Cat Witcher Saboteur - What will make me play this card

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rrc

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The shittest faction card introduced in WotW expansion is Cat Witcher Saboteur hands down. At 5P, it will NEVER EVER be played (unless there is a Daily Quest which says Play CWS 5 times Rewards 20 RP). I had discussed about this many times, but I want to make some valid suggestions for this card to see play.

Option 1 (most useful and definitely will see play): 4 strength, 5 provisions. Deploy: Move a unit to the left by one card. Repeat the ability until the card is on the left most. Bonded: Also damage the unit by 1 if it is an enemy unit or boost it by 1 if it is an ally.
Option 2 (useful and good and may see play replacing Matrons): 5 strength, 5 provisions. Deploy: Move a unit to the left most. If it is an enemy unit, damage by the number of card moved and if it is an ally, boost by the number of cards moved.
Option 3 (simplest and CDPR's most favourite idea of balancing): Make it 4 strength, 4 provisions.

5P cards are the most important and the "theme/archetype" cards in any deck and this being a 5 with its current ability makes this card DeadOnArrival. I wish they make some change to this card. They trying to buff it (and failing miserably) gives hope that they have an eye on this card and want to make it playable.
 
I have Cat Witcher Saboteur in my harmony deck.

Why?
- With the cat witchers I have three witchers in total. So I can use the tag to trigger harmony. Cat witcher are often destroyed fast which is nice. Then I can trigger harmony again with another witcher.
- Usually opponents do not have this card in their mind and often he finds nice targets to be a 9 for 5 + removal.

For other SC strategies (Elf swarm + Gezras + Great Oak, Symbiosis + Gezras + Great Oark, Guerilla Tactics deck) there are better alternatives to my mind.
 
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Actually, this card is a good counter for Gezras
It's not a "good" counter for Gezras, because it will ONLY kill Gezras if there are between 5 and 7 cards on the row besides Gezras and one of those cards isn't a Sentry. That's a very rare and specific scenario. A rebuke is a "better" counter to Gezras AND everything else. And even if this card really was a "good" counter against one single card, that still means it a terrible, unplayable card.
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...
- Usually opponents do not have this card in their mind and often he finds nice targets to be a 9 for 5 + removal.
...

Sorry, but "usually" and "often" are HUGE hyperbolae here. In fact, it would be more accurate (though also wrong) to replace both of them with "never." I bet you also get like "easy 10 for 4" value out of the Cat Adept, because "everyone" immediately stacks 6 units on every row AND one of those units is definitely 6 hp.
 
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Sorry, but "usually" and "often" are HUGE hyperbolae here. In fact, it would be more accurate (though also wrong) to replace both of them with "never." I bet you also get like "easy 10 for 4" value out of the Cat Adept, because "everyone" immediately stacks 6 units on every row AND one of those units is definitely 6 hp.

Honestly, I think this card is not very strong but also not bad. In harmony deck the main idea is the following:

1) Have a few harmony units on the board and play cat witcher -> Usually your opponent will do the best to kill him.

2) Then you basically can play a witcher tag unit again to get those harmony boost. And there I am thinking in alternatives. I have a second cat witcher for that fun. But what about the third witcher?
- Cat Witcher Adept: No usually you avoid row stacking with harmony because of Yrden
- Cat Witcher Mentor: No, same resoning and you can not expect many movers
- Other witchers: To expensive in terms of provisions.
=> So I simply went for Cat witcher saboteur. It can like already argued easily be a 9 for 5. Of course the deploy activity is seriously harmed if you face a Ketullis deck or special heavy reactive decks, but I still get those nice witcher boosts.
 
Honestly, I think this card is not very strong but also not bad. In harmony deck the main idea is the following:

1) Have a few harmony units on the board and play cat witcher -> Usually your opponent will do the best to kill him.

2) Then you basically can play a witcher tag unit again to get those harmony boost. And there I am thinking in alternatives. I have a second cat witcher for that fun. But what about the third witcher?
- Cat Witcher Adept: No usually you avoid row stacking with harmony because of Yrden
- Cat Witcher Mentor: No, same resoning and you can not expect many movers
- Other witchers: To expensive in terms of provisions.
=> So I simply went for Cat witcher saboteur. It can like already argued easily be a 9 for 5. Of course the deploy activity is seriously harmed if you face a Ketullis deck or special heavy reactive decks, but I still get those nice witcher boosts.
No, the point is it's NOT easy to get 9 for 5. Especially in a Harmony deck, where you can't set up a target with a move. To get 9 your opponent has to have a row stacked with 6 units AND the unit on the most right has to have at least 5HP. This is not "easy". It will almost never happen. 80 percent of the time the appropriate row stack won't be there, and when it is there, 80 percent of those your target will be a token, a shielded unit, or some other garbage. In short, your Saboteur will almost away play for 6, 7 at most. And yeah, you can pick up a few extra harmony pings, but that's no different from other unique tags. Generally, you don't want 5p cards as fillers. So in your case, if you really must have that 3rd witcher, I would, in fact, go to 4p adept. It doesn't matter that YOU avoid row stacking. It's basically the same argument where you are looking for your opponent to row stack, just like with the saboteur, but at least you can target ANY unit in the enemy stack and it's only 4p.
 
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No, the point is it's NOT easy to get 9 for 5. Especially in a Harmony deck, where you can't set up a target with a move. To get 9 your opponent has to have a row stacked with 6 units AND the unit on the most right has to have at least 5HP. This is not "easy". It will almost never happen. 80 percent of the time the appropriate row stack won't be there, and when it is there, 80 percent of those your target will be a token, a shielded unit, or some other garbage. In short, your Saboteur will almost away play for 6, 7 at most. And yeah, you can pick up a few extra harmony pings, but that's no different from other unique tags. Generally, you don't want 5p cards as fillers. So in your case, if you really must have that 3rd witcher, I would, in fact, go to 4p adept. It doesn't matter that YOU avoid row stacking. It's basically the same argument where you are looking for your opponent to row stack, just like with the saboteur, but at least you can target ANY unit in the enemy stack and it's only 4p.

In my harmony deck this 5 provision unit perfectly fits and at least in my games I found so often valuable targets that I was considering this unit to be worth it. Cards like Treant Boar and Pavko Gale (also both valuable in harmony terms) predamage opponent units with permanent ability and then Cat witcher saboteur elliminates them.
To my mind this damage option definitely has value. What other 5 provision not random damage options I have:
Dol Blathanna Archer or other comparable elfs: Only 2 damage (or 3 conditional damage) and already enough elfs in my harmony deck
Duén Canell Guardian: Only 2 damage, no symbiosis synergies (actually dryads without harmony are kind of bad in harmony decks)
Panther: Only 2 damage and Trained Hawk is the better option in harmony (already included)
Dwarven Skirmisher: Already enough dwarfs.
 
In my harmony deck this 5 provision unit perfectly fits and at least in my games I found so often valuable targets that I was considering this unit to be worth it. Cards like Treant Boar and Pavko Gale (also both valuable in harmony terms) predamage opponent units with permanent ability and then Cat witcher saboteur elliminates them.
To my mind this damage option definitely has value. What other 5 provision not random damage options I have:
...
The other options would be the Whisperer or Rebuke. In my harmony deck, I use Gaetan and Gezras for the witcher tags, but clearly you know better what you want to do with your deck. It's just to me, getting value out of the saboteur is too low percentage to include him. The only deck I actually play him is in my all-witcher overload ST deck, because I can boost him to 5 with Vesemir, and even then, his synergy with Leo is probably more valuable than his actual utility in the deck, lmao.
 
The other options would be the Whisperer or Rebuke. In my harmony deck, I use Gaetan and Gezras for the witcher tags, but clearly you know better what you want to do with your deck. It's just to me, getting value out of the saboteur is too low percentage to include him. The only deck I actually play him is in my all-witcher overload ST deck, because I can boost him to 5 with Vesemir, and even then, his synergy with Leo is probably more valuable than his actual utility in the deck, lmao.

Thanks for your comment...never tried a witcher swarm SC deck.
Forest Whisperer is not an option for me because of the dryad deck. Weeping Willow and Dryad Ranger are usually enough to poisonkill one unit.
Nature's Rebuke was in my original SC harmony deck but I replaced it with Saboteur.
Regarding Gaetan and Gezras: This is definitely an option but costs a lot provisions. How do you row stack your ranged row then?
 
I agree it's a pitifully weak card. Especially since tokens always spawn to the right so in many cases the right most card(s) is/are token(s) and you won't find much use for moving or killing a single token.
In WotW all factions got 4 new bronze cards but only SK is the one where all 4 of those cards are great cards, ST got 2 useless ones and 2 great ones while MO for example got 3 useless ones and one good one.
 
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Thanks for your comment...never tried a witcher swarm SC deck.
Forest Whisperer is not an option for me because of the dryad deck. Weeping Willow and Dryad Ranger are usually enough to poisonkill one unit.
Nature's Rebuke was in my original SC harmony deck but I replaced it with Saboteur.
Regarding Gaetan and Gezras: This is definitely an option but costs a lot provisions. How do you row stack your ranged row then?
Not sure what you're asking here. You just stack ranged if you only have Gezras in hand, or you stack melee if you have Gaetan. If you mean row-locked abilities of certain units, it's less than optimal sometimes, but I also include Milena, so...
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I agree it's a pitifully weak card. Especially since tokens always spawn to the right so in many cases the right most card(s) is/are token(s) and you won't find much use for moving or killing a single token.
In WotW all factions got 4 new bronze cards but only SK is the one where all 4 of those cards are great cards, ST got 2 useless ones and 2 great ones while MO for example got 3 useless ones and one good one.
I think NR's and NGs bronze witchers are also all pretty good. ST bronze package is just bad, AND they nerfed the cat witcher, which was the only good ST bronze witcher to begin with.
 
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Not sure what you're asking here. You just stack ranged if you only have Gezras in hand, or you stack melee if you have Gaetan. If you mean row-locked abilities of certain units, it's less than optimal sometimes, but I also include Milena, so...

Well my point is the following:
- When I play harmony I want my harmony units to be on Melee and Range to avoid Yrden punish
- Harmony decks usually do not have many cards which speed up filling rows (only Half-Elf Hunter as harmonised unit and Dwarven Chariot as an harmony enabler / machine tag)
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I agree it's a pitifully weak card. Especially since tokens always spawn to the right so in many cases the right most card(s) is/are token(s) and you won't find much use for moving or killing a single token.
In WotW all factions got 4 new bronze cards but only SK is the one where all 4 of those cards are great cards, ST got 2 useless ones and 2 great ones while MO for example got 3 useless ones and one good one.

Even if it´s a token you can elliminate it. Then it´s a 5+ for 5 dependent on the token. And there is no need to target the right-most unit as it´s for Brehen.
From my perspective this guy only makes sense in a harmony universe and it can be at maximum a 12 for 5. (13 is not right as card will not work in a full row)

To my mind there are much weaker 5 provision SC card to buff.

Dol Blathanna Archer (can be at maximum a 6 for 5)
Suggested rework: +[Deploy] boost self by the number of Dol Blatanna units on this row.

Waylay: (can be at maximum a 6 for 5 + Elven Deadeye)
Suggested rework: Damage an enemy unit by 3 and spawn an Elven Deadeye
Deathblow: Deal 2 random damage if you control at least 3 Elven Deadeyes

Cleaver's Muscle (can be at maximum a 5 for 5 -> do not see any shield synergies)
Suggested rework: Down to 4 provisions
 
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Well my point is the following:
- When I play harmony I want my harmony units to be on Melee and Range to avoid Yrden punish
- Harmony decks usually do not have many cards which speed up filling rows (only Half-Elf Hunter as harmonised unit and Dwarven Chariot as an harmony enabler / machine tag)

Yeah, see, you split your units up, and I choose to play for the row synergies of Gaetan and Gezras and risk getting Yrdened.
And as for stacking, Fauve into Waters plus Dana and Figgis and there's your 6-unit stack in 2 turns.
 
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