A detailed analysis of Reveal and its tools

[Khreygond]

A detailed analysis of Reveal and its tools

Welcome. This thread's purpose is to give you some insight and guidance on Reveal, after a lot of playtesting and trying various combinations. I've always loved the mechanic and always wanted to make it work.
Let's get some things clear though first

• I like making decks that are as "pure" archetypes as possible. Which means I dislike including hybrids or cards that are generally useful if they are outside the archetype. This often hinders my deck building but this guide's purpose is not to tell you what's the best reveal deck out there (there isn't one you are going to fail if you even try finding it xD ) but to help you build your own based on what you want your deck to achieve
• There are a lot of Reveal synergy cards. You can decide what suits you best. In general they all have weaknesses and strengths. This analysis will go through most of them one by one to tell you what to watch out for and do's and don't's
• In general, the whole Reveal archetype feels like CDPR has been trying to make it competitive but failing miserably at every turn sadly (I'd love to see it being actually competitive). For me there are a lot of reasons for that. For one, Reveal depends a lot on your hand, not on your deck. Where Discard makes things available from your deck for immediate play, Reveal targets each player's hand, effectively limiting the options of what you can do. Secondly, it lacks any powerful finisher. you have to hope that the initial tempo you've gained is enough to carry you to victory. On the other hand, this carries advantages, being able to out-tempo CA spies (Cantarella is no problem when you play Vattier De Rideaux and Reveal 2 Fire Scorpions while summoning 2 golems ) very easily.
• Reveal, when played, feels nigh automatic. The revelations, the moves seem standard. In reality it is one of the hardest archetypes to play efficiently with. Because it relies on your hand and has very few deck-to-board thinning tools, you have to do a lot of guessing and predicting what you are going to draw in each round. You very often need to plan ahead and establish the ideal hand in order to stand a chance in a short Round 3. Not planning ahead can cost you the match very easily
• While most of the cards have great abilities (like the Daerlan Foot Soldiers), their overall strength is subpar (they are STR 4, and Golems are STR 3). Taking a look at the strengths of each bronze card allows you to determine where Reveal is lacking. When your Daerlan Foot Soldiers and Golems are expended, you can often be bled out of your strength. You have 15 Bronzes with 6 of them being STR 3 and 4. Despite their cool abilities, this is not often enough to keep you in the fight forever.

Without further ado, let's look at the types of Reveals that you can do:

Power Reveal: Focuses on Revealing your own cards. Relies on a large amount of Daerlan Foot soldiers and Fire Scorpions in your hand to go through.
Intel Reveal: Focuses on revealing the enemy cards. Relies on Golems, Venendal Elites and revealing key enemy cards such as Geralt: Igni and Priestesses of Freya

You will find that, especially in the current meta, it is very hard to disrupt strategies, even if you know them. That is because the focus is shifted into deploy abilities, not active engines. Units that offer a lot of value without setup are more preferable in the meta. As such, intel reveal offers little in terms of long term value usually. I personally prefer Power Reveal, not only because it is far more interesting and complicated to play, but also because it offers a lot of points and gives you slightly more control, it is not solely dependent on what your opponent's strategy is and how quickly you get wind of it. Plus, the Power Reveal's Fire Scorpions can shut down enemy engines efficiently.

Part I: The Decks

• The Reveal Netdeck:

This deck is the most common variant of Reveal you will encounter. It relies on neutral cards as finishers, most notably Villentretenmerth and Scorch. Myrgtabrakke is also a common option, most probably to shut down small units or deliver 6 points of concentrated damage, enough to shut down most engines, especially engines damaged by Mangonels. Many people used to run SC and Yennefer: Enchantress is there mostly to replay the Scorch and gather some more value.
I find Korathi Heatwave (formerly Drought. Awesome name btw xD ) to be an unreliable option here. Nilfgaard as a faction lacks ways to move units around, so you will never gain enough value with that. Play it too early and your opponent will stack their units on one row. Play it too late and you lose a lot of turns of value.

Important Note: Don't run Spotters with this deck, obviously

• Reveal Deck with Spotters:

The spotters offer good value but have one significant drawback: They will probably all come at the same power. Making them perfect Scorch targets. Plus, since they are boosted, they can be reset. With devastating effects. On the other hand, the Spotters can fill the need for a finisher if you manage to go to Round 3 with them and a decent target in either hand. You can also swap a Nilfgaardian Knight for a Venendal. Personally I feel this limits the timing of Cantarella, but since that is already limited by the spotters, it doesn't make too much of a difference. Cynthia is also a decent choice for this deck

• Mixed Reveal/Mill

This is the deck I personally like using. (Notice it runs 16 Bronzes that's because the card reveals are exactly calculated for optimal play with Daerlans and Fire Scorpions.). The milling aspect goes a long way into drawing the cards you need in your hand while also disrupting the opponent's deck thinning. This deck is not designed to mill either player completely, but as much as possible ensure you get the whole bronze core played or to your hand. The important thing to note here is to avoid wasting Reveals. If you don't have enough reveal targets in your hand, you must try to avoid using your leader or Cahir for example because the revealers are exact. Vattier De Rideaux should be used on 2 Fire Scorpions to summon 2 Golems. The third Golem is summoned by Albrich. Then all of the other reveals go into your Daerlans and Fire scorpions, concealing them when necessary. This can severely limit your play if you don't have enough reveal targets or deck thinners (Albrich, Shilard, Cantarella, Avallac'h) in your hand.

As you can see, this deck is of a different philosophy than the others examined so far. It comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. For example it relies a lot on your hand. The opening hand that I consider ideal is composed of:

- 2x Daerlan Foot Soldiers
- 2x Fire Scorpions
- Mangonel/Vrygheff
- Master of Disguise
- Vattier De Rideaux
The rest. As you can see at least 7 cards are a must in this case. Making the ideal hand quite a rarity. You will often have to adapt, namely using Vattier on Daerlans for example. Or one Daerlan and one Fire scorpion. You need to also make sure Cahir isn't bricked by the time you get to R3. But it carries a lot of long term pay off by the Fire Scorpions, and by the time you start to play those, they will be worth 12 points each, courtesy of Henry Var Attre.


Part II: The Tools

As promised, this section will analyze the numerous options one has at their disposal when making a Reveal deck, Going from Bronze, to Silver, to Gold. Let's start with the basics:

Bronze:

• Imperial Golem STR 3: Summon this unit on a random row whenever you reveal a card in your opponent's hand

Pros:

+ Great summoning condition
+ Offers a decent proactive play that many Reveal decks would otherwise lack
+ Deck Thinning
+ Good synergy with Assire Var Anahid.

Cons:

- Too weak on its own
- Will almost assuredly brick your hand if not summoned in the first round
- Too vulnerable to Battering Rams
- Random Row placement means it might go into a row with hazards

Summary: This is the most commonly used card in the Reveal Archetype. The popularity of this card with Voorhis reaches 100% in every meta report and that's unsurprising. It offers great deck thinning and is awesome for putting early pressure to an opponent. Decks with a slow start are at the mercy of Reveal exactly because of this card.

In general, this card is worth the inclusion, in fact it's worth getting all copies of it too. There's no Reveal deck without those

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• Daerlan Soldier STR 4: Whenever you Reveal this card in your hand, play it on a random row and draw the new top card from your deck

Pros:

+ Most powerful Deck Thinner (compared to Reaver Scouts, WH Navigators, Slyzards in non-nekker decks, Elven Mercs, etc.)
+ Another great proactive play
+ Deck Thinning

Cons:

- Must be in your hand
- Will severely limit deck design if you decide to take those. Say bye bye to Vilgefortz, Reconnaisance, Joachim De Wett, and lots of great deck-to-board thinners.
- Getting stuck without being able to reveal those is a death sentence
- Blindly drawing the new top card can make or break you. Reveal them too early, and you will draw Golems, Roach and Alchemists. Wait too long and you won't be able to, or will only draw subpar Alchemists or Fire Scorpions.
- Also Vulnerable to Battering Rams

Summary:

This card is definitely worth the inclusion, IF you are going for a traditional Reveal deck. You need to maximize the possible Reveal Targets in your deck, in order to draw as many of these as possible to your hand. But, you might try experimenting without those, and going for Reconnaisance, Joachim De Wett, Vilgefortz potentially and other deck-to-board thinners. I haven't tried this

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• Fire Scorpion STR 5: Deal 5 Damage to an enemy. Trigger this ability whenever you reveal this card in your hand

Pros:

+ Primary Point Swing generator for the Reveal Deck
+ Great synergy with Concealers (Master of Disguise, Henry Var Attre)
+ One of the few Reveal plays which is not bad in a short round, if you are playing after your opponent
+ Limited Removal

Cons:

- Must be in your hand
- Will severely limit deck design, just like the Daerlan Soldier
- Reactive play, unable to be used or revealed on an empty board.
- Subpar if not revealed.

Summary:

This is the best card in the baseline Reveal deck. This is what allows you the gigantic point swings that reveal is known for. On top of that, it allows for limited removal a well. Even if you can't draw it, it is at least 10 points, not 4 or 3 like the Daerlan and Golems respectively.

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• Venendal Elite STR 1: Swap this unit's power with that of a Revealed unit.

Pros:

+ Crazy synergy with Cantarella
+ Decent Synergy with Cynthia
+ Good for siphoning enemy finishers if you manage to reveal them (Bloody Baron, Dol Blathanna Sentry)

Cons:

- You couldn't ask for anything worse without a target
- Opponent can mulligan away the card you used it on, if it's not crucial to them, cutting down its power by 50%
- Mandrake's prevalence counters this card's only great combo

Summary:

This card is only crazy on paper. Most decks don't pack big targets. Or they can mulligan away whatever is hit. If you want to include it, it's usually worth taking only one of those, to be used on your Cantarella, but even then, most decks pack Mandrake. I wouldn't particularly recommend it. It's usually just better to take another bronze.

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• Alchemist STR 9: Reveal 2 Cards

Pros:

+ Triggers Reveal abilities
+ Useful with Concealers
+ High strength means you can tutor it with Alzur's Double Cross,

Cons:

- Like everything in this deck, it's subpar without a reveal target or golems.

Summary:

Fairly Straightforward card. Every Reveal deck runs at least 2 of those. Love this

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• Nilfgaardian Knight STR12: 2 Armor. Reveal a random card in your hand

Pros:
+ High base power
+ Great synergy with Leo Bonhart
+ While the card revealed seems random, it seems to prioritize revealing bronzes in your hand, giving you a higher chance at revealing a Daerlan or a Fire Scorpion

Cons:
- Effect still at least somewhat random.

Summary:

In most reveal decks, it's usually worth the slot if you decide to take only one of those, especially if you run Leo Bonhart. Usually the third Alchemist is one card revealed more than you need, while this can serve as your finisher if you save it for last with a single reveal target in your hand. If you decide to run Concealers though, it's not worth it. MoD's have a similar base power and the extra reveal effects are necessary. Also, never run more than one. Having 2 in hand means one will reveal the other most probably, instead of what you actually want it to reveal.

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• Spotter STR 5: Choose a Bronze or Silver Revealed unit in either hand and boost self by its base power

Pros:
+ Great synergy with Cantarella and Leo Bonhart.
+ Decent with Cynthia
+ Very powerful

Cons:
- Scorch bait
- You usually can't pick different targets with this. Even if you do, your opponent can easily align a big scorch with all of them
- Mandrake bait.

Summary:

This is not particularly good. It might be ok in certain matchups, but usually, I would recommend going for more Alchemists, Fire Scorpions and Daerlan than these. They are unreliable and very easily countered. If you do decide to take them, try to have a way to tutor them from the deck, so that they don't take up a precious slot in your hand.

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• Mangonel STR 7: Damage a random enemy by 2. Repeat this ability whenever you reveal a card

Pros:
+ Really only needs 1 turn to get great value
+ Decent proactive play
+ Can be tutored
+ Makes spare Reveal effects useful

Cons:
- Very High threat and easy to remove. It means it still doesn't get enough value, as a 9 point swing is meh to say the least.

Summary:
This will work in some decks. It got popularized by the netdeck. But usually it doesn't get enough value as it gets countered too quickly. It's a great card if you manage to get it to stick on the board though

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• Master of Disguise STR 11: Conceal 2 cards

Pros:
+ Decent proactive play
+ Worth as much as the nominal bronze on its own
+ Makes spare Reveal effects useful


Cons:
- Really needs Revealed fire scorpions in your hand to work. Very limited condition as it needs at least 2
- Limits deck design. Not as much as Fire Scorpions and Daerlan, but since you have to take Fire Scorpions with this, your deck will have to follow a specific route
- Vulnerable to Scorch

Summary:

I quite like this card. And I feel it's pretty underrated. My latest reveal deck runs 2 of those and it seems more successful than taking mangonels. Also the high strength means you can tutor them with Alzur's Double Cross, freeing up slots in your hand for potential reveal targets. Even on its own it's worth 11 points, which is always nice.

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• Vicovaro Medic STR 1: Resurrect a bronze unit from your opponent's Graveyard

Pros:
+ Decent proactive play in Rounds 2 and 3. Good if the opponent drypasses and you do not want to waste golems or reveal effects
+ Greatswords tech
+ Minor Nekker tech
+ Minor Elven Swap tech (by stealing Elven Scout, the usual Hattori target)
+ Useful in the mirror for getting more Alchemists, Mangonels, you name it
+ Useful against Alchemy, which spawns cards from your starting deck with SDs
+ Minor disruption against Henselt, as you can steal machines before they shuffle them back in the deck/Resurrect them with Shani
+ Worth at least 11 points in Rounds 2 and 3 usually

Cons:
+ Dead in Round 1
+ Takes up a Bronze slot, so it won't work in most reveal decks, as the bronzes are pretty tight.

Summary:
Definitely worth taking one of those if you can afford to.
If you use concealers for example, you usually don't need more than 2, leaving you a slot for 1 Vicovaro medic, which is great in most matchups. It is useful all aroun against most of the top tier decks, and especially greatswords. It can also be tutored from your deck via Marching Orders

 

[Kerset]

Yennefer doesn't work well with just SINGLE spell. There is really decent chance that you won't draw scorch, leaving you with value 5 gold card.

I don't understand, why did you take guardian on second deck. This is fun card but you could choose cynthia or henry, which have far superior synergy.

As for milling, how about Tibor? He can reveal and mill enemy at same time. Above that even, if you don't mill enemy competently and leave him with 1-3 cards, he might not have bronze card there and give you free 25 points.

 

[mdkost]

Have to admit the whole point of Spotter is making your opponent give you round 1 or waste cards on it thinking you will never use him again. Which would work better if:

You combine Vicovaro Novice who will take out Ointment from your deck and bring them back. That said, you'll only be able to keep x2 of those including Spotter most likely so you don't clog your hand at the beginning with useless stuff. But, this way you can continue bronze onslaught Round 2 or even 3 if needed. Using spotter not just 3 times but 4 times, all the while your opponent under the impression that guy will stay dead after you used the card first few times.

 

[Khreygond]

Yennefer doesn't work well with just SINGLE spell. There is really decent chance that you won't draw scorch, leaving you with value 5 gold card.

I don't understand, why did you take guardian on second deck. This is fun card but you could choose cynthia or henry, which have far superior synergy.

As for milling, how about Tibor? He can reveal and mill enemy at same time. Above that even, if you don't mill enemy competently and leave him with 1-3 cards, he might not have bronze card there and give you free 25 points.

Hmm, that deck does a bit of thinning via golems, Vrygheff, Cantarella and Daerlan soldiers. Besides if you don't draw Scorch you can always mulligan Yennefer.

That's because if you notice, this deck relies on high tempo plays to bully the opponent out of the round. The only tech card is Auckes. The rest are all tailored for point spamming, Like Assire mixing Roach and a golem back into your deck. The Guardian is 11 points on top of its ability which isn't bad, especially in a high tempo deck like this

As for the last, you are correct. I just tried him against the ST meta decks and he performs really well so far. He either doesn't draw anything for the opponent, or draws him a Vrihedd sapper which is useless as the last card to have in your hand

 

[Bleach25]

Reveal is my favourite archetype. But there are problema I think you're underestimating, namely:

- lack of a decent card pool. There aren't many cards directly synergising with Reveal, i.e. not only the card has "Reveal" in the description but it's widely used in the archetype

- lack of steam. Look at consume, how manu cards do they have to, well, consume? Almost all their bronze Cores. We only have alchemists and some gold cards and they are rather underpowored as engines when they aren't used with Fire scorpions

- Unlike spies It doesn't have emissaries (Daerlans brick once you finish you steam)

 

[RockPassage]

I hate this type of deck (in the sense that it's extremely effective against me). Not the kind of deck I'll play but would love to hear reliable counters to it, (ideally elf). So far I've been running repeated lock alchemy.

 

[Khreygond]

I hate this type of deck (in the sense that it's extremely effective against me). Not the kind of deck I'll play but would love to hear reliable counters to it, (ideally elf). So far I've been running repeated lock alchemy.

Reliable counters? well, don't thin that much if you are elf. My deck works against elves because they thin their bronze core out completely with Elven mercenaries and reconnaisance and wardancers. Control can help taking down enemy Mangonels, take them out early and it loses a lot of power. If you get to the last round with CA, you can scorch Tibor without your opponent ever knowing what hit him

 

[TheEpicWhale]

I've had good succes with dropping the Mangonels alltogether.
Yes they can dish out nice damage, but most of the time they are just cannonfodder.
At the moment i field:

Gold:
Cahir
Bonhart
Vattier
Royal Decree

Silver:
The Guardian
Henry var attre
Peter Saar Gwynleve
Scorch
Vanhemar
Last Wish

Bronze:
3x imperial gollem
3x Daerlan Soldier
3x Fire Scorpion
3x alchemist
2x Master of disguise
1x Nauzicaa Sergeant.

My aim is basically to start out with Morvran himself for a 20 point play, with 3 golems and 1 daerlan soldier.
After that the easiest game is just shooting the scorpions from hand and covering them up again.
I have had surprising good succes with this deck. But those 19 point alchemist/scorpion swings are fairly deadly.
The silvers are still being tweaked. Sweers somehow never works out for me, but i might give Assire a shot.
I'd never suspected the guardian being so succesfull in bricking my opponents hand. but that lvl 6 units pops up more often then you'd expect.

 

[devivre]

I'm currently experimenting with this version of Reveal - it's basically a Spell'gaard deck.

GOLD:
Yennefer Enchantress
Dandelion: Poet
Aguara: True Form
Muzzle

SILVER:
Cantarella
Myrgtabrakke
Vanhemar
Last Wish
Scorch
Artefact Compression

BRONZE:
3x Alchemist
1x Nauzicaa Sergeant
3x Fire Scorpion
3x Daerlean Soldier
3x Imperial Golem
2x Vicovaro Medic


Something still seems missing to make it great.
But none of the other existing cards were able to convince me so far. I wish Reveal had a way to swap cards in your hand, that might make Fire Scorpions a lot more useful.



EDIT: I'm now trying to play with Assire instead of Vanhemar.
EDIT: Assire wasn't always that great for me so I switched it with Runestone. Currently I went back to First light instead of Nauzicaa Sergeant because I needed at least one reliable way to clear all weather.

 

[Khreygond]

I'm currently experimenting with this version of Reveal - it's basically a Spell'gaard deck.

GOLD:
Yennefer Enchantress
Dandelion: Poet
Aguara: True Form
Muzzle

SILVER:
Cantarella
Myrgtabrakke
Vanhemar
Last Wish
Scorch
Artefact Compression

BRONZE:
3x Alchemist
1x Nauzicaa Sergeant
3x Fire Scorpion
3x Daerlean Soldier
3x Imperial Golem
2x Vicovaro Medic


Something still seems missing to make it great.
But none of the other existing cards were able to convince me so far. I wish Reveal had a way to swap cards in your hand, that might make Fire Scorpions a lot more useful.

I tried something similar, going with Vesemir and Mandrake and the Runestone for Silvers. It didn't work out very well. Daerlan soldiers suck in my opinion, because the inclusion of them means you can't include any deck to board thinner, and even Last Wish is a risk. Plus, they blindly draw new cards, which means they can make you or break you. They can draw golems, brick thinners if you have any, etc.

Finally Golems are too automatic. You can't NOT summon them. If someone drypasses against you, your weakest play is Alchemist which is bound to summon 2 golems.

Note, these are not just problems with your deck, but the reveal archetype in general. If you don't include golems and daerlan, your thinning is massively slow.

There have been a couple of good suggestions in the Nilfgaard suggestion thread, (which I really hope the devs read, some of these thigns have GOT to be implemented ) like golems being summoned from the deck only when your opponent plays a revealed card or daerlan soldiers allowing you to look at the card before they draw it, like the old Cantarella. Allowing you to decide weather to place it at the bottom and draw the new top card or keep it.

I've been meaning to ask though, does the Nauzicaa Sergeant find any use? It is just 10 points and clearing one row of weather can only make a difference against veterans if they draw an play birna early. Every other deck that uses weather uses a lot of it. Wouldn't a Master of Disguise or an NG knight (who can also negate 2 points of weather damage) be a better choice?

 

[devivre]

I've been meaning to ask though, does the Nauzicaa Sergeant find any use? It is just 10 points and clearing one row of weather can only make a difference against veterans if they draw an play birna early. Every other deck that uses weather uses a lot of it. Wouldn't a Master of Disguise or an NG knight (who can also negate 2 points of weather damage) be a better choice?

In general D. Soldiers and Golems work fine for me. I'm more worried about the endgame since there's often no traditional finisher. But yeah, I can see your point.

The main reason for N. Sergeant was that I needed points and D. Soldiers make First Light too risky (and in most of my decks I like having weather clears, which of course is only my preference). It's not an amazing solution but if I combine it with 5 str. Dandelion I can avoid losing too much tempo in certain situations. So it gives me a certain amount of flexibility and I do see enough decks that play weather cards to justify it - then again, I'd consider adding Master of Disguise if I have to play against many Reveal decks. Currently that is not the case. N. Sergeant is also okay if the opponent passes at the start of round 2, because then I often can give my revealed Fire Scorpion 3 more points, which makes that card more useful in round 3.

Besides, currently when I mulligan away Firescorpion in round 2 I'm getting it back in round 3 in 8 out of 10 cases. So I don't feel like I really need Master of Disguise or Henry that much.

 

[Khreygond]

devivre

there is another use for the MoD: Against NG Handbuff.

I passed early and let him strengthen an Imperial Manticore to 19 and then I concealed it in his hand when he revealed it. His spotters ended up being STR 10 and I won the match even with a bricked Cahir in my hand.

I guess the main difference though is that if you include concealers you have to alter the way you play, you have to keep revealed fire scorpions in your hand and not mulligan them away. But it might be useful in certain matchups like that.

 

[devivre]

devivre

there is another use for the MoD: Against NG Handbuff.

I passed early and let him strengthen an Imperial Manticore to 19 and then I concealed it in his hand when he revealed it. His spotters ended up being STR 10 and I won the match even with a bricked Cahir in my hand.

I guess the main difference though is that if you include concealers you have to alter the way you play, you have to keep revealed fire scorpions in your hand and not mulligan them away. But it might be useful in certain matchups like that.

Yeah, I know I did that too when I used that card a while ago.

I don't necessarily need that right now because I can scorch or artefact compression their reveal targets before they get to use it (and with Yen and sometimes Aguara I can repeat that).

 

[TheEpicWhale]

If someone drypasses against you, your weakest play is Alchemist which is bound to summon 2 golems.

My fix for this is kinda simple
Play the alchemist and reveal nothing.
Not the best move, but better than make 2 reveals, lose 2 golems and have your opponent probably swap 1 of the reveals

 

[Khreygond]

TheEpicWhale devivre I made a new Reveal deck, which is probably the best one I've tried yet The reason I tagged you is because it's basically a merging of your decks xD It goes like this

Dandelion: Poet
Yennefer: Enchantress
Vattier De Rideaux
Cahir

Last Wish
Alzur's Double Cross
Assire Var Anahid
Roach
Henry Var Attre
Cantarella

2x Master of Disguise
3x Alchemist
3x Imperial Golem
3x Daerlan Soldier
3x Fire Scorpion
1x Vicovaro Medic

I've been meaning to stick Scorch somewhere in there but it's really only useful against Skellige. Besides, with Last Wish and ADC I have the potential to play the entire deck.

The good thing about ADC, aside from access to the spy, is that it plays cards that you do not need in the hand. There is no way it will pull you a daerlan or a fire scorpion for example. After the spy, it's either Assire or an MoD and since you draw and thin cards from the deck at an incredible rate, you are bound to know what it is. Roach leads to ungodly initial tempo if you have Vattier (up to 31 points if you reveal 2 Fire Scorpions), meaning that the 2 points ADC gives to Cantarella are no problem. The rest of it is pretty standard. Reveal - Conceal - Reveal again as much as possible. Minimizing the revelations of enemy cards. Dandelion: Poet is a great card for this deck, which profits a lot from having certain cards in hand so thank you for that Finally Assire can shuffle back Roach and a Golem making her an 18 point play at worst (or more at best if you shuffle Greatswords back in ) usually by the end I have all fire scorpions in hand and Assire + Cahir leads to a lot of points

 

[devivre]

Looks interesting indeed - with the extreme amount of revealing going on in this versions Henry and Master of Disguise definitely seem to make sense here.

 

[TheEpicWhale]

Yeah, reveal is the deck i have been playing 99% now.
Really like what you did with the deck, might give this a shot as wel.

I am wondering if this deck wins so much because of the huge power swings.
Or that people tend to hold back on cards because they expect those mangonels.

 

[Khreygond]

Yeah, reveal is the deck i have been playing 99% now.
Really like what you did with the deck, might give this a shot as wel.

I am wondering if this deck wins so much because of the huge power swings.
Or that people tend to hold back on cards because they expect those mangonels.

I think it's the huge power swings If you get 2 Fire scorpions in hand, you alternate between 11 points and 19 points with this "Reveal - Conceal - Reveal" game Usually throwing the MoDs with ADC or Yen: Enchantress into ADC gives you even more points, and there's even Dandelion: Poet to make things worse for the opponent. The ease with which you can force him 2 cards down, even on the blue coin (due to access to your spy) is amazing.

Plus I really didn't expect the Vicovaro medic to be that useful. He'll find some use in every matchup against top tier decks. Greatswords lose because you can steal the largest, especially if you happen to shuffle the rest back in the deck, Alchemy's SDs will create something from your deck, so you can steal that, ST will have Elven Scouts, you might even deny Hattori's target this way. Henselt usually lacks great targets to steal but getting a Machine before they shuffle it back in with Nenneke can be of use as well

Ok, update time. I'll be editing this part into the OP as well

Part II: The Tools

As promised, this section will analyze the numerous options one has at their disposal when making a Reveal deck, Going from Bronze, to Silver, to Gold. Let's start with the basics:

Bronze:

• Imperial Golem STR 3: Summon this unit on a random row whenever you reveal a card in your opponent's hand

Pros:

+ Great summoning condition
+ Offers a decent proactive play that many Reveal decks would otherwise lack
+ Deck Thinning
+ Good synergy with Assire Var Anahid.

Cons:

- Too weak on its own
- Will almost assuredly brick your hand if not summoned in the first round
- Too vulnerable to Battering Rams
- Random Row placement means it might go into a row with hazards

Summary: This is the most commonly used card in the Reveal Archetype. The popularity of this card with Voorhis reaches 100% in every meta report and that's unsurprising. It offers great deck thinning and is awesome for putting early pressure to an opponent. Decks with a slow start are at the mercy of Reveal exactly because of this card.

In general, this card is worth the inclusion, in fact it's worth getting all copies of it too. There's no Reveal deck without those

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• Daerlan Soldier STR 4: Whenever you Reveal this card in your hand, play it on a random row and draw the new top card from your deck

Pros:

+ Most powerful Deck Thinner (compared to Reaver Scouts, WH Navigators, Slyzards in non-nekker decks, Elven Mercs, etc.)
+ Another great proactive play
+ Deck Thinning

Cons:

- Must be in your hand
- Will severely limit deck design if you decide to take those. Say bye bye to Vilgefortz, Reconnaisance, Joachim De Wett, and lots of great deck-to-board thinners.
- Getting stuck without being able to reveal those is a death sentence
- Blindly drawing the new top card can make or break you. Reveal them too early, and you will draw Golems, Roach and Alchemists. Wait too long and you won't be able to, or will only draw subpar Alchemists or Fire Scorpions.
- Also Vulnerable to Battering Rams

Summary:

This card is definitely worth the inclusion, IF you are going for a traditional Reveal deck. You need to maximize the possible Reveal Targets in your deck, in order to draw as many of these as possible to your hand. But, you might try experimenting without those, and going for Reconnaisance, Joachim De Wett, Vilgefortz potentially and other deck-to-board thinners. I haven't tried this

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• Fire Scorpion STR 5: Deal 5 Damage to an enemy. Trigger this ability whenever you reveal this card in your hand

Pros:

+ Primary Point Swing generator for the Reveal Deck
+ Great synergy with Concealers (Master of Disguise, Henry Var Attre)
+ One of the few Reveal plays which is not bad in a short round, if you are playing after your opponent
+ Limited Removal

Cons:

- Must be in your hand
- Will severely limit deck design, just like the Daerlan Soldier
- Reactive play, unable to be used or revealed on an empty board.
- Subpar if not revealed.

Summary:

This is the best card in the baseline Reveal deck. This is what allows you the gigantic point swings that reveal is known for. On top of that, it allows for limited removal a well. Even if you can't reveal it, it is at least 10 points, not 4 or 3 like the Daerlan and Golems respectively.

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• Venendal Elite STR 1: Swap this unit's power with that of a Revealed unit.

Pros:

+ Crazy synergy with Cantarella
+ Decent Synergy with Cynthia
+ Good for siphoning enemy finishers if you manage to reveal them (Bloody Baron, Dol Blathanna Sentry)

Cons:

- You couldn't ask for anything worse without a target
- Opponent can mulligan away the card you used it on, if it's not crucial to them, cutting down its power by 50%
- Mandrake's prevalence counters this card's only great combo

Summary:

This card is only crazy on paper. Most decks don't pack big targets. Or they can mulligan away whatever is hit. If you want to include it, it's usually worth taking only one of those, to be used on your Cantarella, but even then, most decks pack Mandrake. I wouldn't particularly recommend it. It's usually just better to take another bronze.

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• Alchemist STR 9: Reveal 2 Cards

Pros:

+ Triggers Reveal abilities
+ Useful with Concealers
+ High strength means you can tutor it with Alzur's Double Cross,

Cons:

- Like everything in this deck, it's subpar without a reveal target or golems.

Summary:

Fairly Straightforward card. Every Reveal deck runs at least 2 of those. Love this

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• Nilfgaardian Knight STR12: 2 Armor. Reveal a random card in your hand

Pros:
+ High base power
+ Great synergy with Leo Bonhart
+ While the card revealed seems random, it seems to prioritize revealing bronzes in your hand, giving you a higher chance at revealing a Daerlan or a Fire Scorpion

Cons:
- Effect still at least somewhat random.

Summary:

In most reveal decks, it's usually worth the slot if you decide to take only one of those, especially if you run Leo Bonhart. Usually the third Alchemist is one card revealed more than you need, while this can serve as your finisher if you save it for last with a single reveal target in your hand. If you decide to run Concealers though, it's not worth it. MoD's have a similar base power and the extra reveal effects are necessary. Also, never run more than one. Having 2 in hand means one will reveal the other most probably, instead of what you actually want it to reveal.

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• Spotter STR 5: Choose a Bronze or Silver Revealed unit in either hand and boost self by its base power

Pros:
+ Great synergy with Cantarella and Leo Bonhart.
+ Decent with Cynthia
+ Very powerful

Cons:
- Scorch bait
- You usually can't pick different targets with this. Even if you do, your opponent can easily align a big scorch with all of them
- Mandrake bait.

Summary:

This is not particularly good. It might be ok in certain matchups, but usually, I would recommend going for more Alchemists, Fire Scorpions and Daerlan than these. They are unreliable and very easily countered. If you do decide to take them, try to have a way to tutor them from the deck, so that they don't take up a precious slot in your hand.

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• Mangonel STR 7: Damage a random enemy by 2. Repeat this ability whenever you reveal a card

Pros:
+ Really only needs 1 turn to get great value
+ Decent proactive play
+ Can be tutored
+ Makes spare Reveal effects useful

Cons:
- Very High threat and easy to remove. It means it still doesn't get enough value, as a 9 point swing is meh to say the least.

Summary:
This will work in some decks. It got popularized by the netdeck. But usually it doesn't get enough value as it gets countered too quickly. It's a great card if you manage to get it to stick on the board though

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• Master of Disguise STR 11: Conceal 2 cards

Pros:
+ Decent proactive play
+ Worth as much as the nominal bronze on its own
+ Makes spare Reveal effects useful


Cons:
- Really needs Revealed fire scorpions in your hand to work. Very limited condition as it needs at least 2
- Limits deck design. Not as much as Fire Scorpions and Daerlan, but since you have to take Fire Scorpions with this, your deck will have to follow a specific route
- Vulnerable to Scorch

Summary:

I quite like this card. And I feel it's pretty underrated. My latest reveal deck runs 2 of those and it seems more successful than taking mangonels. Also the high strength means you can tutor them with Alzur's Double Cross, freeing up slots in your hand for potential reveal targets. Even on its own it's worth 11 points, which is always nice.

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• Vicovaro Medic STR 1: Resurrect a bronze unit from your opponent's Graveyard

Pros:
+ Decent proactive play in Rounds 2 and 3. Good if the opponent drypasses and you do not want to waste golems or reveal effects
+ Greatswords tech
+ Minor Nekker tech
+ Minor Elven Swap tech (by stealing Elven Scout, the usual Hattori target)
+ Useful in the mirror for getting more Alchemists, Mangonels, you name it
+ Useful against Alchemy, which spawns cards from your starting deck with SDs
+ Minor disruption against Henselt, as you can steal machines before they shuffle them back in the deck/Resurrect them with Shani
+ Worth at least 11 points in Rounds 2 and 3 usually

Cons:
+ Dead in Round 1
+ Takes up a Bronze slot, so it won't work in most reveal decks, as the bronzes are pretty tight.

Summary:
Definitely worth taking one of those if you can afford to.
If you use concealers for example, you usually don't need more than 2, leaving you a slot for 1 Vicovaro medic, which is great in most matchups. It is useful all around against most of the top tier decks, and especially greatswords. It can also be tutored from your deck via Marching Orders

That's it for Bronzes. The next part will look into Silvers and Golds, as well as add things I might have forgotten to include so far cheers. And thanks for reading

 

[Bleach25]

Lately I've been playing with this list:

3x Alchemist
2x Master of disguise
3x Fire Scorpioni
3x Mangonels
2x Daerlan
2x Golem

I've dropped one Daerlan and one Golem and I've reduced hand bricking by 90%. I also find that it's more synergystic with Morvran (you reveal 2 of your cards and 2 golems) and also for the Assire-Vattier-fire scorpion combo

Assire
Cantarella
Vrygheff
Hefty Helge (swarms and long rounds)
Henry Var Attre
The Guardian

Vattier
Cahir
Skellen
Tibor

If you're against a big finisher deck try to win on even cards and round 2 Force him to play his big finisher. If you execute correctly the combo (and you're lucky) you can find yourself with a 24 points finisher (less if you don't get the Guardian, more if you manage to:
Get Assire
Your opponent mills himself
You Highroll a Wardancer or another brick)

 

[Khreygond]

Lately I've been playing with this list:

3x Alchemist
2x Master of disguise
3x Fire Scorpioni
3x Mangonels
2x Daerlan
2x Golem

I've dropped one Daerlan and one Golem and I've reduced hand bricking by 90%. I also find that it's more synergystic with Morvran (you reveal 2 of your cards and 2 golems) and also for the Assire-Vattier-fire scorpion combo

Assire
Cantarella
Vrygheff
Hefty Helge (swarms and long rounds)
Henry Var Attre
The Guardian

Vattier
Cahir
Skellen
Tibor

If you're against a big finisher deck try to win on even cards and round 2 Force him to play his big finisher. If you execute correctly the combo (and you're lucky) you can find yourself with a 24 points finisher (less if you don't get the Guardian, more if you manage to:
Get Assire
Your opponent mills himself
You Highroll a Wardancer or another brick)

What mostly interests me is your use of Tibor. I see you don't aggressively mill the opponent with cards like Albrich, Shilard or Avallac'h but instead hope to brick him via Assire or the Guardian.
Reveal's short round 3 is deplorable, worse than the Wild Hunt's, with Fire scorpions worth 10 points (and you'll lack a target), so it needs some big finisher for Round 3, Guardian plus Tibor seems to do the trick. I will try tweaking your list a bit and see what's what Thanks