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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:

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

While some Nilfgaard decks in recent patches have adopted more varied playstyles (such as a strong emphasis on proactivity and pushing in Round 2 with Imperial Formation decks) this is a return to a more classical and reactive style of play in Nilfgaard. Our leader ability inherently prefers to be used reactively and it allows us to trade up greatly on a somewhat large unit or, even better, an opposing engine. The removal style of the deck heavily favors its presence in an engine heavy meta. In terms of its own power, this deck plays a somewhat greedy set of high provision golds, as our "Elder Bears" of Stefan Skellen and Damien de la Tour provide a great deal of our power, but we will sometimes struggle to protect them when compared to an Imperial Formation deck.

Essential Cards

  • Our leader ability is particularly strong to compensate for some "weaker" Tactic cards that we are forced to utilize as a result. The only thing better than using our seize effect once is using it twice (or even three times) with the help of Damien de la Tour. Typically we will want to develop Ffion var Gaernel in order to protect Damien, but just be cognizant of which removal options the opponent is likely to possess and avoid them with Damien (and Stefan Skellen for that matter) to the best of your ability.
  • Hefty Helge is an absolute powerhouse in this deck due to the large number of Tactics we utilize. This card can carry a single round by itself and also aid in extending our removal ability so try to play it into a round that the opponent is likely to play engines of their own or one in which they are likely to lack an efficient answer for it.

Pros

  • Some of the strongest removal potential in the game
  • Our gold cards are powerful when uninterrupted

Cons

  • Struggles to play proactively
  • Other strong control decks can disrupt our high end cards

Tech Choices

    The list is quite rigid due to the minimum number of units in each deck so we do not feel as though there is a valid tech change to be made in the list. Early versions of the list utilized Cahir Dyffryn in place of Letho: Kingslayer, so feel free to try this if you wish. However, we found that this was really only useful in the Syndicate matchup which already is a fine matchup unless we are unlucky in having no answers for Azar Javed in a given situation.

    Written by JMJWilson23

    8,740 26 13 165

    • 15
      Enslave
      Leader
      Enslave Order: Seize an enemy unit with 3 power or less. This value is raised by 1 for every 4 Tactic cards in your starting deck. This ability adds 15 provisions to your deck's provisions limit.
    • 0
      Magic Lamp
      Magic Lamp Order: Transform into Lamp Djinn.
    • 5
      11
      Damien de la Tour
      Damien de la Tour Order: Refresh your Leader's ability. If it's disabled, enable it instead.
    • 10
      Royal Decree
      Royal Decree Play a unit from your deck.
    • 5
      10
      Letho: Kingslayer
      Letho: Kingslayer Deploy: Transform into a copy of another unit on the battlefield without changing power.
    • 5
      10
      Maraal
      Maraal Deploy: Poison an enemy unit. Order: Poison an enemy unit.
    • 5
      10
      Stefan Skellen
      Stefan Skellen Order: Spawn and play a copy of the last Tactic card you already played this round.
    • 2
      9
      Ffion var Gaernel
      Ffion var Gaernel Defender. Deploy: Spawn and play Battle Preparation.
    • 8
      Bribery
      Bribery Create and play a unit from your opponent's starting deck.
    • 8
      War Council
      War Council Look at the first 3 cards on the top of your deck and play one of them.
    • 4
      8
      Hefty Helge
      Hefty Helge Shield. Order: Damage a unit by 2. Charge: 1. Gain 1 Charge whenever you play a Tactic.
    • 2
      8
      Menno Coehoorn
      Menno Coehoorn Deploy (Ranged): Play a Tactic card from your deck.
    • 5
      7
      Van Moorlehem's Cupbearer
      Van Moorlehem's Cupbearer Assimilate Deploy (Melee): Poison a unit. Deploy (Ranged): Purify a unit.
    • 4
      7
      Glynnis aep Loernach
      Glynnis aep Loernach Assimilate 2.
    • 6
      Experimental Remedy
      Experimental Remedy Play a Bronze unit from your opponent's graveyard.
    • 5
      Assassination
      x2
      Assassination Damage a unit by 6. Decrease the damage by 1 for each unit adjacent to it.
    • 5
      Imperial Diplomacy
      x2
      Imperial Diplomacy Create and play a bronze card from your opponent's faction.
    • 4
      5
      Imperial Diviner
      Imperial Diviner Assimilate. Deploy: Purify a unit.
    • 4
      Battle Preparation
      x2
      Battle 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.
    • 4
      Tourney Joust
      x2
      Tourney Joust Remove an enemy unit's Shield and damage it by 4, or give an allied unit a Shield and boost it by 4.
    • 4
      4
      Fangs of the Empire
      x2
      Fangs of the Empire Deploy: Give an enemy unit Poison.
    • 3
      4
      Nauzicaa Brigade
      Nauzicaa Brigade Deploy: Damage a boosted enemy unit by 3.

    Matchups

    Favorable against
    Struggles against

    Tier 3

    Honorable Mentions