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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, 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

The key to why Usurper has become more popular recently has to be explained through its ability: Decks are becoming more and more synergistic with their leader’s ability, and so Usurper makes these decks less proficient in what they do. Otherwise, this is yet another midrange deck. While it should be able to compete in any situation, the basic game plan is to start Round 3 on equal cards and rely on the point output of Shupe's Day Off to pull us ahead of our opponent. With other strong card combos such as Serrit, Auckes and Letho of Gulet, or Palmerin de Launfal and Milton de Peyrac-Peyran, we should have enough points to take the win.

 

Essential Cards

  • Shupe's Day Off is the most powerful card and the main win condition of this deck. Since the Shupe: Hunter nerf, the safest option is playing Shupe: Knight, often for a total of 12 points. In most matchups, this is enough of a swing to tilt the scales in our favor.
  • Doadrick Leumaerts is an interesting card whose ability allows us to sculpt our hand, helping us to “only play good cards", as moving a card to the bottom of the deck ensures we will never see that bad card again. Despite that, we can sometimes struggle to proc its Order on the turn it is played, as this list does not tend to run too many Agents and we often miss out on Zeal.

 
Pros

  • The strength and versatility of Shupe compensates for running only 1 of each bronze card.
  • Usurper's ability now impacts the performance of many decks a lot more, which makes it a powerful leader.

Cons

  • Extremely low number of provisions 
  • Shupe has some level of randomness which can hurt our matches by showing the wrong options. If Shupe does not reach the point ceiling we want it to, our possibility of victory might be lower, since it will not pay off what we expect from it given the inherent deck-building cost.

 

Tech Choices

  • Regis: Bloodlust ⇒ Carlo Varese
  • Roderick of Dun Tynne ⇒ Cantarella

Regis: Bloodlust has become a standard answer to some threats in the meta which tend to go to the graveyard and generate additional value, such as The Flying Redanian or the Borsodi brothers (Ewald Borsodi and Horst Borsodi). In the worst case, Regis is an 8 points for 10 provisions that can be used to remove engines. Carlo Varese, on the other hand, makes going second much stronger, punishing early uses of Tactical Advantage, and still helping us in case we need to remove an engine.

With the introduction of Courier and the fact that we are using Doadrick Leumaerts, we might have enough consistency to cut Roderick of Dun Tynne to try to abuse the combo of Courier and Cantarella, attempting to put a card on the top of our opponent’s deck only to play it ourselves.

5,990 25 23 160

  • 10
    Usurper
    Leader
    Usurper On game start, disable the enemy Leader for the duration of the battle.
  • 13
    Shupe's Day Off
    Shupe's Day Off Doomed. If your starting deck has no duplicates, send Shupe on an adventure.
  • 4
    10
    Regis: Bloodlust
    Regis: Bloodlust Deploy: Damage a unit by 4. Deathblow: Banish it.
  • 3
    10
    Sweers
    Sweers Deploy (Melee): Seize an enemy unit with 3 or less power.
  • 5
    9
    Serrit
    Serrit Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 3. If Auckes is in your hand, damage that unit by 5 instead.
  • 4
    9
    Shilard Fitz-Oesterlen
    Shilard Fitz-Oesterlen Deploy: Set the power of the highest unit in your opponent's hand to 1.
  • 6
    8
    Doadrick Leumaerts
    Doadrick Leumaerts Deploy: If you control an Agent, gain Zeal. Order (Ranged): Draw a card, then move a card from your hand to the bottom of your deck. Cooldown: 1.
  • 6
    8
    Letho of Gulet
    Letho of Gulet Deploy: If Auckes is in your hand, Lock an enemy unit. If Serrit is in your hand, damage an enemy unit by 3. If both are in your hand, Lock a unit and damage it by 3.
  • 5
    8
    Milton de Peyrac-Peyran
    Milton de Peyrac-Peyran Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 1. Deathblow: Damage adjacent enemy units by 2. If Palmerin is in your hand, trigger this unit's Deathblow ability even if the enemy unit survived.
  • 5
    8
    Palmerin de Launfal
    Palmerin de Launfal Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2. Deathblow: Give adjacent allied units Shields. If Milton is in your hand, trigger this unit's Deathblow ability even if the enemy unit survived.
  • 5
    7
    Auckes
    Auckes Deploy: Lock an enemy unit. If Serrit is in your hand, Lock all copies of that unit on the opponent's side.
  • 2
    7
    Roderick of Dun Tynne
    Roderick of Dun Tynne Spying. Deploy: Look at 2 random gold cards from your deck, then play 1.
  • 5
    7
    Slave Infantry
    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.
  • 6
    5
    Nilfgaardian Knight
    Nilfgaardian Knight Deploy: Boost an enemy unit by 2.
  • 4
    5
    Alba Pikeman
    Alba Pikeman Melee: Every allied turn, on turn end, damage a random enemy unit on the melee row by 1.
  • 4
    Tourney Joust
    Tourney Joust Remove an enemy unit's Shield and damage it by 3, or give an allied unit a Shield and boost it by 3.
  • 4
    4
    Courier
    Courier Deploy (Melee): Look at the top 3 cards from your opponent's deck and move one to the top. Deploy (Ranged): Look at the top 3 cards from your deck and move one to the top.
  • 4
    4
    Deithwen Arbalest
    Deithwen Arbalest Deploy (Melee): Banish a card from your opponent's graveyard. Deploy (Ranged): Banish a card from your graveyard.
  • 4
    4
    Infiltrator
    Infiltrator Melee: On round end, shuffle this unit into your opponent's deck.
  • 3
    4
    Cutthroat
    Cutthroat Deploy: Give an enemy unit Bleeding for 2 turns.
  • 3
    4
    Nauzicaa Sergeant
    Nauzicaa Sergeant Whenever you play a unit with Deploy, boost self by 1.
  • 3
    4
    Oxenfurt Scholar
    Oxenfurt Scholar Deploy: Give an allied unit Vitality for 2 turns.
  • 2
    4
    Magne Division
    Magne Division Every allied turn, on turn end, boost self by 1 if this is the only card on this row.
  • 2
    4
    Slave Driver
    Slave Driver Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2. Increase damage by 1 for each Locked unit.
  • 2
    4
    Toussaint Knight-Errant
    Toussaint Knight-Errant Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2. If it has at least 6 power, damage it by 4 instead.