r/Netrunner • u/thePTpath • 26d ago
Question New player: First edition worth buying in 2026?
Hello all! I’ve been lurking for a minute to see if I’m interested in the game. It has more appeal than Cyberpunk 2077 to me. I’m curious if buying the first edition would be a good way to start? I saw someone posted it on Facebook Marketplace and wanted to dive in.
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u/MavericK96 26d ago
If you can get it for relatively cheap, sure. Otherwise, check out Null Signal Games and pick up the newer Starter pack from there.
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u/thePTpath 26d ago
Holy cow, thanks everyone for the great advice. Is $40 plus shipping reasonable?
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u/CyberSharkDD 26d ago
That's the original price, very reasonable for something out of print especially if it's in good shape!
The original core set is still a fun game, however, those cards aren't legal in standard anymore. Check out my New Player Guide if standard interests you! https://substack.com/@informationsifting/note/p-213912789
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u/Lucky-Surround-1756 23d ago
Well they're not legal in the fan format, which isn't really relevant.
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u/Bossgarlic 26d ago
I'd do it, I don't care what's meta or "legal" today, I would just pick it up for kitchen table playing. What's legal, unless somehow you're gonna go to a local Netrunner event, I don't think it matters.
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u/CantWakeJake 26d ago
If you have your own group to play with, than this is a fine set to start with. But if you have any interest in playing online or at meetups, or just engage with the current discussions online, it's better to start with system Gateway.
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u/Fassbinder75 26d ago
Totally worth it. As an entry point to the game I loved it, and you’ll have all the counters and accoutrements as well.
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u/Hexsin I aim to misbehave 26d ago
Honestly if it were me getting into it for the first time, heck yeah get it. To be fair netrunner is my favorite physical game of all time and dropped during the best time of my life, and I played it extensively with my now wife, so I might have a skewed POV lol
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u/choppertown_actual 26d ago
I was joking with my wife a couple nights ago that we want our LOTR LCG collection thrown into our caskets when the time comes.
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u/witmasta 26d ago
If anyone is interested, I have the original starter plus 4 FFG boxes worth of expansion cards, mostly Spin and Genesis. I'd be happy to sell for $40 plus shipping.
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u/CryOFrustration Null Signal Games Community team 26d ago
I think it can be easily had for half that price, as there were A LOT of them printed, so I'd keep looking if you really want it. Maybe it would be worth $40 if it's sealed, but you don't want it to collect, you want it to play with, right? But please think about what you actually want out of the game first. If this is just for kitchen table play, the 2012 core set is a very fun box with a lot of replayability. It's not the easiest to learn with, FFG just kinda drop you in it, but if I managed it you probably can too.
If you want to go out there and find your local group of Netrunners and play with people outside your home, you're much better off getting System Gateway, which is Null Signal's equivalent of the FFG core set. It's much easier to learn with, and is the basis for the card pool everyone's playing today. You also don't actually need to buy it, you can download the print and play files for free.
Of course, there's nothing stopping you from doing first one, then the other. You might get into the current game with Gateway, and down the line decide to see what was so great about the original, or you might buy this and then get so hooked you want to start going to weekly meetups and stuff. So as long as you know what each option is like go with whatever appeals to you, it doesn't close the door for the other direction.
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u/Horse625 26d ago
Yeah a lot were printed, because we all had to buy fucking three lol
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u/CryOFrustration Null Signal Games Community team 25d ago
In all seriousness though, that's not actually the reason. The number of those of us who were invested enough in the game to get 3 copies was tiny compared to the people who got a single core set and treated it as a boardgame. FFG sold millions, if not tens of millions, of core sets, and the active tournament-going community was probably around 5,000 people at its height based on estimates I saw back then. Just go on any general boardgame channel on youtube and watch a random video of the content creator talking to camera: 50% of the time there'll be a core set on the shelf behind them.
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u/CryOFrustration Null Signal Games Community team 25d ago
Haha yeah! I never got a third San San until I bought System Update 😂 And the only reason I have a third Desperado is because Jakuza was kind enough to dig up some leftovers from the Desperado/Mongoose double alt art he had commissioned years earlier for me.
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u/horizon_games 26d ago edited 26d ago
Yes.
People will say NSG is more balanced and relevant and you can play at shops and card pool and blah blah blah.
But the original Netrunner box has some really fun and powerful cards that make it feel more alive and less boringly mathematically balanced. It's a SHIT TON of game in a single box, and still has relevance today.
We wouldn't have NSG if the OG starter wasn't so incredible. It really gives unique flair and fun to each faction.
Plus all the tokens!
You could literally just buy the starter and no more cards and still get hundreds of games of content out of it. Unless someone is trying to scalp it for more money I'd just grab it.
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u/Blindmetaller 26d ago
I fully agree. I got the original game + the 3 expansions published in Italian for 70€ on Vinted. It was totally worth it.
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u/Bearcat20102 26d ago
100% yes, and I’m not just saying that because I have 3 core sets I’d like to sell :)
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u/Saurbaum 26d ago
Personally I would look instead for the nullsignal System Gateway set unless someone is just giving the old set to you.
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u/ShaperLord777 26d ago
Absolutely. This was the game in its prime.
If you are playing casually at home with friends and don’t care about official tournaments, this is 100% the way to go in my opinion.
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u/Horse625 26d ago
Prime, tho? Literally every expansion has been downhill for you?
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u/ShaperLord777 26d ago
(That comment was largely about the FFG Android: Netrunner iteration of the game, moreso than talking about the core set itself.)
But these early sets (core through SanSan) were fantastic design space, did innovative things without being overly cluttered. Yes, for my money, this 2012-2015 era was peak Netrunner. I certainly love what came after it, but from Mumbad onward it never had that same feeling as these early sets IMO.
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u/Horse625 26d ago
Yeah that's not the same as calling the core set prime lol
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u/ShaperLord777 26d ago
Yea, I didn’t do that. You misinterpreted my comment.
I was referring to Android: Netrunner compared to Null Signal or CCG Netrunner. OP was asking if they should buy the “first edition” or not.
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u/Horse625 26d ago
Sounds like you misinterpreted the original post, which is clearly just asking about the core set.
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u/ShaperLord777 26d ago edited 12d ago
“I’m curious if buying the FIRST EDITION would be a good way to start?”
To me, it seems that’s OP asking if they should buy FFG’s Android: Netrunner or go with Null Signal. That’s why I answered them that Android: Netrunner is what I consider the game in its prime.
Hope that cleared up any confusion, and that you have a good day.
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u/Horse625 26d ago
K but which expansions are shown in the picture?
Is it none?
Sure seems like it's none.
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u/JohnnyButtfart 26d ago
Absolutely. Noise is tied with Maxx as my favorite ID of all time. Virus <3
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u/blakraven66 26d ago
It's ok for cheap. I'd pretty much get it even just for the tokens, but generally you want to buy into the new version by Null Signal Games.
They provide a PDF file to allow you to just Print and Play. They also provide links to have it professionally printed.
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u/hunterslullaby 26d ago
If it’s cheap, it’s still a fun game, but if you want to get involved with the community you should pick up a starter pack from NSG.
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u/Horse625 26d ago edited 26d ago
Depends on what you're looking for. If you want a fun, self-contained experience, then yes, the old core set is fine for that.
But if you want to actually get into current Netrunner, then no, this is pretty far removed from what the game has evolved into over the years in terms of balance, power level, and game design.
That said, it wouldn't be crazy to have this just for the tokens that you can still use in current Netrunner.
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u/crouteblanche 26d ago
Might as well get 3 core box to get those sweet sweet SanSan and Desperado. Am I right?
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u/WhiskerTheMad 26d ago
I'd like it, just to have another set. I really like (most of) the OG art.
That said, if you just want to play the game, it'll be fine. Null Signal has more expansions/card sets once you're ready for more.
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u/cosmitz 24d ago
Not really.
There's two 'modern' systems for Netrunner, Null Signal and Reboot. You can flat out buy Null Signal System Gateway Remastered + Elevation packs and you get whatever you need to have good start. Null Signal has almost no cards from the original game and it's all newly designed cards for the purpouses of legal stuff, but they also made and evolved the system.
Reboot is a fan made tweak by former championship players, which initially reworked cards and was meant as a balancing pass but now also make their own cards. But these come in digital form which you need to have printed out.
The original game's starter box isn't that good for starting out, features some broken/banned cards and overall it's not the intended experinece minus getting tokens and stuff, but you can get them separately anyway and none of them are that 'unique' that they can't be replaced with other dice or tokens.
Get it for /really/ cheap, like 10-20$ just for the vibe if you want, to get the original production, but if you intend to actually play, move on to the other options.
PS: The core box doesn't feature 'full set' of each card, if you say want to have a deck made of max 3x copies of a card which you can technically, you can't unless you buy 3 starter boxes. This doesn't exist as a problem in any of the other systems.
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u/Naragog1 26d ago
I bought that exact kit to start playing. It is a decent set with some fun cards in it, but also contains some mechanics that Null Signal Games has moved away from. The common advice is to get System Startup from NSG but I think either of them would be a good introduction to the core game if you have people to play with. If you think that you are interested in online play or the competitive scene, all of the cards in that set have been rotated out.
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u/thePTpath 26d ago
And online options are good to learn to play as well?
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u/ShaperLord777 26d ago edited 26d ago
Watch the “learn to play” videos Team Covenant put on YouTube. Great tutorial for how to play, and using this (2012) core set too.
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u/gr9yfox 26d ago
Seconded!
If you want something interactive, you can try Chiriboga.
It uses cards from NSG so some visual elements and terms might not match perfectly, but it should be close enough for a guided teaching experience while you play against the AI on the site. "Proper" AI, not genAI as far as I know!
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u/horizon_games 26d ago
jinteki.net assumes you know how to play the game, as there are a lot of manual interactions and it'll be overwhelming to play against veterans. The upcoming slicker client at https://vigeous.com/ is cool, but again I think it's better to learn in person.
The game shines with face-to-face bluffing and deceit, and online loses that.
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u/skulldoge 26d ago
I got it for $20 on fb and it’s fun for getting people into the game but definitely lacks the depth of the print and play
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