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Meta Snapshot #11

Patch Overview

Update: 26 September 2019

First published: 17 September 2019 (Game version: 3.2.0.52)

 

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

Overview

Popular in the early days of Homecoming Gwent and known as X-Men in the game’s beta, after a slight comeback in patch 3.1, Greatswords have started to shine as an alternative to play against Francesca Waters, which is defining the meta. Using great-value bronzes to get through Round 1 unscathed, Greatswords leverages the power of Dagur Two Blades and An Craite Greatsword to shine in a long Round 3, while damage-dealing resources can be used to ensure we cannot be bled in Round 2 should we lose Round 1.

 

Essential Cards

  • Dagur Two Blades is the key gold card in this deck, capable of doubling every point of value found in damage-dealing sources such as Torrential Rain and An Craite Longship, while helping the deck survive in a short round by combining with Harald the Cripple's leader ability (‘Reckless Flurry’) for 20 points on the turn it is played.
  • An Craite Greatsword acts as a mini version of Dagur Two Blades to help get even more value out of our damage-dealing cards and can also be used to secure Round 1 just to be replayed in Round 3 using Freya's Blessing without losing value.

 
Pros

  • Fantastic in a long round and still pretty good in a very short round
  • A novel old-school greedy deck that plays very differently to the midrange decks of Homecoming Gwent

Cons

 

Tech Choices

  • Geralt: Aard ⇒ Ocvist
  • Myrgtabrakke ⇒ Summoning Circle

While Geralt: Aard helps us align more units on the opposite row to our An Craite Greatswords, it can be a simple 9-for-10 card in some matchups. If we want to replicate Adzikov's uber-greediness at Challenger #5, we can opt to play Ocvist in that slot. If this card is able to survive, which, in theory, should not be difficult, as we have other engines that can be removed by our opponent, a win is almost guaranteed.

Myrgtabrakke has assured value on a Deploy, while Summoning Circle is another uber-greedy option,. It allows us to play a An Craite Greatsword in the same turn with Dagur Two Blades and get huge value from our leader ability. Or we can play a Greatsword in the same turn with a damaging Deploy ability, which allows us to get the Greatsword immediately out the removal range. However, Summoning Circle has the downside of being easily countered by artifact removal.

 

Written by Jamedi and Lothari.

4,870 25 18 165

  • 15
    Harald the Cripple
    Leader
    Harald the Cripple Order: Split 8 damage randomly between all enemy units.
  • 4
    11
    Triss: Telekinesis
    Triss: Telekinesis Deploy (Ranged): Create and play a bronze special card from either player's starting deck.
  • 10
    Svalblod Totem
    Svalblod Totem Deploy: Spawn a Svalblod Fanatic on both sides of this card. Order: Damage adjacent units by 2.
  • 4
    10
    Dagur Two Blades
    Dagur Two Blades Melee: Whenever an enemy takes damage, boost self by 1.
  • 3
    10
    Geralt: Aard
    Geralt: Aard Deploy (Melee): Damage 3 enemy units by 2, then move them to the ranged row.
  • 9
    Tainted Ale
    Tainted Ale Zeal. Order: Damage a unit by 2. Charge: 3.
  • 4
    9
    Harald Houndsnout
    Harald Houndsnout Deploy: Spawn 3 of Harald's Pals and Summon them to your other allied row. Order: Damage an allied unit by 1. Cooldown: 1.
  • 5
    8
    Skjall
    Skjall Deploy: Damage an undamaged enemy by 3.
  • 4
    8
    Myrgtabrakke
    Myrgtabrakke Deploy: Damage 2 enemy units by 2.
  • 6
    7
    Gremist
    Gremist Zeal. Order (Ranged): Purify a unit. Refresh this ability whenever you play an Alchemy card.
  • 7
    Torrential Rain
    Torrential Rain Apply this Row Effect: For 4 enemy turns, on turn start, damage 2 random units on the row by 1.
  • 6
    Delirium
    Delirium Split 6 damage randomly between all units on an enemy row.
  • 6
    Freya's Blessing
    Freya's Blessing Play a bronze Skellige unit from your graveyard.
  • 4
    6
    An Craite Greatsword
    x2
    An Craite Greatsword Whenever an enemy unit on the opposite row takes damage, boost self by 1.
  • 5
    Stribog Runestone
    Stribog Runestone Create and play a bronze Skellige faction card.
  • 5
    Alzur's Thunder
    Alzur's Thunder Damage a unit by 5.
  • 5
    5
    Dimun Light Longship
    x2
    Dimun Light Longship Order (Ranged): Damage self and an enemy unit by 1. Cooldown: 1.
  • 3
    5
    Dimun Warship
    x2
    Dimun Warship Deploy (Ranged): Damage an enemy unit by 1 three times.
  • 3
    5
    Svalblod Priest
    x2
    Svalblod Priest Every allied turn, on turn end, damage the allied unit to the right by 1, then boost self by 2.
  • 4
    4
    Heymaey Protector
    Heymaey Protector Whenever an adjacent unit takes damage, boost self by 1.
  • 2
    4
    An Craite Marauder
    x2
    An Craite Marauder Deploy (Melee): Split 3 damage randomly between all enemy units.

Honorable Mentions