Netrunner: worth it if you're not going to build decks?

I'm setting aside a bunch of stuff for sale/trade, and I'm considering throwing my Netrunner cards into the pile. In addition to the base game I've got Creation and Control and four of the small expansions.

Now, I really like Netrunner. I think it's a gripping game with one of the best emergent themes around. But the reality is that I don't play it much, and the biggest reason I don't play it much is because I don't know anyone else that owns or collects the cards. So when I want to play, I grab a fun-looking deck idea of the internet for each side, make up both decks, take them along and give one to my opponent to play.

Obviously a big part of the appeal of Netrunner is competitive deck building and I don't have the opportunity at all. I'm also not sure I really have the time for it even if I did have the opportunity. And I don't want to get into an arms race of getting the latest cycle releases all the time.

So given all that I'm just wondering whether I should chuck the lot on the trade pile, keep it all, or maybe just keep the base game and a couple of expansions and trade the rest?

Although I enjoy playing CCGs, I have never enjoyed the competitive deck building aspect, especially the arms race aspect that involves spending real money to increase your overall card collection. The trick to enjoying a CCG without worrying about the deckbuilding is to find someone who is willing to play the game with pre-made decks, preferably the ones that you made. This can be a challenge because you are looking for a player who will like the game, but not enough to get into the competitive deckbuilding aspect.

I have a half dozen starters from the original Netrunner game of the mid-'90s. Each starter came with a corp deck and a runner deck, and they both played reasonably well out of the box. Every once in a while, I can get a friend to play some Netrunner with me using these untuned starters.

Netrunner is one of the best games ever made. I do not own it anymore. Not a single card. I would go so far as to say that not wanting to build decks, keep up with releases, participate in OP and so forth is enough of a case against keeping it alone. But the really damning thing is not having at least a couple of friends/players in your circle who are also building decks, keeping up with releases, and participating in OP. If you don't have at least one other player (better a group) commited to it and willing to play repeatedly and develop a metagame then you're never really going to get to where the game's greatness lies. It's definitely a game, like Magic, where play occurs in tiers. And at that lowest, most casual tier, the nuance and depth is detectable but you never get to really explore it. Arguably, Magic plays fine at these lower levels but I think that Netrunner does not. That said, it used to be that the old starter packs were widely regarded as a great way to play casually. And they were- I had a set of six starters that I just kept intact and that's how I played until the FFG release...which made the deck building and so forth more or less unavoidable.

It's better to cut and run. You played it, you saw what it does, you appreciate it. You don't have to own it. Swap it out for something you'll get more play out of with less of a need for OTHERS AROUND YOU to commit to it.

I like Netrunner a BUNCH. But, like you, I'm not interested in doing the deck construction. And I don't really know anyone else who is. So I got rid of it. I'd love to play it regularly, but without some kind of Netrunner Genie to just hand me a deck and play, it won't happen.

What about a draft cube? Is that viable for this game? I don't really like to sit around making decks either. But I'll throw one together from a draft as if it were part of the game.

Netrunner was in my top 10 games of all time at some point last year. Then I sold it off because I didn't like the money sink it was becoming compared to the amount of time I was able to play it. I enjoy the idea and possibilities of deckbuilding much more than the reality honestly.

I wouldn't keep it if you weren't into the tournament scene or connected to a strong local group of players. It's not a casual game in my opinion. I still enjoy it playing with other people's decks on occasion and it always makes me miss it even more (like taking a hit off a cig after going cold turkey).

I don't think deckbuilding is really an issue for Netrunner, taking decks from the internet is fine. But Netrunner is a game of hidden information and you won't fully enjoy it unless you know enough about the game to know what that hidden information might be. You need to know what kind of ICE the corporation can play, when is the best moment to bluff and how you can play a trap without it being too obvious. These are things that you only learn through repeated play and if you only play ocasionally, you might never get to that point.

It's simply not a game that shines through casual play. The first times you play it are like the first times you play an auction game: You'll know the rules, but you won't be playing the real game because you don't know what anything's worth or what you should be doing. You won't be taking informed decisions and until you do, it won't be that amazing game I rave so much about but a lesser version of it.

So the answer to whether you should keep it or not varies depending on how you feel about the game as it stands for you. Do you enjoy playing it right now? If you do, I would keep it and just copy decks from the internet. And if you feel like you are flailing around more than actually playing it, then I would play something else. Deckbuilding shouldn't be as much of a consideration, IMHO.

What does "OP" mean that Barnes mentions?

ioticus wrote: What does "OP" mean that Barnes mentions?

OP stands for Organized Play ie. Tournaments.

This topic is extremely relevant to me. I absolutely adore Netrunner but have been considering selling my collection off as well. There's a very strong local community around the game but I don't have the energy to keep up with the game outside the act of playing it. Building decks takes me hours and I don't really have that sort of luxury time.

I think my love affair with LCGs is officially over. I am no longer the target demographic of people with enough time to dedicate the hours of thinking and planning required to get full enjoyment from the game system. From the sounds of it, so are many of the others here. It's a shame as the rule set for Netrunner is so damn good; playing against someone is always exhilirating.

Mad Dog wrote: What about a draft cube? Is that viable for this game? I don't really like to sit around making decks either. But I'll throw one together from a draft as if it were part of the game.

So there are the official Draft Sets which are pretty good fun but also a bit pricey. For regular players half the fun is playing with the new cards before they're released so there's a narrow window at the beginning of each cycle in which you can effectively organize a draft. I suspect that playing the fresh draft set every 6 months will probably be more economical and fit my schedule better if I'm going to stay involved with the game.

If you're interested in making a cube you should check out these threads for inspiration:

forum.stimhack.com/t/stimhack-draft-cube...d-for-the-source/955
forum.stimhack.com/t/cube-drafting-201-cube-design/2580

Thanks for the topic. I recently got Conquest, and it works great for extreme casual play i.e. without deck building. We just pick one of the factions and play. Was wondering if I could treat Netrunner the same way.

i recently got shot of all my netrunner cards (old style) on these grounds. I think its an excellent game but you do need two to tango.

Given the situation as stated in the original post, my recommendation is to trade or sell. As someone else said, it's the lack of routine play that makes it fall down--netdecking is an easy solution for the lack of desire to build your own decks (I'm in the same position, I happily netdeck guilt-free due to no time at home). You won't get much out of the game if you are continually teaching it to new players or having to go back and do rules refreshers due to unfamiliarity.

EDIT: I know what you're getting at with the "arms race" comment, but some of the most powerful and oft-used cards continue to be staples from the Core Set and the very earliest datapacks. If you don't care about trends and all the newest archetypes, you can still get a ton of enjoyment out of what you have with no fear of missing out (provided you decide to keep it and manage to remedy the play frequency issue).