"Oh, I didn't think you could get into that remote."

"That card works at instant speed?!?"

"Play Targeted Marketing, name.... Sure Gamble."

“I actually enjoy Netrunner again playing this deck.”

(YouTube link of @codemarvelous and I breaking down the deck, for those that hate reading and want to hear our dulcet tones.)

Are you sick and tired of playing Faust, being part of the problem, yet still want to have a deck with 'fork' in the title? Wish to have a lean, mean deck with answers to tons of things in the meta, at instant speed, but not having the blindingly fast starts of Kate?

Do I have a deck for you!

Widely known to people named spags, I retired from Kate, after playing her in 3 Worlds straight. As much as I adored her, she's too generic, and too strong, as a result. However, I still love the flexibility of playing green cards, despite Damon's attempt to destroy instant speed answers. Luckily, he helped create another one, in Artist Colony. The card is good, REAL good. I am not throwing around the 'broken' term (we'll save that for cards named 'Faust'), but, having instant speed answers at your fingertips allows for some interesting deck choices.

Let's start with props for this build. It begins with @x3r0h0ur, he of the massive NRDB karma value. I saw him play Hayley at the first big Chicago SC, and was impressed. We traded a lot of notes. His deck focuses more on SacCon/Faerie recursion. However, I found D4V1D to be more useful in the current meta, and tried to fit it in. Plus, I completely forgot an answer to Sentries in my first SC with this, and did fine. I've been working with others on the deck, as well, tuning it up with @d1en, @bahram-aka-saetzero, @flowerscandrink, @hhooo, @calimsha, @foilflaws, and many more. I'm trying to spread the disease of playing a non-Faust Shaper that isn't Kate, and it seems to be working (5 of 33 in my last SC were on Hayley).

I wanted a nimble deck, and decided that it needed to focus Hayley's ability. Events aren't helping her out in that regard, so the econ had to be based around Aesop’s. This is quite a difference from past Kates I piloted, which ran on either Desperado or PPVP (the latter a model I helped found). It was a nice difference, and pushed for some creative deckbuilding options.

Let’s look at the cards:

EVENTS

The most minimal part of the deck is the Events list. I had toyed with Diesel, but found it to be one of the least essential cards. Also, if you want to play on Hard Mode, and are already not running such staples as Sure Gambles, why not go the next step and remove the most staple of green cards. Dien suggested ‘moar Scavenge’, and I like it. They can trigger Hayley’s ability, give you 3 creds on a Cache if you really need creds, and fire Technical Writers for 2 triggers. A really nice card, especially considering most of your programs benefit from being reinstalled. The Stimhack was a @hhooo suggestion, to help with some speed and oomph v. Foodcoats. It works well with Artist Colony and SMC, as well. Finally, a LARLA, because sometimes a deck reset is needed, and necessary. Running out of Clone Chips or your Plascrete can require a fire.

HARDWARE

The hardware is fairly standard. RDI is your lock, and where you win most of your games. Since we are not on events, this is where we have to play multi-access. Plus, Hayley’s ability, Tech Writers, etc. I usually find that locking two servers is what we do to win: R&D and the scoring remote. 3 Clone Chip are essential. I tried cutting to 2, and always missed it. Instant speed is great, and being able to fire them on the Corp turn for an extra Hayley trigger is great. The goal of the deck is to maximize clicks, and they really help. Plus, they provide tons of flexibility, and really help with the Clot lock. Astrolabe and 1 Plas are key cards, the latter especially in here.

RESOURCES

My favourite part of this deck is what kind of interesting answers we can jam in as Resources. Most of my Hayley triggers come in this area. Hayley’s advantage is 5 clicks a turn, and a great way to take advantage of that is by running cheap second installs. All of the zero cost Resources here really help. Plus, the look on opponent’s face when they see Fan Site for the first time is worth the price of its addition. Aesop is a key part of the econ for the deck, and maybe should be a 3 of. However, he’s not as essential as he is in Noise, for example, and !slots are tight. Therefore, went with 2. I have used Artist Colony to get him, even.

Speaking of Artist Colony, I always like to try new cards. What’s the point of playing an LCG if you don’t try new shite out? AC seems like a really good card. However, I saw most Kate players trying it as a one-of toolbox toy. I wanted to build around it. As a result, 3 Fan Site was a necessary add to fuel it. Worst case, FS was a free install that turns into 3 credits. AC allows for a lot of great plays at instant speed, something that I thought Damon didn’t like. It does take a bit more work to get it to work, unlike Clone Chip. AC can fire mid-run, on opponent’s turns, and create some really intriguing plays, finding you solutions to problems as they arise. I’ve gotten breakers during a run, playing what I really needed from hand. I’ve played a program from deck, dropping my Clot from hand when it got stuck there. I have done the same with Plas, before the Traffic Accident or Scorch hits. Having this kind of security blanket is really freeing, and allows for some cool, high-level plays. It almost makes you play like Iain, wanting them to score, so that your Fan Sites can score. Finally, it welcomes News Teams and 15 Mimutes as fuel. It is the kind of card I play this game for.

Most of the resources are here for your econ: Tech Writer, Aesop, Casts, ProCo. The rest are your tools. Film Critic is really good right now, with Future Perfect still around, and lots of ugliness scoring agendas v. certain yellow dex. Getting her out at instant speed when needed is really nice. The same can be said for Hunting Grounds, which deals with a lot of problem ICE I see being played: Booth, Raven, Pike, Pop, Komainu, and even Quicksand. Same Old Thing is there for a LARLA backup v. damage dex, and is even nice with Scavenge and Stimhack, if needed.

PROGRAMS

The programs are fairly straightforward Shaper stuff. This deck is as toolbox-y of a deck I have played, so inclusions of 1-ofs can work. 2 SMC is a judgment call, but I find I don’t need it a ton. It’s really awful mid-to-late game in here. If you like it, run 3. It is nice to have it to get Clot, but, I lost to a Hayley this weekend (a clone of this deck, essentially), but on 1 SMC! Sometimes better to be lucky, as they say. I think Sentries aren’t a huge issue, hence the dropping of Mimic for the Hunting Grounds. Chameleon is my Sentry breaker, dealing with low level shite like Caduceus, Architect, and Rototurret. Atman at 4 deals with tons of HB issues, including Ichi 1.0, and D4 gets the rest. Having a rig of Lady/CyCy/Atman 4/D4 is pretty difficult to deal with, even in Food. If they only have ASH, two runs through even the toughest of scoring remotes becomes ridiculously cheap. This deck isn’t the fastest to start, and I get that. However, once set, the mid-to-late game becomes really hard for the Corp, as Hayley’s runs become really cheap.

IN CONCLUSION

Your matchups across the board are really nice due to the flexibility of this build. Hayley is a ninja, allowing remote strikes from nowhere. Clot, Plas, and FC really ruin a lot of yellow dex’s days. Blue Sun is an absolute joke v. this; I have lost zero BS games in at least 15 on JNET, including v. that Bootcamp dude. Food may be the toughest matchup, due to Caprice. If you can keep them poorer, forcing ICE rezzes, you may have time to lock R&D and pressure the remotes. FA has a hard time v. Clot, 3 CCs, and LARLA. If facing NEHFA, kill the CVS, kill the Team Sponsorship, and you can win.

There’s lots of Influence that can be moved around. Feel free to add a Mimic, or SacCon, seasoning to taste. 2 Lady is understandable, or even a Corroder, if you want to save a deckslot. Get those Diesels back in there if you like to set up faster. Down the road, The Turning Wheel and PolOp could be really solid adds.

Thanks all who tried this out! It’s different, for sure. I have played it in two SCs, going 8-2. Finally, thanks to @sotomatic for the name. I had a few names for it, and more suggestions. However, I liked the ‘fork’ mocking, and the online hipster vibe of the name fits many cards in here (Critic, AC, FS, HG, Stimhack, etc.). Plus, the deck literally pitches things away to two different cards.

Cheers!