TLDR
The Netrunner bad publicity rule 2026 update creates a separate Bad Publicity fund whenever the Runner initiates a run. After announcing the attacked server, the Runner adds one credit to that fund for each Bad Publicity the Corp has. Those credits are controlled by the Runner and can be spent during that run, but they are not part of the Runner’s normal credit pool. Any that remain when the run ends return to the bank.
The practical result is familiar but the bookkeeping matters: Bad Publicity still helps the Runner pay for a run, yet it no longer temporarily inflates the Runner’s ordinary credit pool. The fund is created once at the start of the run, so a change to the Corp’s Bad Publicity during that run affects the next run rather than recalculating the current fund.
What changed in the 2026 Bad Publicity rule?
Under the March 2026 Comprehensive Rules 26.03 update, Bad Publicity produces credits in a dedicated fund instead of adding those credits to the Runner’s normal pool. You can verify the current wording in the Netrunner Comprehensive Rules.
That distinction creates three separate questions at the table: how many ordinary credits does the Runner have, how many credits are in the Bad Publicity fund, and when can the temporary fund be used? Keeping those quantities separate prevents the fund from being mistaken for permanent Runner economy.
| Property | Bad Publicity fund | Runner’s normal credit pool |
|---|---|---|
| When it receives these credits | After the attacked server is announced at run initiation | Not increased by creation of the Bad Publicity fund |
| How long the credits remain | For the current run | Until spent or changed by another game effect |
| What happens to unspent credits | They return to the bank when the run ends | They normally remain in the pool |
| Does a mid-run Bad Publicity change recalculate it? | No | Not applicable |
This is more than a cosmetic change. If a card or rule cares about credits in the Runner’s credit pool, the Bad Publicity fund is not included merely because the Runner controls and can spend those credits. Check the exact current wording of the effect involved rather than treating every controlled credit as part of the same pool.
When is the Bad Publicity fund created?
The relevant sequence is straightforward: the Runner initiates a run, announces the attacked server, and then adds one credit to the Bad Publicity fund for each Bad Publicity the Corp currently has.
- The Runner initiates a run.
- The Runner announces which server is being attacked.
- Count the Corp’s current Bad Publicity.
- Add that many credits from the bank to the Bad Publicity fund.
- Keep the fund separate from the Runner’s ordinary credits for the duration of the run.
The server announcement matters because the fund belongs to a specific run. It is not a standing reserve created at the beginning of the Runner’s turn, and it does not wait between runs. If you need a broader refresher on the purpose of attacks and accesses, the overview of what the Runner and Corp are trying to accomplish provides the strategic context.
A complete example with two Bad Publicity
Suppose the Runner has 5 credits in their normal credit pool, and the Corp has 2 Bad Publicity.
- The Runner initiates a run and announces HQ as the attacked server.
- Because the Corp has 2 Bad Publicity at that moment, the Runner adds 2 credits to the Bad Publicity fund.
- The Runner now tracks 5 credits in the normal pool and 2 credits in the fund. This is not a single pool of 7 credits.
- During the run, the Runner may spend the fund credits on costs they are permitted to pay during that run. Ordinary credits can also be used as appropriate.
- If the Runner spends both fund credits, the fund is empty. Their ordinary pool changes only by whatever ordinary credits they also spent.
- If one fund credit remains when the run ends, that credit returns to the bank. It does not enter the Runner’s normal pool or carry into another run.
Now add a mid-run change: after the fund was created with 2 credits, the Corp gains another Bad Publicity. The current fund stays at 2; it does not receive a third credit. If the Corp still has 3 Bad Publicity when the Runner initiates a later run, that later run creates a fund with 3 credits.
What if Bad Publicity changes during the run?
Treat the fund as a snapshot of the Corp’s Bad Publicity at the specified moment during run initiation. Once created, it is not continuously linked to the Corp’s current total.
If the Corp gains Bad Publicity
The current fund does not increase. The higher total matters when a later run begins. In decision terms, the Runner has learned that future attacks may receive more temporary spending power, but the current attack must proceed with the fund it already created.
If the Corp loses Bad Publicity
The current fund does not shrink. Credits already placed in it remain available for the current run until spent or until the run ends. A later run uses the Corp’s newly reduced Bad Publicity total.
For example, if a run creates a three-credit fund and the Corp’s Bad Publicity falls from 3 to 1 during that run, the current fund remains at three credits. Assuming no further changes, the next run would create a one-credit fund. This fixed snapshot makes timing predictable for both players.
Do Bad Publicity credits count as normal Runner credits?
No. The Comprehensive Rules say the credits in the Bad Publicity fund are controlled by the Runner and may be spent during the run, but they are not in the Runner’s credit pool.
“Controlled by the Runner” and “in the Runner’s credit pool” are therefore different concepts. Control tells you who can use the fund. Location tells you whether an effect that refers specifically to the normal credit pool sees those credits. When an unusual card interaction depends on that distinction, use the current card text together with the current rules rather than relying on an older physical printing.
A simple table habit helps: place the temporary credits beside a Bad Publicity reminder rather than mixing them into the Runner’s credit pile. That physical separation mirrors the rules and makes it obvious which credits will disappear at the end of the run.
How should the Runner spend the fund?
As a general strategy heuristic, spend eligible Bad Publicity-fund credits before ordinary credits when doing so has no interaction cost. The fund expires at the end of the run, while ordinary credits can support later runs, installs, and paid abilities. Preserving flexible economy usually creates more options for the rest of the turn.
That is a heuristic, not an additional rule. Current card text or a particular ability may make the source or timing of a payment relevant. The important mental model is opportunity cost: every fund credit left unused disappears, while every ordinary credit preserved may fund later pressure.
The Corp should make the same calculation from the opposite side. Bad Publicity reduces the economic burden of attacking repeatedly, but only if the Runner can turn those temporary credits into useful pressure. A cheap or undefended server may not consume the fund at all. A costly central server can let the Runner convert most or all of it into progress.
Liability, illicit, and the returning-player terminology change
The Bad Publicity fund arrived alongside a related card-language update in the Vantage Point materials. Null Signal Games describes cards that can give the Corp Bad Publicity as receiving the liability subtype, while illicit was retired from the affected cards.
This terminology change should not be confused with the fund procedure. Liability is a subtype appearing on relevant cards. The Bad Publicity fund is the rules structure that determines how the Runner receives and uses temporary credits during a run.
Returning players may therefore encounter older physical cards whose printed subtype or wording no longer matches the current text. The practical response is to check live card text rather than infer the current rule from an older printing. Null Signal’s Major Changes overview points players to NetrunnerDB for up-to-date card text.
Vantage Point is also the release associated with this return and terminology update, with Null Signal giving March 2, 2026 as its release date. Readers catching up on that release can also review the site’s overview of Vantage Point as a Netrunner set.
A table-ready Bad Publicity checklist
- Announce the attacked server before calculating the fund.
- Count the Corp’s Bad Publicity at that moment.
- Place one credit in the separate fund for each Bad Publicity.
- Do not add those credits to the Runner’s normal credit pool.
- Use the fund only during the current run.
- Do not recalculate it if the Corp gains or loses Bad Publicity mid-run.
- Return every unspent fund credit to the bank when the run ends.
- Use the Corp’s updated Bad Publicity total when the next run begins.
- Check the current Comprehensive Rules and live card text for unusual interactions.
The rule to remember
The shortest accurate mental model is: snapshot, spend, return. Snapshot the Corp’s Bad Publicity after the attacked server is announced. Put that many credits into a separate Runner-controlled fund. Spend them during the run where permitted, then return anything left to the bank when the run ends.
For most games, physically separating the fund from the Runner’s normal credits will prevent the important errors. It keeps temporary run economy from looking permanent, makes mid-run Bad Publicity changes easier to resolve, and leaves both players with a clear picture of what the Runner can carry into the next decision.