3/7/2024
Nerfs
Breaker Bay Grid (Trash Cost 2->1)
In the very early days of Reboot, BBG had a rez cost of 1, which proved to be such a large hit to its power that there was basically no reason to play HB Glacier over HB Fast Advance. Since the time that this nerf was reverted, EtF decks have gotten a a number of other tools and have reached a very strong position (and a high win-rate). Because I believe a rez cost nerf to BBG is still too extreme, we're trying a trash cost nerf instead to encourage more runner interaction. This change makes naked BBG + Campaign servers a lot easier to deal with, and makes BBG more of a central server liability.
Waldemar 1.0 (Cost 3->4), NEXT Level Clearance (Cost 3->4)
Being booster pack cards, I'm more comfortable being aggressive when balancing Waldemar and NLC than with a card from the core pool like BBG. Although I believe these cards are healthy, they are still proving to be extremely powerful pieces for what is, right now, the statistically best faction. These changes are more about overall faction and side balance than about these two specific cards. The issue is not that they, in particular are too strong, but that their faction does not need them to be as strong as they are. I am certain they will both still see quite a bit of play.
2/9/2024
Nerfs
Chronal Retrofitting (3/1 -> 4/2 & new additional ability: “When you score Chronal Retrofitting, gain 1c for each rezzed bioroid")
Chronal Retrofitting has taught me a valuable lesson about HB agenda balance, one which I should have already understood (given my nerf to Accelerated Beta Test): HB cannot have 3-advancement agendas with significant snowballing abilities. Because of the strength and ease with which HB can present Never-advance threats in the early game, and how difficult it is for most runners to contest even 50% of these threats, the worst-case-scenario for the runner ignoring an early HB remote cannot be significantly more than 2 scored agenda points. A Chronal Retrofitting scored in the early turns of the game is absolutely devastating for most runners, particularly the most interactive ones. Supercharging your Bioroids and click-loss effects feels great, but more like something you should have to work to achieve in the mid-game, or that the runner should have more of an opportunity to contest. Since this makes Chronal more difficult (and more expensive) to score, I wanted to give it another effect to make it feel worth the work, but not one that makes it any stronger to score early, hence tying the credit gain to something that scales over time.
Commercial Bankers Group (Now Unique)
I love what Commercial Bankers Group has done for Naked Asset economies, giving them a way to force the runner to waste time while their more-difficult-to-trash assets can tick away. However, some decks (that aren’t even particularly greedy in their setup) really have trouble contesting multiple CBGs early in the game, making games where the corp has 2 CBGs immediately feel like total variance losses. CBG being unique means that the runner will only have to deal with 1 at a time, making them about 3 credits better off when the corp has a top tier opening draw. Sometimes the runner just has to let CBG tick for a turn while they set up their own economy, and now they’ll be a little less punished for this.
Reality Threedee (Trash Cost 8->7)
No one was playing Reality 3D before Sizzler was released, but now it’s quite a nice card in that deck, making its original buff a bit more radical than necessary. At 7 to trash it’s a LITTLE more reasonable for the runner to deal with, but I believe it wont see any less play.
Sizzler (Credit gain on score 2->1)
I’m really happy that people seem to be enjoying Sizzler, and I think the overall design has been a home run. However, I think it’s a little stronger than I’d like it to be. In particular, scoring 2/1 agendas for break-even credits to remove a Bad Pub feels a bit too easy, and doing that should at least cost some tempo. Sizzler is a tiny bit richer than necessary right now and this change should get it feeling just right.
Power Grid Reroute (‘and’ -> ‘or’)
I’ve heard the feedback that, although this card might not be super competitive, it can lead to some really feel-bad moments. I’m going to stick up for Reroute a bit by retaining the ability to wipe the board of interfaces (particularly because interfaces are so devastating for these slower decks to face), but we’re removing the added power that felt like unnecessary salt in the wound.
Adaptive Netbrans (Advancements required to reduce cost 3->4)
This is a small change to give runners that are able to attack early more of an opportunity to steal Netbrans before the corp has the boardstate required to fast advance it out.
Buffs
Akiko Nisei (Deck size 45->40)
In Reflections testing (wow time flies!), Akiko was tested at 15 influence and proved very powerful, so we left her unchanged to be safe. The consensus since then is that her current state is weak, even with the help of Reverse Engineering, so we’re throwing her a bone stat-wise in a different way that should make her feel more streamlined and consistent.
10/22/2023
Nerfs
Fisk Investment Seminar (now Limit 1 Per Deck)
Fisk Investment Seminar is a card that has been on my watch-list since the inception of The Reboot Project. Much like the already-limit-1-per-deck Gang Sign, FIS breaks some fundamental rules about how the runner can attack the Corp outside of making runs. Although I always saw FIS as a somewhat toxic card, it went unchanged because I believed that its decks were not very strong. However, as those decks have gotten more tools and people have experimented with them more, I’ve become disturbed by FIS’s gameplay. Importantly, the decks it’s being played in are very cool and strong even without FIS, and its toxic play-pattern feels like it’s ‘tainting’ otherwise interesting strategies. With this change, I believe these decks will often still slot a single copy, and it will be a cool surprise when played, but spamming it on consecutive turns will probably no longer be on the menu.
Buffs
Marked Accounts (3 credits -> 4 credits)
This is a move to support NBN naked asset economy decks (typically run out of Near-Earth Hub). I think these decks are really engaging and create tons of interesting decisions for both sides, with “Trash everything”, “Trash opportunistically” and “Just trash the best stuff” all being viable choices depending on the runner’s gameplan. These decks really thrive when they can play a mix of fragile but potent assets and reliable but lower-impact assets. Marked accounts is supposed to be all the way at the extreme of “reliable but lower-impact”, but its impact is just a bit too low even for that role. This change increases its long-term payoff by just a little bit.
IQ (Strength 0->1)
Between NEXT ice, other strong Code Gate gearchecks (Magnet, Enigma, Quandary), and Bioroid-Heavy suites, there isn’t really a clear place for IQ, even as a 1-of. It leads to a lot of interesting gameplay and decisions, so hopefully this power boost makes it a more attractive option.
Silencer (Cost 1->0) & Cloak (Influence 2->1)
Stealth Criminal used to be a cool archetype that a lot of players enjoyed, and sadly in Reboot it has taken heavy collateral damage from the Desperado Nerf. Initially I thought that the deck would benefit enough from the removal of the Astrotrain (its worst matchup by far) to make up for this, but now it seems the deck may need a bit more help. The decrease in the cost of Silencer should partially make up for the inevitable cost of having to install a memory card at some point in the game, and the influence reduction on Cloak should make deckbuilding a little smoother. These are very safe buffs to make as they affect basically no other decks. Try building a Switchblade deck and see what you think!
Cerberus “Lady” H1 (now No Change from Cost 4->5)
In line with the previous reversal of the Astrolabe nerf, traditional Shaper decks are still underperforming a bit, at least to the point that their core cards don’t need the small nerfs that I thought they would at Reboot’s inception. I decided that rather than look for cards to buff, it’s a simpler solution to just keep reverting nerfs until these decks are in a good place. Additionally, Eli 1.0-reliant decks on the corp side are some of the best options at the moment, so it’s probably healthy to give some teeth back to that ice’s natural predator.
The Horde (Influence 12->15)
I was a bit cautious with The Horde on release, since the ID does some very powerful things and is difficult to evaluate. I’ve been surprised that most players have had the impression that it’s a little on the weak side compared to Valencia and Whizzard (the other Anarch IDs that don’t ask much from you in deckbuilding). Going up to a normal influence value means either 1 more Clone Chip, or some more copies of cards like Earthrise Hotel, Career Fair, or Build Script, This gives you just 1 more reason to pick The Horde over another low-maintenance identity.
System Outage (Cost 1->0)
I promise this card is good and fun, but people seem reluctant to give it a chance, preferring Hacktivist Meeting in every matchup. Costing 0 is a huge buff for a card that is best to play right away, so I hope this gets you excited to try it in a deck!
7/23/2023
Nerfs
Singularity: Cost 4->2 (from 4->1)
Singularity is a clunky but effective trick for Eater decks to get into remotes. At 4 cost in the original game, it was far too expensive to actually use. I’m finding that at 1 cost it’s a little too affordable for what it does. 2 seems like a fair price where it wont see any less play, but getting your opponent to play it more than once will start to feel like it adds up.
High-Stakes Job: Cost 6->5 (from 6->4)
Well, I made this cost 5 and people didn’t seem to want to use it, even though I thought it was good. At 4, people finally got the message (as I hoped they would). 4 is feeling a little too strong, so I’m reverting this back to its original buff. I promise it’s still good.
Sniper: Influence 3->4, Any number -> Up to 2
I took some community input on this change on Discord. Sniper is very strong and, although I believe its decks are not as strong as people seem to think, the card itself can feel quite dominating. The influence change is to make it a bigger investment for Shapers, who are supposed to be a bit weak to sentries. The text change from all subroutines to 2 is to make Sniper 1 credit worse against some of the fun ice that it was pushing out (Ichi 1.0 and Tsurugi, notably).
Buffs
Information Overload: Cost 6->5
A long time ago, we tried buffing the encounter trace on this card, which was immediately shown to be too strong so we quickly reverted it. Info Overload is a flashy and exciting card that no one is really playing, so we’re trying a different kind of buff.
Subsidized Processor: Cost 4->3
People have actually been trying this now, but still finding it a little too much of a tempo hit. Clearly at 2 cost it would be extremely good, so we’ll see if 3 is a sweet spot.
Komainu: Cost 5->4
For such an iconic ice, no one is really playing poor Komainu right now. So many Jinteki ice got cost buffs that paying 5 for this seems like a lot. At 4 it feels more worth it for an ice that is so vulnerable to Parasite.
3/31/2023
Nerfs
Oversight AI: Cost 1->2
Blue Sun is a very strong deck. It’s performing well in constructed and data from the precon league backs this up as well. This is a targeted nerf meant to leave other Weyland decks essentially unaffected. The biggest concern with Blue Sun is its staggeringly good performance against Anarch. In addition to just being a 1 credit nerf to the profit generated by OAI, increasing the cost makes it harder to both OAI an ice and protect it from d4v1d with another ice. This can lead to Anarchs having an additional turn to react to the combo.
Buffs
Astrolabe: No Change (from Cost 1->2)
Traditional Shaper (ppk or mopus) has been struggling a little lately. In the early days of Reboot, many good players were under the impression that ppk would be the obvious best deck, and this nerf was part of addressing that. As the format has played out, these decks have done fine, but have by no means been as strong as expected. In particular, they have struggled against faster decks, so install-cost buffs are the proper adjustment. In general, having buffed cards is more fun than having nerfed ones, so any time we can safely revert a nerf it’s a good day.
Blackkat: Cost 4->2 (from 4->3)
Just another barrier breaking option for anarch. Sort of a compromise between corroder and morningstar. This was a community-suggested change and I see no harm in it.
Knight: Cost 2->1
Anarch is having trouble with faster decks and, although Knight is available as an option, players seem relatively unwilling to try it out since it’s usually quite inefficient. This is a small buff to make it a bit easier to use in the early game.
2/7/2023
Nerfs
Next Level Clearance - Cost 1->3
I’m actually very happy with this card and how it diversifies HBFA builds. However, closing the game by FAing a 4/2 from 0 credits is a bit silly. Giving it a little more cost opens some doors to interaction (like buying a turn by siphoning/vamping), and also may slow down the corp 1 turn or stop them rezzing an ice to hold money to play NLC. This isn’t a huge change, but the card is quite strong and can absorb a small nerf that removes an annoying use-case.
Waldemar 1.0 - Maximum of 6 subroutines
I’m also very happy with this card generally, but it has the occasional game against non-parasite runners where it gets completely out of hand for a 3 cost ice. I want it to have a high enough payoff to warrant building around, but I think 6 subs does this well enough.
Sniper - Cost 2->3, Influence 2->3
Sniper has been a bit above-curve and +1 cost +1 Influence is a good adjustment to keep it from crowding out other options. The cost increase plays into its main weakness (being forced to get it out early to break a sentry it’s bad against on a run you were pressured into making), while the influence increase should make it a tougher decision vs mimic in shaper decks that have datasucker.
Buffs
High Risk Job - Cost 5->4
Just a little push to get people to experiment with this card more. I think it has the potential to be fun.
Kampala City Grid - Pay 3->Pay 4
I’ve seen a fair amount of experimentation with this card, but it seems to get cut a lot as it’s not that deckslot efficient. Making it a little higher impact should help.
Flare - Cost 8->7
This ice is a lot of fun, but is still a little too pricey to justify in most decks. At 7 it’s an interesting choice vs Assassin in NBN decks (particularly against Sniper)
Product Placement - Trash cost 2->3
NBN Sansan NA is supposed to be a solid force in the meta and this makes it just a little bit more annoying. Product Placement is hard to find slots for but this increase in impact should make it feel more worth it.
Susanoo-No-Mikoto - Cost 9->8
As with Flare, this is a very cool big sentry that seems to not quite make the cut, so lowering its cost will hopefully nudge it into more decks.
12/18/2022
Nerfs
Sniper: 1c: break all sentry subs -> 1c: break 1 sentry sub (all sentry subs during a run initiated by a run event)
The reason for this Sniper nerf is to maintain the identity of the card as an efficient killer in a deck that mostly attacks with run events. In its current form, it was too effective as a mimic-replacement using datasucker counters to make use of its 1c:break all subs. The card is now unchanged if you use a run event, but if all you have is sucker counters, it’s a worse mimic.
Buffs
Snickerdoodle: Gain 3c -> Gain 3c. The corp may draw 1 card.
Snickerdoodle is a cute card, but had a deckslots problem in an archetype that already struggles to fit toys. By adding a card draw to the 1st subroutine, it makes it easier to fit the card in an ice or econ slot. It also creates some fun gameplay around situationally choosing not to rez it (like during an indexing run)
Subsidized Processor: Cost 5->4
Cybersolutions Mem Chip: Cost 3->2
Leprechaun: Cost 2->1
We’re doing a blanket cost buff to many MU cards that are not seeing play, including the Reflections card Subsidized Processor. The main cost of an MU card is the deckslot it takes up and needing to draw it at the right time in the game. It’s not necessary for these cards to have a large credit cost on top of this.
Public support: Cost 2->1
Public Support is an interesting card for Gagarin (and maybe other decks too?), but its cost makes rezzing it early really hurt (which is the point in the game when the runner’s choice about whether to trash it is most interesting!). By reducing the cost we’re hoping to enable this situation to arise more often.