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Meta Snapshot #12

Patch Overview

Update: 17 November 2019; First published: 16 October 2019; Game version: 4.1.0.64

 

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

Overview

Although this deck does not reach the heights that it did in previous seasons before several nerfs were introduced, we still see a potential powerhouse in the meta. Dwarves takes full advantage of Novigradian Justice: We are able to play a total of four bronze Dwarves thanks to it and our leader ability Mystic Echo. When used with Dwarven Mercenaries, this immediately puts four engines on the board, and if pulled off in Round 3, it is often near impossible to answer. The overall goal of the deck is to survive a weak Round 1 in which we want to get rid of our worst cards. In some cases, we need to invest some of our golds due to our lack of early tempo. Additionally, cards like Gabor Zigrin, Zoltan Chivay and Barclay Els synergize with all our Dwarves and will thus typically achieve great value, especially with all the possibilities we have to create Rowdy Dwarves.

 

Essential Cards

  • Novigradian Justice is easily the most important card in this deck. Justice can play four bronze Dwarves in one turn, thanks to our leader ability. It is also quite flexible: We can play it in Round 2 to survive a bleed, either on Dwarven Mercenaries early or on Dwarf Berserker if we are playing against a control deck.
  • Call of the Forest is another important card in this deck. The change it received in Patch 3.2 has made it an excellent tool to pull key units from our deck, such as The Great Oak or Gabor Zigrin. As it is a special card, it can also be used in a pinch with our leader ability if there is another card in our deck we really cannot do without.

 
Pros

  • Great long round due to Dwarven Mercenaries
  • Less bleedable than other Scoia’tael decks

Cons

  • Weak to heavy control and low-unit decks
  • The deck has a relatively poor Round 1, especially when starting first, which makes us vulnerable.

 

Tech Choices

  • Dwarven Chariot (x2) ⇒ Alzur's Thunder, Dryad Enchantress
  • Ida Emean aep Sivney, Dwarven Chariot (x2) ⇒ Fauve, Dryad Enchantress, Dryad's Caress

The 5-provision slots of the deck are mostly where we are able to make tech changes. If we face a high representation of Nilfgaard decks, particularly those with Damien de la Tour and Stefan Skellen, Alzur's Thunder can be a solid removal tool. The other 5-provision slot can then become a points card as we recommend here or another tech of your choosing.

If we find ourselves in a meta where we are primarily concerned about Purifying our own units instead of the opponent's, we can replace Ida Emean aep Sivney with the combination of Fauve and Dryad's Caress, which plays for many more points. Fauve is also able to tutor other key cards, like Call of the Forest and Zoltan's Company, to help our consistency.

     

    Written by Jamedi, Zade & Kara.

     

    7,720 25 20 163

    • 13
      Mystic Echo
      Leader
      Mystic Echo Order: Play a Scoia'tael special card from your graveyard. This ability adds 13 provisions to your deck's provisions limit.
    • 8
      13
      The Great Oak
      The Great Oak Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by the number of cards to the left of Great Oak, then boost self by the number of cards to the right of Great Oak.
    • 12
      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.
    • 6
      12
      Zoltan: Warrior
      Zoltan: Warrior Deploy (Melee): Spawn 2 Rowdy Dwarves in this row. Deploy (Ranged): Boost all allied Rowdy Dwarves by 2.
    • 7
      11
      Munro Bruys
      Munro Bruys Deploy: Transform 2 allied Rowdy Dwarfs into Dwarf Berserkers.
    • 10
      Call of the Forest
      Call of the Forest Play a Scoia'tael unit from your deck and boost it by 1.
    • 5
      9
      Gabor Zigrin
      Gabor Zigrin Deploy (Melee): Gain Resilience. Deploy (Ranged): Gain Immunity. Whenever you play a Dwarf, boost self by 1.
    • 4
      9
      Figgis Merluzzo
      Figgis Merluzzo Defender. Deploy: Spawn 2 Rowdy Dwarves in this row.
    • 4
      9
      Zoltan Chivay
      Zoltan Chivay Deploy (Melee): Destroy a unit with power less than or equal to the number of allied Dwarf units.
    • 5
      7
      Ida Emean aep Sivney
      Ida Emean aep Sivney Deploy (Melee): Purify a unit. Deploy (Ranged): Give an allied unit Vitality for 4 turns.
    • 3
      7
      Barclay Els
      Barclay Els Deploy: Boost an allied unit by 1 for each allied Dwarf.
    • 6
      Zoltan's Company
      Zoltan's Company Spawn 3 Rowdy Dwarves in an allied row.
    • 3
      5
      Dwarven Chariot
      x2
      Dwarven Chariot Deploy: Spawn a Rowdy Dwarf in this row. Bonded: Spawn 2 Rowdy Dwarves in this row instead.
    • 4
      Tempering
      x2
      Tempering Boost a unit by 5. If it's a Dwarf also give it 2 Armor.
    • 4
      4
      Mahakam Marauder
      x2
      Mahakam Marauder Deploy: Gain Vitality for 2 turns. Bonded: Gain Vitality for 4 turns.
    • 3
      4
      Dwarven Mercenary
      x2
      Dwarven Mercenary Order: Damage an enemy unit by 1. Charge: 1. Gain 1 Charge whenever you play a Dwarf.
    • 2
      4
      Dwarf Berserker
      x2
      Dwarf Berserker Barricade: At the end of your turn, damage self by 1 then damage a random enemy unit by 1.
    • 2
      4
      Mahakam Guard
      x2
      Mahakam Guard Deploy: Boost self by the number of allied Dwarf units on this row.
    • 1
      4
      Dwarven Skirmisher
      x2
      Dwarven Skirmisher Deploy (Melee): Damage an enemy unit by 3. If it survived, boost self by 1.

    Matchups

    Favorable against
    Struggles against

    Tier 2

    Tier 3

    Honorable Mentions