Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG – June 2021
ESC Card Gaming is happy to present our new Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG !
With the release of the new Price of Power’s expansion, the ESC Meta Snap returns once again.
The meta has undergone several changes thanks to the new cards, the general premise for our readers is that some lists of the previouses months have been deliberately left out of this Snapshot because their list didn’t change.
The reason is precisely that they are the same and our Snapshot tries to be a “Snapshot” of the Meta itself, so we do not insert strong but little played decks, an example above all is Keltullis, a Monster deck which is still valid and playable at high levels, or Reckless Flurry by Skellige.
This month’s Tier 1 is occupied by two decks, at the top we find Nilfgaard with the return of the Scenario-based deck. The deck has received considerable buffs thanks to the introduction of cards useful for thinning the deck and generating points immediately.
At second place we find Syndicate Jackpot, the new change to this leader’s skill has made it the best choice for this archetype.
There are many versions of this deck: with Bounties, with Passiflora, others very similar to the old Pirate’s Cove.
So we decided to include only one of these decks, the one we prefer, but please take note that there are many variations of this deck.
Tier 2 is full of decks, we find some of the new decks of the Northern Realms, in particular the Siege Pincer Maneuver, this deck is based on the Scenario and on the new cards that have Order and Patience. A very fun deck to play and that brings freshness to a faction that has only been playing Witcher for months.
We have also decided to include the new Relict Monsters deck based on Koshchey, the strength of the Tempo plays of the new cards in the Price of Power pack is important, plus the buff received by Koshchey himself makes it a strong card to bet on.
In this Tier we also find some of the old Syndicate decks, Pirate’s Cove and Crime Cleaver. Lists are still practically the same as last month, but it was necessary to include them given the presence of these decks in Ladder.
Scoia’tael this month was played mainly with only one version, that of Spellatell Gord.
A good deck but it fails to win against some of the current Top Tier in Meta.
Finally, we propose our version of the Nilfgaardian Hypertin deck, which, like the Scenario deck, has received a great buff thanks to the new cards in the Price of Power’s pack.
Tier 3 is populated with Skellige decks.
Incredible but true, one of the strongest factions of recent months slips into this Tier.
Eist Blaze of Glory is still a strong deck but it suffers a lot from some matchups against the high Tier decks.
We were deeply undecided whether to place it in Tier 2 or 3, at the end we decided for the second option, also because many players in Pro Ladder have stopped playing it.
The Druids deck did not meet expectations, and is definitely the most troubled archetype of the new ones.
Finally, Lippy returns thanks to the new Megascope card, useful for creating a combo that allows us to multiply the Drummonds: Warrior, so as to have an even more oppressive short round 3.
Enjoy our Gwent Meta Snapshot # 14 – ENG !
TIER 1
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/9a8c01fa5af7df9a65bc212c810bc73c
AUTHOR
Fritzdecat
INTRODUCTION
With the release of the first pack of the new Price of Power expansion, Nilfgaard is back strongly in Meta. The deck is basically the classic Scenario, this time with the arrival of the “Imprisonment” Leader skill, which allows us a valid control over various engines in Meta.
The new Dead Man’s Tongue cards and the combo based on the Bronze cards: Blightmaker and Mage Assassin contributed to make the deck much more solid. First place for our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
-
The deck is very elastic, it allows us to adapt to the various matchups and to interpret the games differently.
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The new cards, Dead Man’s Tongue, Blightmaker and Mage Assassin represent very solid Tempo plays, which, in the meantime, thin out the deck in such a way as to be able to draw everything necessary for Round 3.
WEAKNESSES
-
This deck has no particular weaknesses, the only thing it suffers is a bad combination of cards in hand in the first rounds, which does not allow us to exit the Round or forces us to over-commit to do so.
TACTICAL CHOICES
-
We can think of adding Anna Henrietta, to add a play useful to bring us carry over and have an extra Aristocrat.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/34fe84225d98d13311bb81c5bc06849e
AUTHOR
WhiteWolf19__
INTRODUCTION
Having dominated the Pro Ladder in recent seasons, SY maintains its position among the Top Tier thanks to the recent upgrade of the Jackpot leader and the introduction of some new cards such as the Witchfinder that have refreshed the size archetype. Second place of Tier 1 for our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
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The passive ability of Jackpot allows you to turn excess profits of your units into buffs on them, this allows you to bring into play boosted engine as Whoreson’s Freak Show and witch hunter executioner more difficult to remove.
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The Sigi Reuven combo with profit 10 and Caesar Bilzen finds enormous value and gives you the possibility to manage a huge amount of Coins as you prefer.
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Great control over the enemy board thanks to the bounty pack, Philippa Eilhart, Whoreson Junior and Moreelse.
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Extreme flexibility in game management: the deck is best expressed on long rounds (even better than Nilfgaard), but also effective in the short round thanks to Jacques De Aldersberg.
WEAKNESSES
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It can suffer a Round 2 push if you haven’t drawn your strongest gold.
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Some cards must be drawn in a combo or in the correct order to maximize value (Sigi Reuven / Caesar Bilzen or Witchfinder / Witch Hunter Executioner).
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Like any Devotion deck, it risks not drawing some cards necessary to win the game, especially if you have been forced to play Vivaldi Bank in the early rounds.
TACTICAL CHOICES
-
Even in the construction of the deck the list is flexible: you can replace the Borsodi brothers with The Flying Redanian and the second Witch Hunter Executioner to increase the strength of the deck.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
TIER 2
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/fbc88791a16f16f35d5ac7a50bb2fe3a
AUTHOR
gigifacile
INTRODUCTION
The strongest and most performing list of the last meta is proposed again this month practically unchanged, since the only nerf suffered was the increase in the cost of the Professor. Despite this, however, the list not only loses its spot as the best of the meta, but is even thrown out of tier 1 and surpassed by Jackop bounties as the best faction list, even if we still find it at the top of tier 2 of our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
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Thanks to the leader who allows us to deploy a spender at any time, there is more flexibility in the deckbuilding phase and during the game, as at any time we have an advantageous way to spend the coins.
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Cards like Sigi Reuven, Junior, Professor, the Bleinheim Brothers are very strong even played alone, so they provide huge reach and the ability to sometimes win Round 1 to even or win Round 3 with one card of disadvantage.
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Devastating medium round, like true deck pointslam.
WEAKNESSES
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Long round strong but not very strong, especially if the opponent has a way to block or remove the spenders.
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Being a deck based in part on the mechanics of self-poison, in a meta dominated by Nilfgaard often the Bleinheim brothers are more of a disadvantage than anything else.
TACTICAL CHOICES
As an alternative to a purely pointslam version like the one proposed, it is also possible to play a version more focused on engines and coin generation, with some control tools such as Philippa Eilhart. This alternate version plays the Jackpot leader instead of Pirate’s Cove. This is the link to the deck
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/9ba06b7dc0dcda39e0e3f213df776553
AUTHOR
Quigon96
INTRODUCTION
The new patch has brought a breath of fresh air to the Northern Realms, with the rework of the Charges mechanic, many cards have been upgraded, in particular the siege engines that form the heart of the deck. To all this are added the brand new cards released with the latest expansion.
STRENGTHS
-
You have a large number of engines available, which, if not answered, can generate many points and at the same time control the opponent’s board.
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Starting first, you have the opportunity to generate carryover thanks to Dandelion protected by the tactical advantage, and also with Ban Ard Student.
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The deck has a very strong long round, but is also solid for a possible short round thanks to the combination Viraxas: Prince, Shani and Gerhart of Aelle.
WEAKNESSES
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Games are very initiative dependent, it is often convenient to lose Round 1 on purpose in order to have initiative in the decisive round.
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Due to the large number of engines it is not easy to find the optimal order to play them.
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Suffer from decks that have a lot of removals.
TACTICAL CHOICES
The cards that can be flexibly replaced are Viraxas: Prince, Dandelion and Prince Anséis, in their place you could opt for King Foltest with the Gray Banner or for Falibor, Blood Baron, Queen Adalia and Hubert Rejk.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/1cf2bf3b5b75d151bd94cfd27daf7dcb
AUTHOR
Quigon96
INTRODUCTION
The return of an archetype that had gone quiet in recent months, but which thanks to the new cards of the expansion, which are all present in this deck, is stronger than before! Other important factors were the buffs to the Crones and the Endraga Larva that occurred in the last patch.
STRENGTHS
-
It has 3 very solid rounds, as there are both engines and a lot of Tempo plays.
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He can easily win the first round by exploiting the cards with prosperity and the new Ancestral Creatures.
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Possibility to generate a lot of carryover thanks to She who knows, the Crones and the Gan Ceann played in the first rounds and replayable through Necromancy and Ghoul.
WEAKNESSES
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Risk of filling the board during a long Round 3.
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He suffers from row punish as he is addicted to the keyword Sabbath.
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It suffers from control and blocking decks.
TACTICAL CHOICES
You can replace Oneiromancy with Naglfar to be able to insert Renewal in place of Korathi Heatwave. In addition, you could opt for a version of the deck with devotion less solid from the point of view of draws but which ideally can generate more points.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/a4e859bdae4c6ab29d7c97cee2df891a
AUTHOR
infern-ale
INTRODUCTION
Thanks to the supports of the latest expansion, “spellatel” returns more solid than ever.
Able to respond to any opponent’s move and then finally drop Harald Gord which will most always result in a power play of 17 points. A play worthy of note and not to be underestimated that we wanted to highlight in our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
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Can play a little interactive and put other controls in serious trouble
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Is equipped with many tutors therefore it is very difficult for this deck not to be able to see all of the gold cards.
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Do not suffer statuses since it has many purifies.
WEAKNESSES
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Very vulnerable to tall premovals by not being devotion.
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Without Hamadryads and Dunca it cannot reach the values of the other decks on long rounds.
TACTICAL CHOICES
The alternative still remains Devotion Symbiosis otherwise Ida Emean aep Sivney and Ciaran aep Easnillen can be replaced but doing so we will most likely be exposed to Kolgrim and any Defender’s combos.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/568fe12a78e92274b141737d709638a0
AUTHOR
Movius
INTRODUCTION
With the new cards added to Nilfgaard, an archetype that hasn’t been seen for a very long time, Hyperhtin! Is back in vogue. Personally one of the funniest decks ever, it is an excellent alternative to the classic Nilfgaard Scenario, and with the new cards he finally has a consistent way of winning round 1 / holding up a push, a weakness that had not yet found a solution.
Ideally very simple gameplan, win Round 1, push Round 2, and get to Round 3 with only tibor in the deck, then using the various Yennefer: Divination and Triss Merigold to score a lot of points.
STRENGTHS
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A short Round 3 at the limit of the unbeatable if played properly
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Thinning to 0 we see literally all the cards in the deck every game
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In general flexible, between lock, tall removal and play very strong time even outside the final combo
WEAKNESSES
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Draw dependant, having too many wrong bricks / cards in Round 1 means not winning it, and not winning it means not pushing, and not pushing generally means losing
-
Impossible to beat mill decks
TACTICAL CHOICES
There are no particular variations possible, the Van Moorlhem Hunters can be swapped for any 4 provisions that are valid.
DIFFICULTY
Difficult
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/c1684308ae7607513dabf7fc92ad3f7b
AUTHOR
Quigon96
INTRODUCTION
This deck is not the first choice for a faction like Syndicate, but it still remains a viable option for those looking for a consistent and different list from Jackpot and Pirate’s Cove.
This archetype is based on the strength of its multiple removals and the speed of its plays, making it one of the best Tier 2 decks of this Gwent Meta Snapshot # 14 – ENG !
STRENGTHS
-
Even though Round 1 is now weaker, thanks to devotion the deck has a much stronger long round, one of the best in this meta.
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It always has the Drill and Cleaver combo thanks to a coin setup provided by Swindle, which generates a difference of about 20 points and can remove important units from the opponent’s board.
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The deck is significantly more solid against swarm archetypes like Elves and Arachas, in fact thanks to the presence of Whoreson Junior it’s like having a second Drill.
WEAKNESSES
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Due to the nerf to the Halfling Safecracker, you will often have to leave Round 1 to your opponent in order not to risk losing on even.
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Like all devotions decks you will often not have access to the cards you need at any given moment, as Vivladi’s Bank is not very reliable as a tutor.
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Suffer from no-unit decks.
TACTICAL CHOICES
If you want to return to the no-Devotion version, you can insert Oneiromancy and Sir Skewertooth by removing Vivaldi’s Bank and Whoreson Junior.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/5a85b7875c9321a676f9bd05b7f0c6ba
AUTHOR
infern-ale
INTRODUCTION
Thanks to the modifications of the Northen Realms’s cards and the addition of Megascope, we gladly welcome back the long-gon and forgotten “Blue Stripes“.
The deck that is potentially unrivaled on short rounds thanks to the Foltest/Blue Stripes Commando which combination cannot fail to find space in this meta. Last place of Tier 2 for our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
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It is able to face any deck both in a long or short round.
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Not vulnerable to tall punishment.
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Several tutors make it difficult to miss the cards you need.
WEAKNESSES
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Vulnerable to cards with aoe damage such as Lambert or Lacerate.
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If the opponent breaks our Blue Stripes Commando combo, we will be in a very difficult situation.
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Vulnerable to banishing cards such as Northen Wind or Squirrel
TACTICAL CHOICES
The best alternative is the variant with devotion and Roche: Merciless which is more powerful but also more draw dependent
DIFFICULTY
Medium
TIER 3
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/7d3a718af5a878f3e5dede9b5fc9b0c4
AUTHOR
Quigon96
INTRODUCTION
With the release of the new expansion pack, the druid archetype has seen much strength, among the various changes the most notable ones were the arrival of the Bride of the Sea and the buffs to Mardroeme and the Armored Drakkar.
If you are looking for a new Skellige deck that you can play competitively, this is the answer of our Gwent Meta Snapshot #14
STRENGTHS
-
This deck has both points over-time (for example Svalblod: Priest + Armored Drakkar) and tempo-plays (for example Alchemy + Crow Messenger + Crowmother); therefore it has a huge variety in game situations.
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Thanks to the discard package and the tinners, you will be able to see almost all the cards, leaving only 3/4 of them in the deck.
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It has a very solid short round thanks to the Gedyneith and the possibility of solving it in a move thanks to Ermine or the combo with the leader + Bride of the Sea.
WEAKNESSES
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It has a weaker long round 3 than many archetypes in meta, so you need to get round control by winning Round 1.
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Little control on the opponent’s board, because your only removals are: Korathi Heatvawe and 1/2 Gigascorpion Decoction.
TACTICAL CHOICES
By removing Morkvarg: Heart of Terror, Svalblod: Totem, Maxii and the 2 Crow Messenger you can insert a pack of cards plus Points Slam consisting of Dracoturtle, Covenant of Steel and Sigdrifa’s Rite.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/e65d058d9c837ec10ebccce1b69c2156
AUTHOR
WhiteWolf19__
INTRODUCTION
Skellige is not having an happy time in this meta and is struggling to find a deck that can play on equal terms with the other factions
The new Megascope card, however, offered an interesting idea to improve an archetype that we know very well: Lippy Discard. Big return in this Gwent Meta Snapshot #14 – ENG
STRENGTHS
-
Deck capable of abusing the red coin like few others.
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Very short round, stronger than ever, thanks to the carryover generated by Megascope used alongside the Drummonds: Shieldmaiden capable of producing up to 33 points with the single play of Cerys an Craite plus leader in Round 3.
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Extremely solid deck: thanks to the discard package and thinning you see all the cards.
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Good control over the opponent’s board thanks to the removals offered by Korathi Heatwave and Curse of Corruption plus the shots from Blueboy Lugos, Coral and the Brokvar: Hunter.
WEAKNESSES
-
Among the Drummonds: Shieldmaiden, Rutilia and Knickers it is very easy to brick the hand.
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It doesn’t have the points to take long rounds against the other factions.
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Nilfgaard’s new bronze cards and the presence of numerous engines in the meta make it more difficult to take home the Round 1 than in the past, making it sometimes impossible to push Round 2.
TACTICAL CHOICES
You can change something in the discard pack by replacing Coral with Snowdrop or by changing the tactical advantage by inserting the Cursed Scroll to have an extra tutor who can fix the hand in Round 1.
DIFFICULTY
Medium
DECKLIST
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/600b6cb0ec13c70d7f621f9722d01537
AUTHOR
conteduval
INTRODUCTION
The archetype Warrior with Devotion of Skellige has been with us in the ladder for more than a year now, changing shape from time to time.
In this season we find the variant with the discard package alongside the now solid and worthy warrior package, led by Eist of Tuirseach.
For the leader’s ability, as in the last season we find Blaze of Glory, given its natural affinity with Eist.
The game plan remains similar to the old versions, giving up some control tools, such as Hjalmar or Blood Eagle, but gaining a solid discard package with Coral and Birna Bran giving a much more solid round 1 than last season and other very big tempo-plays like Totems and Tyrggvi. Second place for our Gwent Meta Snapshot #13 – ENG
STRENGTHS
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Like all previous versions, the deck offers several control tools to limit the enemy’s engines, as well as numerous units with the possibility of doing damage, very useful to bring the enemy’s units to death-range.
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The deck is very consistent, the discard package allows you to score a lot of points to win round 1 (which was a problem for the old version) and at the same time allows you to thin cards from the deck in order to draw literally everything.
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The combination of Eist of Tuirseach with the leader’s ability, even without activating bloodlust, guarantees the absurd amount of 25-26 points, 12 of which are removal. This is one of Gwent’s strongest plays.
WEAKNESSES
-
Even if this version has a more solid round 1, we must necessarily win round 1 to exploit eist to its maximum potential and not let us steal it under a push.
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The fact of having to use almost always Eist and the leader at the same time, coupled with the problem of not being able to win round 1, tends to be the main problem of this deck; once we lose the first round we will more likely be pushed until we are forced to use Eist, and therefore also the leader, losing a lot of the potential of the deck.
TACTICAL CHOICES
You can still play the full warrior version:
https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/78ce7d619eef0d75fb2c642d2d0d7e84
DIFFICULTY
Easy
