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, 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
Tier 2
Overview
One of the more present archetypes throughout Homecoming, a Draug-centric King Henselt deck offers some of the same gameplay experience we have come to expect from the Northern Realms faction. A somewhat robust engine deck that also contains burst potential through Henselt’s leader ability can prove a dangerous combination for the opponent if they lack tools to deal with it. The deck has a combination of engines and high-tempo plays, making it a worthy contender in most round lengths. In shorter rounds, the deck is typically carried by card advantage gained by generating value over time in Round 2 while being bled. In a longer round, the engines overwhelm the opposition before a Draug finisher seals the game.
Essential Cards
- As the namesake of the archetype, of course Draug is a key piece within the deck. We focus on playing as many solid Humans as possible in order to generate a powerful Draug finisher by converting Human into a Kaedweni Revenant. Typically, this is a card used in Round 3, but we can also play it in Round 1 to secure the round without using Henselt’s leader ability.
- One thing the Northern Realms faction typically lacks is immediate removal to answer opponent threats. Ves is our solution to this problem, dealing with engines immediately while also developing a threat on our own board. The ability to grant Zeal to another unit gives us great reach and removal potential with Seltkirk of Gulet or ensures that we get the thinning and tempo from successfully executing the Order ability of Blue Stripes Commando.
Pros
- Engine-based strategy that is powerful in a long round
- King Henselt's leader ability gives us a tempo burst and lets us develop two engines simultaneously to gain an edge in matches against other engine decks
Cons
- As any engine-heavy deck, we are weak to removal.
- Gimpy Gerwin makes Draug a risky play in some metas.
Tech Choices
- Roach, Nenneke, Temerian Drummer ⇒ Keira Metz, Alzur's Double–Cross, Necromancy
- Yennefer: Conjurer, Nenneke, Temerian Drummer ⇒ Gregoire de Gorgon, Ronvid the Incessant, Gimpy Gerwin
One option we have is to make it more combo-oriented by introducing a consistency package to ensure we get maximum value of both Count Caldwell and Draug. The idea is to use Caldwell and Draug to secure Round 1, which transforms Caldwell into a bronze Kaedweni Revenant. In Round 3, we use Necromancy on that 10-power Revenant and utilize King Henselt's leader ability to pull another from the deck. This immediately develops a high-tempo 17-point threat.
We can also shift away from a mostly engine strategy to one that includes additional tempo plays and removal in the form of Gregoire de Gorgon and Gimpy Gerwin. Both are Humans (as is Ronvid the Incessant), so they power up our Draug finisher while also providing utility that we are otherwise lacking. This package is better when being bled out of resources in the case of losing Round 1, so this is something to keep in mind when playing the deck.
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17King Henselt
Order: Play a copy of an allied unit on the battlefield from your deck, boost it by 4, and give it Zeal.
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713Draug
Deploy: Transform all allied Human units into Kaedweni Revenants without changing their power.
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510Yennefer: Conjurer
Order: Damage the highest enemy unit(s) by 1.
Cooldown: 1.
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310Roach
Whenever you play a gold card, Summon this unit from your deck to a random allied row.
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69Nenneke
Order (Ranged): Boost a unit by 1.
Charge: 3.
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59Seltkirk of Gulet
Order (Melee): Duel an enemy unit.
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108Count Caldwell
Every allied turn, on turn end, move to the row with the highest unit on the battlefield.
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58Botchling
Every allied turn, on turn end, damage the highest enemy unit by 1.
Order: Transform into Lubberkin.
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58Margarita Laux-Antille
Zeal.
Order: Spend 3 Charges to Lock an enemy unit.
Charge: 3.
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48Síle de Tansarville
Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2.
Order: Damage an enemy unit by 2.
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38Ves
Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 4.
Order: Give an allied unit Zeal.
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26Vincent Meis
Zeal.
Order (Melee): Set the power of a non-boosted enemy to 1.
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16Sabrina Glevissig
Spying.
Deathwish: Damage all units on this row by 2.
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46Blue Stripes Commandox2
Order: Summon all copies of this unit from your deck to this row.
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46Temerian Drummer
Order: Boost an allied unit by 1 and give it Zeal.
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45Cintrian Spellweaverx2
Order: Damage a unit by 1.
Charge: 1.
Gain 1 Charge whenever you play a Mage.
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35Kaedweni Revenantx2
Order: Damage a unit by 1.
Deathblow: Spawn a base copy of Kaedweni Revenant and Summon it to this row.
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35Lyrian Arbalestx2
Order: Damage a unit by 1.
Charge: 1.
Gain 1 Charge whenever you play a card with Orders.
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44Blue Stripes Scoutx2
Deploy (Melee): Spawn a copy of a bronze allied unit at the bottom of your deck.
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34Cintrian Enchantressx2
Deploy (Ranged): Give an allied unit Vitality for 2 turns.
Bonded: Give it Vitality for 4 turns instead.
