Misc. Gwent Guides to... [THINNING]

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DRK3

Forum veteran
(EDIT) WARNING - CHECK LAST POST FOR MOST UPDATED GUIDE PLEASE.

Hello everyone.

I know everyone is focused on the upcoming expansion and wants to talk about that, but i've had a few ideas for some gwent guides and helpful lists i wanted to share, and instead of creating a thread for each, i'll use this single thread and update it regularly - i'll edit the title to reflect the latest guide.

Im aware of the 'services' provided by the meta snapshots, which provide detailed guides for the strongest decks. In here, i'll opt to focus on interesting, often underused cards, which have a lot of untapped potential.

This means these guides aren't just aimed at new or intermediate players - even advanced players might find something new here, or contribute with their own strategies, which i'll edit/add to my guide post.

And without further ado, i'll begin with a card that opens up many possibilities...
Post automatically merged:

PORTAL

Gwent Portal.png

It's an artefact, 12 provisions (the image is outdated, it was 13 when released, but on an update it was buffed to 12)

It's neutral, so it can be used by all factions, and i'll go through each one individually, and list all units that work well with it.

The main aspect is it only summons the 4pr units, so any deploy units ARE NOT ADVISED to be used with Portal. You want 4 prov. units with passive abilities.

ADVANTAGES:
+usually provides 6/7/8 points on 2 bodies instantly, for 12 provisions... might sound bad, but dont forget the thinning.
It plays 3 cards in 1 play, the same thinning provided by witcher trio, at about half the prov cost

+can be used to bring 2 engines immediately, and your opponent probably wont be able to counter both on 1 turn

FLAWS:
-limits your deck building. since the effect its random, the only way to assure you get the 2 units you want summoned is to only put those 2 units with 4 prov. on the deck, but then you risk bricking, if you get portal+one of those units in hand

-if you summon 2 equal units, you become extra vulnerable to Gimpy Gerwin. If those units are 3 points, Gimpy can immediately shut them down

My advice to minimize these flaws is to mix and have at least 2 different 4prov bronzes. I recommend having 3-5 bronze units with 4 prov you want to be summoned with Portal.

NR:
Lyrian Cavalry (3pt) - very popular play in current Henselt metadeck
Tridam Infantry (3pt) - powerful engine on boost and Meve decks

NG:
Nauzica Sergeant (3pt) - great engine that finds value in almost all NG decks
Infiltrator (4pt) - good for messing with opponents deck, should be used R1
Fire Scorpion (3pt) - damage engine for tactics decks
Ducal guard (4pt) - assimilate engine, popular play in the current Assimilate metadeck

SK:
Svalblod Fanatic (4pt) - basically its a svalblod totem, without order ability, costs more prov, but provides thinning
Heymaey Protector (3pt) - good self-damage engine
Brokvar Hunter (3pt) - deadly engine for Bran discard decks
An Craite Blacksmith (3pt) - synergizes with warrior decks, works well with Brokvar Hunter

SC:
Elven Swordmaster (3pt) - damage engine for elf decks
Dryad Fledgling (4pt) - Harmony engine, can be used with Waters of Brokilon to have 4 Fledglings, 6 with Francesca, in just 2 turns
Elven Scout (3pt) - trap decks engine
Pyrotechnician (3pt) - synergizes with artefacts, you can use it to destroy portal since it has already done its purpose

MO:
Ancient Foglet (1pt) - only 1pt, but can be used with forktail next turn to trigger the DW, to get these to 5pts
Foglet (3pt) - risky, since you dont want to summon both foglets, only 1, to consume and summon the remaining
Nekker Warrior (4pt) - thrive engine
Vran Warrior (3pt) - great for Arachas decks. dont play this portal early or the Vrans will be removed by the time you start using Forktails and Glustyworp
 
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Hello everyone.

I know everyone is focused on the upcoming expansion and wants to talk about that, but i've had a few ideas for some gwent guides and helpful lists i wanted to share, and instead of creating a thread for each, i'll use this single thread and update it regularly - i'll edit the title to reflect the latest guide.

Im aware of the 'services' provided by the meta snapshots, which provide detailed guides for the strongest decks. In here, i'll opt to focus on interesting, often underused cards, which have a lot of untapped potential.

This means these guides aren't just aimed at new or intermediate players - even advanced players might find something new here, or contribute with their own strategies, which i'll edit/add to my guide post.

And without further ado, i'll begin with a card that opens up many possibilities...
Post automatically merged:

PORTAL

View attachment 11004772

It's an artefact, 12 provisions (the image is outdated, it was 13 when released, but on an update it was buffed to 12)

It's neutral, so it can be used by all factions, and i'll go through each one individually, and list all units that work well with it.

The main aspect is it only summons the 4pr units, so any deploy units ARE NOT ADVISED to be used with Portal. You want 4 prov. units with passive abilities.

ADVANTAGES:
+usually provides 6/7/8 points on 2 bodies instantly, for 12 provisions... might sound bad, but dont forget the thinning.
It plays 3 cards in 1 play, the same thinning provided by witcher trio, at about half the prov cost

+can be used to bring 2 engines immediately, and your opponent probably wont be able to counter both on 1 turn

FLAWS:
-limits your deck building. since the effect its random, the only way to assure you get the 2 units you want summoned is to only put those 2 units with 4 prov. on the deck, but then you risk bricking, if you get portal+one of those units in hand

-if you summon 2 equal units, you become extra vulnerable to Gimpy Gerwin. If those units are 3 points, Gimpy can immediately shut them down

My advice to minimize these flaws is to mix and have at least 2 different 4prov bronzes. I recommend having 3-5 bronze units with 4 prov you want to be summoned with Portal.

NR:
Lyrian Cavalry (3pt) - very popular play in current Henselt metadeck
Tridam Infantry (3pt) - powerful engine on boost and Meve decks

NG:
Nauzica Sergeant (3pt) - great engine that finds value in almost all NG decks
Infiltrator (4pt) - good for messing with opponents deck, should be used R1
Fire Scorpion (3pt) - damage engine for tactics decks
Ducal guard (4pt) - assimilate engine, popular play in the current Assimilate metadeck

SK:
Svalblod Fanatic (4pt) - basically its a svalblod totem, without order ability, costs more prov, but provides thinning
Heymaey Protector (3pt) - good self-damage engine
Brokvar Hunter (3pt) - deadly engine for Bran discard decks
An Craite Blacksmith (3pt) - synergizes with warrior decks, works well with Brokvar Hunter

SC:
Elven Swordmaster (3pt) - damage engine for elf decks
Dryad Fledgling (4pt) - Harmony engine, can be used with Waters of Brokilon to have 4 Fledglings, 6 with Francesca, in just 2 turns
Elven Scout (3pt) - trap decks engine
Pyrotechnician (3pt) - synergizes with artefacts, you can use it to destroy portal since it has already done its purpose

MO:
Ancient Foglet (1pt) - only 1pt, but can be used with forktail next turn to trigger the DW, to get these to 5pts
Foglet (3pt) - risky, since you dont want to summon both foglets, only 1, to consume and summon the remaining
Nekker Warrior (4pt) - thrive engine
Vran Warrior (3pt) - great for Arachas decks. dont play this portal early or the Vrans will be removed by the time you start using Forktails and Glustyworp

Cool tips, thank you!
What would you think is the best "counter" to portal (other than Gimpy)?
The only that comes to mind is Infiltrator, which other than disrupting mulligans, can also appear unannounced if portal is used in later rounds.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Cool tips, thank you!
What would you think is the best "counter" to portal (other than Gimpy)?
The only that comes to mind is Infiltrator, which other than disrupting mulligans, can also appear unannounced if portal is used in later rounds.

Thanks. Well, Portal has no counters per se... It's usually used to summon 2 engines, and most of the times they're the same, so i guess an Auckes, with Serrit in hand, could be used to lock both those engines.

Personally i like to use Portal R1, as opener, so i get the most of its thinning benefit. Using Infiltrator to counter a Portal in R2 or R3 is valid, but it wont provide much disruption, since the Portal player is still getting a 4 pts unit instead of his own 3/4pt unit, so it's only useful if you're denying a very valuable engine that would get 8/9 additional points on a long round (i.e. Lyrian Cavalry on Henselt metadecks)
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
And now, here's my 2nd guide, and last guide before the update (if i find something interesting to write about in the update, i'll do a guide on it)

GUIDE TO BIG UNITS

In Gwent, a big unit is one with 8 points or more. This value it's not random - it's because cards like Geralt or Leo Bonhart, the called "big unit destroyers", can only target units of 8 or more.

So, i'll start to list big units based on base points, and indicate the faction. Then, i'll mention units that usually go beyond 8pts with boosts, which might get values way beyond those of base pt big units...

13Pts:
(NG) Tibor

12Pts:
(MO) Old Speartip
(MO) Frightener (starts as artefact)
(SK) Champion of Svalblod
(SK) Jutta an Dimun

11Pts:
(NG) Imperial Golem

10Pts:
(MO) Golyat
(NE) Count Caldwell

9Pts:
(MO) Old Speartip: Asleep
(NE) Primordial D'ao

8Pts:
(MO) Griffin (the only bronze big unit)
(SK) Olaf
(SC) Saesenthessis
(SC) Great Oak
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And now, units that you can expect to see having 8 pts or more:

MO:
Glustyworp
She Troll of Vergen (rarely seen, but can get values beyond Glusty)
Kayran (combo'ed with Dethlaff HV or Deathwish units)
Slyzard (combo'ed with Ruehin or DW units)
Any consume unit really

SK:
Svalblod Priest

NG:
Cahir
Roach (when combined with Vivienne)
Nauzicaa Sergeant
Magne Division
Any Assimilate Engine

SC:
Aglais
Sheldon Skaggs
Mahakam Defender
Xavier Moran
Milva
Harmony Engines (Dryad Fledgling/ Sirssa/ etc.)

NR:
Lyrian Cavalry
Tridam Infantry
Anything next to Anna Strenger

Note: all Factions: anything with Tactical Advantage, specially engines which are 3/4pts, so become 8/9

So, did i miss any? If so please let me know, so i can add them.
 
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  • RED Point
Reactions: rrc
In SC there the dryad who always move to the right, both combined can get alot of points, or one combined with the sentinel elf thats give +1 for each units who move

The sylvains tree that work a bit like sheldon / aglais, when you buff him he get vitality + shield

Also propably the harmony dryads and sirsa who got harmony too

(sorry I don't know their cards names in english)
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
@Dezpo Thanks, i'll add the Harmony engines because they really can reach 'big unit value', just as easily as NR or NG bronze engines.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
I come again with some advice, this time with something about the new update:

GUIDE TO DUAL-FACTION CARDS

So, in the Novigrad Update, this new thing was implemented were cards can be used by 2 factions - Syndicate and one of the previous factions.

There are 15 dual faction cards, 3 for each old faction: 2 golds and 1 bronze. But they're not all balanced - some are better on Syndicate, some are better on the other faction, some are good on both, and some are bad on both.

Disclaimer: i havent tried personally all of them, but i think i got a good grasp of the potential of each.

NR:
Prophet Lebioda - better on NR, since it has more engines that need protection. Combo's well with Roche, Henselt, Calanthe (cards/leaders that can put many units on single turn)
Pastodi - good on both. NR has many ways to boost, but SY has Coerced Blacksmith and that Borsodi bro
Temple Guard - good on both, maybe a bit better on Meve boost decks

NG:
Doadrick Leumaerts - interesting, but its just a mulligan engine, for those looking for consistency. Might have some untapped potential, i couldnt find
Rico - terrible on both factions, an even worse Dudu. Specially bad this meta where there arent big units
Courier - similar on both. can be used to check the cards your opponent will draw next round, or to put the best of the top 3, if you plan to use Joachim, Decoy or card who pulls up the top unit

MO:
Tatterwing - better on SY, due to Insanity cards, like Freakshow or Igor (reduced to 1pt)
Pugo BoomBreaker - better on Monsters, can be used like a Griffin
Kikkimore Warrior - way better on Monsters, synergizes with Arachas, but vulnerable to removal

SK:
Sukrus - better on SK. Synergizes with Jutta, Veterans, Longship. On Syndicate it's just a "bodyguard"
Hammond - there are more good ships on SK, but better pirates on SY, so act based on that
Tidecloak Hideaway - since there's better pirates on SY, this card is better on SY. But not very good overall

SC:
Novigradian Justice - not many good targets, except Cleavers Muscle and Bareknuckle Brawler, still one of the best crimes
Harald Gord - bugged card at the moment. dont use till its fixed
Cleavers Muscle - just a 5pt/5prov (with shield). same on both factions, good with Novigrad Justice
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Long time since i last did one of these, but hopefully these can help specially the players who have got the basics and want to start trying some more interesting stuff.

Today's guide is for a single card, one of the most versatile in Gwent, and at the moment, probably the most popular artefact:

GUIDE TO SUMMONING CIRCLE

Summoning Circle.png


This is a neutral artefact, 8 provisions, that lets you summon and play units based on their provision cost and how many charges you have on it. Im gonna give some hints, and recommend SOME cards that work well with it.

You play it with 1 charge, then gain 1 charge each turn. When you use it, all charges are spent, even if you summon and play a unit below your charge count. The best scenario is a 10 turn R3, where you open with this card, and so get 10 charges.

So 10 provisions is (usually) the max you can select. My advice - use this card to either play 2x 4/5 provision units OR 1x 8/9/10 prov unit at the end. Be careful, if you go 5+5 or 10, in that case you must make sure the R3 really is 10 cards or it wont work and you'll waste a lot of potential.

ADVANTAGES:
+ Can be used to play 2 cards in 1 turn, similar to leader abilities like Dana's, Calveit or Calanthe, which opens up many amazing combos
+At 8 provisions, on a long R3 it's very easy to get way more than 8pts with it
+Even on a short 4turn round it might be useful, specially against control decks that focus on damage, because you'll be delaying or even avoiding damage by putting no unit on turn 1 and 2 units on last turn.
+Works as a tutor, helps with thinning (1 card to play 1/2 more cards of the deck)

DOWNSIDES:
-Artefact removal. It's a gamble, if your opponent has it and destroys your Summoning Circle you get nothing out of it, possibly lose the game if your best plays were based on it. And the amount of artefact removal depends on the meta - if its low, it might be safe to play S.Circle.
-Bleeding. If you're like me and like using S.Circle on a long R3, if you have it on hand on R2 and the opponent goes for the bleed you'll be in a terrible situation - either play it immediately and lose tempo and the chance to use it R3, or keep it and pray you can survive the bleed with S.Circle in hand (which is worthless if played at the end).

And now, for some specific combos...
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SKELLIGE:
-10 turns, 2x Disgraced Brawlers (2x7=14 pts) - just some point slam

-Greatswords(6turns)/ Dagur(10turns) + damage pings - just like the classic Dagur+Harald 20pt play. For example, you can summon Dagur, play Harald and Delirium from hand in last turn. Or summon and play a GS/Dagur, play the other from hand and then play Harald ability.
You can also use Lacerate (from hand, since you cant summon specials), Regis (from hand since he's more than 10 prov) or something smaller like Dimun Warship (3pings)

-Hemdall+Hjalmar - one of my favourites. Since they're both 9 provisions, it doesnt matter which one you play from deck and which you play from hand. Can be a huge finisher, ideal scenario is a 12pt Jutta on graveyard and a 12pt or more enemy unit, for a +30pt play! (you can also do this with Eist instead of Summoning Circle)

NORTHERN REALMS:
-2x Kaedweni Knight (2x7=14pts) - after the recent update, this unit went from 5prov to 4, and 8pts to 7 (if summoned with S.Circle, but now can also be done with Portal). Simple point slam

-Blue Stripes Scout (4prov) - great for BSCommando decks, since you can play the commando and scout to create more in same turn. Also works for Cintrian Guard decks, and you can even use it on the new Dun Banners

-Lyrian Scytheman (4prov) - a neglected bronze, but it can really shine if you're playing a boost deck which puts many boosted units. Example, today played vs a NG player where his finisher was a 13 pt Tibor, mine were 2 Scythemen bigger than his Tibor!

SCOIATAEL:
-Elf Scout (4prov) - vulnerable to removal so why not play him and a trap so it gets boosted before it can be removed

-Dryad Fledgling (4prov)+ Waters of Brokilon (from hand) - an alternative to playing Fauve, to make sure you spawn 2 Fledglings, since you need a dryad already on board. Not ideal because you have to wait 4 turns, and you want Fledglings as early as possible on board.

-Milva - so, in this case, you dont ACTUALLY use S.Circle to call Milva, but playing Milva and S.Circle is amazing, since she rarely gets countered and you get 2 extra buffs, in case you use S.Circle on a long round to play 2x 4/5 provision units.

-Elf or Dwarf swarms - S.Circle works really well on decks that have units with effects based on how many elves/ dwarves you have on board like Isengrim or Zoltan. Im using an elf swarm deck and was able to get 15+ value from my Isengrim, thanks to 4 neophytes summoned with S.Circle.

MONSTERS:
-Vran Warrior (4prov) - on an Arachas deck, the Vran is deadly, 2 even more, but it gets locked/ removed most times. With S.Circle you can summon a Vran and trigger his "machinegun" with Forktail/Glustyworp/Yen on same turn

-Glustyworp (9prov) - a classic finisher for Arachas decks, if you play it from SCircle, you can combo it another big finisher, maybe another big unit, and if you have last say, you can brick opponents tall removal if those 2 were the only ones past 8pts (enemies will expect big units vs Arachas)

NILFGAARD:
-Cahir (9prov) + Yennefer - Cahir is considered a meme card, partially because it gets removed instantly most times. If you play Cahir + Yen(boost), you get huge points (but Cahir still vulnerable to tall removal/reset after)

-2x Combat Engineer (4 prov) (2x6=12pts) - not exactly an amazing play, SK and NR have better cheap point slam units, but if you play it with S.Circle, at least you're guaranteed to have its condition met, which is having an artefact on board

SYNDICATE:
-Townsfolk (6 prov) - i hate it but it wouldnt be a complete S.Circle guide if i didnt mention the most popular S.Circle play this month/meta. You can play Igor and Townsfolk on same turn without the risk of either getting countered. Then spam those Dijkstra charges like crazy

-Fence (4prov) - this is a really good bronze, you use her only when you're 9/9 coins, pay her tribute and get an easy 9 points (10 if you're using KoB), then get back to 9/9 and use the other (could be in the same turn, from hand or wait another 4 turns to use S.Circle again)

-pretty much any of SY bronzes (4/5 prov) - this faction has really powerful cheap cards, you can easily obtain 12-20 points with 2 cheap bronzes, even the drug addicts bronzes can get decent value if not countered

----------------------------------------------

I'll edit and add more with your suggestions and if i remember more. Thanks.
 
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  • RED Point
Reactions: rrc

rrc

Forum veteran
Awesome thread dear @DRK3. I don't know how I missed this thread till now. Very well written guide about SC and the rest of the posts too. Could you please edit the post above to reflect that SC allows you to PLAY a card (not Summon as you had mentioned consistently).
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Awesome thread dear @DRK3. I don't know how I missed this thread till now. Very well written guide about SC and the rest of the posts too. Could you please edit the post above to reflect that SC allows you to PLAY a card (not Summon as you had mentioned consistently).

Thanks for the heads-up, already edited. Didnt even think that could create confusion when i was writing, but the game really has 3 different keywords which work differently: play, summon and spawn.

Even though this card is called Summoning Circle, it actually allows to play the unit, just like if it was played from hand, so you can use it on cards with deploy effects.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Updated the Summoning Circle guide with better strategies for Scoiatael, since the ones i had initially were really weak, result of my lesser experience with the faction.

Hopefully i'll do that too in the future for Nilfgaard, since i havent really explored much what S.Circle can achieve in that faction.

(EDIT) Added Syndicate to the guide, i cant believe i forgot it the first time i was writing
 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
Long time since my last guide, since i havent been playing Gwent lately, but i decided to make a quick one.

So, since my previous guide will be rendered utterly useless tomorrow, after the complete rework of Summoning Circle, aka the most interesting artefact in the game, im back with a new one:

GUIDE TO NEUTRAL DECKS

A neutral deck is a deck where all 25 (or more) cards are neutral. Of course the leader will have to belong to a faction, so on Part 1 (now) i recommend the best leaders, on Part 2 (soon), i recommend the best cards and tactics, including Iron Judgment cards which brings a lot of neutral potential with the bandits.

Neutral decks was something that was already possible in Beta, even with no neutral bronze units, and in HC it has been made easier with each update, so now's the time for the players who want some memey fun decks.

PART 1 - CHOOSING LEADER

Of course there are a lot of leaders that are completely useless on a neutral deck, so im only gonna list those that have abilities that work well with neutral decks.
Since a neutral deck can be done with any and every leader, ones with more provisions are recommended, since most neutrals will be really expensive in provisions.
Note: im using leader names, sorry, i dont care about the new leader ability names, im old school...

NR:
Meve - boosts are useful for protecting your order/engine units
Adda - 8 damage, extra bleeding if not all damage used

NG:
Calveit - great ability for a neutral deck
Henrietta - good ability for neutral, but no assimilate triggers for it
Usurper - neutral deck is handicapped, why not add another handicap, and dont worry with opponents ability?

SC:
Eithne - weak ability compensated by tons of provisions, and Scorch/Igni are neutral too...
Brouver - movement works well with neutral (G. Aaard and Nivellen, Dragons Dream and Lacerate)
Filavandrel - just some extra points, not good for special heavy neutral decks

SK:
Crach - ping might be the difference between removing that dangerous engine or not
Harald - just 8pts of damage, which can still be valuable
Bran - neutral decks tend to have many terrible cards, so discard and thinning are good

MO:
Eredin - only good if you have neutral engines or orders units to protect
Woodland S. - simple point spam
Gernichora - thrive can work with neutrals, even if its just the Gerni fruit

SY: (dont recommend it for neutral decks)
Whoreson - just 7 damage, remember you wont be able to use surplus coins with neutrals
Hemmelfart - kinda bad and you waste 2 coins, but the 3 units might be useful for some neutral swarm deck
 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
So, i've tried most of the cards of the new expansion, including a fully neutral bandit deck, and it's not nearly as bad as i thought, but it's situational.

PART 2 - NEUTRAL UNITS

There are lots of neutral golds that are good in every situation, but neutral bronzes are still worse than faction bronzes in most cases, so using lots of neutral specials for a neutral control deck might be a good option.

Recommended old units:

Cyprian Wiley (Whoreson) and Carlo Varese (Cleaver) - they're both bandits and really good for control. Whoreson is even better now since there's lot of engines with 3pt + armor and he ignores armor.

Strays of spalla - this old neutral bronze is really good. With the reach removal, lots of units got row locked, he can neutralize dangerous golds and lots of NR units by just moving them. Can also move defenders to other row.

Cutthroat - he's a bandit, 5pts for 4 prov. He causes bleeding, which is better now since it ignores armor.

Pellar - not a bandit, but purify is very important with the new popularity of defenders, and poison and bounties are still a threat.

Lambert Swordmaster - not bandit, ofc he's a witcher. He's definitely better than Gimpy, can destroy swarms of arachas and firesworn, but he wont be able to deal with rowdy dwarves (they're 2pt 1 armor), he can still be a 10+ play but wont remove them.

Dorregaray - just a great lock option, for neutral decks or factions without a good lock unit.

Triss: TK - the buff to 4pt body was just what she needed. For 11 prov, she's expensive but there are lots of bronze specials that can make her worth, and can be very versatile if you include bronze specials for different scenarios.

Recommended new units:


Gascon:IF - he's a create card, but the pool of bronze bandits is very limited, so RNG is smaller. Gives 2 bodies with armor, an extra stray of spalla can be invaluable

One Eyed Betsy - usually a 4+4 like Regis BL and Ifrit, but does 6dmg if target has armor, useful for new armored engines.

Iris:Shade - not a bandit, but devastating against some cards like Yghern, Living Armor and Greater Brothers. Can usually outpoint the prov. cost and you can use it on your own units (Dracoturtle and Savolla's Frightener for tons of points)

Vlodimir von Everec - i do NOT recommend. Iris Shade is a much better option in most situations, only use this bandit if your deck has a combo for him, because his ability can often hurt more than help.

Sapper - similar to Iris: Shade, can instantly remove all armor and destroy those tall units i mentioned, just wont drain that value like Iris (they're both 5pt bodies, but sapper is 5prov, Iris Shade is 10)

Mantlet and Wagenburg - these are new neutral bronzes, not bandits but are better than most bronze bandits anyway. They're similar to Prophet Lebioda, arguably even better, can be useuful in any engine deck.

CONCLUSION:

I do not recommend a full neutral bandit deck, since it's too focused on armor and if your opponent's has none most of your bandits will get less to no value.
But a neutral deck, with just some bandits to reach the unit cap, complemented with control bronze specials like Thunder and the new piercing missile can be very effective.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
So, Echo dwarves seem to be the current meta. And we can complain and demand nerfs to CDPR, but most likely they'll only come at the end of the month, and not even that is assured.

Instead, im gonna do some simple recommendations in how to deal with this deck. It is NOT uncounterable by any means, and there are a few decks that simply outpoint them, but instead im going to suggest neutral strategies that can work in all factions and still counter Echo dwarves.

GUIDE TO COUNTER ECHO DWARVES

First, the cards you'll want to put in your deck.
Secondly, a card by card analysis of Echo dwarves and how you should counter it.

Surrender - row punishment is essential here. This one is better than lacerate or line trap because of 2 armor removal as well. But it's gold so you can only use one, and the timing to use it is very important.

Arachas Venom - this often forgotten card is perfect to counter echo dwarves. it can instantly remove 3 rowdy dwarves, dwarven chariot+2 rowdy, or mahakam volunteers+other. I use 2 arachas venoms+ Triss TK for a 3rd. This card is also good to deal with NR engines, another powerful meta deck.

Lacerate/Line trap - i would recommend one of this. Surrender will do massive damage but might not remove everything. You can use line trap, then next turn surrender and trigger trap to do 2armor+4dmg.


Piercing Missile - 4prov special that does 4dmg IGNORING armor. Perfect to counter Berserkers or Figgis, the defender.

Sweers/ Cyprian Wiley - these are just good choices to deal with 3pt units with armor, better than trying to remove them

Echo Dwarves Cards:

M.Marauder - this is usually an opener, played on R1, and its pretty good. there arent good counters because its not too small or tall, so ignore it or damage it

M.Volunteers - use Arachas venom on those 2+adjacent dwarf for an easy 8/9 pts of removal

D.Chariots - the 1st spawn a rowdy, the 2nd spawns 2. Deal with arachas venoms, or surrender if on R3

Gabor - this is an incredibly dangerous card, if played on R1 or R2 for resilience, try to remove it at all costs. If played for Immunity for a long round, you either have scorch/curse of corruption or you have to live with it

Zoltan's Company - spawns 3 rowdy dwarves. use arachas venom or wait for more units on that row, to then hit with surrender

Figgis Merluzo - the dwarf defender. Really easy to remove with piercing missile or one eyed betsy as soon as its played. However, these cards wont help removing other faction defenders, so you can also use a faction purify or pellar to counter all defenders (use arachas venom on SY defenders)

Munro Bruys - transforms 2 rowdys in berserkers. You can either remove all rowdys as soon as their played to try to brick munro, but that might be hard, so to deal with...

Berserkers - a tricky unit to counter, because it usually comes in pairs. You have to deal individually, with piercing missile or a lock. Remember surrender removes 4 armor/pts from berserkers

Zoltan Warrior - if there's many rowdy's on board, he'll be used to boost (and you have failed). If he's used to spawn 2 more rowdys, hit with another arachas venom or surrender

Echo Types:

Echo - N.Justice - 4 Mercenaries - most likely this will be an opener in R3 and they'll be lined up. Hit em with an arachas venom to destroy 3. Note these are way deadlier than rowdys, so save an arachas for these. And try to deal with the 4th afterwards, by locking or removing, or he will still provide 10+ pts to that player

Echo - N.Justice - 4 Berserkers - havent seen this but it's viable, and harder for us to counter. This might require an earlier use of surrender, to deny 16pts of damage

Echo - 2 Zoltans Company - 6 Rowdys - easy, just use surrender, or wait for more dwarves on that row IF you think the finishers arent coming yet

Finishers:

M.Guards (x2), Barclay Eels, Zoltan and Oak - these are the cards that echo dwarves finish with. Your goal is to remove as many dwarves before these come, so they provide pitiful value. Its usually easy to predict when these are coming, make sure you use surrender and all your row damagers before these start popping

Conclusion:

Knowing this you shouldnt have any more trouble with echo dwarves. I recommend NR engines and MO arachas, as they're really good overall and will also be successful with other decks (arachas has the bonus of spawning a drone with each arachas venom, while NR can line up arachas venom hits easier with their pings)

You can follow these directions more or less, depending on how effective you want to be vs echo dwarves vs effectiveness against other decks. Also, if your opponent is echo dwarves, if he's good he'll notice early you're "sniping" his deck and might not "play by the book" to avoid these counters, like avoiding rowstacking, which will make it more difficult, but still possible to win.

Good luck and i hope this helps!
 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
Long time since my last guide. Ironically, in 2 months and still didnt get outdated (Mystic Echo Dwarves is still popular, but now maybe will be replaced by Elves)

GUIDE TO WILD HUNT SEASONAL MODE

Description: in this mode, when you play a unit, it spawn a 1pt copy on the same row, just like Caranthir does.

I will only give some pointers on what is good for this mode in deckbuilding, maybe later i'll add some faction-by-faction advice.

- The 1pt unit spawns, its not played. that means that deploy effects only trigger with the original card. Deploy cards are therefore not good for this mode

- If you use specials or artefacts, you wont take advantage of this mode's benefits, unless they allow you to create and play units, so in general avoid these types of cards

- An exception is row damaging specials. Since in this mode rows get full very easily, lacerate, surrender and SC row trap can be good choices (but not worth it against consume monsters, those decks tend to have few units on each row)

- Thrive, assimilate and harmony decks are good choices, since you'll get multiple engines that will trigger at the same time, but beware of control decks in the form of...

- NR charges decks. If they are deadly on regular modes, in this one with twice all those charge engines... I found the best counter for them is not to bother removing, just move them to melee row since most are ranged-locked

- Use low pt units to offset the damage of the copied unit. Cards like Mahakam Berserker or Redanian Knight are really good examples. Also cards with shield or armor, the spawned copy also has them, so they are good choices.

- Order units are good for this mode, even better if they have Zeal. NR has the advantage here, with cards like Bloody Baron and Margarita actually providing 2 resets and 2 locks, respectively. Eyck of Denesle is better tall removal in this mode than Geralt or Bonhart since unlike those, you can have both cards using their order ability

- Deathwish is also good for this mode. Havent personally tried, but triggering all those 1pt copies shouldnt be too hard, and this might be the best counter against NR decks

Secret advice: Living Armor. Instant 20 pts for 12 provisions in this mode, can really catch opponents offguard thinking you cant catch up then BAM
 
I did not play much Seasonal yet, but NR Engines deck seems very good. My only loss was against a Deathwish deck... With 4 Manticores and two Ge'els in round 3 and Ritual Sacrifice when the board was full with Deathwish units. I did not have a chance... GG :)
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Time for another guide, the first of 2020.

--------------------------GUIDE TO UNDERUSED CARDS-------------------------------

Gwent has a lot of cards that simply aren't used. Some of those are really bad, but others are actually quite good and have a lot of potential that players are missing out. I will recommend some that fit that latter category (in my opinion):

NEUTRAL:
- Cyprian WIley (9p) - it's a 5 body + 3 removal, max, so it has a negative ratio with its provisions, but it has other benefits that make up for that: bypasses shields, armor and denies deathwish effects. Just be careful if the opponent doesnt have a 3pt unit or less, you'll be forced to banish one of your own.

- Necromancy (7p) - i use this on almost every one of my decks. It allows to revive a bronze unit. Most bronzes cost 4-6p, so you're paying extra for it, but the versatility is amazing. I try to play bronzes with locks/movements/purifies early on, that way if you're surprised R3 and need one of those, you can get use it and it might save you way more than 10pts (example: move a vysogotta into the melee row)

- Bone Talisman (7p) - this card is obviously only for swarm decks. But there are so many now with the new expansion yet i rarely see this card played. If on a long round your board has consistently 10-15 units, consider adding this card (except new elf deck that has even better alternatives)

- Caravan Vanguard (6p) - i love this new bronze. Works better on NR and NG, where you can play a bronze more than 3 times (2 copies + necromancy). The first is 6 pts, all others are 9pts which is insane for a deploy bronze.

NORTHERN REALMS:
- War Chariot (7p) - used on Siege decks but its useful on any NR deck. Movement can be a lifesaver and if you dont need it, still have 5body +4pts bleeding, which is great value.

- Vincent Meis (6p) - i use this guy on ALL my NR deck, and 98% of the times, he provides me more value than his provisions. Great against tall monsters, SY's very popular Savolla and SK (be careful of SK resets and restores though). Also works great with revenants (play Vincent when revenant gets the order ready)

SKELLIGE:

- Ulfhedin (7p) - another great midrange card. Cant be used for removal, but its very cheap for the value he provides.

- Yoana (7p) - havent seen this card played in many months, which makes me sad. I know second wind is more popular than Svalblod's ability lately, but svalblod priests are still super popular and Yoanna synergizes with almost half of SK's bronzes.
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NILFGAARD:
- Tourney Shaelmar (8p) - im surprised i dont see this card more often, considering how popular Diplomacy, Treason and seizes are for NG, this card would easily outweigh its cost (just needs 2 units of other factions, while if you're facing also NG, it provides 4+7removal)

- Treason (7p) - can be tricky to use and it can even brick on a short round or if your opponent places its units strategically with artefacts. The less removal you have in your deck, the higher odds you'll get better value out of this card. And remember most players just play their units to the right of existing ones.

- Peter Gwynleve (6p) - another card i use on all my (NG) decks. It used to be very popular but it stopped being used i dont know why - a 3pt body + reset is better than the reset specials. There's almost always damaged allies or boosted enemies, even if its just 1 or 2 pts, but at best, reset that Alghoul for a 16pt play (but you'll probably need last say)

SCOIATAEL:
- Milva (7p) - not very good on short rounds or on decks with lots of specials/artefacts. But if you rely more on units it can easily provide more than harmony units, with the benefit of being immune.

- Treant Mantis (6p) - its a bit weird on a traps deck, since its a trap but it transforms into a unit when triggered, so you cant use your Eldain ability to make it a deadeye. Still, 6pts for 6provisions, you can trigger it on command and can provide a good removal if you use poison immediately after its triggered.

MONSTERS:
- Toad Prince (8p) - similar card to Cyprian Wiley, but cheaper. Value comes from bypassing armor and shields, can consume anything with 3pts or less (even your own units, but that is wasted potential, even if they are deathwish units)

SYNDICATE:

- Tinboy (12p) - very expensive card, and expensive tribute. I see Luiza+Savolla is super popular, an easy 23pts+2coins in 2 turns. However on a long round, Luiza+Tinboy can provide even more value (lacerate on both enemy rows) without the risk of having a tall unit like Savolla's Frightener. Downside is losing value if enemy has few or armored/shielded units.

- Kurt (8p) - nobody uses SY's lock unit, but he's pretty great, since he also has the option to purify. I've caught a few opponents offguard, that thought i was out of purifies when i used my Kalkstein on previous rounds, only to use Kurt.

- Whoreson's Freakshow (6p) - everyone using it when it came out (was very OP, there were even threads complaining about it where i joined in) but not anymore. Now im using it, can provide early 4pt removal with insanity (9 with tactical advantage), and at 1pt players still see it as a threat (maybe they have bad memories...) and often employ expensive counters to it.
 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
Here we go again, for another seasonal mode guide:

GUIDE TO WOLF SEASONAL MODE

This mode is not that hard to understand - every unit on board gets -2 then +4, except witchers which only get +4, kind of like a mini 'Trial of the Grasses'.

General advice:

- you dont want to use units that have 1 or 2 pt, or they get instantly killed (unless its spies - you get their effect without providing the opponent bonus points or units)

- specials and artefacts, in general, dont benefit from this mode's conditions unless they bring units to the board

- every unit played that has 3pt or more will get +2 (or more). this means playing a 2x3pt units (10pts after boosts) is better than playing a single 6pt unit (8pts after boost)

- YRDEN YRDEN YRDEN. It is without a doubt the best card in this mode, required on every deck and can easily provide 15-20 pts in a bad situation but up to 50-70 if you're facing like Cahirs or Dagurs
Do NOT stack up units with lots of buffs on a single row or you'll lose tremendous value to your opponents Yrden.

- engines will be way harder to remove on a single turn due to at least +2, so locks can be invaluable in this mode

- shielded units and armored units are very, VERY good in this mode, since the shields and armor offset the -2 damage. More on this on the faction specific guidelines next

Faction choice:

There are 3 good factions in this mode - NR, NG and SK, each with their own style

There are 2 average factions - SY and SC. I say average because they can still have good seasonal decks, but dont really have cards that benefit from this mode's conditions

The last faction is MO, and its bad for this mode because its core mechanics - thrive, swarm and consume - either dont work or get crushed by the resets and tall removal that will dominate this seasonal

Faction guidelines:

NG - NG benefits fom this mode since its the best faction for witcher decks, with the only cheap bronze witchers and the gold viper witcher trio.
Also has many cards that benefit from the opponent getting the buffs it will get with every unit - Cahir, Standard Bearers, Nilfgaardian Knight, Aird Feainn Tortoise.
Also. it is the faction with the cheapest and most locks.


NR - you can use all those great engines NR has and they are safer here than on regular mode. However, remember Yrden! If you have it and you are doing damage to the opponent, you are losing points on your future Yrden. And if you are using engines for buffs and the opponent has an Yrden, he will undo the work of a full round on a single turn.

Dont use engine units that lose their effect when exposed (lose armor) like redanian archers or redanian knight or they lose the effect as soon as they're played.

Other amazing NR units for this mode: anything with 'Inspired' tag, can be played instantly with max effect.
Units that get points from having many boosted allies - Vissegerd and Lyrian Scytheman.

Units with shields - IMMORTAL CAVALRY is the best unit in this game mode, after Yrden. 14pts on 2 bodies (so its outside tall removal range) for 6 provisions is ridiculous. The fact you can play it again with reinforcements (6p), necromancy (7p) and Queen Adalia (11p but gives another 5pt body) makes it broken in this mode.
Im using a NR swarm deck with immmortal cavalries and caravan vanguards spam and im not using my leader ability to give my opponent's a chance. Just be wary of possible Ignis that can scorch several 7pt units stacked on a row.
Other armor units - Immortals (instant 12pts for 7p) and kaedweni cavalry (instant 10pts for 4p)

SK - people were saying my beloved faction was gonna dominate this mode, but i dont think so.
Yes, Drakkars get instant 9pts + synergy with svalblod priests and other self damaging bronzes.
Armored turtle gets instant 12pts and same synergy. But these result in few big boosted units that lose everything on a reset.
Another strategy is greatswords and Dagur, since in addition the damage you can provide, every enemy unit (except witchers) will get the -2 when it enters that will trigger your GS and Dagur. But beware of resets and tall removal,everywhere on this mode.

Sidenote: berserk units arent really good since they dont get triggered with the -2, meaning the -2+4 acts before the berserk checks, so you'll end up with a unit that will take even more to trigger berserk.
Crow archetype also doesnt work, since all those 2pt crows get instantly destroyed.

I also tried a Syndicate zealots deck - i thought if i had sacred fire on board (that makes spawned units get +1) i could get a ton of 5pt zealots on board, but it doesnt work - the spawned zealots get destroyed before getting the buff from sacred fire.

Good luck out there!
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
I've decided to add a few more guidelines for this seasonal mode, that i came up on the last couple of days:

- Yrden. Have i said that before? I'll say it again - Yrden. Use it. And expect the opponent to use it.
In the 40-50 seasonal matches ive done so far, i dont think i ever lost to someone who wasnt using Yrden.

Yrden is so good in this seasonal i've found its more effective to have G. Yrden and Renew for a 2nd Yrden (and to catch your opponent offguard thinking you already use it and he's safe) than to have other Geralts.

- Geralt Igni is also very good, but way trickier to obtain great value. The best matches i've had in seasonal was against great players, each dodging each other's Igni and Yrden at the same time - you can put higher units on a row that had lined up units, you'll deny value to the enemy's Igni but give more value to his Yrden.

- Most players are really struggling with this mode, for a couple of reasons.
1. they think whats good in the regular meta is automatically good in wolf seasonal, and it isnt.
2. the good old control/damage, that is usually so effective and easy to pilot, is not as good here because most times you're just making your Yrden lose value
3. the alternative - boosting your own units, is also not that good! So if boosting and damaging arent that good, its understandable players wont know what to do...

- Everyone is playing resets and tall removals, but i barely see anyone playing movement. And i've tried it a bit, with SC who is definitely not very good for this mode, and it's pretty effective.

You dont need SC, a Nivellen or even just a bronze bandit to move the highest boosted of an enemy row into the row you're gonna Yrden can often provide way more value than expensive +10p cards.

- I still see mostly NG, some with Poison, but i think NR is just better. Im starting to see others also found out how amazing Immortal cavalry and other armored units of NR are. It can easily defeat NG witcher decks and NG Poison, because you're distributing your points through many units that simply give way more pts than NGs bronzes, just be careful with opponent's lined up Ignis.

Note: you can do the 'shieldbreaker' (break 1000 shields) contract quite easily with NR decks in this mode, since it counts your own shields breaking, i did mine today by accident.
 
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