Gwent Meta Report #22

May 6, 2021 wusubi

Welcome to our 22nd meta report! Due to several buffs to bronze crimes, SY is finally back in business, as Lined Pockets is the best deck in the game. Arachas Swarm is also powerful, but with Lockdown out of the picture, MO players have viable alternatives in Viy and Carapace.

While NG can still rely on Masquerade Ball, SK has a new toy in Eist Tuirseach, making Blaze of Glory the leader of choice. Despite the recent nerfs, NR Witchers are performing reasonably well.

On the other hand, Deadeye Ambush is struggling, mostly due to Tunnel Drill being so efficient at killing Elven Deadeyes. ST has some niche alternatives in the forms of the familiar Nature’s Gift and the less familiar Mahakam Forge, as Dwarves are now somewhat competitive with Brouver Hoog leading the charge.

Saber97 has prepared a quick video overview of the meta report, going through all the decks and tiers. Check it out here!

We will update the report regularly in order to provide the community with a spot-on representation of the current meta. You can join our Discord if you have any questions.

Graphics: WellMax81
Editing: Wusubi, Sebodunum
Writers: Gravesh, Lorakko, McP0yle, Pajabol, Saber97, Spybie, SpyroZA, Thekeyer
Consultants: Anda, Green-Knight, Lance, Qnerr, SpecimenGwent

With the latest patch, Lined Pockets skyrocketed from being barely a Tier 3 deck to being the by far strongest deck in the meta. You usually want to win Round 1 with Safecrackers while building up carry-over for Round 2. Try to keep Sea Jackal in your hand, as he’s your least committal spender. In later rounds, you want to start with Cleaver and spawn a few copies of Cleaver’s Muscle, then destroy the opponent’s board with Tunnel Drill. If the game ends up in a short Round 3, you still have a lot of points tied to the likes of Gord and Jacques de Aldersberg. -Saber97

Strengths:

- You have insane Round 1 tempo with Halfling Safecrackers and Novigradian Justice

- In later rounds, you can rely on Cleaver, combined with potent control tools such as Tunnel Drill and Philippa Eilhart

Weaknesses:

- Geralt: Yrden and other forms of tall punish

Considerations:

- Korathi Heatwave, Skewertooth, Bloody Good Fun

With a good matchup spread, Arachas Swarm has emerged as the go-to pick for MO. While having a healthy balance of swarm and pay-off cards is important, you also need to have a clear game plan. You either want to win Round 1 or pass early so you can defend the bleed. Crimson Curse is a powerful tool that can be used to defend said bleed with, but it can also apply pressure in Round 1 and secure a long Round 3, where utilizing cards like Bone Talisman, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Chimera to their full potential makes you favored against most decks in the game. -Spybie

Strengths:

- If you manage your resources properly, the deck excels at playing into all three rounds

- Good matchup into the majority of meta decks, with unmatched long round potential

Weaknesses:

- Vulnerable to Geralt: Yrden and row punish (e.g. Crushing Trap)

Considerations:

- You can try out this version with Geralt: Yrden or this version with Portal and Knickers

Standing the test of time, Devotion Warriors still maintain their place in the meta. Eist Tuirseach is a potent addition, providing Blaze of Glory with an incredible finisher. While Morkvarg: Heart of Terror has lost his Warrior tag and his place in the archetype, he quickly found his way back into the deck, improving your matchup against Lined Pockets and Double Cross. This deck aims to utilize a powerful balance between pointslam and control tools, ensuring that you have the ability to shut down many of your opponent’s engines and synergies. -SpyroZA

Strengths:

- Insane 30+ point finisher potential in Eist combined with leader and Jutta an Dimun

- Your control options are better than ever, along with strong tools to defend the bleed

Weaknesses:

- Blaze of Glory being tied to Eist makes your game plan less flexible

- Vulnerable to non-interactive strategies, can struggle in a short round without last say

Considerations:

- You can try out this version with Hjalmar an Craite

This engine-overload version of Masquerade Ball has one of the best long rounds in the game. Thanks to cutting the lock cards, Joachim is able to pull bronze engines, poisons and gold cards more consistently. You can also play one of your gold Aristocrats in Round 1 (preferably Joachim) and then put it back at the top of your opponent’s deck using Gorthur Gvaed, allowing you to replay it with Cantarella. Hunting Pack and Menno Coehoorn add some consistency to the deck, while Double Cross not only gives you a lot of provisions, but also synergizes with Assimilate engines. -Pajabol

Strengths:

- With Gorthur Gvaed and Cantarella, you can contest Round 1 using Joachim de Wett

- Extremely powerful in a long Round 3 with Joachim being able to boost your engines outside of removal range

Weaknesses:

- Geralt: Yrden and other forms of tall punish

- Very reliant on drawing Joachim and Roderick of Dun Tynne, missing either of them can be detrimental to your game plan

Considerations:

- You can try out this version with Imprisonment

After the recent change, Carapace can no longer give Veil to Ciri: Dash. This limits your Red coin abuse potential, as you’re now more vulnerable to locks. Crystal Skull can protect Ciri: Dash on Blue coin, so she’s still very likely to go off when you have your Stratagem. You have a great Round 1 presence with cards such as The Beast, Nithral and Yghern. The usual game plan is to try and force out your opponent’s control tools with some smaller threats, which allows a card like Keltullis to take over the game. The prevalence of Arachas Swarm makes Forktail a fantastic inclusion. -Wusubi

Strengths:

- Preys on decks that have a limited amount of control tools

- Keltullis, Nithral and Ciri: Dash combined with efficient removal tools allow for various ways to take over games, even in a bad matchup

Weaknesses:

- If your big threats get answered, the whole deck falls apart

- Although some of its binary matchups make it look otherwise, the deck is incredibly difficult to pilot to its full potential

Considerations:

- Strays of Spalla

With Lockdown’s departure, everyone’s favorite MO deck is back and it’s ready to challenge your intellect. At first, you play Viy. Then you eat Viy. And then you play Viy and then you eat Viy. Jokes aside, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to approach each matchup in the meta and how to outmaneuver every single one of them: Play the Viy, then eat the Viy. On top of having all of the tutor cards available, the deck can also rely on strong tools like Haunt and Ihuarraquax, as well as Forktail to improve the matchup against Arachas Swarm. -Gravesh

Strengths:

- The straightforward nature of this list makes it easy to pilot and allows you to punish Devotion decks

- Has more points than any other deck in the meta if left unanswered, with extremely strong short round potential

Weaknesses:

- Geralt: Yrden and other forms of tall punish

- Can struggle against decks that have efficient control tools for your consume engines (such as locks or direct removal)

Considerations:

- Natural Selection

Despite experiencing a couple of nerfs that removed the deck from its Tier 1 pedestal, Witchers are still the go-to choice for NR. Erland and Vesemir: Mentor provide carry-over and despite the new row restriction, Lyrian Scytheman on a row full of boosted units still represents a great amount of points. Given the prevalence of Philippa Eilhart, many players have opted to cut Keldar. The deck now includes Prince Anséis and Geralt of Rivia as powerful control options, but if you encounter too many decks with highly-boosted rows, you should consider playing the notorious Geralt: Yrden. -McP0yle

Strengths:

- A well-rounded mix of engines, pointslam and carry-over

- Very strong on Blue coin, utilizing Crystal Skull to its full potential with Griffin Witcher

Weaknesses:

- Geralt: Yrden and other forms of tall punish

- With multiple cards having the Adrenaline condition, sequencing can get awkward

Considerations:

- Geralt: Yrden, Fortune Teller

Lined Pockets and Arachas Swarm are superior in every aspect, but don’t give up on Nature’s Gift just yet, as the deck can find some favored matchups against Masquerade Ball and SK Warriors. Hamadryad plus one leader charge is your bread and butter, allowing you to win Round 1 cheaply. If you end up in a long Round 3, Pavko, Eithné: Wrath of the Brokilon and Gezras of Leyda can put in some work, but you should usually try to bleed your opponent and aim for a short round with Gord. -Wusubi

Strengths:

- Strong Round 1 presence, Hamadryad and Shaping Nature allow you to win on even against a lot of decks

- On Blue coin, the deck has great carry-over plays in Dunca and Circle of Life, making your Round 2 bleed all the more threatening

Weaknesses:

- Lacks tall punish due to Devotion

- Struggles against Lined Pockets and every MO deck (Carapace, Arachas Swarm, Viy)

Considerations:

- Ciaran aep Easnillen

Deadeye Ambush finally delivers on the “Ambush” part. The addition of Eldain, the buffs to traps and Hattori’s new ability were enough to push the forgotten trap archetype into the meta. Feign Death can be used to secure Round 1, but it’s usually better to look for an early pass and then defend the bleed with traps and Eldain while saving the Scenario for Round 3 (or vice versa). Traps provide non-interactive gameplay, which is useful against SK. Strong long round potential and a few forms of tall punish allow the deck to perform well enough to mess around with, have fun and maybe even win some games. -Lorakko

Strengths:

- Great synergies between Elves and pay-off cards that can be played for decent tempo

- Being non-interactive while staying low-to-the-ground can prove to be useful against decks with an abundance of damage cards and tall punishes

Weaknesses:

- Round 1 can be awkward, depending on the amount of playable bronzes in your hand

- Getting bled in Round 2 is an issue, especially if you’re missing some of your key golds

Considerations:

- Curse of Corruption

Another provision nerf and the lack of good matchups have pushed our beloved Lippy out of Tier 2. However, this doesn’t mean that the deck can’t still be a viable option to bruteforce your way through the ranks. When you manage to execute your desired game plan and force a short round with your 25-point Cerys, the overall power level of this deck is nothing to scoff at. If you feel like you need additional control tools, replace Haern Caduch and Squirrel with Delirium and Decoction. -Thekeyer

Strengths:

- Various big tempo plays in Cerys an Craite, Svalblod Totem and the Discard package

- Excels at Red coin abuse (as long as you don’t brick too many cards), with a powerful Round 2 bleed and a great Round 3 finisher

Weaknesses:

- Underwhelming in a long round, you get outvalued by engine decks

- The deck has enough bricks to build a house, which makes it very draw dependent

Considerations:

- You can try out this version with Gigascorpion Decoction

We all know it - hard days at work, bad luck with love, not much to live for. Do you need something more in your life? That little spark to ignite the fire called passion within you? Well, Dwarves won’t be that spark, that’s for sure. But at least this wholesome deck is somewhat decent and pretty fun to play if you like to spend your free time with Solitaire. The addition of Brouver Hoog finally made this archetype worthwhile, so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. -Gravesh

Strengths:

- Loads of pointslam with some carry-over potential in Gabor Zigrin and Zoltan Chivay

- The abundance of armor provided by Mahakam Forge can work wonders against SK

Weaknesses:

- Geralt: Yrden and other forms of tall punish

- With Heatwave as your only control tool, you’re susceptible to engine-overload decks

Considerations:

- Munro Bruys, Zoltan: Warrior