[Newbie question] What are my options for economy engines?

You missed a couple:

  • Virus economy via cards like Cache, Gorman Grip v1, Clone Chip, Deja Vu, and Aesop's pawnshop

  • Subsidy economy (recurring credits) via cards like Sahasrara, Ice Analyzer, and Cyberfeeder. Stealth decks fall under this.

  • Run economy via cards like Desperado, Security Testing, Bank Job

  • Freelance Coding Contract. Superdraw programs with Quality Time/Diesel -> make 10 credits in one click. Recur your entire deck with Levy AR Lab Access. Big Girls Play With Monoliths is a cool decklist to see this in action.

  • Au Revoir/Snitch. It's like a super Magnum Opus that needs 4MU.

  • Stimshop. Personal Workshop + Stimhack. Host expensive things on the workshop, Stimhack it out for free.

There might be more that I'm missing.

is it a good idea to pair these together?

If they work, sure!

How do you avoid the pitfalls of creating a hodgepodge of economy engines, thus slowing down your game tempo?

Playtesting, really.

How do you decide which engine is the right fit for your play style and deck archetype?

Now here's where it gets really messy and complicated, because the answer to that would take a couple thousand words.

Because it really depends. You might want something that can make credits super fast (events). You might want infinite sustainability (Opus). You might want to slowly build your rig while generating credits as you go. (Resource drip) You might want to get your big rig out quick (Stimshop)

So it really depends on your deck and your deck's particular path to victory.

What are some of the key options I should start to research for corp?

There are two major corp econ archetypes: Operation & Asset.

Operation is the Hedge Fund, Green/Blue Level Clearance, Celebrity Gift, Restructure, Sweeps Week etc path. Like Event economy it's good for quick bursts of cash.

Asset econ uses Pad Campaign, Sundew, Adonis Campaign, Marked Accounts, Mental Health Clinic, Private Contracts, Capital Investors, Turtlebacks, etc. These are more sustainable sources of econ that usually take some time to pay out, but have the added benefit of costing the runner time and money to trash.

Very rarely will you see corps do one and one alone. Usually it'll be a mix of the two; e.g. a whole ton of remote servers, some dripping money, and then a Diversified Portfolio to maximize your returns.

Corps also have some recurring credit options, but not many. The Root is the most notable one.

Just like for the runner, which you use is really down to your deck and your personal preferences. What's your ice rez cost curve look like? Do you want to win fast or play long? Do you need to amass money or just hover around a certain number to threaten scoring?

Weyland also has the weird economy engines of Blue Sun and their agenda suite. Agendas like Hostile Takeover, Geothermal Fracking, Government Contracts, and High Risk Investment allow you to make money through scoring points. Blue Sun can pair with cards like Oversight AI to rez high cost cards on the cheap and then use Blue Sun's ability to yank the card back and gain an absurd number of credits.

/r/Netrunner Thread