Snapshot Header Image

Meta Snapshot #10

Patch Overview

With a huge new patch has come a brand-new meta. In the early days, we have seen Northern Realms and Syndicate stand out as the dominant factions, though the meta is always developing and counter options have begun to develop. In particular, buffs to King Foltest and the advent of Sigismund Dijkstra have vaulted these leaders to the top of the meta. Much of the developments have centered around finding advantages against these two leaders.

In the first update of this Meta Snapshot, we present 19 updated decks that focus on key archetypes seen in the metagame. Included are options from each faction, although some factions have been explored more than others. While Sigismund Dijkstra has emerged as the predominant Syndicate leader, we have included other options for players seeking alternatives. In Skellige and Monsters, fewer decks are included due to their lower popularity, but we will monitor the situation closely to identify decks from these factions that emerge later in the patch cycle.

We hope you enjoy our Meta Snapshot and happy Gwenting!

  

Update: 17 August 2019

First published: 12 August 2019 (Game version: 3.1.0.47)

Changelog:

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 basic game plan of this deck is to remove all of our opponent’s engines and take the round with a point swing like Fauve into Water of Brokilon or Novigradian Justice into double Cleaver's Muscle. We use Harald Gord as a finisher, since it will boost itself by 1 for each special card we have played. To make sure that we get Harald, we also run Marching Orders, which gives us an additional point on Harald, as it boosts itself after its Deploy.

 

Essential Cards

  • As part of our no-units plan, Saesenthessis functions as a source of untouchable points due to its Immunity.
  • Harald Gord is one of our main finishers. It functions similarly to beta Gwent’s Dol Blathanna Sentries, but it is not vulnerable to cards like Shilard Fitz-Oesterlen, as it always boosts after Deploy.

 
Pros

  • Ability to remove a lot of engines, while running Immune units that deny our opponent’s damage effects, which makes their cards low-point plays
  • A high-power finisher with, in the best case, double Novigradian Justice and Harald Gord

Cons

  • Low power level and we struggle to take the first round, as low-unit decks usually do
  • Weak to decks that do not play a lot of engines

 

Tech Choices

  • Fauve, Water of Brokilon ⇒ Land of a Thousand Fables, Carlo Varese

As we can see, part of our no-unit strategy can be in conflict with the use of Fauve for Water of Brokilon, which generates a lot of points but also gives value to our opponent’s removal, kind of defeating the purpose of playing a low-unit deck. Instead, we can add Land of a Thousand Fables for extra consistency and Carlo Varese as a way to have extra removal in the deck.

 

Written by Damorquis and Jamedi.

6,080 25 13 163

  • 13
    Francesca Findabair
    Leader
    Francesca Findabair Order: Play a special card from your graveyard.
  • 12
    Ragh Nar Roog
    Ragh Nar Roog Apply this Row Effect: Every enemy turn, on turn start, damage the highest unit on this row by 2.
  • 12
    Vigo's Muzzle
    Vigo's Muzzle Lock an enemy unit with 5 or less power and Seize it.
  • 11
    Novigradian Justice
    Novigradian Justice Play a bronze unit from your deck. If it was a Dwarf, Spawn a base copy of it and Summon it to the same row.
  • 11
    Water of Brokilon
    Water of Brokilon Spawn and Summon a Dryad Fledgling to an allied row. If you control a Dryad, Spawn 2 Dryad Fledglings and Summon them to an allied row instead.
  • 8
    10
    Saesenthessis
    Saesenthessis Immunity. Order: Remove this unit's Immunity until the start of your next turn.
  • 8
    Marching Orders
    Marching Orders Play the lowest unit from your deck.
  • 2
    8
    Fauve
    Fauve Deploy: Play a Nature card from your deck.
  • 5
    7
    Ciaran aep Easnillen
    Ciaran aep Easnillen Deploy: Lock a unit and move it to the other row.
  • 2
    7
    Harald Gord
    Harald Gord Deploy: Boost self by 0. Increase the boost by 1 for every special card you played this game.
  • 7
    Lacerate
    Lacerate Damage all units on a row by 2.
  • 5
    Alzur's Thunder
    x2
    Alzur's Thunder Damage a unit by 5.
  • 5
    Dancing Star
    Dancing Star Destroy an artifact, or damage a unit by 3.
  • 5
    Northern Wind
    Northern Wind Damage a unit by 4. Deathblow: Banish it.
  • 5
    5
    Cleaver's Muscle
    x2
    Cleaver's Muscle Shield.
  • 5
    5
    Vrihedd Dragoon
    x2
    Vrihedd Dragoon Deploy (Melee): Move an enemy unit to their other row. Deploy (Ranged): Move an allied unit to your other row.
  • 4
    5
    Sage
    x2
    Sage Whenever you play a special card, boost self by 2.
  • 4
    Samum
    Samum Damage a unit by 3. Deathblow: Move adjacent units to the other row.
  • 4
    Spores
    Spores Reset a unit.
  • 4
    4
    Elven Swordmaster
    x2
    Elven Swordmaster Order (Melee): Damage an enemy unit by 1. Cooldown: 2. Whenever you play an Elf, decrease Cooldown by 1.
  • 3
    4
    Vrihedd Officer
    Vrihedd Officer Deploy (Melee): Damage an enemy unit by 2. Deploy (Ranged): Boost an allied unit by 2.