Card of the Day

Written by Foolkiller

Poisoned Water Supply (PWS) makes a nice addition to a Runner stack devoted entirely to beating the Corp through Bad Publicity. On its own, the card is too slow and burdensom to be effective, but as a compliment to other strategies, it is a perfect addition.

The fact that Resource Connections must be trashed to use this card means that you must make space for these in a deck which uses PWS. This is actually fairly easy as there are several connection cards available to choose from. I recommend using Smith's Pawnshop, Databroker or Preying Mantis, depending on the main BP strategy you are using. Preying Mantis works well if you have a good bit engine and you are not using Faked Hit as your primary means of killing the Corp. The amount of Brain damage suffered from the hits will make Mantis useless. If you are pursuing a "Black" BP strategy (Live News Feed, Senatorial Field Trip, etc..) Preying Mantis is a great choice if you have them available. Smiths is somewhat limited because it is unique, but the 0 install cost still makes it a useful connection to feed to PWS.

My favorite is Databroker, however. Databroker costs nothing to install and since you are not concerned with agenda points, any that you score can actually be used to gain bits! I combine this strategy with Scaldan. Since I'm running to give Scaldan counters anyway, any agendas I score accidentally can be used to feed left-over Databrokers. When a PWS comes up I use it to give the Corp an extra BP point. Databrokers are pretty easy to come by, as most players don't seem to like using them.

I use very few PWS in a deck because I only use them to push the Corp over the edge when I need to (or to bring them within range of an Identity Donor kill), I don't need many in the deck. JBBS allows me to get one back if I need it, or want to have it in my hand to make the Corp nervous.

Broker and Crash Everett, Inventive Fixer can also be sacraficed to PWS, but they are more costly to give up. On the other hand, both make great additions to a deck and can be sacraficed if they will give you a win. I use a few Brokers and a lot of Databrokers combined with Scaldan and Code Viral Cache to create a very powerful Bad Publicity strategy. If I am using Faked Hit, I substitute Crash to get the extra draw control. This can be important when cycling through cards rapidly. If my brain damage levels get too high, I start using PWS to finish off the Corp. By the late game I usually have several connections in play allowing me to grab several BP points for minimal fuss.

Because PWS works well with "Runless" Runner decks you should consider the means of gaining bits and avoiding aggressive Corps when putting the deck together. Top Runners Conference is perfect for Faked Hit decks. Fall Guys make nifty protection against Underworld Mole, but Blood Cats and trace-agendas will quickly play havoc with a deck which is not designed to run. Thus, combing Identity Donor with PWS and other BP cards makes a perfect combo. Should the Corp get a tag on you and blow you up, they earn more BP for their trouble. The threat of BP can be a great deterrent to aggressive Corp players. Once you bring the Corp within range of an Identity Donor kill with PWS and other cards, they will be very hesitant to mess with you.

On its own, PWS is too time consuming to use. Once a Corp detects an all-PWS strategy they will quickly out-score you before you can get the kill finished. A deck devoted to PWS will be largely innefective at running so the Corp will see little in the way of preventive measures on your part. As with all BP strategies, if you fail you get no points which also makes an all-PWS strategy less attractive. You must prevent the Corp from gaining a score advantage through speed and flexibility when using BP, so limiting yourself to just PWS will fail in the end.

Overall, PWS is an excellent addition to every Bad Publicity deck that can afford the room for a few connections. Since most BP decks have plenty of room for such things, PWS gets my highest recommendations to those seeking to ruin a Corporate reputation. Happy hunting!