Welcome to our 17th meta report! After multiple nerfs to SK, the meta feels truly balanced, perhaps for the first time since Iron Judgment. While NR and SK are a bit stronger than the rest of the field, every faction has at least 1 competitive deck, which makes the ladder experience quite pleasant.
We will update the report regularly in order to provide the community with a spot-on representation of the pro rank meta. You can join our Discord if you have any questions.
Editing: Wusubi
Writers: Jagdulf, Lorakko, Minuano, SpyroZA
Consultants: Gravesh, Green-Knight, Pajabol, Saber97, Specimen, Qnerr
Uprising decks certainly took a huge hit with the nerf to Vissegerd. However, due to SK losing a lot of power, Viraxas is looking quite hot in this season. While the deck feels unbeatable when it draws well, it also doesn’t have a tutor for its big golds, which is the only downside. Engines like Frigate, Temerian Drummer or Anna Strenger can be pulled with Amphibious Assault. This allows you to secure Round 1 and bleed the opponent in Round 2 if necessary. -Wusubi
Strengths:
- Strong engines and sufficient control tools, Viraxas can reset Anséis or Baron
- Amphibious Assault provides you with an easy way to win Round 1 and makes pushing deep into Round 2 appealing
Weaknesses:
- Row punish will hurt since you swarm the board a fair bit with Kerack Frigate
- Although the deck includes John Natalis and Amphibious Assault, you don’t have access to five of your high-end golds
Considerations:
- Try this version with Siege
- Falibor, Vandergrift, Ronvid, Kerack City Guard, Ballista
After several thousand nerfs, SK has caved in... or has it? While the faction has lost a fair amount of points, Warriors are still one of the best decks in Gwent. Due to An Craite Longships, winning Round 1 is usually a piece of cake. If the meta shifts towards decks that go more tall than wide, replace Wild Boar of the Sea with Morkvarg: Heart of Terror. You can always catch up with one of your gold cards, which makes this deck excellent at abusing Red coin. -Minuano
Strengths:
- Powerful in a long round with Wild Boar, solid short round with the leader ability
- The inclusion of the reworked Vabjorn does a great job of improving consistency
Weaknesses:
- Multiple nerfs to bronze cards have affected your ability to win Round 1 cheaply
- Playing more consistency cards results in having a less polarized deck, that may sometimes lack the points to beat greedy decks
Considerations:
- You can try Blaze of Glory or Ursine Ritual
- War of Clans, An Craite Warrior → 2x Drummond Berserker
This Gord deck includes Schirrú, who either helps you with defending the bleed or plays for massive value in Round 3. Needless to say, the deck feels unfair to play against when it gets Red coin, because it can generate tons of carry-over. Korathi Heatwave and Bekker’s Rockslide can answer sturdy threats, improving your odds against the likes of Viraxas. Novigradian Justice helps you with finding an early pass on Blue coin. -Wusubi
Strengths:
- An incredibly potent mix of engines, control tools and several huge finishers
- Schirrú punishes decks that play a lot of units with similar amounts of power
Weaknesses:
- Novigradian Justice can provide enough tempo find a pass, but on Blue coin, you’re at the risk of losing on even
- The deck relies on finding specific combo pieces at the right time, so missing cards like Oneiromancy and Fauve can hinder your game plan
Considerations:
- Try this version with Pavko
- Treant Boar, Adrenaline Rush, Dryad’s Caress, Pact
While the current meta is arguably the closest one we have seen since Iron Judgment, SY has some room to outpower the rest of the competition. Hidden Cache makes your proactive Hoard engines quite threatening, which allows you to apply lots of pressure in the first two rounds. With efficient control tools like Philippa Eilhart, Heatwave and the bronze Poison package, you should usually be able to shut down the key threats. -Wusubi
Strengths:
- The deck has some of the best engines and a wide repertoire of utility cards
- Your game plan usually revolves around winning Round 1 and pushing Round 2 with Passiflora, but given the engine-overload nature of the deck, you’ll be fine in a longer Round 3 as well
Weaknesses:
- As it is typical with SY, this deck has a steep learning curve and is hard to master
- The lack of a “direct” leader ability means that you have to play out all 3 rounds in order to get full value from Hidden Cache
Considerations:
- Adriano the Mink, Kalkstein → Maraal, Sly Seductress
- Tiger’s Eye, Azar Javed, Ewald, Mutated Hounds, Squirrel
Still a competitive alternative to Double Ball, the Single Ball version is a bit weaker than it was in the previous season. The main reason is that not every deck aims for the Devotion pay-off. Cards like Oneiromancy and Bomb Heaver are more common and can single-handedly shut down Masquerade Ball. However, the Scenario is amazing against the two most popular factions this season, SK and NR, as they both rely on Devotion. -Jagdulf
Strengths:
- Healthy amount of control tools coupled with strong engines make this deck incredibly powerful in a long round
- Multiple packages which synergize with each other, e.g. Fergus applying the Spying status will proc Thirsty Dame and Impera Enforcers
Weaknesses:
- Vulnerable to Bomb Heaver and Korathi Heatwave
- Can struggle with proactivity, weak to being bled in Round 2, especially if you miss some of your crucial cards
Considerations:
- Bribery, Deithwen Arbalest
In this iteration of Double Ball, NG sacrifices the ability to double-proc the Scenario with Tactical Decision for a better short Round 3 with Affan and Imperial Formation. The leader ability also allows you to protect engines, which means you can more freely contest the first two rounds. Thanks to the inclusion of soldiers like Tortoise and Magne Division, the deck doesn’t run into too many issues with proactivity. -Minuano
Strengths:
- Red coin abuse potential by utilizing Masquerade Ball twice, courtesy of Assire
- Imperial Formation helps you stay longer in a round, allowing you to boost your engines out of removal range
Weaknesses:
- Bomb Heaver and Heatwave can be a severe impediment to your game plan
- Archetypes that go more wide than tall can be difficult to play against, as they don’t give you good Poison targets
Considerations:
- Usurper Officer, Squirrel → Maraal, Imperial Diviner
- Imperial Formation, Affan → Tactical Decision, Maraal
Ethereal is still a really decent choice for ladder. Caranthir’s ability change no longer allows you to copy Ethereal, which freed up some provisions, so we can see the return of Haunt and Katakan. The deck is great at bleeding the opponent, while being able to win Round 1 cheaply. A nice amount of control tools gives you a good chance against engine decks and your Thrive and pointslam cards do a lot of work against Midrange decks. -Lorakko
Strengths:
- Scary Red coin abuse, massive reach with Thrive engines and the giant package
- With a very strong short and medium-length round potential, the deck excels at bleeding in Round 2, while being able to win Round 1 rather easily
Weaknesses:
- Schirrú, Bomb Heaver, gets outvalued in a long round by engine-overload decks
- Despite having Oneiromancy, some games can be quite tricky if you don’t find Brewess and your tech cards early enough
Considerations:
- One-Eyed Betsy, Yghern, Ozzrel
If nothing else, MO have always excelled at applying a lot of pressure. With some incredibly strong tempo plays, this deck can be extremely abusive on Red coin. When given round control, MO are able to smash a ridiculous amount of points in a couple of turns, leaving the opposition in the dust at times. Now including the reworked Ge’els along with Naglfar, Ard Gaeth and Winter Queen, the deck is fairly consistent. -SpyroZA
Strengths:
- Huge Red coin abuse potential, great at bleeding in Round 2
- It’s hard to play around all of your control tools, especially Miruna and Manticore
Weaknesses:
- Can struggle in a long round against engine-overload decks
- Weak to tall punish, can’t play Heatwave or Bomb Heaver because of Devotion
Considerations:
- Try this version with Haunt
Congregate Gord can utilize some new toys from the Master Mirror expansion. Oneiromancy makes it much easier to find the combo pieces and Heatwave. You can apply a lot of pressure with Intimidate engines and Whoreson Senior, ideally forcing a short Round 3. This variation utilizes Ulrich and Fallen Knight, however the Portal version is also solid. Halfling Safecracker fits the deck perfectly and improves your Round 1 potential. -Wusubi
Strengths:
- Ulrich and Whoreson Senior put multiple engines on the board in just one turn
- The deck includes some engines and a lot of removal, while also having potent finishers in Jacques and Gord
Weaknesses:
- Fairly draw dependent despite having Oneiromancy and Ferko
- SK and NG can shut down your engines with ease, which makes the matchup against these factions rather underwhelming
Considerations:
- Try this version with Portal
Nothing has changed for Deadeye Ambush. The deck still relies on a nicely polarized curve, allowing you to pressure the opponent in the first two rounds. If you manage to win Round 1 with cards like Half-Elf and the Poison package, you can push Round 2 with Vernossiel into Aelirenn and some pay-off cards. Eithné: Wrath of the Brokilon provides some much-needed engine value and also helps with row-stacking for Oak. -Wusubi
Strengths:
- Powerful control tools in the Poison package, Rebuke etc.
- Can apply a lot of pressure in Round 2 with Vernossiel and leader into Aelirenn, followed up with strong pay-off cards like Yaevinn and The Great Oak
Weaknesses:
- The deck row-stacks and thus gets punished by cards like Hemdall and Werecat
- Not too great in a long round, which forces you to play very aggressively and try to win Round 1 at all costs
Considerations:
- Novigradian Justice, Freixenet
Hyperthin, the loyal member of the sub-2400 MMR club, has gotten some cool tools which allow you to tempo-abuse even more effectively than in the past. The burst of points from Venendal Elite and Artorius Vigo into Impera Brigades can now be combined with the reworked Ciri: Nova, putting the opponent in a tough spot. Unfortunately, the deck has a few weaknesses which prevent it from becoming competitive. -Jagdulf
Strengths:
- Can easily put out a lot of early tempo with Artorius Vigo and Venendal Elites
- Lots of control options and multiple finishers make for a powerful short round
Weaknesses:
- Vulnerable to tall punish
- Your game plan can get hindered by poor draws
- Ciri: Nova is a magnet for Vincent van Moorlehem and Philippa Eilhart
Considerations:
- Hefty Helge, Bomb Heaver
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