ICE: Barrier • Rez: 4 • Strength: 2 • Influence: 4

When you rez this ice during a run, resolve its printed subroutines if there is no installed fracter.

subroutine The Corp gains 2credit.

subroutine End the run.

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Weyland Consortium • Abram Jopp via DALL-E • Reflections 27
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Bouncer
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Reviews

Wasn't really into this when I first read it. After careful reconsideration and after getting absolutely bodied by it my assessment is the following: It's quite good.

Corroder breaks it for 2; 1 if money is the issue. That's pretty alright, bad for a 4c ICE. Hence its strength lies in the additional text: You just get kicked out if you don't have a fracter. Also doesn't seem super interesting - "Fine you kick me out, I just come back with a fracter. Doesn't every ICE work like that?"

What this ICE deals with very well however is any kind of the very prevalent "surprise" tools that most runners have and often rely on. I'm talking about:

Self-modifying Code, especially with run events. If you don't preinstall you just get kicked out before you can grab your breaker.
Street Peddler. Same thing.
Inside Job. No fracter? Bye.
Any kind of AI that suddenly can run the remote with three ICEs on it? Nope.

4 influence means you won't really see this outside of Weyland. Runners against Weyland therefore have to think about preinstalling their fracters on important runs or facechecking more. Facechecking is imo better - you don't want to give an unnecessary discount to Kwolek or lose your fracter to a sentry. Corps should assess what runner card, especially run events, they are most scared of and place and rez this ICE accordingly.

Should probably be at least a 1x in every ICE-heavy Weyland list and thus just adds to the things runners have to consider.

Art is also really good.

(Reflections era)

Love the review. Of course when you spell it out for us, it seems obvious. I’m liking the increase of great Weyland barriers.