So, this is the decklist I took first place with at the Damage Unlimited Store Championship in Vienna (2014/03/22). I went 4-0 with the deck there.

I built the whole deck with one goal in mind: I wanted to be able to shutdown rush decks, with a particular emphasis on TWIY rush. NBN is definitely the strongest faction right now, and corp decks in general have sped up quite a bit in the last couple of data packs, to the point where runners have trouble keeping up.

So, how do you stop a hardcore rush deck? After thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that you need to, in no particular order:

• pressure HQ with Siphons
• pressure RnD with Indexing (and multi-access)
• be able to get into remotes quickly and reliably

Now, obviously, Criminal can do all of this with a little outsourcing, but I don't like Criminal... and I've always been partial to a certain little girl we all know and love 🙂 So, Shaper it is. Also, being Shaper means I get several important things I wouldn't get otherwise:

• Magnum Opus for Closed Accounts recovery, meaning I can float tags mostly with impunity
• Program tutoring and recursion, as well as two awesome one-shot breakers
• Tinkering for guaranteed Siphons/Indexings and remote runs into a server with ICE that is 2 pieces deep, with just a SMC and some money
• A modicum of cheap card draw
• Levy so I can go all night long with the siphoning and indexing if needed

The way to play this is pretty straightforward - pressure whenever you can, however you can. Siphon a couple of times so they go overboard on HQ protection, then switch to RnD assault with Indexing and Interfaces. Don't sit on large stacks of money unless you're certain they don't have Closed Accounts and/or you actually need the cash reserve for something. Use Indexing either to set up multi-steal runs, or to move cards you really don't want them to have further down (in one game I actually delayed a Closed Accounts by about 15 draws, which got me enough time to get all set with breakers and MO, then I let my opponent have it since it didn't matter any more).

What to mulligan for:

• The best hands include both a Siphon and an Indexing... that way, unless the corp double-ices on their first turn, they're in for a world of hurt either way. And even if they do, you can usually do the Siphon, force the rez, and then either push through the indexing, or make them spend all their money stopping you.
• Failing that, you're looking for either Sure Gamble or Dirty Laundry - they're not a whole lot of burst econ in here, so getting some at start is important
• Failing that, it's ok to keep a hand of decent cards and none of the above, as long as there's a Diesel involved. You'll play it and probably get at least some of the parts you need.

Some comments on card choices:

One copy of Toolbox

I really can't describe how good CT's +1 memory is. Basically, it lets you do all sorts of nasty Clone Chip -> SMC hijinx even after you have a full set of breakers out. Having that flexibility means I can delay playing a console until I can afford the tempo hit... and Toolbox is awesome in here. Saves a bunch of money, gets me 3 memory (because Zu.13 suddenly costs 0), actually negates some ICE (I'm looking at you, Caduceus) and makes double-punitive plays more expensive to pull off. In the lategame, you can actually afford to have a spare SMC lying around for Power Shutdown protection, which is just awesome.

One copy of Magnum Opus

A.k.a. the money laundering machine. Pay it with stolen money and print some fresh credits on demand. Pull out with SMC as needed when you have 7 credits you don't immediately need. It becomes an awesome safety net and gives you a ton of flexibility.

Femme as the only Killer

This is the part where I rave about how insanely good Sharpshooter is. What he does is let me delay playing the Femme until I actually have a bypass-worthy target. Also, breaking Archer for 2 is always fun.

One copy of Atman

This was the latest addition to the deck (the slot was originally a third SMC), but it definitely paid off. It got slotted, because I found that handling stacked copies of the same ICE repeatedly had the potential to become quite taxing (Eli, Archer and Viktor 2.0, I'm looking at you). A well-set Atman handles this problem nicely, and it also helps with handling Chimeras and Rototurrets.

Zu.13 instead of Gordian Blade, especially in a deck with Tinkering

This is something I've mulled over, but in the end Zu turned out to be the right choice. It's much cheaper to get into play and eventually takes up 0 MU. The stacked code gate thing can become a problem, but these days if you encounter stacked code gates, they're usually copies of the same piece of ICE, so that will get covered by Atman.

Deus X

Because dying to Snares is for losers. Also, breaks expensive ICE cheaply. One of the funniest moments of the tournament for me were when one of my opponents rezzed a Flare... at first I thought I'm boned, then I noticed that Flare is AP... Deus X, break, on we go 🙂

2 copies of RnD Interface, especially with so many other critical cards in the deck being one-ofs

I did try with one, but getting an Interface out is super-important for Indexing plays - you get a bit more leeway in how you order the opponent's cards and aren't totally reliant on guessing correctly whether he'll draw extra cards and how many. Once you get both out, you're pretty much set for RnD lock and don't have to run it every turn, leaving you free to do other things (like Siphons and the like).

Finally, what I'd change after playing in the tournament:

It felt like three Tinkerings were mostly overkill, I underestimated the amount of ICE-handling flexibility I built in here. I'll be dropping the third copy for a Chakana - it's a further way of pressuring RnD and stopping Fast Advance decks, so that's definitely worth it. God knows I have the memory for it 😛

UPDATE AFTER TESTING: the Chakana is brutal in this deck, definitely include it in place of the third Tinkering!