How to Win Netrunner Quick Draft (Corp)

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I’ve basically exclusively been playing quick draft; while it isn’t perfect (more on that in part 3) it is definitely the most fun I’ve had while playing netrunner for at least a few meta cycles. In this article, I will provide a guide for how to win as corp.

Big Picture:

Quick Draft is a high variance, mid-power format. Just like other high variance formats (early metas, RAM), flexibility is key. You will not be able to tech for every possible runner, but if you want to beat the variance, you need to be able to respond to what the runner does and let the strength of your deck and play shine through.

Agenda Combos:

The first choice you make is your 3-point agenda and 2-point agenda. There are 13 possible options, and you are given 5 to choose from. As such, if you want 1 agenda you have a 38% of getting it, if you want 2 agendas you have a 64% chance, 3 agendas: 80% chance, 4 agendas: 90%. One 2-pointer (Tomorrow’s Headline) is not currently programmed properly, so you can’t pick it. Stop trying it no no no.

Generally, there are 3 combinations of agendas that I consider S-Tier:

1. Obokata, Astroscript
2. Bellona, Astroscript
3. Obokata, Blood in the Water

The benefit of these three combos is that all three provide both a fast advance option while maintaining central pressure. This is important because it lets you adapt to the flow of the match — if the runner gets a turtle/boat up, you focus on pressuring money and hand size. If the runner seems to be taking a slower start, try to push an early Astroscript or kill-con.

Bellona vs Obokata is an interesting choice that polarizes a lot of my friends. I think Bellona has a higher power level: unlike Obokata you can threaten it reliably turn 2-3 in a game, and then you only need to get one more agenda scored. However, I’ve found that, unless you find Astroscript or reliable FA, that boxes you into a very specific scoring plan, and this plan is disrupted pretty readily by money.

I find Obokata has the edge just because it pairs with two agendas (Astroscript and BitW). I really love Obokata BitW: it gives you the space to go full damage/grinder, which is especially potent when you can draw your damage cards incredibly consistently, and your opponent only has 34 total hit points. You don’t even need to go full grinder — with enough tempo you can find the windows pretty readily against very strong players. I also prefer Obo with my third favorite 2-pointer (Medical Breakthrough), which furthers my weak preference.

My hunch is the math changes if Tomorrow’s Headline is legal, or if there is another Bellona combo that folks find maximizes its leverage. But with 2 3-pointers and 4-pointers, I’d rather a 3-pointer which best leverages the 2-pointers.

Other 3 Pointers: My A-tier 3-pointers are The Future Perfect and Vacheron. The other on-score or on-steal effects just do not have the time to play a meaningful role in the game, and much as I wish SSL was better.

Other 2 Pointers: I like the FA IDs (Astro, Blood in the Water, Medical). But any reliable 3/2s will do. I generally prefer Above the Law because you already get Longevity Serum’s effect in your Jhow and Philotic never has enough time to make a difference. Don’t do a 4/2 — you never find the NA tool, there are so few of them.

First Ice:

Because games are shorter, your servers will be a lot less deep: this means that gear checks are more critical, positional ice is much weaker, bioroids are a bit weaker, and ice which trashes programs is much weaker (as it’s harder to position outside a gear check).

Above all, though, follow your agendas. In Astroscript games, gear checks allow you to more reliably push a turn 1-2 score. In Bellona games, I’m much more interested in stronger non-gear checks, like IP Block or Gold Farmer. In Obokata games, a strong net damage ice pretty much above all else.

First Picks:

Remember that you have 34 cards. This means you can do a lot more with a little — pretty much every card you pick will get drawn. The biggest mistake I often make is picking two cards which do the same thing. Try to make sure your first 5 post-agenda picks each do something different: small ice, big ice, econ, on-board threat, defensive/punishing tools. I think players overvalue agenda control — I rarely will take extra Jackson Howards or Sprints: 34 cards means your deck will be very consistent in itself.

IDs:

There are 20 possible IDs. 4 are draft IDs and are effectively blank. 1 is Hyoubu. As such, there are 15 possible IDs.

RP is busted good. It doesn’t really matter the archetype, you have great centrals protection, so making the runner lose a click on remote runs feels amazing. If you can’t take RP, Aginf is pretty much always good (but means you usually need to take one more set of ice than you would expect). Cybernetics is busted good if you have Obokata, otherwise it’s fine.

Argus, Thule, Sportsmetal, and PD are all powerful, but rarely fire more than once. PT Untian is surprisingly worth considering: even if it just gives you, like, a single click all game, that click can be the way you properly threaten a three point score out.

Obviously if you have a synergy piece, B2L, R+, Outfit, and Earth Station are all, like, real IDs. But I’d never take them preemptively unless none of the above are options.

Later Picks:

These are where you can cement the strategy: If you have good ice, find the money to afford it. If you have a damage based strategy, keep finding ways to knock cards out of hand or require runners to answer threats. If you have good Econ, find a wincon to leverage it. I usually will never go for tags unless I find an early good tag enabler (HHN or Drago, maybe Oppo).

Conclusion:

Quickdraft is a game of tactics, not strategy. Make the best move for you at any given moment, don’t make some big plan. If you do that, really cool big plans will be assembled, and you will have lots of fun. Always Dee Running!