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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

Honorable Mentions

Overview

A classic deck returns to give Northern Realms the most point-slam-focused archetype available to them. The basic idea is to thin out our Blue Stripes Commandos from the deck, Spawning multiple copies of them with Blue Stripes Scout or Reinforcements (ideally onto another Scout), and gain enough tempo to get out of the round safely. Princess Pavetta is usually used to move them all back from the graveyard to the deck, and then all of them can be pulled in one powerful play, swarming the field with Humans that can be converted into Kaedweni Revenants using Draug. This is our finishing play. The deck does not run a great number of King Foltest targets, making it easier to apply the Charges to some of the Revenants later in the game for even more value.

  

Essential Cards

  • Draug is our finisher and the main reason why our deck is full of Humans. Onto a board swarming with Humans, its ability to generate Kaedweni Revenants is immense, representing huge value if we are able to align some 1-strength units, or decent value even if we cannot. Draug is hard-countered by Gimpy Gerwin, but after its nerf last patch, its presence has decreased.
  • Princess Pavetta enables us to play Blue Stripes Commando in Round 1, generating a good amount of tempo which hopefully lets us win the round. After that, we use Pavetta to return all the copies to the deck to re-Summon in Round 3, swarming the field in one or two turns to provide more Human bodies for Draug.

 
Pros

  • Northern Realms’ point-slam deck: Good matchup against control decks in comparison to other NR decks
  • Ability to generate tempo using only bronzes in Round 1 with Blue Stripes package (+ Reinforcements)

Cons

  • Hard-countered by Gimpy Gerwin
  • Dependency on drawing our combo (or Royal Decree)

  

Tech Choices

  • Royal Decree, Damned Sorceress ⇒ Alzur's Double-Cross, Temerian Drummer
  • Summoning Circle ⇒ Botchling

In the first of these tech choices, we can swap one of our consistency tools, Royal Decree, for a cheaper one. Including Alzur's Double-Cross, which can pull Princess Pavetta and Draug, also improves one of our bronze cards. Despite that, this choice makes the deck more unstable when it comes to our Blue Stripes combo.

The second tech choice should be considered when we find ourselves in a meta in which artifact removal is prevalent. While Summoning Circle gives us a bunch of extra tempo and thinning from the deck, it is very slow and a 0-point play in an artifact removal meta. Botchling is always an amazing engine, providing 1 point per turn.

5,520 25 20 164

  • 14
    King Foltest
    Leader
    King Foltest Order: Boost an allied unit by 1 and give it Zeal. Charge: 3.
  • 7
    13
    Draug
    Draug Deploy: Transform all allied Human units into Kaedweni Revenants without changing their power.
  • 11
    Royal Decree
    Royal Decree Play a unit from your deck.
  • 5
    11
    Saesenthessis: Blaze
    Saesenthessis: Blaze Order: Damage an enemy unit by 1. Charge: 5.
  • 5
    10
    Ocvist
    Ocvist Order: Damage all enemy units by 1.
  • 5
    9
    Seltkirk of Gulet
    Seltkirk of Gulet Order (Melee): Duel an enemy unit.
  • 3
    9
    Ves
    Ves Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 4. Order: Give an allied unit Zeal.
  • 8
    Summoning Circle
    Summoning Circle Zeal. Order: Play a non-Token unit from your deck whose Provision Cost is less than or equal to Summoning Circle's Charge count, then remove all Charges. Charge: 1. Every allied turn, on turn start, gain 1 Charge.
  • 7
    Necromancy
    Necromancy Play a bronze unit from your graveyard and give it Doomed.
  • 6
    7
    Princess Pavetta
    Princess Pavetta Deploy: Shuffle a bronze unit and all copies of it from your graveyard into your deck.
  • 7
    Lacerate
    Lacerate Damage all units on a row by 2.
  • 6
    Reinforcements
    Reinforcements Spawn and play a base copy of a bronze allied unit.
  • 2
    6
    Vincent Meis
    Vincent Meis Zeal. Order (Melee): Set the power of a non-boosted enemy to 1.
  • 4
    6
    Blue Stripes Commando
    x2
    Blue Stripes Commando Order: Summon all copies of this unit from your deck to this row.
  • 4
    5
    Kaedweni Knight
    Kaedweni Knight Deploy: If played from the deck, boost self by 4.
  • 3
    5
    Cintrian Artificer
    Cintrian Artificer Formation. Order: Give an allied unit a Shield.
  • 1
    5
    Poor Fucking Infantry
    x2
    Poor Fucking Infantry Deploy: Boost self by 4.
  • 4
    4
    Blue Stripes Scout
    x2
    Blue Stripes Scout Deploy (Melee): Spawn a copy of a bronze allied unit at the bottom of your deck.
  • 3
    4
    Cutthroat
    x2
    Cutthroat Deploy: Give an enemy unit Bleeding for 2 turns.
  • 2
    4
    Cintrian Knight
    x2
    Cintrian Knight Deploy (Melee): Damage an enemy unit by 2. Deathblow: Gain Vitality for 2 turns.
  • 1
    4
    Damned Sorceress
    Damned Sorceress Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 3.

Matchups

Favorable against
Struggles against