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Meta Snapshot #9

Patch Overview

Updated: 27 July 2019

First published: 15 July 2019 (Game version: 3.0.3)

 

Contributors

Consultants: Adzikov, Damorquis, Jamedi, JMJWilson23, Kochua, Kolemoen, Molegion, Santtu2x, Sergi2Vamos.
Editors: Apero, Kochua
Manager: JMJWilson23

Tier 1

Decks in this tier have favourable matchups against the majority of lower tier decks and some favourable matchups against other Tier 1 lists. Another criterion is that these decks should be able to win against lower-tier decks on blue coin most of the time.

 

Tier 2

Decks in this tier can beat Tier 1 decks if the player can access its full potential, or are strong decks with a clear counter; in addition, these decks should win consistently against lower tiers.

 

Tier 3

While decks in this tier remain good laddering options that can successfully achieve high winrates, they can struggle to achieve the same winrate when matched up against decks we place in higher tiers. They may make for strong tournament options.

 

Honorable Mentions

Decks here aren't strong or popular enough to be tiered, but have enough potential to be better with the adequate support cards. They may win against unsuspecting opponents and can make for interesting tournament options, but are otherwise worth just keeping an eye on.


Written by Jamedi; Consultation: Damorquis, JMJWilson23 and SwanDive

 

What is a Meta Snapshot?

A Meta Snapshot is a comprehensive list of the decks which are played in a CCG. The decks are ordered by criteria, accounting for their power level through a tier (used by Team Aretuza & Team Nova), star or numerical system. If you would like to discuss our current Meta Snapshot, you can join our Discord server.

 

Which kind of criteria are used to classify a deck into a tier?

While the list of criteria is extensive, here are the most important aspects:

  • Power level is the amount of points a deck can output in comparison to others in the meta. In general, decks of higher tiers tend to have a greater number of unconditional points without depending on what rival decks do.
  • Consistency is focused on the draw dependency of a deck and the amount of thinning this deck has. Better thinning means more consistency, which usually means easier access to higher-value cards. If a deck is too dependent on drawing one or two certain cards but runs no thinning, it lacks consistency.
  • Counterability is the difficulty that other decks have to tech for the matchup against a certain deck and how much they need to sacrifice to improve the matchup. In Gwent, there are a lot of ways to prepare a deck for a concrete matchup and we can expect players to tech against the strongest/most popular decks of the metagame. The capability of a deck to win despite teching plays a role in its tier placement.

The data are collected by the players in several hundred matches and is then translated into the Snapshot. While the normal ladder experience can be different, tiered decks are good to climb the ladder to Pro Rank with relative ease.

 

What is the meaning of the different tiers?
  • Tier 1: Decks in this tier are the strongest, the most difficult to counter and heavily influence how decks in other tiers adapt.
  • Tier 2: Usually this tier covers decks which are still good, but due to some reason, they cannot be qualified as Tier 1. They usually have less strength than Tier 1 decks or have another factor that makes them slightly worse than top tier decks. In some particular metagames, a deck can be Tier 2 due to how easy it is to tech against it.
  • Tier 3: Decks in this category are still viable for climbing the ranked ladder, but they encounter more difficulty at high fMMR. They can still be used as tournament picks (in formats in which you can ban). They may still have favorable matchups versus some Tier 1 decks, but they are usually unfavored. Decks which are inconsistent or too draw-dependent also fall into this category.
  • Honorable Mentions: Here, we put decks whose strength is not enough to be tiered, but which have the potential to be much better with some support. These decks are always worth keeping an eye on. A deck which has been discovered recently and has not been played enough to be tiered can also fall into this category.

 

My experience differs from what you describe in the Snapshot. Does this mean that the Snapshot is not accurate?

Short answer, no. Long answer, there are a huge number of factors that can influence the development of a matchup between two players with their respective decks, which includes player skill, knowledge of the matchup and the respective decks, cards drawn and how they have played the match. Also, it is worth noting that a meta snapshot represents a picture of how the meta is in a particular moment. “Tiers” as defined above are never rigid constructs. In any given day, the meta can shift dramatically.

In general, inexperienced players tend to play worse and with more unpredictable lists. As we move up on the ladder, decklists tend to be more optimized, sometimes influenced by content creators such as popular streamers or the most recent meta snapshot. Reaching Pro Rank, we can expect to face the best possible players with the most optimized decklists.

 

I have a different list from the one shown in the Snapshot. Does this mean that one of the lists is incorrect?

Lists provided in our snapshots are usually stock lists, which are supposed to be a base to be modified according to the meta you are currently facing and your own playstyle. The tech section provides some card replacement options which may be more effective within a particular meta. This normally does not affect a deck’s overall consistency.

 

I haven’t seen this deck which appears in the Snapshot / I play this list or this archetype and it isn’t in the Snapshot.

The Snapshot tries to be as accurate and complete as possible. We release an initial snapshot as soon as the meta has settled after a game patch and make as many updates as possible afterwards. If a deck is not included, it will most likely be added in one of the next updates, as we try to prioritize the most popular and relevant decks. Despite that, we have to skip some decks which are unpopular or are very similar to existing ones. If you would like to be informed about our updates, feel free to check our website regularly or follow Team Aretuza or Team Nova on Twitter or Discord.

 

Are you just including the most popular decks/FOTM lists? Do you keep the best lists for yourselves?

No. While it is true that part of our work is to try and create a representation of the meta that is as accurate as possible and this, of course, includes the popularity of decks, popularity has no impact on how decks are tiered. We do not keep the best lists for ourselves. We are creating meta snapshots to share our collective knowledge of this game and provide players of all levels with a more enjoyable Gwent experience.

 

Do you have more questions? Join the discussion on Discord!


Tier 1

Overview

One of the most unique decks offered by Syndicate, this archetype at its core takes advantage of Crime and swarm synergies simultaneously. Our game plan is highly flexible and can change based upon the matchup at hand. Some of the key resources, mainly Sacred Flame and Portal, can be distributed between the three rounds in order to trade for opponent resources in the most efficient manner. The deck offers a high point ceiling when it is left to its own devices, but it can be countered. It is difficult to remove all of the engine produced by Whoreson Senior and Portal (on Cutup Lackey), so these are one of our main sources of power especially when pushing Round 1 or Round 2. Swarm synergies with Sacred Flame, Congregation, and Grand Inquisitor Helveed make up the other half of our strategy.

Essential Cards

  • Portal is typically used to pull two Cutup Lackeys in this deck, creating a strong engine that can yield 4 points of damage any turn we play a card with the Crime tag. However, we run three targets with the inclusion of Bare-Knuckle Brawler. Most of the time, we will seek to thin this card out of the deck before playing Portal by using it as our target for Novigradian Justice, ensuring Portal will play two Cutup Lackeys. Portal can be used in Round 1 to push for the round while thinning our deck or in Round 2 while the opponent is trying to bleed key resources out of us. It is important to develop this card early into Round 2 to try to force the opponent out of the round before they can make us commit all of our ways to spend Coins. 
  • Sacred Flame is the key element of the swarm package in the deck. It trades well into artifact removal relative to other high-cost artifacts so it is strong even in a meta featuring artifact removal. One concern with this package is that we can easily swarm the board too much and potentially reach the row limit on both rows before playing out all of our cards, so it is important to bear this in mind when determining how and when to commit Sacred Flame.
     

Pros

  • Strong against control decks by giving very few targets and playing low base-strength units
  • Adaptable game plan that can work in most round lengths

Cons

  • Counterable by row-punish effects such as Lacerate
  • Weak to bleeding from some powerful decks in Round 2, as we can have most resources forced into this round. It is particularly devastating to have all of our methods to spend Coins forced into Round 2.


Tech Choices

  • Procession of Penance, Cleaver's Muscle ⇒ Adalbertus Kalkstein, Bare-Knuckle Brawler
  • Tunnel Drill, Procession of Penance, Cleaver's Muscle ⇒ Horst Borsodi, Coerced Blacksmith, Bare-Knuckle Brawler

One of the strenghts of this list is that it plays wide rather than tall and thus makes opponent tall-removal cards essentially dead. One card stands out and goes against this trend: Procession of Penance. Technically, we can play around cards such as Geralt of Rivia with it, but it plays as a vanilla 7-point card and is not very enticing. If we want to fully deny opponent tall punish, we can remove Procession. The replacement, Adalbertus Kalkstein, is a solid tech choice against Bounty decks and the 2 Coins gained from its Profit ability align nicely with Grand Inquisitor Helveed, which can convert them into 3 points when used in conjunction with Sacred Flame.

The second change seeks to shore up one potential weakness of the deck, which is drawing too many Crimes that generate Coins relative to ways to spend the Coins. Adding two proactive Coin spenders in Horst Borsodi and Coerced Blacksmith reduces the odds that this situation arises but also costs us power by cutting Procession of Penance. Replacing Cleaver's Muscle with a second copy of Bare-Knuckle Brawler also reduces the consistency of Portal pulling two Cutup Lackeys, so this change definitely has downsides as well. Removing Tunnel Drill is of course not recommended when decks that feature artifacts heavily are prominent in one's local meta.

6,370 25 14 166

  • 16
    Cyrus Hemmelfart
    Leader
    Cyrus Hemmelfart Order: Spawn a Firesworn Zealot and Summon him to an allied row. Charge: 3. When all Charges are depleted, gain 2 Coins.
  • 12
    Portal
    Portal Deploy: Summon a random unit with 4 Provision Cost from your deck on both sides of this card.
  • 11
    Sacred Flame
    Sacred Flame Deploy: Spawn a Firesworn Zealot and Summon it on both sides of this card. Whenever you Spawn a unit, boost it by 1.
  • 11
    Novigradian Justice
    Novigradian Justice Play a bronze unit from your deck. If it was a Dwarf, Spawn a copy of it and Summon it to the same row.
  • 6
    10
    Whoreson Senior
    Whoreson Senior Intimidate. Deploy: Transform an adjacent unit into a Cutup Lackey. Tribute 3: Transform adjacent units into Cutup Lackeys instead.
  • 4
    10
    Grand Inquisitor Helveed
    Grand Inquisitor Helveed Profit 4. Fee 2: Spawn a Firesworn Zealot and Summon him to this row.
  • 3
    10
    Philippa Eilhart
    Philippa Eilhart Deploy: Spend a number of Coins equal to an enemy unit's power, then Seize it.
  • 4
    9
    Moreelse
    Moreelse Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 4. Tribute 6: Destroy it instead.
  • 2
    9
    Ferko the Sculptor
    Ferko the Sculptor Deploy (Melee): Play a Crime from your deck.
  • 4
    8
    Ewald Borsodi
    Ewald Borsodi Profit 2. If Horst Borsodi is in your graveyard, increase this card's initial Profit by 2. Fee 2 (Melee): Damage an enemy unit by 2.
  • 10
    6
    Procession of Penance
    Procession of Penance Deploy: Damage self by 6. Reduce the damage by 1 for every Firesworn Zealot you control.
  • 5
    6
    Tunnel Drill
    Tunnel Drill Profit 1. Fee 3 (Melee): Destroy an artifact.
  • 6
    Congregation
    Congregation Spawn 2 Firesworn Zealots and Summon them to an allied row. If you have no Coins, Spawn 3 Firesworn Zealots instead.
  • 5
    Dip in the Pontar
    x2
    Dip in the Pontar Profit 3. Damage an enemy unit by 3.
  • 5
    Eavesdrop
    Eavesdrop Profit 4. Draw a card, then put a card from your hand at the bottom of your deck.
  • 5
    5
    Cleaver's Muscle
    Cleaver's Muscle Shield.
  • 3
    5
    Witch Hunter Executioner
    x2
    Witch Hunter Executioner Profit 2. Fee 1: Give Bleeding to a unit for 1 turn. If it has a Bounty, damage it by 1 instead.
  • 4
    Slander
    x2
    Slander Profit 3. Place a Bounty on an enemy unit.
  • 4
    Swindle
    x2
    Swindle Profit a random amount between 4 and 6.
  • 4
    4
    Bare-Knuckle Brawler
    Bare-Knuckle Brawler Intimidate.
  • 4
    4
    Cutup Lackey
    x2
    Cutup Lackey Whenever you play a Crime card, damage a random enemy unit by 1. Bonded: Increase the damage by 1.

Matchups

Favorable against
Struggles against

Tier 2

Tier 3

Honorable Mentions