How it wins
- On turn 3 you should have one Unit already attacking and a second landing, each with a cheap Gear. Twelve of your Units cost 3 or 4, and 18 of the 40 cards are Gear, so both pieces turn up every game.
- The lead comes when two +2 Gears sit on a 6-power Unit such as 6th Street Recruits or Pepe Najarro: Working Doubles: at 10 power every unblocked swing is worth two Gigs.
- Close with a turn where Johnny Silverhand: Never Stop Fighting attacks twice: the first attack goes at a spent Unit he can beat, and the untap it earns pays for a Gig attack.
Strengths
- Nothing in the list costs 5 and 13 cards cost 1, so every Eddie you make goes straight onto the board.
- Consistent hands: every card except the single All is Lost is a three-of.
- Gear makes price tags irrelevant in combat - Pepe Najarro with Mantis Blades and Satori: Sword of Saburo is a 10-power Unit for 7 Eddies in total.
- Panam Palmer: Nomad Cavalry turns a Gear into a surprise attacker: for 2 Eddies she moves a Gear from herself onto an unequipped Unit and readies it. Mandibular Upgrade and Riot Shield meanwhile give you six Blocker cards.
- Gilded Matón and Panam work together: when Matón defeats the only Gear on one of your Units, that Unit is unequipped again, so Panam can move her Gear onto it and ready it for another attack.
Weaknesses
- No Quick cards, and only one way to defeat a Unit outside a fight: Gilded Matón, which costs you a Gear and only reaches Units costing 3 or less.
- Only four Programs and little draw, so a long game usually belongs to the rival.
- Every Gear you stack raises the price of a single removal spell, so your best turns are also your most fragile.
Key cards
- Johnny Silverhand: Never Stop Fighting
- Gives you the double-attack turn: win a fight, untap, then take Gigs.
- Dexter DeShawn: One Last Chance
- A 3-cost, 4-power body that adjusts a Gig by up to 1 when it enters and again when it attacks: a value-pair for Pepe Najarro, an even Gig for Jackie Welles, or a Gig at 8+ that makes the Johnny Silverhand Legend cheaper. If he is defeated while the Street Cred gap is 10 or more, you draw 2.
- Gilded Matón
- Your one removal outside combat: as it enters you may defeat one of your own Gears, and if you do, a rival Unit costing 3 or less is defeated - a cheap Blocker or stealer gone before you attack.
- Mantis Blades
- The 1-Eddie piece that gets your 6-power Units to 10.
- Zetatech Faceplate
- Adds card flow to a deck that has almost none: whenever its Unit is spent, nudge a Gig, then draw if you hold three different values.
First turns
Keep: Keep a hand like 6th Street Recruits, Mantis Blades and Zetatech Faceplate - one 3-4 cost body and Gear for it.
Mulligan: Mulligan a hand like Johnny, Jackie Welles: Ride or Die Choom and a pile of Gear with no 3-4 cost Unit.
- On the draw with 6th Street Recruits, Gilded Matón, Mantis Blades, Zetatech Faceplate, Kiroshi Optics and Industrial Assembly: turn 1 sells Industrial Assembly and pays for Recruits with that Eddie and all three face-down Legends. On turn 2 Kiroshi Optics is sold, Mantis Blades goes on Recruits, and an 8-power attack takes the first Gig. If a cheap Blocker shows up in front of it, turn 3 sells the card you drew, Matón defeats the Blades to defeat that Blocker, and Zetatech Faceplate goes onto the now unequipped Recruits before it attacks again.
- The middle turns bring Gear, a second body and a Legend Call each turn - Viktor Vektor: Sit Down and Relax pulls two cheap Gears from the top five - until Johnny or Jackie arrives around turn 5.
Common mistakes
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Mistake: Gilded Matón comes down and you keep every Gear, so the cheap Blocker in front of your attackers stays.
Better: Give up your least useful Gear - Kiroshi Optics, or a Mandibular Upgrade on a Unit that no longer needs to block - to defeat their Blocker or stealer costing 3 or less, then attack. Matón itself is only a 3-power body; its entry is the point of the card.
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Mistake: Every Gear goes straight onto your Units and Panam Palmer sits face-up with nothing on her.
Better: Park Mantis Blades on Panam. After an unequipped 6th Street Recruits attacks, pay 2, move the Blades onto it and swing again at 8 power.
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Mistake: Jackie Welles attacks while most of your Gigs show odd numbers.
Better: Cast Industrial Assembly first and lift an odd Gig by 1. With one even Gig she attacks at 10 instead of 8 and steals two Gigs instead of one.
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Mistake: Riot Shield goes on 6th Street Recruits, your main attacker.
Better: Equip it to Gilded Matón, the 3-power Unit that stays home once its entry has done its job, and keep Recruits and Pepe free to swing; a Unit that has attacked is spent and can't redirect anything.
Matchups
| Against | Result | How it plays |
|---|---|---|
| Embracing Power (Arasaka) | Favourable | Arasaka wants to reach 10 power before you, but you are faster and they have no Quick cards. Johnny wins every fight against their CORPO Units (Corpo Security, Field Operator, Goro), readying each time. |
| The Heist (Mercs) | Even | The Heist wants to stall you with Blockers, Floor It and Reboot Optics, but it can't defeat your Units outside combat. Riot Shield makes V's Go Solo cost 2 more, and Gilded Matón can defeat their cheap Blocker, Secondhand Bombus. |
| Kerry / River / V | Favourable | MaxTac Suppression Team is the whole matchup: once it lands, your freshly played Units lose a turn of attacks, Johnny Silverhand: Rocking Renegade or not. Take as many Gigs as you can before it arrives. |
| Smasher / Dum Dum / V | Hard | Animals Wrecker can be hitting for two Gigs while your first Units are still lagging, so a Mandibular Upgrade or Riot Shield belongs on the table before it attacks. Their removal fits you badly: only Dexter DeShawn (4 power) and Gilded Matón (3) are small enough for Bonnie and Clyde, and Carnage at the Colosseum can't touch a geared Unit at 10 unless they pump one of theirs past it. |
| Jackie / Johnny / V | Even | They want to clear your Blockers with Bonnie and Clyde and Corporate Surveillance; your lever is Gear-won fights and Johnny, who beats their CORPO Meredith Stout: Stone Cold Corpo and Yorinobu Arasaka: Steel Dragon. Gilded Matón can defeat Valentino Guerrera, their only Unit costing 3 or less. |
| Alt / Judy / V | Favourable | They want time for their removal, and Maman Brigitte: Spirit of Death can't target your geared Units. Press early; Unlikely Bond can still take a spent Unit with all its Gear. |
| Hanako / Jackie / Judy | Hard | Their answers line up against your strengths: Chrome Reverie freezes the Unit you dressed up, Take Control blunts its two-Gig hit, and Placide then sends it under the deck with the Gear still on. Maman Brigitte: Spirit of Death is the one card your Gear does stop. |