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Meta Snapshot #7

Patch Overview

Published: 6 April 2019 (Game version: 2.0.0.66_562).

Changelog:
- 24 April 2019: Added Bran Control and Burst Henselt decklists.

Contributors

Consultants: Adzikov, Damorquis, Jamedi, JMJWilson23, KochuaKolemoen, MolegionSanttu2x, 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

Tier 2

Tier 3

Overview

Another example of a highly linear deck, Bran Beasts plays out with a fairly straightforward gameplan: Spend the early rounds populating the graveyard with Beasts and then slam Tuirseach Bearmasters in later rounds as high-value finishers. The deck offers almost no interactivity with the opponent’s board, focusing merely on generating as much value as possible on our own side. The early rounds, in particular Round 2, can be tricky to navigate against some of the more powerful meta decks. Yet, when we reach the third round, the burst potential in very few cards is one of the highest around.

 

Essential Cards

  • The core of the deck is of course unlocking the potential of Tuirseach Bearmaster. We play as many Beasts as possible without completely gimping the deck as a whole in order to generate carryover value with Bearmasters in the later rounds. For a medium-provision card, the power ceiling of this card is quite impressive and allows the deck to expend some high-cost resources to set up the perfect Round 3 situation.
  • In our quest to find as many Beasts as possible, one option stands out and that is Operator. It is essentially a “2 for 1” in that it generates an additional Beast from hand. The desired combo with Operator is to create an additional Savage Bear which can then immediately destroy the copy of Savage Bear the opponent receives. This generates carryover for Tuirseach Bearmaster (by putting extra Beasts in the graveyard) and our existing copies of Savage Bear (by placing another Savage Bear in the graveyard to strengthen all future copies).


Pros

  • High point ceiling with a high degree of consistency due to the vast number of Discard effects
  • Plays no engines, so opponent removal is relatively weak

Cons

  • Vulnerable to tall unit punish and Reset effects, especially when generating multiple Beasts in the final round is impossible
  • Has no control and often is forced to give up the first round so decks that play engines can be very effective against us

 

Tech Choices

  • OlafKambi
  • Olaf, Jutta an Dimun, Spores, Trophy CatchGermain Piquant, Decoy, Spring Equinox (x2)

The inclusion of Olaf in this deck allows us to take advantage of the synergy between Raging Bear and Svalblod Totem and is not very risky as this list already has targets for tall-unit removal. An alternative to this strategy, and one with a potentially higher payoff, is Kambi. While a high variance card, Kambi allows two possible lines of play. First, we have the option to play for high tempo in Round 1 when going first to force the opponent to go down multiple cards. At this point, we can play Kambi in Round 2 to make the opponent’s hand go below seven cards and gain card advantage for the final round. As always, we can also simply save a weak card, Tuirseach Skirmisher, or Morkvarg as the rightmost card in our hand to Discard with Kambi and hopefully Discard a strong card from the opponent.

An alternative strategy for the deck is to go more “all in” on Tuirseach Bearmaster value. This version adds Germain Piquant to combo with Spring Equinox and generate massive carryover value on Bearmaster. Spring Equinox is able to Purify all the Cows Spawned by Germain and remove the Doomed tag from them, thus putting them in the graveyard to strengthen later Bearmaster plays. The Spring Equinox cards can always be Discarded with Coral for additional tempo when this line of play does not present itself. Decoy is a natural inclusion with this strategy. The deck thins to 0 cards remaining, so Decoy utilized on Bearmaster ensures that another Bearmaster is pulled from the deck at 100% odds.

0 25 20 166

  • 16
    Bran Tuirseach
    Leader
    Bran Tuirseach Order: Discard a card, then draw a card. On round start, refresh this ability. Whenever you Discard a card, damage a random enemy unit by 1.
  • 10
    Svalblod Totem
    Svalblod Totem Deploy: Spawn a Svalblod Fanatic on both sides of this card. Order: Damage adjacent units by 2.
  • 8
    10
    Olaf
    Olaf Order: Boost Olaf by twice the amount he is damaged.
  • 5
    10
    Birna Bran
    Birna Bran Deploy: Draw 2 cards, then Discard 2 cards.
  • 5
    10
    Operator
    Operator Deploy: Spawn and Summon a base copy of a bronze unit from your hand to this row on each player's side.
  • 3
    10
    Roach
    Roach Whenever you play a gold card, Summon this unit from your deck to a random allied row.
  • 5
    9
    Morkvarg
    Morkvarg If this unit moves to the graveyard during the round, Summon it to the melee row and give it Doomed.
  • 4
    9
    Coral
    Coral Zeal. Order: Discard a card, then draw a card. Charge: 2. Whenever you Discard a special card, damage an enemy unit by 2.
  • 12
    8
    Jutta an Dimun
    Jutta an Dimun Deploy: If Jutta an Dimun is the highest unit, damage self by 6.
  • 4
    7
    Ulfhedinn
    Ulfhedinn Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by half of its current power.
  • 7
    Freya's Blessing
    x2
    Freya's Blessing Play a bronze unit from your graveyard.
  • 6
    6
    Raging Bear
    x2
    Raging Bear Deploy: Damage an allied unit to the left by 1. If there is no allied unit, damage self by 1 instead.
  • 5
    6
    Elder Bear
    Elder Bear No ability.
  • 1
    6
    Tuirseach Bearmaster
    x2
    Tuirseach Bearmaster Deploy: Boost an allied Beast unit by 2. Increase the boost by 1 for every Beast in your graveyard.
  • 3
    5
    Heymaey Skald
    Heymaey Skald Deploy: Discard a card, then draw a card.
  • 2
    5
    Savage Bear
    x2
    Savage Bear Zeal. Deploy: Gain 1 Charge for each Savage Bear in your graveyard. Order: Damage a unit by 2. Charge: 1.
  • 4
    Spores
    Spores Restore a unit to its base power.
  • 4
    Trophy Catch
    Trophy Catch Move an enemy to the other row and damage it by the number of units on that row.
  • 2
    4
    Tuirseach Skirmisher
    x2
    Tuirseach Skirmisher When this unit is Discarded, Summon it from your graveyard to the melee row.
  • 2
    4
    Wolf Pack
    x2
    Wolf Pack Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2.

Honorable Mentions