Have you heard Weyland are back?

That's the wrong question.

Who told you they ever left?

In all seriousness, I feel better placed than most to say that they Weyland card pool is not in a great state, having played very little else for the last fifteen months from the glory days of Blue Sun through the dominance of Pre-Paid Kate to today where Faust and D4v1d are everywhere.

There are several cards in this deck which are included only because better options do not exist. Weyland ICE is a dreary affair and the rules of the game prevent one from running six Enigma so here we are.

That being said, earlier versions of this deck were successfully teched to beat "the runner to beat" prior to the most wanted list and is once again able to do so. It went undefeated through five rounds of Swiss and three games in the cut including the grand final against a Worlds Top 16 finisher.

In case the agenda suite and flimsy ICE didn't tip you off, this is a rush deck. The high level explanation is simple - score seven points before the runner knows what has hit them and scorch them if they try to stop you. The agenda funds its own scoring and can incidentally build a bank to threaten an SEA Source, although this is not at all a primary win condition. The only time you should be aiming for a kill is when the runner avoiding death will allow you to score two points. On the day I won only three games by flatline.

In order to do this effectively you need to strongly consider mulliganing for agenda. The ideal opening turn for this deck is to install and advance an Oaktown Renovation behind an ETR piece of ICE. Failing that, ICEing HQ and the remote with an econ card setting you up to start scoring on the second turn will do.

Frequently, the right call is to ICE HQ rather than R&D, even if there are no agenda in hand - they'll end up there soon enough. R&D is spiky enough that only the bravest runner is going to scoop more than one agenda off the top. Snares and your ID ability should punish a runner that goes all in on R&D early and by the mid-game you should aim to have the remote be their sole focus because - all going according to plan - you should be on four or five points already.

I'll be doing a full write up of the deck and playing off-meta for the wonderful netrunners.co.uk so for now I'll cover the key card choices.

ICE

You need ETRs that end the run. That means running different ICE types. Much like British Crown Dependencies, there is no tax here. Bad Publicity should never be a concern because even moderate runner economies will be able to deal with all your ICE with ease, once they find the right breaker. If Guard weren't so expensive (and generally rubbish) it would be here, just to give another type. Instead, Grim, Cobra and Archer (and sometimes Changeling) force the third breaker install to access the remote.

The exception to the above (and it's a big one) is Faust. Spiderweb and the higher strength ICE are there to make the question of whether it's an Atlas or a Snare in the remote far more dangerous for an Anarch to answer. Swordsman reliably opens a scoring window. Sometimes it stays open long enough for two agenda scores. Mimic is of course the perfect answer but that's another breaker that your opponent has to find and install. All these things take time. Don't give them any.

Snare!

Snare is the MVP in this deck. Apart from occasionally opening kill windows, every card you cost the runner is significant. If a Shaper loses a clone chip or an SMC that's one fewer way they have of challenging your remote. If an Anarch loses a Parasite that's one more enigma that stays on the board. Everything in the deck is binary and so every card matters. Finally, the most obvious point is that clicks spent drawing back out of kill range and removing tags are clicks not spent stopping you from scoring.

Jackson Howard (or rather the missing third)

This deck, like its Supermodernism antecedents, doesn't need Jackson Howard. In the final game of the tournament I had three agenda in hand before I had a piece of ICE. As long as the agenda you see give you money for scoring them, there is no agenda flood. It's a scoring flood. Unfortunately, Noise remains prevalent and running zero isn't an option. In non-Noise match-ups recur economy and Snares for the most part.

Shattered Remains

The standard tool to punish runners who think a mere Plascrete will save them but, more importantly, is something you can advance in your remote that isn't an agenda. If I had the influence for a Junebug I'd probably consider that instead since SEA/Scorch/Scorch is not the primary win condition. It's also great for taking out troublesome pieces of hardware like Clone Chip or Turntable.

Casting Call

Use it on whatever agenda you like - it doesn't have to be Oaktown. Combined with your ID ability this is generally a guaranteed two points. Comedy bonus points if you use it on the Posted Bounty. Trust your gearcheck ICE early and use this on your second or third score when the remote is starting to look dicey.

Fast Track

This deck needs to have agenda to score. There is no long-game. If I could find room for two I would. An Oaktown can go from R&D to your remote, ready to score next turn or, if all your Snares have ended up in hand, feel free to Fast Track for a Hostile to score the following turn.

And that's about it. If you like the look of the deck and want to play some dynamic and interactive games then sleeve it up, look your opponent in the eye and ask - are you ready?

Edit - My runner deck is available here - https://netrunnerdb.com/en/decklist/35094/seamus-stealth-kit-1st-place-scottish-regionals-

It went 6-2 on the day, losing one in the Swiss and one in the grand final.