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Meta Snapshot #8

Patch Overview

Updated: 14 June 2019 (Game version: 2.2.0.24)
First published: 13 May 2019 (Game version: 2.1.0.57)

  • 14 June 2019:
  • 07 June 2019:
    • Updated the following lists to reflect the recent balance patch:
      Arachas Queen Consume, Artifact Arachas, Brouver Midrange, Calveit Swarm, Crach Control, Dana Harmony, Eithné Deathblow, Emhyr Midrange, Henselt Draug, Svalblod Selfwound.
    • Temporarily removed the following lists, as we have yet to adjust them to the recent balance patch:
      Ardal Tactics, Arnjolf Control, Big Woodland, Brouver Traps, Deathwish, Dwarves, Humans Northern Realms, Shupe Nilfgaard, Shupe Northern Realms.
    • Tier adjustments:
  • 24 May 2019:
    • Added an FAQ
    • Added Artifact Arachas and Brouver Midrange
    • Updated Crach Control deck list
    • Tier adjustments:
      • Big Woodland Tier 2 ⇒ Tier 3
      • Shupe Nilfgaard Tier 2 ⇒ Tier 3
      • Ardal Tactics Tier 3 ⇒ HM
      • Shupe Northern Realms Tier 3 ⇒ HM
      • Dwarves Tier 3 ⇒ Tier 2
      • Crach Control Tier 3 ⇒ Tier 2
  • 19 May 2019:
    • Added links to PlayGwent.com for easy deck importing.
  • 17 May 2019:
    • Added Ardal Tactics, Arnjolf Control, Dana Harmony, Deathwish and Humans Northern Realms
    • Added new matchup section for Tier 1 and Tier 2 decks
       

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

Tier 3

Overview

The Nilfgaard rework has provided this beloved faction with this new point-slam archetype. Its game plan is relatively simple: We aim for a long Round 3, in which we swarm the board with Soldiers, such as Daerlan Soldiers or using Vrygheff, to win the round using Bone Talisman or Triss: Telekinesis for a 20-point swing. This archetype is slightly weak in comparison to top tier decks, but it still has a lot of potential.

 

Essential Cards

  • Triss: Telekinesis was among the most popular cards in beta Gwent and has now received a slight buff that makes it an interesting play in combination with Bone Talisman, acting as a finisher for our swarm strategy. The back-up target for Triss is Lacerate.
  • Vrygheff is a Soldier support card, which, in combination with Daerlan Soldiers, helps us to swarm our board very quickly. It can also be used on Slave Infantry to maximise our Vreemde value.


Pros

  • Great long rounds due to swarm strategy

Cons

 

Tech Choices

  • Roach ⇒ Yennefer of Vengerberg

While the stock list presented in this Snapshot is relatively optimized, we can opt to use a more classic swarm finisher, Yennefer of Vengerberg, to further our win condition. This can be useful in niche scenarios such as the Arachas Queen matchup (nuking all Arachas Drones). However, this swap might make other matchups worse for Calveit Swarm, as many tiered decks prefer longer rounds where our ability to swarm units flourishes.

3,780 25 23 167

  • 17
    Jan Calveit
    Leader
    Jan Calveit Order: Look at the top 3 cards from your deck and play one.
  • 2
    11
    Triss: Telekinesis
    Triss: Telekinesis Deploy (Ranged): Create and play a bronze special card from either player's starting deck.
  • 3
    10
    Cleaver
    Cleaver Deploy: Damage a unit by 1 for every card in your hand.
  • 3
    10
    Roach
    Roach Whenever you play a gold card, Summon this unit from your deck to a random allied row.
  • 3
    10
    Sweers
    Sweers Deploy (Melee): Seize an enemy unit with 3 or less power.
  • 3
    10
    Vivienne de Tabris
    Vivienne de Tabris Deploy: Set a unit's power to its Provision Cost.
  • 3
    9
    Vrygheff
    Vrygheff Deploy: Trigger the Deploy abilities of adjacent bronze Soldiers.
  • 6
    8
    Assire var Anahid
    Assire var Anahid Deploy (Melee): Shuffle a card from the opponent's graveyard into their deck. Deploy (Ranged): Shuffle a card from your graveyard into your deck.
  • 4
    7
    Vreemde
    Vreemde Deploy: Boost an allied Soldier and all copies of it by 2.
  • 7
    Bone Talisman
    Bone Talisman Boost all allied units by 1.
  • 7
    Lacerate
    Lacerate Damage all units on a row by 2.
  • 5
    7
    Slave Infantry
    x2
    Slave Infantry Deploy: Transform an allied unit into Slave Infantry.
  • 3
    6
    Peter Saar Gwynleve
    Peter Saar Gwynleve Deploy: Restore a unit to its base power.
  • 3
    6
    Daerlan Soldier
    x2
    Daerlan Soldier Deploy: Spawn a base copy of this unit and Summon it to this row.
  • 3
    6
    Impera Brigade
    x2
    Impera Brigade Deploy (Melee): Summon all copies of this unit from your deck to this row.
  • 3
    5
    Recruit
    x2
    Recruit Deploy: Boost an allied Soldier by 3.
  • 4
    4
    Deithwen Arbalest
    x2
    Deithwen Arbalest Deploy (Melee): Banish a card from your opponent's graveyard. Deploy (Ranged): Banish a card from your graveyard.
  • 4
    4
    Infiltrator
    x2
    Infiltrator Melee: On round end, shuffle this unit into your opponent's deck.
  • 2
    4
    Toussaint Knight-Errant
    x2
    Toussaint Knight-Errant Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2. If it has at least 6 power, damage it by 4 instead.

Matchups

Favorable against
Struggles against

Honorable Mentions