Hyper Clown

This started when somebody asked "what if you made a stack with only programs in it?" Though the idea seemed far-fetched at first Dennis figured out how it could be done. He has truly transcended the need for bits here. It sucks to play against this runner.

12 Jack & Joe
 7 Valu-Pak
 5 Clown
 5 Afreet
 8 Zetatech Software
 2 Succubus
 1 Imp
 3 Viral Pipeline
 2 Joan of Arc
 1 MIT
 1 Forward's Legacy
 1 Wizards's Book
 1 Wrecking Ball
 1 Emergency Self-Construct
--
50 cards

A few words from Dennis on how he plays this stack:

"Ideally you jack and joe or draw the first three actions, and use Valu-Pak to install 5 cards on the 4th action. After 5 or 6 turns like that you should be ready to go, so use the MIT to replenish your hand. Spending three actions per turn running the permanent data forts will effectively shut the corp down at that point.

If things go well the 8 ZSI provide enough bits to get everything installed without using the 5 bits you start the gane with. The only bits you need to spend are for the MIT and the things the corp can make you do.

Watch the corp's strategy -- if you have to run early, well, do what you have to do. The ESC can save you if you get into too much trouble. As always, keep your hand size up to protect against damage.

This is a surprise deck, if the corp sees it coming they can foil the plan with Pattel's Antibody, Crystal Palace, Antiquated Interface Routines, Tesseract Fort Construction, heck even Rasmin Bridger can provide trouble. It's possible to get jammed up and not draw the cards in the proper order; if this happens, like you J&J twice and don't get a Valu-Pak, it's probably best to just install what you can on the 3rd and 4th actions and cut your losses. A good shuffling job is very important to this deck.

Most times this setup comes together by the 6th turn. It can happen as early as the 4th turn. Using Viral Pipeline is the only way to completely lock in the win, but this deck is a great virus delivery system -- try Armageddon or pick your own favorite."

I was a tackling dummy while Dennis tuned this deck. He told me he's tried to get it down to 45 cards but it works better as listed above. It works VERY well. I celebrated with Dennis after his win at EUCON but also announced loudly "my ICE can have strength again! Yea!". So, have some fun with it but don't play it against me.

Ban the Clown! I am cardguy@bitblaster.com. Updated 27 Aug 96.