Who are Snare Bears?

Team profile

Founded: October 2019

Members: 17

Mission: Collaborate to improve at competitive Netrunner and take down big tournaments

Notable Performances:

• Three in Top 8 at Worlds 2023

• Four in Top 8 at Worlds 2022

• Four in Top 8 at Worlds 2021

• Three in Top 8 at Worlds 2020

Notable Decklists: Medium to Large Maxx (2021), Blamechanger (2021), Dies to Doom Blade (2022), HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN??? (2023)

Foundation

The seeds of Snare Bears were sown back in 2019 at Rotterdam Worlds. A few of us from New York City brought a particularly nasty Industrial Genomics deck (with which kysra just barely missed the cut) that we shared with Whiteblade111. On the day before the tournament, seven of us crammed into the smallest seafood restaurant on the pier to discuss this bizarre VLC prison deck, and his interest was piqued. The collaboration continued into the next store championship season. We had realized the potential of closed testing groups to solve metas and succeed in higher level tournaments. 

The original group (groenkaaf, kysra, and skry) actually formed as a Crown of Servers team after worlds, but we grew slowly and organically, adding members who share a similar approach to the game and a desire to improve competitively. The team reached its full potential at Worlds 2021, where we took seven placements in Top 16. While we are proud of RotomAppliance’s championship as a Snare Bear that year, we are also humbled by coming in second place at worlds in each of the last four years.

---

Testing Process

With members spread out from Europe to Uruguay (come home, Rob), the team functions almost exclusively on Discord. In forums we share and critique new decklists, iterate on already successful archetypes, and optimize our lists from previous metas. Half of us have a debilitating addiction to spamming games on Jinteki.net casual, while the other half is content to practice in private games with exceedingly arcane passwords, especially as we approach bigger tournaments. Our most successful testing happens when several Bears spectate testing games with open hands to provide feedback on lines and playstyles.

Netrunner is a complex game, and we’ve attracted players with various skillsets and testing styles. Some of us craft elaborate spreadsheets to analyze the meta going into worlds each year, but most of us go by vibes and tech against each other because we are inconsolable spikes. Some of us experiment with new archetypes to ambush big tournaments, but most of us retreat to the comfortable, value-oriented safety of Haas-Bioroid: Precision Design. Some of us choose the runner with the best equity across all matchups, and some of us just play Zahya.

Despite our differences, we’ve grown a lot as a team and as friends over the years. When we feel jaded by Netrunner, we are more likely to be found huddled in a Discord call backseat-playing Slay the Spire or on Tabletop Simulator hounding for ELO in competitive Dune: Imperium Uprising. While it may seem like a meme, maintaining our friendships has been an important part of our success and sticking together as a team.

---

Roster

amavric
analyzechris
cablecarnage
crithitd20
crunchums
DeeR
GhostMeat
groenkaaf
janktivist
kysra
osclate
rongydoge
RotomAppliance
skry
tbu3k
tf34
whiteblade111
ysengrin

---

If you are part of an existing testing group, or if you are trying to get a new testing group up and running, then The Surveyor would love to publish a profile of your team!

Send a message to kikai.noraneko on discord.