The downfall of control decks like Precision Strike, Revenants and Lippy makes Carapace an appealing ladder option. As usual, you should aim to abuse Cave Troll and Ciri: Dash in Round 1 for card advantage. Try to force your opponent’s big answers like Heatwave with some of the minor threats to enable your top-end cards to take over the game. The buffs to Wild Hunt Hound and Dimeritium Bomb allow you to replace Foglets, which makes your bronze core more reliable. -Wusubi

Strengths:

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

- Keltullis and Ciri: Dash combined with efficient removal 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:

- Frenzied D’ao, Red Haze

Due to the nerfs to Viy, the Devotion version of Nature’s Gift has once again found its way into the meta. The deck does very well against Ursine Ritual Warriors, which is one of the top dogs this month. You have very few unfavored matchups and even those are winnable if you play well enough. With 11 Nature cards, the Symbiosis tags on Hamadryad and Eithné: Wrath of the Brokilon can be really powerful. Nature’s Gift is likely the only ST deck that doesn’t mind losing Novigradian Justice, as you’ve got a lot of high-tempo plays at your disposal. -Saber97

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 Carapace and Kolgrim decks in certain situations

Considerations:

- Ele’yas, Freixenet

The meta features several archetypes that rely on engines, so Imposter still has its merits. While Masquerade Ball decks have one of the best long rounds in the game, they’re also notorious for their lack of consistency. Given the limited amount of golds at your disposal, missing one or two of them can be terrible. In an attempt to remedy this, the deck includes Impera Brigades and Hunting Pack for the additional thinning. The game plan remains the same - mulligan carefully and look for a hand that’s good enough to win Round 1, or pass as soon as possible and get ready to defend the bleed. -Wusubi

Strengths:

- Ramon Tyrconnel and Braathens are as strong as ever, allowing you to either contest Round 1 or defend the bleed with ease

- With Poison, Yennefer’s Invocation and all the bronze locks, you have a lot of efficient answers for tall units and engines alike

Weaknesses:

- Struggles against swarm decks like Deadeye Ambush

- With different packages being included, you could end up with a dysfunctional hand

Considerations:

- Double Cross, Lockdown

- Impera Brigades → Vanhemar, Deithwen Arbalest

Creeping its way into the meta last season, Ursine Ritual Warriors have proven to be very effective. Borrowing much from its predecessors, the deck is now equipped with a better value core in Cerys an Craite and Blueboy Lugos, allowing you to bleed the opponent in matchups where a long round isn’t desirable. With the buff to Djenge Frett, many players have opted to cut Tyrggvi Tuirseach for Djenge and Gremist, trading a higher point ceiling for more utility. -Minuano

Strengths:

- The inclusion of more tech cards allows you to adapt to different matchups

- A strong combination of control and value cards further increases the deck’s flexibility

Weaknesses:

- Cerys an Craite comes with the cost of having two additional bricks

- Carapace with Keltullis is still the bane of Devotion SK decks and a tough nut to crack

Considerations:

- Tyrggvi Tuirseach, Bear Witcher

- You can try out this version with Patricidal Fury or another one using Reckless Flurry

After Tailbot’s success in the Top 16 qualifier, his control-heavy Blaze of Glory deck has taken the ladder by storm. It allows you to stay on top of your opponent’s strategy, picking apart engine-based decks with multiple sources of damage and hard removal. Since this is a Non-Devotion deck, you can utilize powerful Neutral cards such as Heatwave and Madoc. Usually, you’re happy to take a long Round 3, but you can also go for a soft bleed with Svalblod Totem and Birna Bran if necessary. -SpyroZA

Strengths:

- With a myriad of control tools, the deck excels at dismantling engine-based strategies

- While being a reactive deck at heart, you have decent pointslam options in Birna Bran, Svalblod Totem and Haern Caduch

Weaknesses:

- Can struggle with proactivity

- The sequencing can get awkward with your leader ability, Birna Bran and Geralt: Quen

Considerations:

- Hjalmar an Craite, Red Haze

Despite losing a reliable way of playing Novigradian Justice, the control spin on Precision Strike is still a viable way of playing ST. Justice was a fantastic tempo play, although the bricks throughout the deck would often result in an unplayable Round 1 hand. With three forms of tall punish, you do well against decks like Carapace and Witchers. Forest Protector into Nature’s Rebuke or Tempering gives you a much-needed tempo play which can be used to secure Round 1. -SpecimenGwent

Strengths:

- Heavy control combined with a plethora of uninteractive cards can leave the opponent struggling for proactive plays

- Powerful in a long round with immune cards and removal tools, while having a decent short round finisher in Harald Gord

Weaknesses:

- The nerf to Justice makes the deck worse on Blue coin

- Can struggle with proactivity, relies on finding Oneiromancy

Considerations:

- Schirrú, Isengrim’s Council

Since most decks in the meta don’t run any row punish, Arachas Swarm has emerged as a respectable alternative to Carapace. This deck relies on swarming the board using Organic cards and then boosting all of the Drones with Yennefer of Vengerberg, Bone Talisman and Chimera. The buff to Ekimmara makes Crimson Curse a solid inclusion, improving your Round 1 alongside cards like Spontaneous Evolution and Arachas Behemoth. You also have great control tools such as Korathi Heatwave, Parasite and Dorregaray, which allow you to effectively deal with most threats in the game. -Pajabol

Strengths:

- The deck stays low-to-the-ground, reducing the value of removal cards and potentially bricking any form of tall punish

- Good Round 1 presence with cards like Crimson Curse, insanely strong in a long round where Geralt: Yrden allows you to outvalue any deck in the meta

Weaknesses:

- Vulnerable to row punish and cards like Lambert: Swordmaster

- Struggles against engine-overload and decks that can efficiently remove your Drones

Considerations:

- Dol Dhu Lokke, Endrega Eggs

Ciri: Nova has always been considered a meme card, but now she finally found her place in the deck manipulation archetype. Most of the cards you want to run don’t cost more than 9 provisions, so her condition isn’t a big deal here. Nova can be highly impactful in many situations. For example, you can use her to tempo ahead deep into Round 1, forcing the opponent to either lose on even or take the round down a card and then be down 8 points in Round 2. You can also rely on Hefty Helge, multiple Viper Witcher Mentors and Kolgrim, who can easily play for 10+ points per turn. -Saber97

Strengths:

- Great removal tools in Hefty Helge and the Tactics package, along with big finishers in Viper Witcher Mentors and Kolgrim

- The deck can win on even due to the extra tempo from Roach and Knickers, and it also punishes the opponent for having a bad hand in Round 1 by reducing their odds of ever finding their high-end golds

Weaknesses:

- You don’t have any tall punish or locks, so it’s very difficult to beat a deck like Carapace

- If your opponent draws most of their golds and/or tutors like Oneiromancy in Round 1, the deck-clogging aspect of this deck will lose a lot of its power

Considerations:

- Imperial Diplomacy, Spores

Prepare for trouble, and make it double! Enabled through the wide-ranging buffs to bombs and Viper Witcher Mentor, NG has assumed one of its vilest forms yet - double Madoc. The game plan is simple: play a bomb, copy your Madoc, play more bombs, win the round with Mentors, then abuse your carry-over. On top of the core idea, this list features high-end control tools such as Heatwave and Invocation in addition to a small deck-clogging package consisting of Cynthia and Coated Weapons. -Gravesh

Strengths:

- Insanely high power level when your double Madoc combo goes uninterrupted

- Excels at Red coin abuse, very annoying to play against due to the carry-over, powerful removal and the deck-clogging cards

Weaknesses:

- Struggles if Madoc gets banished

- Limited proactive options before your Viper Witcher Mentors are ready to go

Considerations:

- Dancing Star, Red Haze

Lippy has been a viable alternative to Warriors for several months by now, and with the “Way of the Witcher” expansion, it got some useful additions in Haern Caduch and Bear Witcher. Moreover, Roach and Knickers are both 1 provision cheaper, making the deck more attractive. That said, Lippy appears to be the inferior pointslam deck when compared to Ursine Ritual Warriors. The biggest upside is having access to multiple forms of tall punish, which is crucial against decks like Carapace. -Andasama

Strengths:

- Various big tempo plays in Cerys, Svalblod Totem, Caduch 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:

- Snowdrop, Stunning Blow