Elevation SCOOP

A Prologue

I’m excited to share something special: a Netrunner scoop!

TBH, I still bristle at the term because in my day, “scoops” meant leaks posted online. I avoided them at all costs because I wanted my first viewing of any card not in the official card fan images to be in my hands on data pack opening day.

Pictures from the drawn-out opening process that spanned 2 days of my favorite data pack by virtue of containing my all-time favorite Runner and Corp cards, the latter of which I had never seen before holding in my hands.

Part 1: The Past

I played Netrunner from 2014-2019. I could never get a friend interested enough to stick with the game for more than a few months and there was no local meta, so my community was the tournament scene an hour away, and Discord pals around the globe. 

A custom Netrunner playmat that I had printed to take to Worlds 2018 (Magnum Opus). The playmat was designed by Wil of the Cool Ghosts Discord server and features obscured chat logs from the #run-the-nets channel alongside windows of code and the then-accurate-after-recent-update Netrunner timing structures. My customization before printing was to swap out the Dai V art Wil had in the top right with a screenshot from Nullpointer, a game by Prophet Goddess. At Worlds, I got the playmat signed by attendees who were also in the Cool Ghosts server, by #TeamUK friends I met at the event, and by a couple folks requested by Wil.

Despite essentially only playing in tournaments, I always considered myself a casual player. I like jank, I like delicate Rube Goldberg combos, I like silly nonsense. Tournaments were just a guaranteed way to find opponents. Typically, I’d bring 1 untested netdeck and 1 untested jank brew.

It was thanks to how welcoming I found the tournament community and my online friends that I was motivated to attend Worlds ‘16 and ‘18, making some of my fondest memories.

People who met me in that era might remember me as the guy [6 years later update: not a guy!] with the otter, or with Eschers at Artist Colony.

(First image) With Eady of Run Last Click at Worlds 2016, as well as another attendee (I want to say his name was Chris?), where we hung out in the Game Center chatting for an hour or two.

(Second image) Hanging on the Games Center lawn with #TeamUK. I'm the one in the Space Shuttle Endeavour shirt and hat.

(First image) My alt arts of my pet card, Escher, in the process of being cut.

(Second image) The full art copy of Artist Colony that I got signed by everyone I traded alts with at the Magnum Opus Artist Colony Bazaar (at least, the ones I remembered to ask to sign it)

Over those 6 years, I did play a bit on jnet, and I made it out to a handful (like, literally count them on 1 hand) of casual meetups, but in general my engagement with the game was:

• a lot of chatting online

• podcasts and tournament coverage

• theorycrafting decks I never played

• playing in tournaments

11 different iterations of an absolutely terrible Sage-based Chaos Theory deck from my NetrunnerDB private lists.

But in 2018-2019, 3 or 4 events didn’t fire in a 6 month period during the FFG-NSG changeover. With my online friends drifting away from the game and making new friends in the Magic sphere, I attended 1 last tournament then took a short Netrunner hiatus, made medium by lockdown and long by inertia.

While I encountered a bit of Netrunner news in the intervening years, I never sought it out, nor kept up with the cards. If you had asked, I would have told you it was without a doubt my favorite game (it is my only tattoo) but that it was firmly in my past.

My ⧉ link tattoo. I never expected I'd ever get any tattoos, but after getting some temporary tattoos of the link symbol at Magnum Opus and wearing them for a few days, I knew I wanted this permanent reminder of my connection to the community. I made my appointment before the license lapsed so that it would always be a celebration of the community, and not a memorial to the game.

In January, I learned a friend was picking up System Gateway to learn the game. I needed zero additional incentive to leap headfirst back into the game myself. The first few months of 2025 have been eye-opening in revealing just how much my soul has been quietly longing for this game. I’m BACK. 

My favorite Corp identity is Jemison Astronautics. After it came out, I did not register another Corp at a tournament for the rest of FFG’s time with the game. My builds varied wildly over that time, but it was the exact sort of lateral combo nonsense I wanted to be doing. 

Picking up the data packs on a trip out to my store. I wouldn't play Jemison (from Daedalus Complex) in a tournament until a few months later.

Hostile Takeover was always an important part of my Jemison agenda suite (not even Project Atlas was in every version of my decks):

• can be scored from hand with no additional effects. Since you need forfeit fodder to trigger your ID ability, this is invaluable

• gives an economic boost. Money good

One of my better Jemison board states from back in the day. I used the High Risk Investment token to Midseasons for 16 tags and go BOOM!

Part 2: The Present

I will admit that beyond a couple anecdotes archived on Discord, my memories of Jemison play patterns are fuzzy. But I was so excited to come back right before rotation and could register Jemison at Districts, where I found Hostile to be as much a liability as a necessary tool.

(First image) My Jemison spirit gear and paper playtesting deck.

(Second image) The final board state of my single Corpside win at Districts, with a perfect 6 points scored, 6 points forfeited.

Yes, the easy point to set up Oberth/Archer was vital, but Runners run so efficiently nowadays that giving them 1 (or 2!) bad publicity often meant my ice was quickly useless–and when you’re sacrificing your own points, you really need some effective obstacles. I cut Hostile #3 for False Lead #3. 

And now, a look at my Elevation preview card, in a thoroughly non-canon but canon-inspired fan film!

I was ecstatic to receive this specific preview card. It’s exactly the sort of Hostile replacement I would have loved at Districts. Scores from hand, rebates itself, and then when pitched to Archer it rebates the Archer?? Sign me up!

But Jemison rotates so I’ll save that interaction for Eternal…

Part 3: The Future

It should be no surprise (as its art is featured on the lore side) that Greenmail is a great Zwicky card. With some additional shenanigans, it can draw you 2 cards in addition to the 6 credits it gives you. 

Possible shenanigans could include Plutus and Biawak. It’s always nice to have an extra payoff when forfeiting as an additional cost, and just like with Archer, Greenmail makes the Biawak rez credit neutral!

Could it see play installed faceup in the Elevation identity BANGUN? I’ll probably try it, though it doesn’t work nicely with Threat 4 that BANGUN probably wants. You could always overinstall it and then get value from Armed Asset Protection before pulling it back from Archives.

Some other things it has vaguely positive interactions with are Seamless Launch, The Powers That Be, and the Elevation cards IP Enforcement and Touch-Ups. Probably nothing to build around, but something I’ll definitely keep in mind.

 All in all, I am very excited for this new take on Hostile Takeover, and look forward to seeing more forfeit enabling in future sets–and not just because I'll be porting them all to Eternal!

Thank you, Null Signal Games, it's been a real pleasure previewing this card for you.