Fantasy Flight Games

"I Play to Win" Is a Lie

Published 28 September 2018 | Star Wars: Armada

"I Play to Win" Is a Lie

A Designer Journal from Nate French

Are games meant to be won? If not, why do we play games that have strong competitive scenes? In today's Designer Journal, designer Nate French takes a look at the nature of competition and suggests some alternative ways of thinking about winning.

It is helpful from time to time for those of us in the competitive gaming community to reflect on our own relationships with gaming and competition. What can we do to ensure that our hobby of competing with one another through gaming brings out the best in our selves, rather than the worst?

This designer journal is one of my own recent attempts to wrestle with such a question.

The statement “I play to win” has been used to rationalize and justify a fair bit of behavior that runs the gamut from off-putting to questionable to unethical and downright evil. As a competitive gamer who’s had some success in various arenas in the past, such a mindset has never been one that I have been completely at peace with.

“Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.”

This overused quote and idea is often attributed to Vince Lombardi, but it is believed the original speaker was UCLA Bruins coach Red Sanders. Regardless of where it originated, it is frequently embraced by high-level competitors to focus on the supposed ultimate goal (winning) and to motivate them to do what they need to do in order to win.

It shouldn’t be difficult to see how such a belief is unhealthy, and leads to many evils, great and small, in the world of competition. Unfortunately, such an idea is deeply engrained in our culture, and countless competitors find strength and reassurance in an “I play to win” approach to their sport or game.

I should know, I’ve been there myself. Winning is seductive, and easy to fall in love with. As you win more, it feeds back into your identity as a so-called “winner.” Losers, on the other hand, are often derided: the very term is frequently used as an insult. But seeing winning as “the only thing”—the point, the end that justifies all means in any type of competition—is a mistake, a dire mistake that we must continually guard ourselves against believing. This task, I feel, is one of our deepest imperatives as competitive gamers.

Making the task somewhat easier, I’ve found, is this: while the “play to win” attitude cloaks itself in the guise of strength, when you really dig in to the idea you begin to realize that it comes from a place of weakness.

The Trap

The biggest self-defeating trap in the “play to win” mentality is this: winning is a result, and we don’t get better at games by following results-oriented thinking. This is a concept I came across while studying poker, but the idea can transfer to any form of competition.

What is results-oriented thinking? Basically, it’s judging the quality of your decisions (and your decision-making process) based on outcomes rather than judging the quality of those decisions on logic or objective analysis.

Why is this type of thinking a bad thing? Ultimately, it’s because competitors don’t truly have any control over the outcome—the only thing we competitors can control is the quality of our decisions, and the outcomes take care of themselves.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few examples from different types of games.

It’s easiest to see this in perfect information games, as they do the least to hide the connection between our decisions and our results. Consider a simple game like Tic-Tac-Toe. If both players play perfectly, the game inevitably ends in a draw. Put another way, you can only win a game of Tic-Tac-Toe if your opponent makes a mistake. As there is nothing (within the rules) that a player can do to “force” their opponent to make a mistake, winning this game is entirely reliant on a factor that I, as a competitor, have no control over. I can only play perfectly, and hope my opponent messes up.

“But Tic-Tac-Toe is a simple game with a known solution. What about a more complex, unsolved game, such as Chess?” you might ask. While it is true that—as of this writing—Chess remains an unsolved game, this does not grant a competitor any additional agency in forcing a desired result. If both sides play perfectly, the outcome (currently unknown, but it will either be a draw, a win for black, or a win for white) is inevitable, and it is only through imperfect play by one player or the other that other outcomes can be achieved.

Let’s now move our consideration to other types of games with variance and hidden information. In a broad sense, each of these devices serves to disguise the ways in which player error determines a game’s outcome.

Variance is easiest to see. Imagine you make a play that, 99 times out of 100, is going to win you the game… and then the fated dice roll the one result that defeats you, throwing the win away. Curses! Even in such extreme cases, a truly results-oriented player would believe they made the wrong decision or, if they were on the other side of the improbable roll, believe they played the game perfectly. And either of these conclusions would be an obvious impediment to their development as a player.

Hidden information (such as the hole cards in Texas Hold’em, or a player’s hand in a customizable card game) also serves to disguise the concept of “perfect” play, in that it demands competitors evaluate and analyze their play against all possible (or likely) holdings, and then choose optimal lines against the various possibilities an opponent could be sitting on.

With such games, it’s very possible to make a correct play (correct against the possible range of cards the opponent could have) that in a particular instance turns out to lose the game (because they happen to have, against the odds, the one card in their deck that could beat your play). It’s also possible to blunder (make a play which would be wrong against their likely holding the vast majority of the time) that turns out in this particular instance to win the game because your opponent didn’t happen to have any of the dozens of likely outs that could have defeated your play. Such outcomes are not examples of superior or inferior play, they’re simply another case of running up against the wrong (or right) side of variance.

Once variance and hidden information enter the picture, it’s possible to make terrible decisions and still win, and it’s also possible to make good decisions and still lose. Or, as co-host Andrew Brokos of the Thinking Poker podcast once suggested, “the end result of you winning the pot does not change the fact that the way you played the hand was a complete disaster.”

What are our takeaways from these considerations of various types of games? Essentially, we as competitors don’t have as much control over our results as we’d initially believe. If a game is not decided by bad (or good!) luck, it was decided by a mistake (or series of mistakes) made by one of the competitors. Just as we cannot control luck, we cannot control whether or not our opponents make mistakes. All we can do then, as competitors, is eliminate as many mistakes as possible from our own play, and be prepared to capitalize on the mistakes our opponents do make.

A more profound way of thinking about this is the realization that at the heart of all competitive gaming—in which we strive to control the sole thing we have any control over, by eliminating mistakes from our own play—we are only competing against ourselves.

This casts our opponents in a completely different light—they are no longer our enemies or adversaries that we must defeat and crush and overcome at any cost, but rather our allies, a mirror against which we can measure ourselves in our effort to grow and improve at our chosen game. And this realization, more than anything else, might change the way we treat those opponents—in victory and defeat.

Nate French is the longest-tenured member in the card game department, and serves as a mentor and coach for the team. More often than not, he’s working on a project he can’t say anything about… yet! In his spare time he is an avid poker player and enjoys reading, writing, sports, (older) heavy metal, and talking about LeBron.

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What's Inside the Servers?

Published 4 September 2018 | Genesys

What's Inside the Servers?

Champion Cards, Community Cards, Streaming Coverage, and the Prizes of Android: Magnum Opus

"Of course I steal from the rich. They're the ones with all the money."
–Gabriel Santiago

Android: Magnum Opus is almost here, and that means attendees will soon find themselves deeply immersed in the myriad struggles of the Android universe. They'll be accosted by thugs on the streets of Base de Cayambe. They'll brave a coordinated series of runs against the NAPD. And they'll return once more to the network and the high-stakes cyberstruggles between corps and runners.

Undoubtedly, the weekend's highlight is bound to be the 2018 Android: Netrunner The Card Game World Championship. As the game's final World Championship, this is a bittersweet moment. But it's also one that will write itself firmly in each participant's mind—marked by thrilling competition, brilliant camaraderie, a celebratory atmosphere, and a deluge of prizes.

Best yet, many of these prizes will be made available—for free—to the larger community, as well. So be sure to follow the event and check back afterward to see what prizes are available!

It's almost time for the big game… GOOOOOOOO SWORDFISH!

Participation Prizes

Each player registered for Android: Magnum Opus will receive a commemorative New Angeles Swordfish jersey, a complete playset of six different and previously unreleased Champion Cards, an alternate art Diversion of Funds, and a copy of the new NAPD identity that's central to the one-versus-many experience attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy throughout the weekend.

While the weekend's new Champion Cards won't be legal for the Android: Netrunner World Championship, they will be legal for all the weekend's side events (see the schedule below).

Community Card Design

As we've stated in our previous articles, each player at Android: Magnum Opus will be assigned to one of two different orgcrime units—Los Scorpiones or 14K. Everyone participating in Day 1A will be assigned to Los Scorpiones, and everyone participating in Day 1B will be assigned to 14K.

Each Day 1 win, then, doesn't just advance players toward Day 2; it also earns them a vote in the Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design. The final cards will be distributed to all Android: Magnum Opus attendees and posted on our website later for free download, but only players in attendance will have a chance to give them shape.

Where do they start? Here are the first decisions attendees will make as they determine the futures of Los Scorpiones, 14K, Android: Netrunner, and New Angeles orgcrime.

Day 1A participants, down which path will you lead Los Scorpiones?

Day 1B attendees, it's your job to make sure 14K recruits the right kind of Hired Help.

Throughout the weekend, the members of these rival orgcrime units will find opportunities to win points for their sides, to penalize their opponents, and to impact the future of the Android setting:

Each Day 2 win earns one point for your orgcrime unit.
Each win in Sunday's side tournament earns one point for your orgcrime unit.
Each Runner in the NAPD one-versus-many side event claims one point for their orgcrime unit with a victory.
Each Runner in the NAPD one-versus-many side event loses two points for their orgcrime unit with a loss.
Each player who participates in and completes the Genesys roleplaying adventure earns one point for their orgcrime unit—and gets to vote on an impactful story decision.

On Sunday, at the event's close, every member of the winning orgcrime unit will receive a custom Beanstalk-shaped click tracker.

You can learn more about Los Scorpiones, 14K, their histories, ambitions, methods, and reputations from The Worlds of Android setting book and our preview article, "Los Scorpiones and 14K."

World Championship Prizes

Finally, as the grand, final hurrah for Android: Netrunner Organized Play, the 2018 World Championship will boast an array of tournament rewards destined to see the game out in style. The event will feature new prizes at several different stages—as well as a stash of bounty prizes that will be placed on the table before each match. Each time you win, you claim a bounty!

Everyone who earns twelve or more prestige will earn frosted plastic identity cards for both MaxX and Titan Transnational.

Sixteen or more prestige earns a set of mirrored gold and black credit tokens.

Twenty or more prestige earns a set of mirrored black and yellow tag tokens, as well as a set of mirrored black and white bad publicity tokens.

The Top 8 players in each faction for both Days 1A and 1B will earn an extended art identity card with a special event-specific frame: Stronger Together, Personal Evolution, Making News, Building a Better World, Reina Roja, Gabriel Santiago, Chaos Theory, Sunny, Apex, and Adam.

Everyone with twenty-eight prestige will qualify for Day 2 and continue competing for the top prizes.

The Top 32 players each receive a commemorative playmat adorned with the Revised Core Set runners and a placement icon.

The Top 16 players each earn a stylized medallion.

The Top 8 players each earn a wooden NAPD token box.

The Top 4 players each win a full set of the extended art identity cards awarded to the top-in-faction Day 1 players.

The Runner Up earns a beautiful World Championship Finalist plaque decorated with an image of Electronic Warfare Service (EWS) veteran Reina Roja.

Ultimately, the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Champion, having delved deeper into corporate servers than all his or her rivals, will gain unprecedented access to HQ and uncover both a World Champion trophy and the opportunity to permanently upload his or her consciousness to the Android settting.

Working with the developers of the Genesys roleplaying game, the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Champion will help to inspire and craft a character within the Android setting—potentially even envisioning his or her avatar as a crime boss who helped to win the weekend's Turf Wars event. More than this, he or she will have a chance to play that character during a special Genesys roleplaying adventure, set in the Android universe, at PAX Unplugged, the weekend of November 30 to December 2. Travel and accommodations will be provided for the winner to attend.

Media Coverage

With the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championship, multiple one-versus-many tables, Genesys roleplaying games set in the worlds of Android, and plenty of chances to explore New Angeles, Android: Mainframe, and the rest of the Android universe, there's far too much at Android: Magnum Opus for us to cover on our own—so we're inviting a small army of enthusiastic streamers, podcasters, photographers, and writers to keep you up to date with all of the weekend's action!

PeachHack

Website: www.peachhack.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/dodgepong
Twitter: @PeachHack
Facebook: @peachhack

Bad Publicity

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ANRBadPublicity/
Twitter: @ANRBadPublicity
Facebook: @Anrbadpublicity

Meanladystreams

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/meanladystreams

Run Last Click

Blog: http://runlastclick.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @RunLastClick
Facebook: @runlastclickcast

Sneakdoor

Blog: https://sneakdoor.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @Sneakdoor

Event Schedule

Download the full event schedule (pdf, 166 KB).

Adventures in the Not-Too-Distant Future

Android: Magnum Opus is nearly here, and for everyone attending, it promises to be a fantastic event. It promises to be a fantastic event for all of you at home, as well!

Follow the media coverage listed above to stay up to date with all the action. Watch the game's greatest players compete for its ultimate prize. Learn how the tensions between corps and runners translate into the Android setting's other games. See who's crowned the final Android: Netrunner World Champion. Then check back for the prizes you earn—the downloadable set of Champion Cards, Community Cards, and the NAPD one-versus-many identity!

Android: Magnum Opus begins on Friday, September 7. Check with our media partners to learn about their plans for coverage!

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NAPD's Most Wanted

Published 20 August 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

NAPD's Most Wanted

The Newest Most Wanted List for Android: Netrunner The Card Game

"We stand behind all those who wear the NAPD badge."
–Commissioner Chen-Mai Dawn

Android: Magnum Opus and the final Android: Netrunner World Championship are now just a few weeks away!

As these events look to draw a close to the game's Organized Play, the developers have assembled a new Most Wanted List (pdf, 6.5 MB) to promote greater diversity among the game's Corps and Runners—and to ensure that the game ends in a healthy place to reward continued play, even after its Organized Play has concluded.

What do these changes entail? For that information we turn to developer Michael Boggs.

Developer Michael Boggs on the Most Wanted List

Hello,

As we worked on this latest Most Wanted List (MWL), our team and playtesters faced a special challenge. Previous MWLs all followed the same key philosophy—to address problems in the meta, while keeping the list contained and welcoming to new and returning players. This MWL, however, is our last, and we’ve decided to tweak our philosophy accordingly.

We still want to keep the list contained, but we felt it was more important than ever to promote a meta that is healthy and long-lasting. As a result, MWL 2.2 is the most aggressive iteration of the list to-date, featuring a number of restrictions and removals on both sides.

Let’s start with the Runner.

Restricted

Clone Chip is coming off of the Restricted list. Mad Dash is taking its place.

Clone Chip: Taking Clone Chip off will boost the Shaper faction and Freedom Khumalo, providing both with useful flexibility. This also allows for Clot resurgence, helping to slow Arella Salvatore chains and Titan fast advance, while the boost to Freedom diversifies Anarch’s identity options. On the whole, taking Clone Chip off the Restricted list should encourage a welcome measure of exploration throughout the Runner side of the game.
Mad Dash: The extra agenda point from this inexpensive run event gives the Runner a significant amount of value against nearly every Corp archetype. In conjunction with cards such as Indexing, Mad Dash can end games quickly. As such, it has been restricted as a general way to slow Runners.

Removed

Hyperdriver, Mars for Martians, Zer0, and Tapwrm are now removed.

Hyperdriver: Hyperdriver enables decks that spend and abuse a massive amount of clicks in one turn. Corps have little way of responding to this style of play, meaning that Hyperdriver decks introduce a negative play experience that is harmful to the larger metagame.
Mars for Martians: This has been removed to slow Liza Talking Thunder tag-me builds. Tag-me Liza builds will continue to be strong, though they will no longer be able to gain twenty-plus credits in a single click, forcing them to work a little harder for their Counter Surveillance dig.
Zer0: Zer0 has been removed to break up the Anarch’s hottest couple. Both Zer0 and Clan Vengeance were discussed as potential candidates, but Zer0 was ultimately chosen for two reasons. First and foremost, before Zer0, Clan Vengeance existed on the fringe. It was part of strategies that were difficult to successfully pull off but that were exciting if you could do so. Secondly, Anarch has arguably the strongest economic potential in terms of credit gain, card draw, and click compression of all the Runner factions. As such, Zer0 gave Anarch both an oppressive synergy and an economy boost that they did not need.
Tapwrm: Tapwrm is being removed, partly due to its synergy with Clone Chip, which is being taken off the Restricted list, and partly to force Runners to find a more diverse set of economic solutions. While Tapwrm isn’t the clear choice for every deck, the decks that do run it can often put the Corp in a lose-lose situation.

On to the Corp!

Restricted

Bryan Stinson, Potential Unleashed, Skorpios Defense Systems, and Surveyor are all being restricted; Violet Level Clearance is moving from Removed to Restricted; and Fairchild 3.0 is coming off of the Restricted list.

Bryan Stinson: Bryan is the centerpiece of many exceptionally swingy turns and strategies. If the Runner dips below six credits for even one turn, Bryan can allow the Corp to gain such a massive economic advantage that it effectively ends the game right there.
Potential Unleashed: The entire plan for Potential Unleashed revolves around locking the Runner out of servers, something that is really no fun for either party. While this style of play certainly has its place in the game, Potential Unleashed is able to do this all too frequently. Placing Potential Unleashed on the Restricted list still allows for the lock-out style of play but forces the Corp to choose between the identity or Jinteki’s other powerful tool, Obokata Protocol.
Skorpios Defense Systems: Skorpios is not being restricted because of its power per se, but because it is one of the identities most prone to negative play experiences. Either Skorpios does absolutely nothing to the Runner or it wrecks their deck—there is no in-between. Playing against Skorpios can oftentimes feel like a coin flip. Placing Skorpios on the Restricted list alongside Hunter Seeker should limit the most abusive uses of the identity and encourage future Skorpios players to explore alternative strategies.
Surveyor: Surveyor simply turned out to be stronger than anticipated. If it were three or four influence, it likely would not be Restricted. It’s really a lesson on why higher influence costs are usually better for the game. As it stands, however, Surveyor has become the premier piece of ice for nearly every deck wishing to run some semblance of glacier.
Violet Level Clearance: Violet Level Clearance was initially removed to slow Cerebral Imaging. While its removal certainly had an impact, it wasn’t as effective as expected. VLC is still extremely efficient, however, and has moved to Restricted for that reason.
Fairchild 3.0: Though Fairchild 3.0 is a very strong piece of ice, it’s not quite on the same level as Surveyor. With Surveyor being added to the Restricted list, Fairchild 3.0 is coming off to ensure that glacier keeps the tools it needs.

Removed

24/7 News Cycle and Cerebral Imaging are being added to the Removed list; Estelle Moon and Museum of History are shifting from Restricted to Removed.

24/7 News Cycle, Estelle Moon, and Museum of History: These cards are all going on the Removed list for the same reason: when they work well, they lead to Corp advantages that the Runner has limited ways of disrupting. And, of course, these cards often work very well.
Cerebral Imaging: Even when Violet Level Clearance was on the Removed list, Cerebral Imaging still dominated. More than this, balancing the identity is incredibly difficult; when we limit one build, another springs up almost immediately. For this reason, we’ve decided that it’s better to take CI out of the competitive environment.

Before I go, I want to say that it’s been an absolute honor working with this community. I simply cannot express how awesome it has been to have met, talked to, and playtested with so many amazing and passionate people. Thank you for making my time as the developer of Android: Netrunner such a memorable experience.

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Always Be Running

Published 20 August 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Always Be Running

Access the Prizes for 2018 Season Three Android: Netrunner Organized Play

“The code isn't important. It's where the code takes you that is important.”
–g00ru

In the setting of Android: Netrunner, the network—that labyrinthine, ever-evolving mess of communications infrastructure—is more than a tool, more than a potential treasure trove, and more than a battlefield. It is humanity’s greatest cultural achievement. It links everyone in the world and beyond, and its data forms the digital language of our lives, our dreams, and our aspirations.

The network—here—is also a metaphor. After all, there are two networks in Android: Netrunner, and both of them bring people together—allowing them to share their knowledge and experiences.

Just as there is a network in the Android setting's not-too-distant future that connects earthlings with the citizens of Luna and Mars, and just as that network allows those people to communicate, work, and play together, there is a network of players that gives life to the game's high-stakes cyberstruggles. The game will soon end, and at that time it will no longer receive support from Organized Play, but the network of players will still exist.

Accordingly, there's still cause for celebration. The 2018 Season Three Tournament Kit for Android: Netrunner offers you plenty of reason to go out and connect—or reconnect—with your local network of players. Meet new players. Play more games. Discover new strategies… And win cool prizes for getting involved!

The Takeaway

The 2018 Season Three Tournament Kit for Android: Netrunner will be the game's last official Tournament Kit. Season Three will lead us into the game's final World Championship at Android: Magnum Opus, and then the game will receive no more support from Organized Play.

So… how resilient can you make your network? The Corps won't go away. The Runners won't go away. All the cards that have been designed and released will continue to circulate and tempt clever players with their whispers of hidden synergies and overlooked economic advantages. They'll continue to tempt Runners and Corps alike with their promises of rich rewards… never mind the risks. And if you're looking to backup your personal network, then you'll want to use your Season Three games and events as an opportunity to reinforce your core group and branch out to newer players.

Whether you're looking to assemble a group of Runners and Corps committed to the game's cyberstruggles even after its conclusion—or if you're just looking to round out your collection of custom cards at the game's end—you'll find your efforts in Season Three rewarded by a variety pack of custom prizes, including seventeen Core Prize Cards, three Elite Prize Cards, and two Elite Prize Sets.

One of the Core Prize Cards and one of the Elite Prize Cards are set aside for the event organizer to keep or distribute at their discretion, but the rest are for you to win, to collect, or to mesmerize fresh young Runners with the secrets of your favorite servers.

Core Prize Card

Your path to anarchy begins as a thing of beauty with the 2018 Season Three Core Prize Card, an extended art version of Black Orchestra.

Elite Prize Card

Even at the conclusion of the game's Organized Play, bluffs and counterbluffs remain as central as ever, and few cards will allow you to reveal your bluff as beautifully as the extended art NGO Front included in the Season Three Tournament Kit as an Elite Prize Card.

Of course, you'll have to know a thing or two about bluffing in order to claim a copy. You'll need to make the Top 4 at a Season Three Critical Run Tournament if you hope to claim this card as your reward.

Elite Prize Set

Alternatively, if you make the Top 4 at a Season Three Critical Run event, you might choose to claim one of the season's Elite Prize Sets, an Anarch-themed acrylic click tracker. Time is always ticking down, and you can count it down beat by beat by assembling your click tracker… or by pulling it apart.

Link Your Servers

An isolated server may be safe from Runners, but it's worth nothing. The world of Android wasn't built on secrets that did nothing more than catch dust; it was built on the network—on the monumentally fast and efficient transfer of data that permeates every aspect of life.

Your enjoyment of the game also depends on the network—your network of players—and the third season of 2018 Organized Play is your final chance to enjoy and take advantage of the game's official support. So talk to your favorite local retailer about getting involved. Get others involved. Revel in your games. Enjoy the prizes. Use them well. Always be running!

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A Game of Prognostication

Published 20 July 2018 | A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

A Game of Prognostication

The Card Game Team with Gen Con Predictions

Gen Con Indy—the best four days in gaming—is fast approaching! And while Gen Con is undoubtedly the perfect place to hear the latest announcements and demo upcoming games, it also plays host to the North American championships for all of our Organized Play games.

Today, the members of the card game team make their predictions about what decks and cards will leave their mark on the tournament field at Gen Con Indy 2018!

Aaron Haltom on Star Wars™: Destiny

Q: What’s your prediction for a winning deck?

At the time of this writing, the metagame seems wide open, and predicting a winner is very difficult. At the World Championship in May, the field was very diverse, with twelve different decks represented among the Top 16. The only teams to be repeated in the top cut were elite Sabine Wren (Empire at War, 40) / elite Ezra Bridger (Empire at War, 38), elite Rey (Two-Player Game, 24) / elite Aayla Secura (Legacies, 29), and elite Boba Fett (Legacies, 19) / elite Seventh Sister (Empire at War, 10). The European Championship in June also had a very diverse field, but again saw those same three teams tending to rise to the top. With the most recent Standard Format Holocron update, however, both Sabine Wren and Aayla Secura now cost one more point to field, forcing those decks to change partners and probably bring a weaker team overall. That puts Boba Fett / Seventh Sister in a potentially good place to inherit the throne.

But now that Way of the Force is out and affecting the meta, things are sure to change. On the Villain side, I expect to see Snoke (Way of the Force, 4) and Arihnda Pryce (Way of the Force, 18) seeing a lot of play. These two solid support characters should go a long way towards making those great seventeen-point characters like Cad Bane (Empire at War, 18) really shine. On the Hero side of things, I expect to see Luke Skywalker (Way of the Force, 56) and Leia Organa (Way of the Force, 73) getting integrated into a lot of teams where both characters are able to shine equally.

With all of these powerful options just opening up, it’s still too early to guess what might come out on top!

Q: If you see those decks as your favorites, what’s a dark horse or X-factor deck that you feel has an outside chance of surprising everyone?

Villain vehicles is an archetype that hasn’t really had its day in the sun yet, but I feel like it could take some people by surprise now.

Planetary Bombardment (Way of the Force, 33) is a heavy-hitter that rewards you for playing numerous vehicles, which is easier than ever thanks to the inexpensive new podracers. This deck also gained some great economy in the form of Testing Procedure (Way of the Force, 27). While this deck might be too one-dimensional to go all the way, it packs enough raw power that it could definitely make a splash.

Q: Are there any new cards from recent sets you’re looking forward to seeing in action?

Yes, so many! Red has been falling behind in popularity lately, but the new release offers some great cards that will hopefully make it a more alluring choice. Suppressive Fire (Way of the Force, 84) opens up a new strategy, allowing you to set up your die removal proactively and First Aid (Way of the Force, 77) is capable of creating a four-health swing for just one resource.

There are also many cards in Way of the Force that have a lot of fun combo potential, and I look forward to seeing if the master deckbuilders out there can get enough value out of them to make them tournament viable.

Q: Are there any “unknowns” in the current meta you’re hoping to gain some insight on from the event?

There are several things I am keeping an eye on as this new meta develops. Will the tools from this set make mill decks rise in popularity? Will Cassian Andor enable a true mill / damage hybrid deck that can go either way? Will Villain vehicle decks become competitive? A new set shakes up the game so much, it’s impossible to predict exactly how everything will shake out. But therein lies the fun!

Brad Andres on Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game

Q: What’s your prediction for a winning deck?

I think we might finally see Phoenix take home the cup! They’ve picked up a couple of really great cards in the Elemental Cycle so far and I feel like that might give them the gas they need to overtake some of the front-runners like Crab and Scorpion. This includes the powerful Feral Ningyo (Tainted Lands, 36) and Asako Azunami (The Ebb and Flow, 66), who both can leverage the Water Ring to extra effect. This means if you are facing down a Phoenix, pay extra attention to the Water Ring!

Q: If you see that deck as your favorite, what’s a dark horse or X-factor deck that you feel has an outside chance of surprising everyone?

I’d say that the Unicorn are kinda the dark horse (har har) going into this tournament. They have not been top performers on the big stage up until this point, but they have gotten a big boost of new cards in the latest cycle, and I feel they have the potential to put up some really great games against the field. Shinjo Shono (Breath of the Kami, 11) is an especially dangerous new Unicorn character with explosive potential that players will have to watch for.

Q: Are there any new cards from recent sets you’re looking forward to seeing in action?

Ikoma Ikehata (The Fires Within, 46) is a particular favorite card of mine that I am looking forward to seeing in action. The Lion Clan is typically weak on the political end of the conflict spectrum, but Ikehata helps them fight back by keeping your opponent’s most powerful political character out of the conflict. This could help the Lion gain some extra footing, and maybe even secure a surprise province break or two. Additionally, the presence of several Mantis Clan cards like Kudaka (Breath of the Kami, 13) or Yoritomo (The Ebb and Flow, 70) should have a very interesting effect across the board.

Q: Are there any “unknowns” in the current meta you’re hoping to gain some insight on from the event?

This will be the first major tournament to include cards from the Elemental Cycle, which makes this event the first test for a lot of new cards. The odds of a meta shake-up are pretty high, but the entire cycle will not be legal at the time of the tournament, so some new themes might not be fully present. Whatever happens, it’s gonna be interesting!

Danny Schaefer on A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

Q: What’s your prediction for a winning deck?

I'd predict that Targaryen The Wars to Come (The Sands of Dorne, 45) will win the tournament. Targaryen has been one of the top factions lately (alongside Martell and Tyrell), and they get some interesting new cards from the recent Chapter Packs. The Wars to Come builds in particular give players a lot of options for controlling the board and interacting with their opponent—a playstyle that I think top players will find attractive. And it doesn’t hurt that you get to make use powerful cards like Daenerys Targaryen (The Faith Militant, 93), Flea Bottom (Oberyn’s Revenge, 98), and Dracarys! (Core Set, 176).

Q: If you see that deck as your favorite, what’s a dark horse or X-factor deck that you feel has an outside chance of surprising everyone?

I’m leaning towards Stark as a dark horse winner. They’ve spent a long time as one of the weaker factions, but they’ve been gaining some momentum recently. Stark has gained a lot of interesting cards in recent Chapter Packs, including the new Arya Stark (The Faith Militant, 81), Wyman Manderly (The March of Winterfell, 21), and Northern Armory (The Shadow City, 3). Stark is great at putting pressure on the opponent and winning challenges, while also having the necessary interaction to stop any shenanigans, backed up with healthy levels of card draw and economy. This combination of strengths gives Stark the tools to go toe-to-toe with the top decks, and I’m excited to see what Stark players can accomplish at the tournament.

Q: Are there any new cards from recent sets you’re looking forward to seeing in action?

Lots! The Dance of Shadows cycle introduces a ton of exciting cards for various factions. I mentioned Wyman Manderly already, and Meereen (The March on Winterfell, 34) is a new kind of card advantage engine that I expect to make waves in Targaryen decks, particularly those focused around discard pile synergy. The new version of The Wall (The March on Winterfell, 26) is an expensive but powerful location that pushes a deck stealing an opponent’s characters—very different than the original defense-focused Wall.

Most of all, I’m excited to see how shadows does! We’re still probably too early in the cycle for some of the more dedicated shadows-based cards—such as The Queen of Thorns (The March on Winterfell, 23) or The Shadow City (The Shadow City, 17)—to come into their own, but I still expect to see plenty of shadows cards running around.

Q: Are there any “unknowns” in the current meta you’re hoping to gain some insight on from the event?

My biggest question is whether any factions can challenge the “big three” of Targaryen, Martell, and Tyrell. While there’s no doubt that those three are powerful, I know that top players will be playtesting intently and looking for new ways to attack the metagame. As I mentioned, Stark is one of the factions that I think can mount a serious challenge to the top decks. Greyjoy is another faction that has a good mix of disruptive cards and the ability to apply pressure in challenges, making them an interesting contender. Honestly, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see any of the lower-tier factions make waves in the tournament. I’m excited to see what players build!

Michael Boggs on Android: Netrunner

Q: What’s your prediction for a winning deck?

For the Runner, I believe that a run-based Criminal deck has a pretty good chance of winning. For the Corp, my bet is either on Mti Mwekundu (Kampala Ascendant, 114) or The Outfit (Reign and Reverie, 50).

Q: If you see those decks as your favorite, what’s a dark horse or X-factor deck that you feel has an outside chance of surprising everyone?

The mini-factions gained a nice boost from Reign and Reverie. They’ve always been the underdog, but I think people should keep an eye out for them.

Q: Are there any new cards from recent sets you’re looking forward to seeing in action?

Yes! Both the Kitara cycle and Reign and Reverie have been well received by the community. I expect to see a whole host of cards from those two sets, and would be especially happy if someone brings a Saraswati Mnemonics (Reign and Reverie, 34) deck.

Tyler Parrott on Star Wars™: The Card Game

Q: What’s your prediction for a winning deck?

It seems crazy, but the Ewok Swarm deck still seems almost impossible to defeat with traditional dark side strategies. The ability to generate free units with Spark of Rebellion (Galactic Ambitions, 1114) and Logray (Swayed by the Dark Side, 2139), and then keep them around with Native Blessings (Swayed by the Dark Side, 2138) means that the dark side can be facing a very intimidating board as early as turn one, and very few dark side decks have the ability to move fast enough to compete.

For the dark side, the Promise of Power (Allies of Necessity, 2073) Night deck continues to be very effective. The affiliation card allowing Energy Spiders (New Alliances, 956) to fight turn after turn means that it has the ability to close out a game quickly, and the combination of other hard-hitting units gives enough ways to damage enemy units that the light side can’t build up a sustained offense. There's such a variety of styles of this deck that even if you see the key objectives at the start, you can't be certain what the deck might throw at you.

Q: What’s a dark horse or X-factor deck that you feel has an outside chance of surprising everyone?

While it's not a consistent deck, I believe that writing off Light Side Pilots as a deck is a mistake. Leopold Hess proved that the deck can make it to the top tables back in 2015, and Andy Hornby piloted a similar build to the Top 8 of Worlds this past May. The ability to strike multiple times with a Rogue Squadron X-Wing can put a lot of early damage on dark side objectives, which cleanly sets up a Rebel Assault (Core Set, 108) victory once the dark side has stabilized. And if the dark side does build up an efficient defense, well… Trench Run (Core Set, 150) does say "win the game" on it.

I don't think it qualifies as a dark horse deck at this point, considering it won the European Championships, but a hyperaggressive Imperial Navy deck can also be a contender. When the deck features cards this efficient at destroying objectives, it's not difficult to close out a fast game by destroying four objectives before the light side has the opportunity to destroy three. If the light side decks that come to Gen Con aren't prepared to commit completely towards offense or defense, then a poor draw—or a miscalculated play—could easily see the field lose to this aggressive juggernaut.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading! We'll see you at Gen Con Indy 2018, and find out who has the skills to claim the titles of North American Champion for our Organized Play games!

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The copyrightable portions of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition is © 2015 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Licensed by George R.R. Martin. The names, descriptions, and depictions applied to this game are derived from works copyrighted by George R.R. Martin, and may not be used or reused without his permission. A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Second Edition, its expansion titles, Living Card Game, LCG, the LCG logo and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

So You Want to Be a Game Designer…

Published 29 June 2018 | Arkham Horror: The Card Game

So You Want to Be a Game Designer…

Advice on Game Design from the FFG Card Game Team

Whether you’re just an avid gamer, or you’ve actually come up with your own game designs, it’s easy to realize that a lot goes into designing a game. As today’s Designer Journal, Nate French talks to the card game team and asks them to share their advice for anyone with ambitions of game design!

The Card Game Team Gives Advice for Game Design

Hello and welcome to our first designer round table!

For each round table, I present a question to the members of the FFG card game team and compile the best parts of their answers here. Here’s our first question:

Many people who play games are also aspiring game designers. What is the most valuable piece of advice you would give to an aspiring game designer?

Leading off, we have Michael Boggs, our Android: Netrunner designer, who expresses the importance of just getting started and diving right in:

Michael: Stop making excuses.

Get a pencil, get some paper, make a game. Show it to your friends and family. Go to your local game store and ask if they host design events. If they don’t, start one. Find other designers. Play their games. Have them play yours. Take notes. Listen to the things that they say are bad. Listen to the things that they say are good. Go home, get some new paper, make changes. Have no sacred cows. Change everything if you have to. Make the funnest game that you can.

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game designer Caleb Grace zeroes in on how to focus your attention at the very beginning of the process:

Caleb: Start with a clear vision.

Think about what type of game you want to design before you get started. Ask yourself some important questions and write down your answers. What are the key elements of your game? What kind of experience do you want people to have when they play? How long will an average game take? The answers to these questions are your vision, and this vision will guide the entire creative process.

Without a strong vision, it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of game design. A clear vision will keep you from losing your way.

Maybe you don’t yet have an idea for a fully realized new game, but you still want to practice and build your design skills. Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game designer Tyler Parrott shares a great tip:

Tyler: While it’s easy to say, “Make a bunch of games,” it can be much harder to actually create something from nothing. The best place to start is to take a beloved game and create a new expansion for it. Build a custom scenario or campaign for Arkham Horror: The Card Game or The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Make a custom A Game of Thrones: The Card Game or Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game expansion to play with your friends. Create mechanics and statistics for a new set of miniatures for Star Wars™: Legion (you don’t have to actually make the miniatures unless you want to!) or play a game of Cosmic Encounter using aliens you created.

Creating new content for an existing game, like new aliens for Cosmic Encounter, can be the perfect way to gain more experience as a game designer!

There is a deep well of existing games that are fun and expandable, and these can be used as great starting points for game designers. Making content for many different styles of games also provides an easy way to learn about different game systems and mechanics: the first step into the larger world of original designs!

For most of us, the desire to design games emerged from a deep love of playing games. A Game of Thrones: The Card Game designer Daniel Schaefer and Star Wars™: Destiny designer Jeremy Zwirn both discuss how experience in playing a wide variety of games can make us stronger designers:

Daniel: The best advice I can give is simply to play as many games as you can and to think critically about them. Just as reading extensively is one of the surest ways to improve your writing, playing a variety of games is a good path toward improving your design abilities. By regularly immersing yourself in different game systems, you’ll improve your sense of what good game design looks like, and what works or doesn’t work for various kinds of games. You’ll also develop a knowledge of what mechanics already exist and how they’ve been used, which you can draw on when developing your own ideas. The important part is not just to play games, but to evaluate them with a careful eye, observing how the different elements work in concert (or how they don’t work—there is a lot to be learned from failures as well as successes). Once you’ve built this pool of knowledge, you’ll be able to apply and adapt it when working on your own designs.

Jeremy: Play a variety of games. In addition to card games, play board games, digital games, poker, or whatever interests you. Find out what’s appealing about those games and why. Learn to think critically about each game you play. What aspects of the game work? What aspects don't work? How would you improve the game? Having a foundation of knowledge about games helps you avoid pitfalls and provides inspiration for designing your own games. Familiarizing yourself with different games and thinking critically about them will sharpen skills that are very relevant to becoming a game designer.

Moving away from the technical nuts and bolts, Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game designer Brad Andres shares an important aspect of the game designer’s mindset:

Brad: Don’t be afraid to fail!

Have you ever had an idea for a game that never got beyond “just an idea?” So many designs die before they even make it to prototype, and often, it’s simply because the designer fears their idea won’t work or won’t be fun. Making a game is like running a series of experiments; you keep changing the variables and you’re always figuring out things that don’t work!

Don’t despair when your game falls flat. A mechanic that isn’t working can be fixed or changed. Just follow where the fun parts in your design take you. Try and see every failure not as a sign that your ideas are bad, but as an opportunity to learn something about your game and to continue growing as a game designer.

Working in isolation is a challenge many artists face, and Arkham Horror: The Card Game designer Matthew Newman stresses the importance of connecting with one’s fellow gamers:

Matthew: My advice is: get involved in your gaming community! This is a great way to dabble in game design and get your name out there in the process. Participate in tournaments for your favorite competitive LCG®. Organize special events at your local gaming store. Take part in discussions about your favorite card game online. You could even create your own kind of content for your favorite LCG, be it recorded playthroughs on YouTube, blog articles, or podcast-style discussions! In addition to helping the community for your favorite game, you’ll also gain a deeper understanding of how a broad variety of different people relate to and experience games. This awareness is invaluable to game designers and will help you as you craft your own games.

Finally, Star Wars: Destiny designer Aaron Haltom stresses the importance of perseverance:

Aaron: I designed three complete games before I got my fourth published. Even though I felt like I finally had a game that could succeed, it was still an uphill battle to get people to pay any attention to it. I was working full time while devoting all my free time to the game, traveling the convention circuit, demoing the game to anyone who would stop long enough to endure my pitch. Breaking into this industry requires a lot of hard work. Of course, if you are truly made for this kind of job, it will hardly feel like work at all.

I applied at Fantasy Flight Games six times and didn’t make the cut before I finally got hired on my seventh try. It took over a year, but I kept trying, because I knew this was the perfect job for me.

The key is to keep trying, to keep learning as you go, and to get a little closer every time. It’s easy for dreams to remain just dreams. The more we get into the habit of thinking about doing something or telling people that we’re going to do something, ironically, the less likely we are to actually do that thing. Don’t wait for the universe’s permission to create the thing that you want to create. Just start making it. Get into the habit of doing, and your skill will naturally grow over time. Eventually you might even be designing the kind of games that people will pay for!

We hope that you enjoyed this edition of the Designer Journal and that some of the aspiring game designers out there find the advice helpful.

Until next time, good luck and happy shuffling!

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One Last Job

Published 28 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

One Last Job

Reign and Reverie for Android: Netrunner Is Available Now

Fused through hard labor and organized crime, the Midwest metropolis of ChiLo teeters between dream and nightmare. As a megalopolis, ChiLo represents infinite opportunities for the souls wandering its streets, but someone is always watching, and where there is desperation, there is profit to be made.

Reign and Reverie, the final expansion for Android: Netrunner: The Card Game, is available now!

Reign and Reverie contains new cards for every faction in the game and is a celebration of all things Android: Netrunner. Look for new identities, agendas, consoles, and more to greatly change the game and provide new deckbuilding options for every player.

The Runner's Destiny

First introduced in Data and Destiny, Apex (Data and Destiny, 29), Sunny Lebeau (Data and Destiny, 45), and Adam (Data and Destiny, 37) introduced a fresh new way to play Android: Netrunner through the use of their own mini-factions. Over the last several cycles, these mini-factions have received additional support and they each gain one final card in Reign and Reverie.

The rogue bioroid Adam is trapped between two worlds: his need to adhere to his directives and his drive to break free. Algernon (Reign and Reverie, 22) is a new program that represents a similar quandary. It allows you to pay two credits to gain a click at the beginning of your turn. While the ability to gain a click can be powerful, Algernon comes with a restriction. If you did not make a successful run on your extra-click turn, you must trash Algernon. Still, you always have the choice to take the extra click, meaning if you aren’t in position to make a successful run, you can simply choose to take a normal turn. Like Adam, you must walk a careful line with Algernon—it can make your turns incredibly efficient, and with careful use, the program can lead to victory.

Sunny Lebeau is not your typical runner. With corporate backing, Sunny tests a corporation's defensive structures. Running is quite literally her job. Office Supplies (Reign and Reverie, 24) is an expensive four-cost event, but it can be purchased at a discount equal to your link, and it also offers you a powerful choice: draw four cards or gain four credits. As the only Runner with two natural link, Sunny is already able to play Office Supplies with a worthwhile discount, and if her link is boosted by cards like Security Nexus (Data and Destiny, 47), Office Supplies becomes even better. If you manage to find yourself at four link, Office Supplies becomes a free windfall of cards or credits! Like Sunny, Office Supplies may seem innocuous, but it can become one of the most powerful events in the game with proper planning.

Apex dwells in the darkest areas of cyber space. Consuming data indiscriminately, he is a tall tale runners tell each other in the dark… and he is coming for you. Reboot (Reign and Reverie, 23) is a new one-cost event for the runner that lets you make a run on Archives, and if successful, you can install up to five cards from your heap facedown instead of accessing cards. Apex feeds on raw data, and while these facedown cards do nothing on their own, they are food for cards like Endless Hunger (Data and Destiny, 33), or they can be repurposed with Assimilator (Sovereign Sight, 8). Either way, these cards fuel Apex, and the more raw data he has at his disposal, the more powerful he becomes.

A Corporation of Control

While the Midwest is full of orgcrime and people looking to escape, it is also a bastion of entertainment. Sportsmetal (Reign and Reverie, 26) is a new HB identity focusing in on the high-impact world of sports. When you choose Sportsmetal as your identity, you gain two credits or two cards whenever an agenda is scored or stolen, giving you a refund when you score an agenda and taking the sting out of having one stolen. Even when the runner achieves their goal, they're just setting you up for your next big play.

This effect is even more potent if new agenda Hyperloop Extension (Reign and Reverie, 27) is the target. Whenever this agenda is scored or stolen, the corp gains three credits. In other words, if you score it, you gain back all the credits you spent to advance it, plus an extra bonus if Sportsmetal is your identity. Conversely, if Hyperloop Extension is stolen from Sportsmetal, you receive a massive credit and card windfall while the Runner receives a single agenda point. Hyperloop Extension is the best kind of agenda: one that benefits you even if it is stolen.

HB even have new ways to mitigate the Runner’s point gains for hijacking your low-cost agendas. Meridian (Reign and Reverie, 28) is a new barrier with a subroutine that gives the corp four credits and ends the run, unless the Runner adds Meridian to his or her score area as an agenda worth negative agenda points. Either choice is difficult for the runner. Giving HB more credits is a bad idea, but losing agenda points means they have to work that much harder to pull off the big win.

One Last Job

While Android: Netrunner is coming to a close, Reign and Reverie adds one final injection of change into the card pool. A celebration of Android: Netrunner, these new tools provide players with one simple message. Always be running.

Celebrate Android: Netrunner with Reign and Reverie (ADN56), available now!

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Los Scorpiones and 14K

Published 18 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Los Scorpiones and 14K

About the Great 2018 Community Card Design at Android: Magnum Opus

“Is your neighbor secretly a violent criminal? The answer to this chilling question and more, right after the break.”
–Shannon Claire, SSN 5

Android: Magnum Opus is coming!

Taking place this September 7th – 9th at the Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, MN, Android: Magnum Opus promises attendees a uniquely immersive experience in the Android setting.

First and foremost, there's the final World Championship tournament for Android: Netrunner. As the game's Organized Play comes to a close, we expect this 2018 World Championship tournament to serve as a shining testament to the player community, as well as the fantastic level at which the game's top players advance their agendas and make their runs.
In addition, attendees will find the World Championship wrapped into a larger thematic experience in the Android settting. The World Championships factor into this "Turf Wars" competition, as do several unique events for Android: Netrunner and the Genesys roleplaying system.

As we noted in the event's announcement, these side events include a one-versus-many variant for Android: Netrunner and a chance to enjoy a Genesys roleplaying adventure in the Android setting. Moreover, the results of these events will be added to the results of the World Champonship tournament and Sunday's Android: Netrunner side event to determine which orgcrime outfit rises to prominence in New Angeles and gains control of the lucrative Beanstalk's smuggling trade.

Today, we are pleased to announce that attendees at Android: Magnum Opus will also have a chance to participate in another special event—the Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design!

When you attend Android: Magnum Opus, you'll find yourself assigned to either Los Scorpiones or 14K. Then, throughout your Day 1 rounds of the Android: Netrunner World Championships, you'll help design a new card for the orgcrime outfit to which you've been assigned!

The Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design

Who are Los Scorpiones and 14K? Why should you care which of these orgcrime outfits gains primacy in the Beanstalk's smuggling? These are two of the questions you'll explore as an attendee at Android: Magnum Opus, and one of the first ways you'll find yourself connected is through the Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design!

Here's how it works:

1. When you registered for Android: Magnum Opus, you selected either Day 1A (Friday) or Day 1B (Saturday) of the Android: Netrunner World Championships.

All players assigned to Day 1A will be part of "Los Scorpiones."
All players assigned to Day 1B will be part of "14K."

2. Day 1A players will work together to design a card themed around Los Scorpiones. Day 1B players will work together to design a card themed around 14K.

3. Through the first six rounds you play on Day 1, you'll have the chance to help shape the card's text by voting for one of two possible options.

4. Two vote tokens will be placed at your table each round. You earn a vote for each game you win.

5. Votes will be tallied after the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rounds. After each tally, we'll post an image of the card with the updated text. The text your team selects at each of these points will determine the options for the next rounds of voting!

6. After the 6th round, your team will have finalized its card design, and you'll be able to collect a copy of the card after the close of Round 7. You'll also be able to collect a copy of the other team's card design on Sunday, and both cards will be legal for all of Sunday's side events!

Both the Los Scorpiones and 14K cards will also be made available at a later date for free download from the Android: Netrunner website.

Know Your Criminal Organization

Okay, let's imagine that you're headed to Android: Magnum Opus and you're planning to participate in the Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design… Great! Now, how do you know what the card should do? Obviously, you want the card to do something cool in the game, but how will you anchor it in the Android setting? How will it capture the flavor of your orgcrime outfit? After all, who are Los Scorpiones? Who are 14K?

The answer, as outlined in The Worlds of Android, is that there are four major orgcrime outfits in New Angeles—Los Scorpiones, 14K, the Mafia, and the Yakuza.

Los Scorpiones

Los Scorpiones are a relatively small player in the New Angelino criminal underworld, but they were one of the first to move in during the construction of the Beanstalk. Base de Cayambe is their home turf, and they have established a wide and diversified list of contacts that grant them some leverage against their larger competitors.

The Los Scorpiones artwork for the Community Card Design, by Emilio Rodriguez.

Specializing in the more gruesome elements of organized crime, Los Scorpiones profit primarily from their drug trade, dealing in stim and related amphetamines. They also dabble in gun running, assassinations, and "organ grinding," a particularly heinous crime that sees people kidnapped and killed for their organs and cybernetic enhancements.

For all their brutal reputation, though, Los Scorpiones benefit from the brilliant and charismatic leadership of local bosses like Lívia Teixeira and Miguel "Monsignor" Morena, which suggests the organization may have grander aspirations for the future.

14K

Founded in Guangzhou, China shortly after World War II, 14K established itself in New Angeles as the largest and most powerful of the Chinese triads. Among other things, this means their New Angelino operations are connected to endeavors that reach to their headquarters in Hong Kong, back to San San, out to Kampala, up the Beanstalk to Heinlein, and out into the solar system.

14K have long been the world's leading supplier of opiates and have their hands in illegal arms trafficking, money laundering, and counterfeiting. They have also entrenched themselves in the world of corporations and politics, with ties to many of the world's largest lobbying firms, especially in America.

The 14K artwork for the Community Card Design, by Matthew Zeilinger.

The triad's operations in New Angeles are overseen by Li Cheong Hua, or "Mr. Li," who has earned a well-deserved reputation for ruling with an iron fist inside of a velvet glove. Because Mr. Li prefers to pursue his goals through negotiation, he and 14K can be good partners for anyone willing to abide by their terms.

Although Mr. Li prefers to avoid violence if he can, he will not hesitate to make examples of his enemies when he deems it necessary. In such cases, his main enforcer is the sadistic killer known only as Tanaka.

Fight for Your Turf

Android: Magnum Opus is your chance to celebrate the legacy of Android: Netrunner The Card Game and play in its final World Championship tournament. Attendees will enjoy the game's fantastic player community, meet top players from around the world, and immerse themselves more deeply than ever in the world of Android.

With the special one-versus-many Android: Netrunner multiplayer experience, a Genesys roleplaying adventure set in the Android universe, the Great 2018 Android: Netrunner Community Card Design, and the spirited team "Turf Wars" competition, Android: Magnum Opus promises to be a celebration of everything players have come to love about Android: Netrunner and the Android setting!

General registration for this event is now closed as it has already sold out. However, if you earned a reserved seat for the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championship, there's still time for you to claim it!

Players looking to claim reserved seats at the Android: Netrunner World Championships may do so here.
Press may apply here. Press applications close July 24th at 12:00 PM CDT (UTC/GMT -0500).

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Order and Profit

Published 18 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Order and Profit

Preview the Criminal and Weyland Cards Found in Reign and Reverie

Order your own copy of Reign and Reverie at your local retailer or online through our website today!

While some see ChiLo as a beacon of freedom in an increasingly crowded world, that freedom comes with a price. From the mob families that run the city to corrupt councilmen and women, it’s hard to get out from under the thumb of organized crime in the Midwest. Of course, these factions don’t necessarily get along. In the name of profit, anyone can become your enemy, and when criminals and corporations clash, someone is coming out rich.

Join us today as we preview the Criminal and Weyland cards found in Reign and Reverie, the final deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner The Card Game.

Reign and Reverie contains cards for every faction in Android: Netrunner, expanding their options with new identities, consoles, agendas, and more.

The View From the Top

Crime is everywhere in ChiLo. Liza Talking Thunder (Reign and Reverie, 8) is a prominent legislator, but she still engages in backroom deals, bribery, and more to maintain her position of authority.

Being a criminal when you’re a figure of some authority can provide quite the challenge—all eyes are on you after all—but this fame can also provide resources. The first time Liza Talking Thunder make a successful run on a central server each turn, you draw two cards and take one tag. While taking a tag can be a dangerous proposition, drawing more of your cards is a powerful tradeoff. You can quickly curate your hand to include the tools you need without wasting precious clicks. And with this many options, who cares if you’re being watched via a tag or two: you’re untouchable.

There is even less concern if you have new Criminal console Paragon (Reign and Reverie, 10) on the field. Designed to synergize with Talking Thunder, Paragon lets you view the top card of your stack, choose whether or not to put it on the bottom, and gain one credit. When used with Liza after a run on a central server, this lets you filter the cards you draw with her ability, making it even more likely you will find exactly what you need when you make your first run of the turn.

If you really want to push your luck, Hot Pursuit (Reign and Reverie, 9) can add credits to your run in exchange for drawing a bit more attention. This two-cost event starts a run on HQ, which, if successful, allows you to gain nine credits and a tag. While this can be a powerful swing in resources on its own, the ability stacks with Liza Talking Thunder, and if Hot Pursuit is your first run of the turn, a successful run sees you gain two cards, nine credits, two tags, and a card access from HQ—a package that makes the tags more than worth it.

Liza Talking Thunder is many things. A legislator, a mother, and a role model, but beneath it all, at her heart, she is a runner looking to make a profit. Even if all eyes are on her, she has the resources necessary to bring down those that oppose her and make a profit along the way.

Dealing with the Devil

We’ve already revealed the terrifying The Outfit (Reign and Reverie, 50) of mob bosses that runs the streets of ChiLo. Weyland has always been known for their shady business practices, but The Outfit is on another level. They rule through fear, taking public vengeance on those who stand against them, ensuring any runner will think twice before uncovering their plans.

Broad Daylight (Reign and Reverie, 51) feeds into this mentality. When you score this agenda, you may choose to take one bad publicity, then place one agenda counter on Broad Daylight for each bad publicity you have. Then, once per turn, you can spend a click and a hosted agenda counter to deal two meat damage. This looming threat makes Broad Daylight constantly dangerous and ensures that they will have to spend a significant amount of time keeping their hand stocked, lest they suffer an unfortunate Traffic Accident (Order and Chaos, 22) in Broad Daylight.

Weyland just doesn’t go after you, they’ll go after your friends, your family, and even the connections you’ve made that assist you in your runs. When you stand against Weyland, no one is safe.

Under the Bus (Reign and Reverie, 57) is a gray ops operation that can only be played if the runner accessed a card during his or her last turn, and it allows you to freely trash one connection resource and take one bad publicity. If the runner even thinks about digging up your secrets, Weyland responds quickly and brutally. Of course, if The Outfit is behind it, they also make a profit off of their evil deeds, as they continuously tighten their grip around ChiLo.

While those at the top of The Outfit revel in their riches, their empire is built on Drudge Work (Reign and Reverie, 52). As an asset, you can use Drudge Work to build your empire too. You may place three power counters on Drudge Work when it is rezzed and for a click and a hosted power counter, you may reveal an agenda in HQ or Archives, gain credits equal to its agenda points, and shuffle it into R&D. Getting rid of agendas from your hand or archives is a powerful ability, and Drudge Work allows you to make a profit while doing it. It isn’t glorious, but it's important work.

Crime Pays

Crime pays well in ChiLo. It can elevate you to a position of power, and fear can be used to keep you there. But even so, those in power don’t always get along. Will you use your newfound resources to bring down the corporations around you, or will you keep the populace in a state of fear?

Make your choice with Reign and Reverie (ADN56), available now for pre-order from your local retailer or our website.

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The Scholar and the Infinite

Published 14 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

The Scholar and the Infinite

Two New World Champion Decks for Android: Netrunner Are Now Available

Order your own copy of the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Decks today at your local retailer or online through our website today!

In November of 2017, Android: Netrunner The Card Game players from across the world gathered at the Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, Minnesota to fight for the right to be called the best in the game's annual World Championship. Though many different decks were represented, only one corp and one runner deck could come out on top. Now, both of these decks, featuring full artwork for every card, can be yours!

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck and the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck, available for order now from your local retailer or our website!

These two championship decks are card-for-card recreations of the decks that won the Fantasy Flight Games World Championship last year, piloted by Wilfy Horig! Now, the power of a world champion can be in your hands. Not only are these decks a perfect recreation of Wilfy’s, they also feature fully extended art and minimal formatting for every card featured within. Dominate your opponents in style with these two world-class decks.

A Tool for Every Occasion

Lock down the corporation’s servers with the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck that uses Hayley Kaplan (Breaker Bay, 25), the Universal Scholar. As a Shaper, Haley has access to tools that allow you to search your stack for the perfect rig. Artist Colony (Kala Ghoda, 9) can find any card in your deck, while Fan Site can easily act as the agenda you have to sacrifice to make the Colony run smoothly.

With Hayley Kaplan’s ability, you can get great click compression, installing two cards for only one of your four clicks. If you take advantage of this frequently, you can find yourself running out of cards, your click efficiency offset by the need to always be drawing. However, the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck offers a variety of solutions to keep your grip stocked. The most versatile of these methods is the Laguna Velasco District (Terminal Directive, 22). While the District can be expensive to install, the reward is substantive. Every time you use a click to draw a card, you draw an additional card. This completely offsets the imbalance in Hayley’s ability, and it's enough on its own to keep your grip stocked up at minimal cost. However, the deck also offers plenty of other ways to get your draw engine running.

Astrolabe (Up and Over, 79) can further stock your grip every time the corp creates a new server, and Beth Kilrain-Chang (Blood Money, 30) can give you a free draw at the start of your turn based on how many credits the corp has. With all this card draw, you could find yourself in danger of emptying your stack, but a single copy of Levy AR Lab Access (Creation and Control, 35) can allow you to start the cycle all over again.

With a constant feed of cards and an ability that can unleash those cards into your rig in rapid succession, the Android Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck is a well-oiled machine.

Identity (1):
Hayley Kaplan: Universal Scholar

Event (14):
Indexing (3), Information Sifting (1), Levy AR Lab Access (1), Mad Dash (1), Peace in Our Time (3), Scavenge (1), Stimhack (1), Sure Gamble (3)

Hardware (3):
Astrolabe (2), Feedback Filter (1)

Resource (17):
Artist Colony (1), Beth Kilrain-Chang (1), Citadel Sanctuary (1), Daily Cast (3), Fan Site (3), Hunting Grounds (1), Laguna Velasco District (3), Sacrificial Construct (3), The Shadow Net (1)

Programs (11):
Atman (1), Femme Fatale (1), Gordian Blade (1), Inti (1), Na'Not'K (1), Clot (1), Misdirection (1), Self-Modifying Code (2), Tapwrm (2)

Money and Power

The Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck utilizes Haas-Bioroid and their terrifying Cerebral Imaging (Creation and Control, 1) identity.

While you are normally restricted to discarding down to five cards in HQ at the end of the turn, Cerebral Imaging allows that rule to become much more flexible, limiting your hand size to the number of credits you have in the pool. While this could be a risky proposition should your credits run dry, the Android Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck ensures your credits, and your HQ, will always be plentiful.

Early in the game, you can use Violet Level Clearance (Quorum, 111) and Ultraviolet Clearance (Terminal Directive, 38) to kickstart Cerebral Imaging’s ability. The deck includes three copies of each, and the reasoning is clear. This deck is packed with operations meant to keep your credit pool full, and even hires out Weyland's Bryan Stinson (Quorum, 117) to recur these transactions from archives, giving you the opportunity to further inflate your credit pool while the runner struggles to keep up, especially with the help of the three Reversed Accounts (Up and Over, 66) included in the deck.

Of course, all of these credits can be put to good use. Once you’ve accrued the appropriate amount of credits, Biotic Labor (Revised Core Set, 72) can let you score agendas with ease using the extra click it provides, and you should be able to find the setup quite easily with the number of cards you’ll be drawing and keeping every turn.

With the ability to gain credits and draw cards extremely quickly, the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck is an impenetrable beast that the runner will have trouble cracking.

Identity (1):
Cerebral Imaging

Agenda (9):
Corporate Sales Team (1), Efficiency Committee (3), Elective Upgrade (2), Project Vitruvius (3)

Asset (9):
Jeeves Model Bioroids (3), MCA Austerity Policy (3), Reversed Accounts (3),

Ice (11):
Bastion (1), Vanilla (2), Enigma (1), Fairchild 2.0 (1), Fairchild 3.0 (3), Architect (2), Ichi 1.0 (1)

Operation (17):
Biotic Labor (3), IPO (2), Scarcity of Resources (1), Shipment from Tennin (2), Hedge Fund (3), Violet Level Clearance (3), Ultraviolet Clearance (3)

Upgrade (3):
Bryan Stinson (2), Cyberdex Virus Suite (1)

World Class

With the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck and the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck, you can explore a cyberpunk future in style. With changes to the Most Wanted List, neither of these decks are legal for competitive play, but with slight tweaking they can still be very strong in tournaments or your kitchen table. Either way, you're sure to find a use for the full-art cards featured within.

Become a champion with the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Runner Deck (uCHP09) and the Android: Netrunner 2017 World Champion Corp Deck (uCHP08), available now from your local retailer or our website!

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Jacking Out

Published 8 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Jacking Out

Announcing the End of Android: Netrunner

In 2012, Fantasy Flight Games launched Android: Netrunner The Card Game. With innovative mechanics revised from the classic collectible card game, combined with the dystopian, cyberpunk future of the Android universe, Android: Netrunner has enthralled thousands of players over the course of its two core sets, a campaign expansion, five deluxe expansions, and eight cycles of Data Packs.

Wizards of the Coast has been a fantastic partner to us over the past six years, and we at Fantasy Flight Games are incredibly thankful to them for letting us play with the game system that they pioneered. However, as much as we have enjoyed developing Android: Netrunner, our current licensing term is coming to an end, and today, Fantasy Flight Games must announce the end of Android: Netrunner The Card Game.

Starting on October 22nd, 2018, Fantasy Flight Games will no longer offer for sale any Android: Netrunner The Card Game products, including Android: Netrunner playmats and card sleeves. Before we reach that point, Android: Netrunner still has one final stop to make: the Reign and Reverie deluxe expansion will be the final product for the game. Featuring cards for every faction, Reign and Reverie is a celebration of all things Android: Netrunner, and an appropriately climactic conclusion to the game's six-year run. What's more, while Android: Netrunner is coming to an end, the worlds of Android will continue to be explored, from the gritty streets of SanSan to the warring colonies of Mars, in future products from Fantasy Flight Games.

As Android: Netrunner The Card Game draws to a close, Organized Play for the game is also coming to an end. For further information on Android: Netrunner Organized Play, including the final Android: Netrunner World Championship, click here.

For more details and thoughts on the end of Android: Netrunner from Lead Developer Michael Boggs and Fantasy Flight Games Head of Studio Andrew Navaro, read on.

Lead Developer Michael Boggs

When I was first told Android: Netrunner was ending, I was… something. I don’t really know the name for the emotion that I was feeling. It was a mix of sadness, confusion, and nostalgia. It was weird. Maybe you’re feeling the same way.

Over the next couple weeks, I took time to digest. Somber as I was, I came to a stark realization. My love for Android: Netrunner did not come from its mechanics or theme. I liked those things a lot—maybe an unhealthy amount—but they weren’t what kept me playing the game, day after day, year after year. The sole driving force for my continued play, for my absolute obsession with the game, was the community.

My first experience with the game was learning from my lifelong friend. Initially, just being able to play against him was enough. When I got to Busan, I found a small but amazing group of friends who pushed and challenged me to be a better player. We would meet weekly, and sometimes more than that, to play, to practice, to strive, to compete. After moving to Seoul, I found a thriving player base, and though my time in this group was limited, they taught me that even with all my years of experience, there was still so much more that I had to learn.

Once I started working on Android: Netrunner, I was stunned by the sheer number and diversity of people who enjoyed this game as much as I did. The communities I belonged to in South Korea were somewhat insulated from the greater Android: Netrunner populace, and it was fascinating to witness the widespread love for the game. The passion of the players, the content-makers, and the fans helped keep what I was doing and who I was doing it for in perspective.

Android: Netrunner was something extraordinary. It was unique in its theme and mechanics, sure, but its true specialty came from the people around it.

I hope and believe the community will keep it alive for years to come.

Head of Studio Andrew Navaro

With the announcement of the end of the Android: Netrunner product line, I’m sure many of you are wondering why. While I cannot speak to the specifics, I would like to provide as much insight as I can, and hopefully lessen the consternation that this announcement has undoubtedly caused.

I’m sure this news comes as an unwelcome surprise to many of you. Given that we recently released the Revised Core Set, and that rotation has finally gone into effect, it seems like the timing couldn’t be worse to announce the end of the game line. With the success that Android: Netrunner has enjoyed over the last six years, I don’t think there would ever have been a good time to end it in the eyes of many fans, and in the eyes of many of us here at the studio, but the license agreement has reached its conclusion, and so the product line must do the same.

Android: Netrunner has been a joy to work on, and it has been equally fun watching the tremendous following that the game has garnered throughout the years. I am extremely grateful for everyone who contributed to the game’s success. From Richard Garfield, to the developers, to the artists and art directors, to the Organized Play team, and everyone in between, Android: Netrunner got a lot of love and attention from a lot of talented and passionate people here at the studio and at Asmodee. I am extremely proud of the product line from start to finish.

But no amount of passion from us could, in and of itself, make the game a success. We owe all of that to the fans—players, retailers, tournament organizers, podcasters, and video content creators—whose love of the game surpassed all of our expectations. Thank you so, so much for making Android: Netrunner a part of your lives and for your support along the way. Thank you!

I hope that you continue to enjoy Android: Netrunner for many years to come. Just because we won’t be printing it anymore doesn’t suddenly turn it into a game that’s not worth playing. It’s an excellent game. About twenty years ago the Netrunner CCG was discontinued—after a much shorter run than the LCG enjoyed—and fans continued to play that version of the game for years without any official support from its publisher. Their patience and dedication were eventually rewarded by the resurrection of the game they loved. Personally, I hold out hope that one day Netrunner will return, and that our part in its history will be regarded as a significant chapter of its much longer journey.

Until then, always be running.

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Android: Magnum Opus

Published 8 June 2018 | Genesys

Android: Magnum Opus

Android: Netrunner Organized Play Enjoys a Grand Finale at its 2018 World Championships

The Great Work was completed on a rainy Thursday afternoon.

As Android: Netrunner comes to a close, the game's Organized Play is also coming to an end—but not before players have one final chance to gather and celebrate the game's thrilling, high-stakes cyberstruggles!

Event Schedule

Download the Android: Magnum Opus event schedule (pdf, 166 KB).

From September 7th – 9th, the Fantasy Flight Games Center will play host to Android: Magnum Opus and the final Android: Netrunner World Championships. Corps. Runners. Games. Glory. You can expect them all. Even so, this event is far more than one final tournament. This is a celebration of the Android: Netrunner community and all things Android. Android: Magnum Opus will provide all attendees with an immersive experience, starting with the World Championships and rolling those into an overarching experience in the Android universe.

A very limited number of seats will become available during our first-come / first-served second wave registration for Android: Magnum Opus, which opens August 28th at 12:00 PM CDT (UTC -0500), and attendees will enjoy all the thrills of the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships, as well as a unique one-versus-many Android: Netrunner experience, Genesys roleplaying sessions set in the worlds of Android, and a weekend-long exploration of the Android setting that will thrust you neck-deep into the midst of an orgcrime turf war.

For years, the Android: Netrunner community has expressed its appreciation for the game's near-dystopian setting, and now you'll have a chance to change the setting. As rival criminal organizations renew their struggles for Base de Cayambe and the ability to smuggle goods up and down the Beanstalk, your actions over the course of Android: Magnum Opus will decide which orgcrime outfit rises to prominence.

Who knows—it might even be your criminal organization that wins!

The 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships

Undoubtedly, the highlight of Android: Magnum Opus will be the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships. The final World Championships for this storied LCG® of corps, runners, and high-stakes cybercrime, this tournament will bring the community together one more time and crown the game's final World Champion.

The 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships will be the last official Organized Play event for Android: Netrunner, and we'll be pulling out all the stops with our prize support. In addition to the commemorative apparel you'll receive with your event registration, you'll earn a copy of the new NAPD Corp ID we'll be featuring in our one-versus-many matches, and have the chance to vie for exciting bounty prizes every round.

The action will begin on Friday, September 7th, with the first group of players competing in Day 1A, continue on Saturday with then next group in Day 1B, and then all players with 28 tournament points will advance to Day 2 Swiss rounds on Sunday, followed by a cut to the Top 16.

The Top 16 will continue with double-elimination rounds until the world's best corp and runner face each other—each aiming to see the game out on a high note as its final World Champion. Yet, even as the 2018 World Champion helps bring the game to its grand conclusion, he or she will find a new, enduring role within the Android setting.

Working with the developers of the Genesys roleplaying game, the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Champion will help to inspire and craft a character within the Android setting—potentially even envisioning his or her avatar as a crime boss who helped to win the weekend's turf wars. More than this, he or she will have a chance to play that character during a special Genesys roleplaying adventure, set in the Android universe, at PAX Unplugged, the weekend of November 30th to December 2nd. Travel and accommodations will be provided for the winner to attend.

Turf Wars

During the construction of the Beanstalk, New Angeles was a boom town, a beacon of near-limitless possibilities that drew ambitious men and women of all stripes to the slopes of Volcán Cayambe. The lure of easy money and unclaimed territory drew the attention of numerous powerful criminal organizations from around the world, and they flocked to the new city to carve out what they could.
–The Worlds of Andorid, "Organized Crime"

The Android universe existed before Android: Netrunner, and it will continue after the game has come to a close. Nonetheless, it is impossible to deny the impact that Android: Netrunner has had upon the Android universe and its fans.

For most fans of Android: Netrunner, the game was their first interaction with the not-too-distant future of the Android setting, its Big Four corporations, and its diverse cast of hackers, sysops, clones, bioroids, street bangers, mid-level executives, enforcers, and crime bosses. And for many fans, the game's setting proved to be one of its most attractive selling points. Accompanied by some of the industry's greatest art, the Android universe, its corps, and its characters reinforced the timeliness and intellectual validity of the game's themes. Players who lacked an analog in other game worlds found themselves mirrored in the setting's diversity. We frequently saw players express their desire to explore the setting in other ways—especially via roleplaying.

At Android: Magnum Opus, you will have the chance not only to enjoy a Genesys adventure in the Android setting, but to take part in a larger, weekend-long roleplaying event that will allow you to both explore—and give shape to—the Android setting.

There's a turf war underway between the orgcrime outfits in New Angeles. When you register for Android: Magnum Opus, you'll find yourself connected to one of the city's orgcrime outfits—either Los Scorpiones or 14K. Then, throughout the weekend, you'll have the chance to help your organization become the city's preeminent criminal power. You'll control the streets that host the Beanstalk, and that means controlling the Beanstalk—and everything that smuggles up or down its incredibly lucrative channels.

Each of your victories in the Android: Netrunner World Championship will aid your organization.
You'll have the chance to help your organization claim valuable assets in a special Genesys roleplaying adventure set in New Angeles.
Your victory in the one-versus-many Android: Netrunner staff challenges allows you to throw the NAPD's resources against your rivals.
Win the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championship, and you'll be able to establish yourself as a major player in these turf wars—a leader of the winning organization, an elusive (and expensive) asset for the losing organizations, an NAPD agent positioned to strike at the heart of the city's orgcrime, or a brilliant civilian able to find profit in the chaos.

Only one player can win the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championship, but everyone who attends Android: Magnum Opus will find their efforts memorialized in future Android products. Your actions will determine which criminal organization rises to the top of the world's greatest and most influential city. You'll steer the future of the Android setting, and you'll see the results reflected first in a future Genesys roleplaying adventure that you'll be able to download for free.

Additionally, your efforts in these Turf Wars may earn you a personal share in the Beanstalk's smuggling trade. Each attendee associated with the criminal organization that claims control of the Beanstalk will win a special, acrylic click tracker in the form of the worlds' most important architectural marvel!

Hack into the Future

Android: Netrunner and its Organized Play may be coming to an end, but all true fans know there are plenty of ways to bypass or break an "End the run" subroutine.

Join us this September 7th – 9th for the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships at Android: Magnum Opus and upload your consciousness into the Network. You'll enjoy fantastic games, superlative prizes, and one of the greatest communities in all of gaming. More than this, your actions will live forever in the Android setting, breathing new life into it and impacting the design of future products. We'll have even more information about Android: Magnum Opus in our upcoming previews.

Come celebrate Android: Netrunner, its community, and its legacy. See what the future holds for the Android setting!

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Download the event schedule (pdf, 150 KB).

All times are CDT (UTC/GTM -0500).

Updated 8/31/2018: Event schedule added.

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Honor and Creation

Published 5 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Honor and Creation

Preview the Shaper and Jinteki Cards Found in Reign and Reverie

Order your own copy of Reign and Reverie at your local retailer or online through our website today!

The Midwest Metropolis of ChiLo is as dangerous as it is alluring. With rumors of a clone haven circulating, the city is the perfect place for escaped Nisei-model Akiko to disappear. But her pursuers are never far behind. Jinteki already has a foothold in the city, and no one can stay hidden forever.

Join us today as we preview the Shaper and Jinteki cards found in Reign and Reverie, the new deluxe expansion for Android Netrunner: The Card Game. Reign and Reverie focuses on the city of ChiLo, and includes new tools for every faction in the game.

In Your Head

We have already revealed Akiko Nisei (Reign and Reverie, 15), the Shaper identity included in Reign and Reverie. Today, we get a good look at the cards that will support her endeavors in ChiLo.

The most important tool in any runner’s tool kit is a console, and Akiko has one of the best in Mind's Eye (Reign and Reverie, 17). Whenever you make a successful run on R&D, you can place a power counter on Mind’s Eye. During your turn, you may spend a click and remove three hosted power counters to access the top card of R&D. The best cards in Android: Netrunner reward you for taking actions that you want to do anyways, and making runs on R&D is one of those essential goals. A free access is a fantastic bonus, and can potentially become even better with Akiko Nisei, as it activates her ability. Should you successfully play the psi-game, Mind’s Eye can net you two cards off the top of R&D without Akiko ever having to make a run. No matter how well R&D is defended, with three power counters on Mind’s Eye, no agenda is safe.

Though how can you know the optimal time to fire Mind’s Eye? Luckily, Reign and Reverie gives you a powerful new tool to know exactly what the corp is developing. Insight is a double event that lets the corp rearrange the top four cards of R&D… before they reveal those same cards to you. While letting the corp rearrange the top of their deck can seem dangerous, they can’t hide their agendas forever and getting a view of their R&D can let you snipe an agenda with Mind’s Eye.

Runners need more than just hardware to be successful. They need connections, to help finance their runs. This is where Psych Mike (Reign and Reverie, 21) comes in handy. With Mike on the field, the first time a successful run on R&D ends each turn, you can gain one credit for each card that you accessed. While this can offer an economic boost for any runner, it can also help finance Akiko Nisei’s ability, giving at least one credit back from the psi-game she plays with the corporation. With Pysch Mike watching your back, your credits will never run dry.

Endless Exploration

No matter where you are in the world of Android, there's no running away from the corporations that span the world. Akiko Nisei seeks salvation, but her pursuers have a foothold in ChiLo, and Jinteki will do whatever it takes to retrieve their lost clone...

Saraswati Mnemonics (Reign and Reverie, 34) is a terrifying identity that allows you to tap into the cat-and-mouse mind games of Jinteki. During your turn, this identity lets you spend a click and a credit to install a card from HQ in a remote server and place an advancement token on it. While this is amazing click compression, you are limited in the fact that you cannot score or rez that card until your next turn begins.

With cards like Mushin No Shin (Honor and Profit, 15), Jinteki is no stranger to letting their advanced cards sit, ready for the runner to steal. Of course, if the card you choose is something like Project Junebug (Revised Core Set, 80), the runner is in for a nasty surprise. This is the inherent mind game of Jinteki, and something Saraswati Mnemonics excels at. With this division’s ability, you can install a card and have three advancement tokens placed on it in a single turn.

Reign and Reverie also introduces the perfect high-cost agenda to try and score with Saraswati Mnemonics. If you dedicate two turns to advancing and scoring Jumon (Reign and Reverie, 35), you will receive a massive advantage. When your turn ends, you may place two advancement tokens on any card installed in a server. This can greatly accelerate your research into other agendas or set up massive ambushes for the runner. As a passive ability, there's very little risk in advancing a card, as you either try to bait the runner or advance your own hidden agendas.

And even if an ambush fizzles, Jinteki still has plenty of uses for advancement tokens. API-S Keeper Isobel (Reign and Reverie, 36) is an asset that can easily be used to keep your credit pool inflated: when your turn begins, you may remove an advancement token from an installed card to gain three credits. API-S Keeper Isobel is a great way to get some use out of an ambush that may not be firing or to make the runner think a card in a server is of no importance to you. API-S Keeper Isobel also synergizes well with the Tennin Institute (Honor and Profit, 3), giving you a use for the advancement tokens you place on installed cards that might not need them.

It's All a Game

Akiko Nisei tries to find sanctuary in the city of crime, but Jinteki has an established foothold, waiting to ensnare hasty runners in their myriad traps. Who will come out on top?

Find out when you pre-order Reign and Reverie (ADN56) from your local retailer or our website today.

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Return of the Designer Journal

Published 1 June 2018 | Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Return of the Designer Journal

Introducing a New Series of Articles from the Game Designers

Have you ever wondered what the designers of your favorite games might think about game design, the state of a game, or games in general? We have the perfect place for you to find out. Today, we’re happy to (re)introduce a series of articles from Fantasy Flight Games: Designer Journals!

Designer Journals offer a place for you to hear directly from the FFG designers about some of the topics that are nearest and dearest to them. We’ll be starting by featuring articles from the FFG card game team—so to learn more about what you can expect from Designer Journals and to meet the members of the team, just read on!

Nate French Introduces the Card Game Team

For the first two years (or so) of my career at Fantasy Flight Games—back in 2006 and 2007—I wrote a weekly column known as the “Designer Journal,” which primarily covered the A Game of Thrones collectible card game. For our audience, this column presented a regular behind-the-scenes glimpse of what the designer was thinking and feeling about a variety of topics surrounding the game. For me, as that designer, the writing was an opportunity to critically reflect on how the game was evolving. By forcing myself to collect and share those thoughts, I was able to grow more self-aware in my own role.

We can fast-forward through this next part. FFG grew, by leaps and bounds. An ever-increasing catalog of card games placed ever-increasing demands on my bandwidth, and at some point the decision was made to phase out the column. The games kept coming, but gone were the direct line of communication between designer and audience, the regular behind-the-scenes insight, and the ongoing opportunity for public self-reflection.

As the years raced by, I continued to carry fond memories of the Designer Journal. I knew that it would be impossible to return to the old practice of maintaining a weekly column for each of our games, but I couldn’t help wondering if there might be a way to re-imagine the column and capture its spirit in a way that meshed with the current demands and workflow of our department. Thus, the pitch for “Designer Journal 2.0” was born.

You can expect to see a lot of different things from this segment in coming weeks! Just a few of the examples are:

A State of the Game article, in which the designer shares their thoughts on the current state of the metagame, and what they’ll be focusing on in upcoming development.
A Round Table article that invites a number of different designers to each provide a short answer to a single question.
A discussion or examination of a broader topic that relates to gaming or game design, investigated through the lens of the designer’s particular game.
An interesting story or anecdote that took place during the development of a product.
A retrospective article that looks back at past expansions and discusses how their impact compares to our expectations while we were developing it. What worked? What surprised us—for better or worse?
A Designer’s Feud article, in which two designers each present a different side of a debate regarding gaming or game design.

The ultimate goal of the Designer Journal is to bring you, the reader and fan of these games, just a little closer to the FFG studio and give you an opportunity to get to know the people who craft the experience.

So, who will be contributing to this column? We’ll be starting with the FFG card game team, introduced below!

Caleb Grace is a designer for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and has been with the company since 2011. In his spare time, he enjoys comic books, spending time with his kids, and Mountain Dew.

Brad Andres is a designer for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and he has also contributed to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Warhammer: Invasion, and Warhammer 40,000: Conquest. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, terrible puns, and geological “adventures.”

Law school graduate Matthew Newman is a designer for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and he’s also contributed to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. For fun, he loves video games, massive multiplayer games, books, and movies—particularly if they deal with horror or high fantasy. He believes he would like free chicken wings, but has never actually received any.

Danny Schaefer is a designer for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, and first started with FFG as an intern. In his free time, he enjoys Magic: The Gathering, basketball (Go Timberwolves!), and spiking volleyballs on members of the board game department.

Former five-time LCG® World Champion Jeremy Zwirn began his work in the gaming industry as a playtester, and he has since worked his way into a design position for Star Wars: Destiny. In his spare time, he enjoys cheering on the Minnesota sports teams, biking, and “scooping” people—which roughly translates to winning.

The enigmatic Michael Boggs is a designer for Android: Netrunner, a contributor to Star Wars: Destiny, and a man of many nicknames. Boggsy, Boggle-Woggle, the Bogginator, Michael Buggs—call him what you will, he’s heard it all. Before joining FFG, he worked as an English teacher in South Korea. For fun, he enjoys… well, no one knows. Maybe Olive Garden?

Tyler Parrott (who is secretly a parrot) is a designer for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and also contributes to Star Wars: Destiny. After playtesting LCGs for many years, he took an FFG internship, transitioned to a freelance designer, and finally landed a full-time design position. For fun, he enjoys medieval/renaissance music, singing, and sandwiches—so long as they don’t have pickles on them.

Our newest team member, “The Wild Thing” Aaron Haltom, designs for Star Wars: Destiny by day and rocks out on the drums by night. Before joining the FFG card game team, he worked as a most triumphant freelance game designer (and as a copywriter) for two and a half years. A Bill and Ted enthusiast, Aaron regularly walks the walk of “party on” and “be excellent to each other.”

Last but not least, card game team manager Mercedes “Cardeesi” Opheim started with FFG as an LCG graphic designer, and transitioned to management in January 2017. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, painting, kickboxing, and coming up with new names for her fists. She is also the proud parent of two of the most adorable kitties in the western hemisphere.

We hope you’re as excited to hear from us as we are to write about these games! Until next time, good luck and happy shuffling!

Nate French is the longest-tenured member in the card game department, and he serves as a mentor and coach for the team. More often than not, he’s working on a project he can’t say anything about… yet! In his spare time, he is an avid poker player and enjoys reading, writing, sports, (older) heavy metal, and talking about LeBron.

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See What's Coming

Published 1 June 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

See What's Coming

Access the Prizes for Android: Netrunner 2018 Season Two Organized Play

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We're nearly to the second season of Android: Netrunner Organized Play for 2018, and that means we'll soon be able to plan more runs, delve into more servers, and access more prizes!

After all, as Runners, we aren't just breaking walls and braving lethal sentries to prove a point. That may be a part of why we run, but we also want to see what's in those servers! We can't even call it a successful run until the data's been ripped.

To that end, we're bound to make use of all the new toys from the Kitara Cycle—especially since the last pack has just released. And we'll be looking forward to the release of Reign and Reverie, as well as the chance to meet—or evade—the various kingpins of ChiLo. All the new cards from this deluxe expansion and the Kitara Cycle Data Packs are certain to shape our future runs.

In the end, though, the reasons for running and the rewards for running are two different things. And the 2018 Season Two Kit for Android: Netrunner Organized Play has enough prizes to reward up to sixteen runners at each Critical Run event, plus Elite Prize Cards and Elite Prize Items for the Top 4!

Top 16

Feel a little like making sure the corp knows you've been mucking about in their servers? Or if not you, specifically, do you want to make sure the corp knows that someone has been shredding their ice?

It's a common impulse and one well-served by the alternate art copy of Imp made available to the Top 16 participants in each Critical Run event.

The artwork by Liiga Smilshkalne personifies this destructive virus as a playful, fanged little demon happily tearing apart the corp's data.

Perhaps he's an Anarch after all, motivated by a desire to burn the corp to the ground. Maybe he's a Criminal, digging for something worth selling. Or maybe this cheerful little Imp's secretly a Shaper—an artist masquerading as an Anarch. After all, they say every work of art is first of all an act of destruction…

There are seventeen copies of this card in the 2018 Season Two Kit. Sixteen are for players. The seventeenth is for the event organizer to keep or distribute at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Speaking of acts of destruction—very little is known about the online predator known as Apex, only that it seems to destroy and consume all it touches… So could Apex be an artist?

It doesn't seem a likely theory, but if the predatory behavior is really just a precursor to some visionary reworking of the Network, it would make sense to begin with the alternate art version of Apex envisioned by Andreas Zafiratos.

Shown ensnaring—and likely devouring—an unfortunate bioroid's avatar, this Apex is bold, bright, and unpredictable. It's also a prize option made available to the Top 4 players at each 2018 Season Two Critical Run event. In the order of their placement—from first through fourth—the Top 4 players each choose one Elite Prize Card or Elite Prize Item, and if you can make the Top 4, this stunning alt-art Apex offers you a new way to envision the inscrutable runner's hidden purpose.

The 2018 Season Two Kit includes three copies of this alternate art version of Apex. Two are for players. The third is for the event organizer.

Elite Prize Item

You could argue that the very best traps aren't triggered until your prey feels smugly secure in its victory—and then you rip that victory away. Unequivocally.

What's more, if that's how you like to play Haas-Bioroid, with ambushes that gobble away unspent clicks, trash the runner's rig, and swing the momentum back toward your ultra-efficient bioroid strategies, then you'll be thrilled by the Elite Prize Item in the 2018 Season Two Kit—an acrylic Haas-Bioroid click tracker.

If you look at the alternate art on the Apex card and see a sucker taking the bait on one of Haas-Bioroid's best-laid traps, then you'll want to make the Top 4 at a Critical Run event in order to get your hands on this Elite Prize Item. In fact, you'll probably want to make the Top 2 because there are two of these in the 2018 Season Two Kit, and you never want to aim for corporate data on your last click—or even on your third click when you're assaulting one of Haas-Bioroid's servers!

Plan Your Run

Want to take your shot at the cool new prizes in the Android: Netrunner 2018 Season Two Kit? Then start planning your run today. Talk to your favorite local game store to find out when they'll be hosting their 2018 Season Two Organized Play!

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Ascend Your Limits

Published 31 May 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Ascend Your Limits

Kampala Ascendent Is Available Now for Android: Netrunner

Order your own copy of Kampala Ascendent at your local retailer or online through our website today!

Kampala Ascendent, the final Data Pack in the Kitara Cycle for Android: Netrunner is available now from your local retailer or our website.

As the effects of a possible second Beanstalk ripple across Sub-Saharan Africa, corps and runners alike use this chaos to tear each other apart. War is on the horizon, and as corporations like Weyland look to waylay the construction of the Beanstalk, runners revel in the chaos, looking for a challenge, thrills, or profit.

Kampala Ascendent brings the themes of the Kitara Cycle full circle, inviting you to look for cards that expand on the themes from the Revised Core Set for every faction. Furthermore, you can find a new Jinteki identity, a new Sunny LeBeau event, and a way to rob the runner of three of their clicks… unless they pay a terrible price.

Line Your Pockets

Criminals run for one reason: profit. While bringing down a corp for other factions is seen as a challenge or a thrill, Criminals see their actions as a means to an end: cold hard credits. If running doesn’t make you rich, what’s the point? Diversion of Funds (Kampala Ascendent, 105) is one of the easiest ways for Criminals to be compensated for all their hard work. Taking two clicks and requiring a successful run on HQ, Diversion of Funds can be difficult to pull off, but that makes the reward all the sweeter. Instead of accessing cards for your successful HQ run, you may force the corp to lose up to five credits, while you gain a credit for every credit they lose. This drains the corp, lowering their defenses while lining your own pockets. The corp will have to spend precious time recovering these funds, while you are free to play more powerful events, purchase new hardware, and invest in icebreakers with your latest influx of income.

To recoup this loss, the Corp may resort to using their Hedge Fund (Revised Core Set, 132) or other transactions to boost their credits. But of course, Criminals also have a contingency plan in place.

PAD Tap (Kampala Ascendent, 106) is a free resource that allows you to gain a credit the first time the corp gains credits with a card ability every turn. This PAD Tap is not infallible—the corp can spend three credits and a click to trash the resource. But at what point is the tap annoying enough to spend three credits and a click? The runner gaining a credit does not directly hurt the corp; criminals are just taking a little bit of profit on the side. But letting the PAD Tap sit for too long can finance a runner's operations and take down the corp one credit at a time, unless they are willing to sacrifice their own tempo.

Permanent Side Effects

Of course, the corps have their own investments to make. NEXT ice work together to absolutely destroy any runner who dares to invade Haas-Bioroid’s servers. NEXT Diamond (Kampala Ascendent, 112) is the ultimate in this NEXT defensive technology. Though it has a heavy rez cost, this cost is lowered by one for every other piece of rezzed NEXT Ice. As a six-strength sentry, NEXT Diamond will not end the run, but it will ensure the runner does not leave the server unharmed. Two subroutines give the runner brain damage and a third trashes an installed runner card. The runner is either going to have to spend an absurd amount of credits to get through NEXT Diamond, or face terrible, permanent consequences.

And in fact, should the runner choose to spend their resources on passing NEXT Diamond, Kampala Ascendent gives HB a brand new way to suffocate the runner of what little resources they have remaining.

Riot Suppression (Kampala Ascendent, 113) is a powerful gray ops operation that can only be played if the runner trashed a corp card during their previous turn. In retaliation for trashing one of your valuable assets, you may force the runner to have three fewer clicks on their next turn, unless they choose to receive one brain damage. This is an awful choice for the runner, either completely destroying their momentum or forcing them to take a brain damage, which only gives them fewer options and ushers them one step closer to an untimely death.

Kampala Ascendent

Though the Kitara Cycle draws to a close, the war between the corps and runners rages on. With new tools being developed on both sides of the corp/runner struggle, who will come out on top in the Sub-Saharan League?

Complete your journey into Lake Victoria with Kampala Ascendent (ADN55), the final Data Pack in the Kitara Cycle for Android: Netrunner, available now from your local retailer or our website.

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Data and Chaos

Published 30 May 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Data and Chaos

Preview the Anarch and NBN Cards in Reign and Reverie

Order your own copy of Reign and Reverie at your local retailer or online through our website today!

Possibilities are endless in the Midwest Metropolis of ChiLo. Runners have more freedom than ever before. In this crime-ridden city, as around the world, there is always a way to make a credit for even the craziest job, and the thrill of the run is more profitable than ever. However, it all comes with a cost. NBN is always watching, and in the city of ChiLo, they have developed a niche as the go-to corporation for surveillance and investigation. Nothing happens in ChiLo without NBN knowing, and the megacorporation has eyes everywhere.

Join us today as we preview the Anarch and NBN cards found in Reign and Reverie, a new deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner The Card Game. Anarchs receive new tools that push them even closer to the brink in the form of new hardware, programs, and even a new identity. Meanwhile, NBN keeps a watchful eye on everything happening in the city with their own advancements in technology.

Run Free

Living close to the edge of life and death, Anarchs thrive on the luck of the draw. High risk-high reward is their motto, and they burn through cards at a rapid rate. Now, there is a whole identity based around having as few cards in your grip as possible.

Nathaniel "Gnat" Hall (Reign and Reverie, 1) is one of the youngest runners to date, and he becomes increasing resourceful when his back is against the wall.

When your turn begins, if you have two or fewer cards in your grip, Gnat allows you to gain one credit. Cards like The Noble Path (The Liberated Mind, 77) will artificially reduce the size of your grip, but Anarchs play fast and loose with their cards anyway, installing programs and hardware into their rig with reckless abandon. With a 40-card minimum for deckbuilding and motivation to cycle through cards quickly, you can easily find the cards you need while gaining credits with Gnat. Of course, if your grip starts getting a little too full, you can always use your brain space to make a profit. Guinea Pig (Reign and Reverie, 3) allows you to gain ten credits at the cost of four credits…and the rest of your grip. While this would be a major penalty to any other faction, it turns on an entire economic engine for Gnat.

Gnat receives another bonus in the form of Cradle (Reign and Reverie, 6), a decoder that becomes stronger as you empty your grip of cards. Cradle has a massive five strength, but that number is lowered by one for every card in your grip. Though you have no inherent way to boost its strength, you can spend two credits to break any number of code gate subroutines. If you have only one or two cards in your grip, Cradle can be a very economical option for getting into the corp's servers, and a timely Guinea Pig can give you all the resources you need to succeed.

An All-Seeing Threat

Though it's watching the entire world, NBN is a major presence in the city of ChiLo. With new advancements in surveillance and an understanding between the crime lords that run the city, NBN wields immeasurable power.

With new ways to enhance their all-seeing eye, nothing gets by NBN in the city of crime. Acme Consulting (Reign and Reverie, 42) is a new way for NBN to make a profit through finding the truth you need. NBN is always aware, and whenever a runner makes a move on Acme, the subsidiary are always one step ahead. Anytime the runner encounters the outermost piece of ice protecting a server, they are considered to have one additional tag. Making tags stick on a runner can be a difficult proposition for the corp, but for a brief window, Acme can be 100% certain the runner is tagged.

Reign and Reverie introduces the perfect companion to Acme Consulting in Hydra (Reign and Reverie, 46) an expensive sentry that can massively swing the momentum of the game in your favor. With three subroutines that produce nasty effects if the runner is tagged, Hydra makes the perfect outermost piece of ice for Acme. The Runner will have to deal with Hydra every time they run on the server it's protecting, and even if it no longer becomes the outer piece of ice, it can still leave the runner with plenty of tags if they can’t break its powerful subroutines.

While Hydra takes care of runners in cyberspace, Acme also has a whole suite of tools it uses for surveillance in the meatspace. In a city that holds countless secrets, Acme Consulting reveals the truth you need.

In ChiLo, nothing is private. Eavesdrop (Reign and Reverie, 47) is an operation that spies on the runner as they try and bypass your security. Eavesdrop is hosted on a piece of ice and whenever the runner encounters that ice, it initiates a trace to give the runner a tag. NBN is notorious for taxing the runner with powerful sentries, and though they may not end the run, they will certainly cost money to break. Eavesdrop is a way to further tax the runner. You may even place it on ice like Hydra to “turn on” its subroutines and crush the runner. Either way, runners should never feel safe in the city of ChiLo—not with Acme Consulting on the case.

A Free City

While Anarchs can run with more freedom than ever in the Midwest Metropolis, someone is always watching, and there is always a price to pay. Who will come out on top—Anarchs who live closer to the brink of disaster than ever before, or NBN, whose knowledge has turned into complete power in the city of ChiLo? The choice is yours.

Run free and pre-order Reign and Reverie (ADN56) from your local retailer or our website today!

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Classic G-Mods

Published 21 May 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Classic G-Mods

See the Prizes from the 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championships

"Information asymmetry is the norm in real combat, and knowing more than the enemy is how you win."
–Reina Roja

Want to access some of the greatest prizes available for Android: Netrunner? Then start prepping for your run on a 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship!

As a celebration of all the game's greatest players and strategies, each 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship tournament is certain to feature bleeding-edge deck designs—and we'll be sure to complement them with prize designs to match.

Top 64

The Top 64 participants at each 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship get a stunning, alternate-art version of the Revised Core Set's Anarch runnner, Reina Roja.

Featuring full-bleed art by Christina Davis, this version of Reina Roja recalls her formative years as a drone operator with the US Electronic Warfare Service on Mars, and you'll find the art repeated without interruption on the card back.

Top 32

Stay ahead of your competition as the field narrows, and you'll earn another custom g-modded runner ID. Available to the Top 32 participants at each 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship, this tinted plastic version of Hayley Kaplan offers you a stylish take on one of the game's most competitive runner IDs.

Top 16

Something for the Corp fans, too!

The Top 16 players at each 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship win a set of twelve silver advancement tokens.

Use these tokens to advance your biggest agendas. Use them to advance your ambushes. Just use them… Runners will feel compelled to throw themselves against your servers, certain that your custom tokens signify something critical!

Top 8

The Top 8 players at each 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship claim a playmat featuring Haas-Bioroid's smiling defense construct.

Top 4

As a chess enthusiast, Reina Roja understands that there are numerous ways you can manipulate the same pieces. Each move leads to new permutations and possibilities. Two players might bring the same ID—maybe even the same deck—but their decisions over time will lead them down different paths.

To make at the Top 4 at a 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship, you'll need to make all the right decisions, all the right moves. You'll need to get more value from each of your cards, and the Top 4 prize card reinforces this fact.

A durable, spot-glossed plastic version of the same Reina Roja ID you get for making the Top 64, this card comes foil stamped to commemorate your Top 4 finish. And even if you don't run Reina Roja at your next tournament, you might still benefit from her ability by hosting her on DJ Fenris (Reign and Reverie, 25) once Reign and Reverie is released.

Finalists

One of the greatest truths about Android: Netrunner is that there's always another run. There's always a runner looking to get rich, trash a corp, or prove a point. There's always a corporate sysop prepping the newest defenses—something deadly or devious, or both. There's always a chance to push for higher stakes…

As a finalist at one of the 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championships, you'll earn the right to compete for the highest stakes of them all. The Top 2 players at each National Championship win a free seat at the next Android: Netrunner World Championships!

National Champion

Win a 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championship, and you'll have proven yourself an exceptional talent—a major player in the greatest cyberstruggles of New Angeles and beyond. And you'll have had to do it all without extensive g-modding or cybernetic enhancements.

As National Champion, you'll commemorate your success with a trophy of Reina Roja standing before the New Angeles skyline, and you'll gain access to the next level of competition…

Your victory at the 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championships will boost your World Championship run by granting you access to a Prize Bye that allows you to bypass the first round of ice and vaulting you ahead of the other runners. Just be ready for that deeper layer of ice!

Always Be Running

Android: Netrunner has always been the game of high-stakes cybercrime, and there are few places you'll find the stakes higher than at one of the 2018 Android: Netrunner National Championships.

With all the prizes on hand, you can expect to face competition from all sorts of talented runners. So start banking your credits, stock up on Diesel, and head to our Android: Netrunner National Championship website to see when events are scheduled. Then be sure to check back later as we'll be keeping up with updates!

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Get Your Thrills in Netspace

Published 16 May 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Get Your Thrills in Netspace

Find an Android: Netrunner Regional Championship Near You

"This run is gonna have to be fast as fritzing cats, though, ’cos it’ll get frigging hard real quick."
–Kabonesa Wu

The 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championships are nearly here, and they promise to offer some of the greatest cyberduels the game has ever seen!

As the Kitara Cycle races toward its climactic conclusion, and we draw nearer to the release of Reign and Reverie, the 2018 Regional Championships will reward those runners and sysops who can best adapt to the ever-changing battlefield. The principles of economy, bluffing, and calculated risk remain, but your virtual struggles find new context—impacted by the release of new ice, icebreakers, and key events in the meat world.

Accordingly, while the 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championships offer you a chance to enjoy large, energetic events, full of your region's best and most enthusiastic players, they also serve as a critical test. Is your deck ready? Have you learned how to pilot it? How do you adjust your strategy when you fall behind? How do you bait your traps, and when do you spring them? The answers lie before you—our list of 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championships is now available. Visit the list to find the event or events nearest to you!

The Prizes at Stake

Of course, as any veteran runner could tell you, the Android: Netrunner Regional Championships don't just offer some of the year's best competition; they also offer some of the year's coolest prizes.

The 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championships continue this trend with a collection of alternate art cards, plastic spot-glossed cards, custom tokens, playmats, trophies, and a first-round Prize Bye for the winner to claim at an upcoming National Championship.

Participation

The Top 64 participants at each 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championship receive an alternate art version of the Criminal decoder, Amina.

Top 16

Purple and orange one-credit and three-credit tokens. The Top 16 at each 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championship claim a set of ten of these acrylic tokens, seven of the 1-credit tokens and three of the 3-credit tokens.

Top 8

Break into the Top 8 at one of this year's Android: Netrunner Regional Championships, and you'll earn a commemorative playmat featuring the art from the icebreaker Engolo—frozen in motion as it breaks down corporate defenses with a powerful kick.

Top 4

The Top 4 virtual thrillseekers at each 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championships win a spot-glossed plastic identity card for the Shaper Kabonesa Wu.

Regional Champion

Each 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championship is bound to send you crashing into servers, thrust you face-to-face with potent icebreakers, lure you into carefully disguised traps, and lead you just outside of some of the Android universe's most valuable data.

Will you be the one to seize it? Will you gamble everything on the most daring of runs—the runs that separate everyday hackers from the runners of legend? If so, you'll find Kabonesa Wu adorning your Regional Championship trophy, and you'll gain a Regional Championship card that you can redeem for a first-round bye at an upcoming Android: Netrunner National Championship!

Plug In and Run!

Make your plans to attend a 2018 Android: Netrunner Regional Championship. View our list of Regional Championships to find one near you!

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Clones and Bioroids

Published 7 May 2018 | Android: Netrunner LCG

Clones and Bioroids

See the European and North American Championship Prizes for Android: Netrunner

"Safest way through is fast."
–Ken "Express" Tenma

Build up your rigs. Ice up your servers. The network's going to blaze…

Runners and corporate sysops everywhere will soon battle for supremacy at two major upcoming events. The 2018 Android: Netrunner European Championships are coming to the UK Games Expo in June, and the 2018 Android: Netrunner North American Championships will follow, taking place at Gen Con Indy in August.

Attend either of these events, and you'll find some of the game's coolest prizes at stake—so bring your A-game and expect to face bleeding-edge tech and strategies!

Participation

Every click matters. There's no time for wrong turns at the 2018 Android: Netrunner European and North American Championships, so you can be happy to pursue all your false starts and red herrings before the tournament really gets rolling…

Attend either the 2018 Android: Netrunner European or North American Championship, and will find yourself holding a new, alternate art version of the False Lead agenda.

Sure, it's never good to get caught making a wrong turn—but it's immensely satisfying to trick your opponent into wasting a couple invaluable clicks. And it's even better when those clicks lead your opponent away from your central servers and into a run-down, cat-infested apartment—a scene realized by the talents of artist Adam Schumpert!

Day 2

The mind is a terrible thing to lose. Or so they say. But the set of acrylic brain damage tokens you claim for making the Day 2 cut will certainly take a bit of the sting out of your losses.

Top 64

Crack the Top 64 at either the European or North American Championship tournament, and you'll access a special, double-sided identity card. Printed on frosted plastic and spot-glossed, this card features the popular Haas-Bioroid ID Cerebral Imaging on one side and the Angel of Cayambe, Valencia Estevez, on the other.

Top 32

Flatline some runners. Advance your agendas. Earn a promotion. If you can work your way into the Top 32, you'll receive a commemorative binder that will stand testament to your performance, even as it helps you sort and store all the other prizes you've received.

Proudly displaying either the European Championship or North American Championship logo atop a blue background layered with the appropriate flags, this binder holds nine standard-sized cards per page and up to 360 cards total—perfect for Android: Netrunner. An elastic fastener wraps over the back to keep it shut securely.

Top 16

The Top 16 participants at the Android: Netrunner European Championship and North American Championship will receive a medal bearing the event's logo.

Top 8

A new battlefield awaits all those who play their way into the Top 8. With artwork from the Reign and Reverie deluxe expansion, the Top 8 playmat carries your games (in spirit, at least) to the ChiLo grid, where nearly every district is ruled by a different kingpin.

Not only does this playmat offer a convenient surface for your games, but it might just inspire you to work a little harder, push some more code, and topple the kingpins from their roosts!

Top 4

To make the Top 4 at the European and North American Championships, you'll have to face all manner of cyberstruggles. You'll have outraced some runners. You'll have avoided corporate ambushes and hitmen. You'll have called your opponents' bluffs. You'll have bluffed your opponents. And we'll hope to see you competing for the game's top honors at the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships!

For their efforts, each of the Top 4 players at the 2018 Android: Netrunner European and North American Championships will earn a free event ticket for the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championships.

Runner-Up

The Runners-Up at the European and North American Championships each earn a first-round bye in addition to their reserved seat and free event entry. More than this, each Runner-Up also walks away with a plaque commemorating his or her placement.

Champion

The best runners and sysops frequently work in corners of the network that others can't access. And anywhere that these runners and sysops can't access? They gain access, by hook or by crook. They tinker with their breakers. They network with the right people to gain new levels of clearance. And in the end, they make things happen—things that drive the bleeding edge forward, making possible what hadn't even been envisioned.

If you are one of these individuals, you may find your way to the top of either the 2018 Android: Netrunner European or North American Championships. And if you do, you'll get a shiny new trophy and a flight and lodging to the 2018 Android: Netrunner World Championship!

Your victory will also see you slip right past the event's outermost ice—with a first-round Prize Bye—and you'll earn a free event ticket for a guest of your choice.

Jack-in to Win

The prizes at the 2018 Android: Netrunner European and North American Championships will soon be up for grabs. The corporate ice is weak, so if you want these prizes, you'll just have to outfox the other runners. But, of course, you can't access if you don't jack in, so be sure to check out the event info today for these top-level competitions at UK Games Expo and Gen Con Indy!

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