The Team Aretuza GWENT Meta Snapshot attempts to showcase the most-played decks on the Pro and Ranked ladders. We then attempt to rank them based on deck strength. These are the decks dominating the ladder right now, and this list does not represent all of the decks available nor even necessarily the best there is to be seen.
Every deck has a short guide explaining how the list works, its pros and cons, and a few other considerations to take into account. We also list a few matchups we think are particularly good or bad for each deck.
As the meta continues to shift, we will update our Snapshot to reflect the changes. Updates will continue to be announced on the Team Aretuza Discord Community and official Team Aretuza Twitter account.
Meta Snapshot #14
Patch Overview
PLEASE NOTE: This Meta Snapshot was intended for use during the Season of Love (February of 2020) and does not accurately reflect the meta as of the Season of the Bear (March 2020)
Below is Team Aretuza and Team Nova's Meta Snapshot for the Season of Love. The meta displays a large degree of variability after the balance patch that was implemented before this season's start. No true contenders stand out as one to completely dominate the meta as of yet, so we will remain diligent in following the meta to see if this changes. As always, we will make appropriate changes throughout the season to keep viewers up to date with the meta to the best of our ability. You can follow the invite link to our Discord server in the upper right hand corner of the site to ask any questions you may have at any time. Enjoy and good luck on your Gwent journey this month!
Changelog:
- 19 February 2020:
- Added: Enslave 6, Patricidal Fury Bloodthirst
- Removed: Blood Money Control
- Updated: Imperial Formation Soldiers, Blood Money Passiflora (previously Wild Card Passiflora)
- Tier adjustments:
- Precision Strike Scorch Tier 2 ⇒ Tier 3
- Patricidal Fury Regis Greatswords Tier 3 ⇒ Honorable Mention
- 26 February 2020:
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
Overview
A classic archetype which has made a resurgence after the Radeyah nerf reduced its popularity in one the most popular factions on ladder (Northern Realms). The synergy between units with the soldier tag, in combination with them being solid tempo options for Nilfgaard have made this deck one of the meta contenders in the faction. The return of Stefan Skellen and Damien de la Tour, also known as the “Elder Bears,” add power to our deck. Despite not being the most control heavy deck, we still have enough removal to take care of our opponent’s board if necessary, while also being a good deck to push in Round 2. Overall, this is an interesting archetype which probably will continue seeing play in the following patches.
Essential Cards
- Damien de la Tour is perfect for pushing in Round 2, allowing us to get the full 4 charges of our leader to protect our cards without losing any charges in Round 3. It also allows us to hold Affan Hillergrand in our deck for Round 3. With the addition of our faction’s defender (Ffion var Gaernel) to this list, it is especially difficult for the opponent to remove Damien.
- Stefan Skellen is the second “Elder Bear,” which is mainly used to get a second copy of Bribery. We can also use other Tactic cards if the situation calls for it, such as using a second Royal Decree to find more powerful cards out of our deck.
Pros
- Great push in Round 2
- Most of cards are tempo efficient
Cons
- Lacks control options
Tech Choices
- War Council, Hefty Helge ⇒ Letho: Kingslayer, Roderick of Dun Tynne
Written by Jamedi
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15Imperial Formation
Order: Boost an allied unit by 2. Charge: 4.
Once all Charges have been exhausted, move a Soldier unit from your deck to the top.
This ability adds 15 provisions to your deck's provisions limit.
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0Magic Lamp
Order: Transform into Lamp Djinn.
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511Damien de la Tour
Order: Refresh your Leader's ability. If it's disabled, enable it instead.
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10Royal Decree
Play a unit from your deck.
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510Stefan Skellen
Order: Spawn and play a copy of the last Tactic card you already played this round.
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410Ramon Tyrconnel
Deploy: Spawn and play a base copy of a bronze Soldier from your hand and give it 2 Armor.
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9Yennefer's Invocation
Place an enemy unit or an enemy artifact on the top of your deck.
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59Affan Hillergrand
If moved to the top of your deck, Summon this unit to the melee row.
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29Ffion var Gaernel
Defender.
Deploy: Spawn and play Battle Preparation.
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8Bribery
Create and play a unit from your opponent's starting deck.
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8War Council
Look at the first 3 cards on the top of your deck and play one of them.
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48Hefty Helge
Shield.
Order: Damage a unit by 2.
Charge: 1.
Gain 1 Charge whenever you play a Tactic.
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38Sweers
Deploy (Melee): Seize an enemy unit with 3 or less power.
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28Menno Coehoorn
Deploy (Ranged): Play a Tactic card from your deck.
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75Ard Feainn Tortoisex2
Exposed: Boost an enemy unit with the most power by 3.
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45Imperial Diviner
Assimilate.
Deploy: Purify a unit.
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35Ard Feainn Crossbowmanx2
Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 2.
Barricade: Damage a random enemy unit by 1 whenever you play a Soldier.
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4Battle Preparation
Boost an allied unit by 3 and give it 2 Armor.
If it's a Soldier, boost it by 5 and give it 2 Armor instead.
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4Tourney Joustx2
Remove an enemy unit's Shield and damage it by 4, or give an allied unit a Shield and boost it by 4.
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34Alba Spearman
Deploy: Damage an enemy unit by 1. Increase the damage by 1 for each adjacent Soldier.
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34Magne Divisionx2
Every allied turn, on turn end, boost self by 1 if this is the only card on this row.
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34Recruitx2
Deploy: Boost an allied Soldier by 3.
