Android: Netrunner

Android: Netrunner

Remake of the cult classic Netrunner done by FFG in their own Android Universe. The setting to Android: Netrunner are similar to some of William Gibson's Nueromancer and few other classics such as Blade Runner and the like. Most of the Mechanics are the same as the original 1996 version, with some changes to the theme and some mechanics changed or added it. The main idea of the game is that Android: Netrunner is an asymmetrical game, in which both players during the game match play different roles: One being subversive hacker knows as a Runner who tries to expose the Corps secrets, where the other player plays the role of the big and bad Corporation, who attempts to protect their servers to advance their agenda -or potentially stop the runner and flatline them.

Both players win by reaching Seven agenda points or if one of the loss conditions is met for any of the players. The loss condition for the Corp is if they are forced to draw from R&D (their deck) and cannot, then the Corp loses. The runner's loss condition is flatline, which is if he is forced to discard more cards than are in his hand or his handsize is reduced to a negative number by the end of the runner's turn.

The difference between a CCG and a LCG

Most of you know what a Collectable Card Game (CCG) or Trading Card Game (TCG) with purchasing and play format with randomization with booster packs having around 15 cards or so. With Living Card Games, your 'booster' packs (known by Data Packs in Android: Netrunner) for LCG are predetermined cards, with each faction getting something in the data pack. Along with this, there are deluxe expansions which focuses on two factions, one Runner and one Corp, with the exception of Data and Destiny, which has 3 runner "mini-factions". The deluxe expansions also contain a few neutral cards for both Corp and Runner. Draft packs also exist, and come with special Draft Identities.

Netrunner can also be played online: Jinteki.net is a browser-based service that is the main venue for playing Netrunner online; OCTGN also has a Netrunner server but is mostly dead and requires you to download image packs of your cards - much less convenient than Jinteki

Gameplay

In a game of Netrunner, one player plays the Corp and one plays the Runner. The game often is played in a match, where both player will play the corp and the runner. Both players shuffle their decks, drawing up to five cards and starting with five credits at the beginning of the game. Both players can elect to mulligan, drawing back up to five again but players only mulligan once. The corp starts the first turn.

Terminolgy Netrunner has a fair bit of terminology, which may seem confusing at first but is very simple when you get the hang of it.

In keeping with the game being asymmetric, the Runner and Corps have different names for their Deck, Hand, and Discard Pile. Respectively, these are Stack, Grip, and Heap for the runner, and R&D,HQ, and Archives for the corp. These are also collectively known as Central Servers on the Corp's play area - the HQ is represented by the Corp's Identity card.

Credits are the game's currency, used by both Corporation and Runner - pretty standard stuff. Clicks are used to take actions, described below. On their turn the Corp gets 3 clicks and the Runner gets 4. Clicks do not carry over turns and must be spent, but there is always at least one action that can be taken. Thematically clicks generally represent time spent.

Install: play a card onto the table. Corp cards are installed face down, Runner cards are installed face up. Rez: flip a facedown card faceup. Rezing does not take a click. Trash: send a card to Archives or the Heap, respectively.

Clicks can be spent in a number of ways. Both players can spend a click to

Gain 1 credit - representing liquid funds, thematically a single corp credit is much larger than a runner credit.

Draw 1 card - Take a card from your Stack/R&D and add it to your Grip/HQ.

Install a card - what is installed, where it's installed and if it has a cost will be described below

Pay a click cost on an installed (or scored) card - what this does will depend entirely on the card, but it will either allow you to do something unique or to do something you could already do more efficiently - for example, gaining 2 credits.

Play an Operation (Corp) or Event (Runner) - these are non permanent cards. We pay for them, play them, follow their effect and put them in the Archives/Heap.

The Corp can uniquely spend clicks to:

The Runner can uniquely spend clicks to:

Factions

One of the biggest changes FFG made from the original Netrunner (ONR) was putting it in their home-grown Android setting (which also has several books and board games) instead of ONR's tie-ins to the Cyberpunk 2020 world, and adding factions - where in ONR you were a nameless and generic "Runner" and "Corp", in Android Netrunner you play as an Identity from one of 7 factions, with their own flavour and specialities [tbc]

[Faction: Summary + Lore, signature card]

Holy fuck this is a mess, enlisting the help of the Netrunner General thread