Nelsormensch

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Posts posted by Nelsormensch

  2. Posted


     

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    An Unexpected Gatefold

    Terminal7 sits down with FFG's Dan Clark, Katrina Ostrander and Zoë Robinson to talk about Netrunner's Android setting, the upcoming Worlds of Android book and just how sweet cyberpunk India is.

     

    For more on Zoë Robinson and the art of Netrunner, also see Terminal7 ep. 29 - www.idlethumbs.net/terminal7/episo…tellectual-camp

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner, 80 Days

     

  3. Posted


     

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    Stew in the Garage

    The Netrunner World Championship of 2015 has come and gone, with legendary tales of crashed centrals and unassailable remotes resounding through the icy plains of Roseville, Minnesota. Joining Terminal7 to talk about their experiences are two of the 16 best Netrunner players in the world- 2nd place finisher Timmy Wong and the best Canadian player, Toronto's Dien Tran.

     

    What was their secret tech? Their most clutch plays? And why is there stew in the garage? Only Terminal7 episode 41 has the answers.

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     

  4. Posted

    Great cast folks! Data and Destiny is so awesome - feels like the best of the big boxes in terms of offering tons of interesting and powerful cards for both Runners and Corps.

     

    I do think that Quinns is vastly underestimating both Archangel and Assassin. Both pieces of ice are monstrously good. Archangel's strength is mostly about it's effects when it's installed; the fact that it triggers on access is icing. Consider this: it's 4 cost for 6 strength. Straight up, that's a good ratio. It's a trace, yes, but a trace 6, so unless they're linked up, the Runner's paying more for the trace than they would to break it. The effect is very powerful, too. Leigh is right that you can already trash Resources, but Archangel can get rid of Programs too. And other Ice trashes Programs, but Archangel can also get rid of Hardware. And other Ice can get rid of Hardware, but Archangel can get rid of Resources. It's the fact that it can do any of these that makes it so powerful. Rare is the runner who runs consistently without resources, programs or hardware. And yes, you're not trashing it outright, but in some cases that's a boon - it means the card can't be Clone Chipped or Scavenged or Test Run. Even if they reinstall, what's important is the effect during a run. You bounce their Corroder so they can't break Wraparound, or their Datasucker so they don't get tokens, or their R&D interface so they can't multiaccess. The card is incredibly versatile. Furthermore, it's typing is fantastic. It's not a Sentry, so Faerie does nothing; it's not a Destroyer, so Sharpshooter does nothing; it's not AP, so Deus X does nothing. There is no easy answer for Archangel, other than "don't have installed cards you care about" and the Corp is usually happy with that.

     

    Conversely, there are a ton of answers for Assassin, but they are all costly for the Runner. A use of Faerie, Sharpshooter or Deus X; two D4V1D tokens; numerous credits with Femme, Ninja, Garrote or Shrike; two tokens and two credits with Mimic; a big Parasite; four cards with Faust; two expensive traces. The Runner has options to deal with Assassin, but the Runner always has options to deal with any Ice. The value of Assassin is that the Runner always has to deal with it. At two credits more than Ichi and Komainu (which the Runner can ignore in many circumstances) and essentially the same cost as Tsurugi (if you want the net damage to fire) and zero influence, Assassin fills two roles for cheaper than the price of one. I think it's by far the best piece of neutral ice printed since Quandary.

     

    After getting wrecked (or at least quite flummoxed) by both Archangel and Assassin at Worlds, I definitely agree!

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    Their Building Has a Haircut

    Leigh Alexander joins Quintin Smith as Terminal7 returns to discuss the NBN half of Data & Destiny!

     

    New Angeles' best news agency, the hottest marketing agency and the worldwide global information network- NBN's new divisions have introduced a whole heap of new playstyles. With new agendas, more currents, more adverts, a wicked new sysop and one very weird piece of ICE, there's a lot to love in the "data" half of Data & Destiny.

     

    What new decks will arise and how will these new offerings make their way into our favourite old NBN lists? Join us at 11!

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

  7. Posted


     

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    This Room Made of Flesh

    The first bioroid to stand on the brink of true sentience- shocking.

     

    An... AI? A virus of unheard of power and reach? Maybe some other life form beyond our thinking? Truly bizarre.

     

    And most surprising of all- a mom.

     

    Quintin Smith from Shut Up & Sit Down joins to discuss the not one, not two, but three new mini-factions that are Data & Destiny's Runners. How malicious is Apex? How can Adam break from his chains? Just how rad is Sunny's uniform? Join us to find out!

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     

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    A Test with No Answers

    We stand on the brink of a date ... with data. And destiny. We are destined to date data. *ahem* With the impending release of Data & Destiny, each faction will now have one major expansion for each faction, plus three new mini-Runner factions. At such an interesting time in the game's development, Terminal7 sits down the Netrunner's lead designer Lukas Litzsinger to talk about the development of Data & Destiny.

     

    In some ways, this brings the first chapter of the game to a close. Lukas will be granting the mantle of lead designer of Netrunner to Damon Stone, so we also discussed that changing of the guard, how board/card game design differs from video game design and how Madmen was a springboard into game design.

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner, XCOM: The Board Game, Runebound 3rd Edition

     

  9. Posted


     

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    Hold On to Your Butts

    Nels and Jesse arrive at The Universe of Tomorrow. What splendour! What majesty! Even entrepreneur, investor and magnate Laramy Fisk has been seen at the expo.

     

    All of the Big Four has setup their own pavilions and plazas, but whose is the most impressive? Perhaps it's not even any of the technological marvels on display at the expo itself, but rather the recent announcement of H-B sponsoring the SanSan Outlaws? Only time will tell, but there is no question that The Universe of Tomorrow is a herald for things to come.

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     


     

  11. Posted

    I know this is a bit of thread necromancy here but I would love to hear Leigh back on the cast. It would be amazing to hear her take on Data and Destiny and since the last time she was on the cast, how her play and deck have progressed.

    I have to say, I just started listening less than a week ago and I am on ep31. This episode really made me want to play and drove home the world play and how one can not only play the game but like a book get lost in the amazing fluff.

     

    Well then - https://www.idlethumbs.net/terminal7/episodes/amusement-unshackled :D

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    Amusement Unshackled

    Nearing the end of the SanSan Cycle, we come to Old Hollywood. But always fashionably late to the party, Old Hollywood is replete with glitz, glamour and a heap of interesting new cards. NBN's Executive VP for Media Relations Leigh Alexander joins us to sort the masterpieces from the award bait.

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     

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    A Sad Gnome Statue

    Their cyberdecks were emblazoned with inukshuks, wild roses, le Fleurdelisé and even the simple maple leaf, but they were all there for one purpose- to win Canadian Netrunner Nationals.

     

    Terminal7 is joined by its first Winnipegger guests Ciera and Craig, to talk about their trip to Canadian Nationals, what decks they packed and how to deceive your opponents without ever even trying.

     

     

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     

  14. Posted

    I'm not here to shit on the game (although would it have killed the designers to just call it "deck" and "hand"?) because the amount of positivity in this thread has convinced that despite my experience, the game is not actually a finely calibrated misery engine designed by Satan himself. How does one get into Netrunner? The way I tried was apparently wrong, so if I'm going to give the game another chance, how do I go about doing it?

     

    Heh, well obviously I'd say your experience is not representative, since I'm half of Terminal7, and we obviously love Netrunner a lot.

     

    But as for getting into it, find someone at a game store or local Netrunner meeting will to teach. There's also a couple demo decks that do a decent job of introducing the game without some of the complexity.

     

    Stick with the same side (either Runner or Corp) for a while, until you get the hang of it. It's useful to know the kind of things the other side has, but focusing is a bit more useful early on.

     

    Once you've played a few games, our 8th episode of Terminal7 "Eventually Your Breathing Will Stop" is the most beginner-centric episode we did, so there might be some good info in there once you're a little bit more familiar.

     

    If you have any questions, post them here too! I'm sure folks would be happy to answer.

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    I'm the Crab in the Bucket

    With the Netrunner Canadian Nationals (Netrunner nationale du Canada) looming, Terminal7 is joined by Vancouver player Keith Gaudry to discuss all the factors that go into preparing for a big event. Reading the meta, deck composition, dealing with data packs released days (or day!) before the event- all play into how to get ready for a big event.

     

    And Keith reveals his secret weapon. No spoilers, but here's a hint- "sausages."

     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

     

  16. Posted

    This season has just had too many coincidences. The girl from the diamond robbery in the 90s happens to end up going to sex parties with the people who set the robbery up. 

     

    While I will agree that the world of this season felt really small with almost every character is connected to at least one other in some huge way (maybe fine a small town, less so in So Cal), I greatly suspect that finale will show Laura and Leonard Ostermann getting into the business of Caspere and his associates was very much deliberate on the Ostermann's part.

  17. Posted

    Speaking of Paul, how do people feel about his storyline? Maybe I'm off base (and please tell me if I am), but I find his story a bit unbelievable. In 2015 I just find it hard to believe that a gay man would feel such shame with his sexuality, given how much more accepting public attitudes are towards gay people (obviously bi and trans people still have a lot of mistreatment and gay people in generally are not afforded the same treatment as straight people in all areas, but we're progressing in such a way that Paul's plot feels a little overwrought to me). I suppose we are meant to assume that his mother relied on Paul to boost her own sexual self-esteem and that her sexually domineering behavior prevented Paul from expressing his own desires. Even with those hangups, I have a hard time truly believing Paul's story but if others are convinced by it and think I'm in the wrong, I'd be really interested to hear it!

     

    FWIW, I also find it similarly weird. Not only is it 2015, but the guy lives and seemingly grew up in/around LA. If he came from the bible belt (or hell, even Bakersfield) or there was something else in his upbringing/environment to explain why it's such an intense self-loathing and not just something he feels he needs to keep hidden, it feels like it might make more sense. That brief scene with his kind of weird mom didn't really explain that shame/self-loathing.

     

    Maybe there's more to come in the 4 episodes left, but it feels like if a character had this much self-loathing about any other aspect of their life, there'd be some explanation as to where that shame comes from. But Paul's sexuality seems like it's just supposed to be taken for granted as something someone (in this time/place with this background) could find cripplingly shameful without any other explanation, which just doesn't really track for me either.

  18. Posted

    Something seemingly no one has mentioned in regard to the last shootout scene is, to me at least, the whole thing very much like a setup. Someone (almost certainly Vinci PD) tipped off the gangbangers that the raid was coming, and possibly even setting them up as the fall guy by planting that watch in the pawn shop.

     

    So then Caspere's murder is wrapped up with an almost certainly dead and quite plausible suspect and if Bezzerides/Velcoro/Woodrugh happen to go down too, well, c'est la vie.

     

    Given that, the scene felt that it has a bit more stakes/purpose than just being an extreme shootout without real point plot-wise. That didn't makes its extremity totally forgivable (it might has been trying to evoke real and similarly extreme southern California police shootouts of the late 90s, updating to drug runners instead of bank robbers, but it still went a bit far) but it wasn't the total fart for me that it seems like it was for a lot of folks. Maybe I'm reading more into than there is just to make it more purposeful though, I dunno.

  19. Posted

    Terminal7 33: 

     


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    Let's Get on this Weird Steamboat

     

    The Underway belongs to the Muertos. They can be powerful allies to the Runners, but be careful, once you step on their turf, you're playing by their rules. The fourth pack in the SanSan Cycle sees a host of new Criminal cards, including one very unique ID. Not to be outdone, the corporations can now out Runners for working with such merciless criminals or just simply hire a hitman. For both sides, the seedy depths of the Underway offers some very interesting possibilities.
     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

  20. Posted

    Something that helped me get more into the game was when my local game store had a core set only tournament, which had a good mix of new and experienced players. I had played a few times before then, but never with anyone who was more experienced that I was, so it was helpful to see how experienced players usually play the game.

     

    A few months later they tried a tournament where you could only use core set + any three data packs, and you had to make both decks from the same three packs. Almost nobody showed up for that one, mostly because it was during finals in a college town, but I thought it was a really interesting format.

     

    Ah yes, that is an interesting setup! Solid recommendation, we'll mention that in the future. Thanks!

  22. Posted

    Terminal7 31: 

     


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    A Dog Steals Your Skull

     

    The BC Regional took place last weekend, and Terminal7 was out in full force. Jesse constructed his Corp deck by drafting against himself, join to learn how such things are possible.
     
     
    We have also arrived in the dark alleys of Chrome City and their greymarket cyberware dealers. Is it worth having your face peeled off so your boring normal skull can be upgraded to a rad metal skull? Only one way to find out!
     
     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

  23. Posted

    Terminal7 30: 

     


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    Some Bass Next Door

    Nels & Jesse arrive at the University of the Californias at Breaker Bay and it's game day! Getting a campus tour from a young astrophysics student, the scale of the London Library and the Tyson Observatory are both quite impressive. And all the megacorps are on campus today, at a hiring fair. They're scouting for new talent, showing off their impressive new server-specific ICE. Excitement, energy and one wicked party out by Monterey Bay.
     
    So, only one question remains - who is inside the Finn mascot costume? 
     
    Go Sharks!
     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

  25. Posted

    Terminal7 29: 

     


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    Out of Work Intellectual Camp

    Netrunner's art director Zoë Robinson of Fantasy Flight Games joins Nels & Jesse to talk about the creative and visual design processes behind bringing the game to life. Everything from working with freelancers to what sounds like the world's best meetings to how to an artificial intelligence sees itself in cyberspace. And if that didn't go deep enough, a long-shared but hitherto unknown family secret between Nels and Zoë is also revealed!
     

    Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner