tracing you.

If you lose control of HQ and the Corp begins to generate funds, it is good to have some backup cards in your stack. If the Corp is actively tracing you, a more efficient link may be required. If the Corp is only passively tracing you (with Hunter, Fetch 4.0.1, etc..) cards like Hell's Run, The Springboard or Signpost can provide all the assistance you will need to stay ahead of the Corp's traces. I prefer to include Techtronica Utility Suit into decks with Kiribati. That way, if I lose my bit-advantage I can have a regenerating source of trace funds, more MU and a little Meat damage reduction.

Of course, if you find out that the Corp isn't tracing you at all, you haven't lost much in the way of bits. And you can always misc.for-sale it later too!

Kiribati is a decent card overall, but there are many other links that are more useful in different circumstances, and there are other ways of dodging traces, like Fall Guy. If you are considering a bankrupting strategy, Kiribati is probably the best link option. Being vital makes it available to nearly everybody, including folks in limited play enironments, such as sealed deck competitions.