Welcome to our fifth Syndicate card review. The Novigrad update has been out for a week and we're finally bringing you the very last gang review. SirLoathing took his time to analyze Whoreson Junior and the rest of the brutal Cutups gang.
You can always take a look at our reviews of the other gangs. Tidecloaks - Crownsplitters - Blindeyes - Firesworn.
Whoreson Junior turned out as one of the weaker Syndicate leaders. He doesn't provide the flexibility of King of Beggars or the raw power of Gudrun. Similarly to how Adda combines her leader ability with Hubert, or how Harald neatly utilizes Dagur, Whoreson Junior can use his ability on a unit with Bounty, thus offering decent synergy with Caleb Menge. However, Whoreson has proven to be a less effective leader for Bounty decks than King of Beggars. This could change with further tweaks to the faction and new card releases, so don't count him out just yet.
Whoreson Senior has all the makings of a powerful engine, but the pieces haven't fully come together yet. With the ideal setup, his payoff can be huge. If both Cutup Lackey's survive, you suddenly generate 4 points each time you play any Crime. Keep this card in mind when brewing a Crime deck, as Senior can be insanely strong in the right deck.
Igor the Hook has become an instant classic. Copying bronze engines provides a number of creative options for how one can secure the game. Not to sound like a broken record, but a deck around him hasn't fully emerged yet, although many streamers and players have tried their best. Due to the cyclical nature of Insanity, coupled with a strong engine, Igor's potential is high.
Boris is an awesome card. With the recent nerf to Freak Show, this angry bear is the strongest card the Cutups gang can offer. If his numbers don't change, he will keep showing up in almost every Syndicate deck. Boris plays as a potent 9 for 8 when you trigger his Deathblow ability and synergizes nicely with Bounty. He plays as a 6 for 8 when he doesn't kill the target, which is a very impressive fail-safe when compared with other conditional cards that play above their provision cost (i.e. Geralt of Rivia).
Tatterwing is a dual-faction card for Monsters and Syndicate. It can be combined with a powerful Insanity card such as Igor, as Tatterwing boosts itself by base power, not current. This is quite conditional and can often be difficult to set up. The next best option is destroying The Flying Redanian, which results in a fairly consistent 10 point play for 8 provisions, provided that the opponent doesn't just banish your Redanian. Monsters can naturally utilize Tatterwing to trigger any of their Deathwishes.
Pugo Boom-Breaker is another Cutups dual-faction card for Monsters and Syndicate. While he isn't that great in SY decks, he quickly became an imperative card for MO. Arachas Queen and Gernichora can both generate full value out of Pugo, often getting more value by using Pugo to activate a Deathwish unit, such as either of the Foglets or Harpy Egg.
Whoreson's Freak Show was arguably the most potent card in the whole set, if not in the entire game. As we all expected, the card got totally murdered in the recent hotfix. While a nerf was certainly warranted, combined with the nerf to Apothecary, we doubt that Freak Show will find its place in any refined list.
Casino Bouncers provide you some thinning, multiple bodies and even a small income sink. This adds up to a card that can easily be included in any SY deck. Sign me up for a couple of rather fashionable lads in clown masks with axes, especially if they make my draws stronger for the remainder of the match.
Wheel of Fortune shouldn't be in your deck. It often fails to destory its target and you would rather play different crimes. There are better options at 5 provisions like Dip in the Pontar, Eavesdrop, Shakedown and other Crimes that generate coins.
Payday is a conditional 7 for 5. It should be played in a deck that can reliably set up its Deatblow. Avoid playing two copies.
Arena Ghoul will try to fool you into thinking that it's a great card for King of Beggars. But even with Tribute cost reduction, Ghoul ends up as a 6 for 5, while SY has multiple 6 for 4 cards. If SY gets a card that directly benefits from higher base power (i.e. Hjalmar in SK) Ghoul can potentially become a good filler. Until then, avoid this card.
Arena Endrega can be compared with Dimun Light Longship. If you feel like your deck could use some help with setting up Deathblow cards like Boris or Payday, then Endrega can be an excellent choice, as it can also help with collecting the Bounty.
Bloody Good Fun is a very interesting card. In general, you want to avoid 3 for 4 value cards. That being said, if you are playing a spell/crime-heavy deck without so many coin sinks, this card can offer a bloody good coin sink. It could see some play as a one-off in Crime or Shupe decks since it's so cheap.
Cutup Lackey comes to Gwent at a very curious time. A few months ago, 4 for 4 with the potential of being a longer round engine was far above the curve. These days, it seems that the expected value for a bronze card is 5 for 4, if not even 6 for 4. This card is great in any Crime deck, especially when coupled with Portal. On top of that, Lackey premium art is a bar-setter.
Kikimore Warrior is the last dual-faction card for MO and SY. It has potential to create a 4 provision impression of Kaedweni Revenant in Monsters, but is very easy to kill. As such, the card feels pretty underwhelming, as MO have better options at their disposal and SY doesn't have any efficient use for Kikimore yet.