The new patch introduced a new way to play NR: a Traveling Priestess deck. This 4-provision card gains 3 charges each time it’s shuffled back into the deck. The key cards to this strategy are King Radovid V, who grants you more leader charges, Snowdrop, who boosts herself by 2 for each card drawn, and Istredd, who’s Patience ability allows you to draw and shuffle back more cards with each passing turn. You can combine the Priestess with Tridam Infantry and Trollololo, resulting in a crazy finisher. The deck includes a modest Siege Engine package as a form of control, helping to relieve some of its solitaire nature.

If you manage to thin everything (Hubert Rejk, Knickers, Siege Masters) while playing Amphibious Assault twice, you can set up your Round 3 deck in a way where Vernon Roche pulls Traveling Priestess and Tridam Infantry, making your finisher even better. This won’t work if your opponent passes before you play Ring of Favor; in that case you’ll have to play one of your thinning cards from hand. It can also get disrupted by cards like Ihuarraquax, Matta Hu’uri and of course the Mill archetype. -EuronCrowsEye

Strengths:

- Consistent due to Pincer Maneuver, Snowdrop, Istredd and Griffin Witcher Mentors

- One of the finest finishers in the game with Traveling Priestess and Tridam Infantry playing for more than 30 points in some cases

Weaknesses:

- With so much thinning, the deck is vulnerable to getting milled by Tactical Decision

- Struggles against decks with multiple forms of tall punish, especially without last say

Considerations:

- Foltest’s Pride → Kaer Seren

- You can try out this version with Gerhart of Aelle

Wake up soldier, King Henselt needs your help with besieging the ladder! The deck can build tempo with Amphibious Assault and Ring of Favor while using its bronze engines, Heatwave and Vigo’s Muzzle to shut down the opposing treats. The modest revamp of Siege Master makes it easier to set up a Crew pocket while its Order ability makes the Siege Engines even stronger. Siege itself can wipe the opposing board, which is especially threatening when you have the first say, making Stockpile one of the best control decks in the meta. -Oliveira

Strengths:

- The deck packs an abundance of removal and is favored against other engine decks

- With the explosiveness of Siege, you can outpoint most decks in a mid to long round

Weaknesses:

- Susceptible to being bled, as your opponent can force you to play Siege and then pass

- As an engine deck, you struggle against decks with efficient control, e.g. Off the Books

Considerations:

- War Chariot, Margarita

Deadeye Ambush is in a good spot in the meta and thus still a solid option for ST. With the new Ring of Favor alongside cards like Vanadáin and Aelirenn, it’s easier to contest Round 1. Alissa Henson is used to put two Waylays back into the deck in order for Simlas to pull four copies, or even a second Heatwave against decks like Self-Wound. You have an easy time swarming the board with Feign Death, Simlas and leader charges, allowing you to utilize powerful pay-off cards like Vernossiel and Isengrim. When given round control, you can quickly generate a lot of tempo, making it very easy to disrupt your opponent’s game plan, force out their golds and win Round 3 with leftovers. -Zubedoo

Strengths:

- Powerful removal options in Simlas into four Waylays, Vernossiel and Yaevinn

- Can easily hold its own on Blue coin with Ring of Favor, Vanadáin and bronzes

Weaknesses:

- You rely on drawing multiple combo pieces in order to execute your game plan

- The deck has a couple of bricks and can struggle with over-swarming the board

Considerations:

- Toruviel, Squirrel

One of the best decks in the game, Self-Wound continues to dominate the meta, now more than ever with Golden Nekker and Ciri: Nova decks preventing people from playing Heatwave. With the nerf to Tuirseach Skirmisher, players have opted to include Oneiromancy and Maxii as their consistency options. Ring of Favor is also a great addition, as it helps you with winning Round 1 and gives you the option of boosting Sigvald. You outpoint most decks in the game and since decks with multiple tall punishes aren’t popular, Stockpile is the only matchup you have to worry about. -SpyroZA

Strengths:

- You have many threats that can overwhelm your opponent and win you the game

- Flexible game plan thanks to cards that are powerful in both long and short rounds, such as Melusine, Knut the Callous, Sigvald and Bride of the Sea

Weaknesses:

- Vulnerable to control decks, such as Stockpile with Heatwave and Vigo’s Muzzle

- The deck offers many different lines of play, which makes it a bit difficult to pilot

Considerations:

- Knickers, Xavier Lemmens

With the introduction of Shady Vendor and the buffs to Firesworn bronzes, Off the Books features one of the best bronze cores in the game. Shady Vendor especially is a low commitment, high flexibility card that has an infinite amount of uses, including, but not limited to, generating or spending Coins, removal, Poison and even hand manipulation with Eavesdrop. Combine the stellar bronzes with high value golds and you have the definition of a true all-rounder Midrange deck. -Gravesh

Strengths:

- Every card offers great standalone value, which makes the deck feel smooth overall

- Jack of all trades with some of the finest control and pointslam options in the game

Weaknesses:

- Similarly to other Midrange decks, Off the Books has a lower long round point ceiling than synergy-based decks

- The deck is hard to pilot due to the lack of consistency tools and the constant need of accurate Coin management

Considerations:

- Savolla, Whoreson’s Freak Show

Golden Nekker is one of the most popular cards in this meta and even SY didn’t escape its fever. While losing high-end removal options like Professor, Whoreson Junior and Philippa Eilhart, the deck still offers a fair amount of control due to Freak Show and the Poison package with Maraal and the Bleinheim brothers. Unlike most Golden Nekker decks, your engines can be protected using Conjurer’s Candle, which also functions as a spender with carry-over. In a shorter round, you can utilize Ciri: Nova, Savolla and Aerondight’s Echo ability as powerful finishers. -Oliveira

Strengths:

- Round 1 is easy to contest with your bronzes and the Bleinheim brothers, which allows you to grow the Aerondight damage

- The deck is quite effective at bleeding the opponent in Round 2, using Golden Nekker and carry-over cards like Ciri: Nova and Conjurer’s Candle

Weaknesses:

- You can’t include cards such as Professor and Whoreson Junior, making the matchup against engine-overload decks more difficult

- Similarly to other Golden Nekker decks, your long round isn’t that great, so you rely on bullying the opponent in the first two rounds

Considerations:

- Moreelse, Salamandra Mage

With the addition of Golden Nekker, there’s an incentive to play decks with no cards above 9 provisions. This deck plays Nekker along with Roach, Knickers, Blightmakers and Aerondight to play for a lot of tempo. This allows you to obtain round control and bleed the opponent while playing Ciri: Nova and using Gorthur Gvaed and Cantarella to steal one of their gold cards. The rest of the deck offers control options with the Imprisonment ability, Yennefer’s Invocation and Vilgefortz, while Vivienne de Tabris has a cheeky use in being able to shut down Thing from the Box. -EuronCrowsEye

Strengths:

- Winning Round 1 is quite easy due to the inclusion of Roach, Knickers, Blightmakers, Ring of Favor and Aerondight

- Decent amount of removal with Imprisonment, Yennefer’s Invocation and Vilgefortz allows you to punish solitaire decks like Traveling Priestess

Weaknesses:

- Midrange decks (e.g. Deadeye Ambush, Off the Books) can be tough to beat, because your control cards won’t find much value

- The deck is a bit awkward to pilot, you have a few bricks and Golden Nekker requires you to have at least 1 special and 1 artifact in the deck

Considerations:

- Lydia, Tourney Joust

Just like many other factions, SK has caught the Golden Nekker fever. The deck has some consistency with Roach, Knickers and the Discard package, even including Royal Decree to have direct access to cards like Ciri: Nova, Coral and Birna Bran. Other than Reckless Flurry, you have Aerondight, Junod and Hjalmar as your control options. The usual game plan is to win Round 1 while thinning as much as possible, then bleed the opponent while playing Golden Nekker and thinning down to 2 cards. This allows you to play Magic Compass in Round 2 and then utilize its Echo ability in Round 3. -Zubedoo

Strengths:

- It’s easy to win Round 1 with the Discard package, Roach, Knickers and Ring of Favor

- Cards like Golden Nekker, Magic Compass and Aerondight combined with Ciri: Nova make for a threatening Round 2 bleed

Weaknesses:

- Piloting this deck can be awkward, because some of your cards are either situational or can’t be played in Round 1

- Not drawing the Discard package can hinder your game plan, as you rely on finding Golden Nekker and Echo cards

Considerations:

- Haern Caduch, Decoction

Dwarves are back and stronger than ever! Patch 10.4 brought many buffs to this archetype, so there are different possibilities and cards that you can build the deck around. One of the highlights is Munro Bruys, now with an additional charge, who can transform three Rowdy Dwarfs into engines (Dwarf Berserkers). Since your tokens have 1 armor again, setting up Munro and Brouver Hoog is much easier with cards like Zoltan: Warrior, Zoltan’s Company and Dwarven Chariot. You also have access to some carry-over in the form of the newly introduced Giantslayer and the good ol’ Zoltan Chivay. -Inayesel

Strengths:

- Winning Round 1 should be easy due to a healthy balance of pointslam and engines

- Some decks have a hard time dealing with the combination of armor, carry-over and powerful threats like Munro Bruys and Brouver Hoog

Weaknesses:

- The deck is draw dependent and doesn’t have enough removal to beat engine decks

- Control-heavy decks can be a bit awkward to face, as you rely on your units sticking to the board to generate points with your pay-off cards

Considerations:

- Zoltan: Scoundrel, Barclay Els

Thanks to the tempo of Golden Nekker and the reach of Ring of Favor, even Arachas Swarm has some potential. With not much wide punish on the ladder, you have an easy time swarming with Arachas Nest, Spontaneous Evolution and Arachas Behemoth. This allows you to get nice value with pay-off cards like Zoltan: Scoundrel, Bone Talisman and Chimera. Given your leader ability and the fact that your units don’t go tall, Ornate Censer can be quite effective in this deck. While short on removal, you can still trade up on some engines with Dorregaray, Toad Prince and eventually Aerondight. -Zubedoo

Strengths:

- Tall punish and control cards are less effective, as you go wide and don’t play engines

- You have decent Round 1 tempo with Roach, Knickers and your bronzes, allowing you to generate carry-over with Aerondight and Ciri: Nova

Weaknesses:

- While not popular currently, wide punish can destroy you (e.g. Surrender in NG decks)

- Struggles against decks that can easily remove your tokens (Reckless Flurry, Stockpile)

Considerations:

- Griffin, Megascope

Vampires are back and they’ve teamed up with Golden Nekker and Ciri: Nova to wreak havoc once again. Utilizing the potential of Fleder and its synergies with other cards, this deck can produce an insane amount of tempo while setting up your graveyard for a round of bloody madness, where you can double-dip on your bronzes with Necromancer’s Tome. The deck requires more skill than your average MO deck to pilot, but will reward you with an extremely satisfactory playstyle. -Lorakko

Strengths:

- The combination of great pointslam options and threatening engines makes the deck extremely dangerous on Blue coin

- You can punish other greedy decks with limited control tools - yeah, Dwarves are cute, but they can’t do much against this powerhouse of a deck

Weaknesses:

- While Aerondight and Toad Prince are solid value cards, the deck lacks hard removal

- You rely on drawing specific cards in Round 1 - if you miss out on Fleder and Operator, your game plan starts to fall apart

Considerations:

- Armored Arachas, Knickers