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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, 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

Overview

Bounty was one of the primary archetypes to appear immediately after the release of Syndicate and it has remained in the meta ever since. Though some decks have become more of a hybrid by utilizing the Bounty mechanic and more ways to generate proactive points, this deck remains true to its roots and uses the full extent of Bounty to control the opponent’s board. This deck has a relatively high degree of variance and relies upon drawing key cards in the correct order. The power level of the deck goes up considerably when we are able to utilize powerful cards like Sigi Reuven twice with Renew. Most of the time we want to make an attempt to win Round 1 in order to pass into a long Round 3 with last say where we are able to chain together damage by using Bounties to refill our Coins repeatedly. When required, the deck can also be flexible and push Round 2 against decks that can cause problems in a long round, such as decks that play multiple highly boosted units or decks that prefer to play very wide with many low base-strength units.

 

Essential Cards

  • The Bounty package is irreplaceable in this archetype and contributes a great deal of power to the deck. Caleb Menge, Witch Hunter Executioner, Slander, and Witch Hunter are the main components of this package, though Ewald Borsodi also helps to contribute instances of damage. This deck plays the full Bounty package due to the synergy it has with Whoreson Junior's leader ability.
  • Sigi Reuven is an incredibly powerful card that allows us to effectively utilize our cards which spend Coins, such as Horst Borsodi and Ewald Borsodi. The biggest benefit to Sigi, though, is that it fills our bank with Coins in order to begin playing out our Bounty package of Caleb Menge and Witch Hunter Executioner. Without a full bank of Coins, we can only destroy units with very low base strength and the Bounty package is quite weak.

 
Pros

  • Extremely strong control options with the Bounty package to completely shut down any engine strategy
  • The 4- and 5-provision cards in the deck are powerful, allowing us to preserve our strongest cards for later while still contesting Round 1.

Cons

  • Can be reliant on last say in some matchups
  • Weak to multiple boosted units or decks that prefer to play wide

 

Tech Choices

  • Royal Decree, ImkeThe Flying Redanian, Bincy Blumerholdt
  • Imke, Sea Jackal, EavesdropSummoning Circle, Sewer Raiders (x2)

This change is one which reduces the consistency of the deck but raises the power ceiling. Royal Decree is another grab at Sigi Reuven in Round 1 which allows us to then Renew Sigi in Round 3. The Flying Redanian helps with consistency to a degree by thinning the deck in Round 1 while also providing carryover value into a later round. Bincy Blumerholdt fits in this deck in a similar manner to decks with Gudrun Bjornsdottir as the leader. We can place the Bounty status on an opponent unit, then on a later turn play Bincy and use Whoreson Junior's leader ability to destroy it and generate Coins to boost Bincy. This is an extremely greedy change that can pay off in mirrors, especially against decks that do not play Graden.

Our second tech choice is another greedy change that allows us to play Summoning Circle, which can be very powerful in the list based on the sheer power of our 4- and 5-provision cards. Playing two Witch Hunters or a Witch Hunter and a Witch Hunter Executioner is incredible value from an 8-provision card. This also allows us to play multiple cards in the same turn, which opens up some card combos, such as enabling Graden in one turn with Witch Hunter. This change should obviously not be considered if artifact removal is prevalent in the meta or if decks exist that can reliably beat us in Round 1 and then bleed in Round 2.

 

6,470 25 18 166

  • 16
    Whoreson Junior
    Leader
    Whoreson Junior Order: Damage an enemy unit by 7, then gain Coins equal to any excess damage dealt.
  • 13
    Renew
    Renew Play a unit from your graveyard.
  • 3
    13
    Sigi Reuven
    Sigi Reuven Intimidate. Profit 4. For every unique gang category in your starting deck, increase Sigi Reuven's initial Profit by 1.
  • 11
    Royal Decree
    Royal Decree Play a unit from your deck.
  • 3
    10
    Philippa Eilhart
    Philippa Eilhart Deploy: Spend a number of Coins equal to an enemy unit's power, then Seize it.
  • 5
    9
    Imke
    Imke Ranged: Every allied turn, on turn end, gain 2 Coins. Fee 3: Gain a Shield.
  • 4
    9
    Moreelse
    Moreelse Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 4. Tribute 6: Destroy it instead.
  • 3
    9
    Graden
    Graden Deploy (Melee): Destroy an enemy unit with a Bounty. Tribute 5: Boost self by that unit's base power.
  • 5
    8
    Caleb Menge
    Caleb Menge Profit 3. Fee 3 (Melee): Place a Bounty on an enemy unit. Cooldown: 1.
  • 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.
  • 4
    8
    Horst Borsodi
    Horst Borsodi Profit 2. If Ewald Borsodi is in your graveyard, increase this card's initial Profit by 2. Fee 2 (Ranged): Boost an allied unit by 2.
  • 3
    8
    Boris
    Boris Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 3. Deathblow: Gain 3 Coins.
  • 5
    Eavesdrop
    Eavesdrop Profit 4. Draw a card, then put a card from your hand at the bottom of your deck.
  • 4
    5
    Coerced Blacksmith
    Coerced Blacksmith Profit 1. Fee 1: Boost an allied unit by 1.
  • 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
    Sea Jackal
    x2
    Sea Jackal Fee 2: Boost self by 2. Hoard 7: Boost self by 3 instead.
  • 4
    4
    Witch Hunter
    x2
    Witch Hunter Deploy: Place a Bounty on an enemy unit.
  • 3
    4
    Fence
    Fence Deploy (Ranged): Gain Vitality for a duration equal to your Coin count. Tribute 3: Boost self by your Coin count instead.
  • 2
    4
    Eternal Fire Disciple
    Eternal Fire Disciple Profit 2. Fee 2: Spawn a Firesworn Zealot and Summon him to this row. Cooldown: 1.

Matchups

Favorable against
Struggles against

Tier 2

Tier 3

Honorable Mentions