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DRK3

Forum veteran
Today started the Season of Love, and with it, the 12th and last seasonal mode in Gwent. The devs havent confirmed what will happen from now, if the same modes will rotate, maybe with few alterations, or maybe new ones will be released (still waiting for that Blitz mode...)
But for now...

GUIDE TO LOVE SEASONAL MODE

First, i wanna stress that this seasonal mode seems to be one of the trickiest ones of the 12 we got (i tried all except the resilience one). Compared to last seasonal, where as soon as i heard how the mode works i knew what to do, in this one, me and maybe a lot got confused and not really sure what's good.

As such, this guide is prone to get lots of edits and updates as i figure out new strategies and what the seasonal meta will revolve around.

Conditions: when you PLAY a non-spying unit, an enemy unit with the same value will come to your board (if there are multiple with that value, its random, you dont get to choose)

Basically its a mode where everything is getting seized all the time, can be a bit chaotic and there can be HUGE point swings.

1. like in recent seasonal modes, this one is a unit-based mode, so specials and artefacts in general suck, if they dont bring units into play.

2. many of your own units will get seized by the opponent. so maybe powerful engines and order units are not the best for it, instead i recommend deploy units, that way if its seized, you already obtained the deploy effect

3. the "unit seize" happens AFTER deploy effect. that means if you have a 4pt unit that does 3damage, and use it on a 7pt enemy unit to bring it to 4, that unit maybe "unit seized" immediately (this is an example, works for any deploy effect)

4. most units are 3-6 pts. You have two choices - either go in this range and there will be lots of units ping ponging from each side, or go below/above and probably there wont be as many "unit seizes"

5. playing a unit is different than spawning or summoning one. Only playing lets you do the 'unit seize'. So leaders and cards that let you play several units are once again at an advantage.

6. boosting is a good option in this mode. Basically, play a small/medium unit and seize an equal one, boost them and they're out of seize range for the opponent.

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My first instinct was to try monsters, monsters consume swarm in particular. But from the 6 matches i did, all were against NG, and i can see why its also a good choice. But i did win all 6 matches, so i must be doing something right.

MO
Consume is actually quite nice for this mode. Why?
Because it gives a versatility none of the other factions has. Lets say you have a 1, a 2 and a 3 pt unit on your side.
You can use a bronze harpy (5pt) to eat the 1pt if you want to seize a 6pt unit, 2 if you want 7, 3 if you want 8.
Note this only works with consumes on deploy, but MO has a lot of those cheap bronzes now.
Also, if you play consume, your units tend to go higher than the units your opponent has on hand and he wont be able to seize yours (this might be a downside if tall removal becomes prevalent in this mode)

The other good aspect for this mode is swarm.
Everyone will try to seize as much as possible, so 1pt units swarm and boost with morvudd and bone talismans are usually safe, and its easy to fill the board.
Also, Caranthir is nice because nobody has 1pt units to seize your copy, just be careful there still might be locks (i used him on Plague Maiden but Succubus might be another good option)

NG
I saw bad players trying poison, hoping it would be good for this mode too. Spoiler: its not.
What good players did was choose assimilate decks. The assimilate engines might be seized but they may also boost out of the opponents range.
But the stars are the bronze package that can copy or revive the enemy bronze units, that way its guaranteed you can play units of the same value since you're just copying/ stealing them (experimental remedy, duchess informant, imperial diplomacy and of course, Bribery!)

For now its just these two factions that i recommend, i will add more if its the case, perhaps with your input.
Good luck!
 
Rico is also great in this mode in NG and SY since he copies the last played value.
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SY is also nice, perhaps not the best but allows you to play some engines using coins when the opponent can't if they don't use the same faction. Just don't play coin generating engines, only profit. Like that you can ping enemies and adjust their value to steal them.
 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
GUIDE TO LOVE SEASONAL MODE
PART II - RECOMMENDED LEADERS AND CARDS


Now, i'll recommend the best leaders and best cards for this mode. This is really easy to figure out - its the ones that let you play several units on 1 turn, so many of what's top tier in the current meta its also good for this mode (unfortunately)

Leader Abilities:

NR - Pincer Maneuver and Mobilization
SC - Mystic Echo and Call of Harmony (and on a lesser level, Precision Strike)
SK - Second Wind
NG - Strategid Withdrawal, Tactical Decision and Doublecross
MO - Death's Shadow
SY - Wild Card (w Vivaldi Bank, or less versatile and consistent, Novigrad Justice and Excommunication, respectively)

Cards that let you play 2 units:

Any 2pt Gold tutor (Ermion, Menno, Whispess Tribute, Fauve, Ferko, Natalis)
Scenarios that let you play, NOT spawn, units (NG and MO only)

Dandelion Poet
Triss TK + any bronze special that lets you play a unit
Gascon: Iron Falcon

Walter Veritas (SY only)
Queen Adalia (NR only)
Vernon Roche (NR only), w possibility of double play w Hen Gaidth Sword
Ramon Tyrconnel (NG only)
Artorius Vigo (not very good steals, since its a 2pt + 1pt)

Good cards - anything that creates and gives 3 choices or copies, so you can guarantee you get your seizes:

Runestones
Rico (NG Only) and Dudu
Imperial Diplomacy, Experimental Remedy and Duchess Informant (already said these on Pt.I but i'll repeat it!)
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So, its easy to see NG will be the dominant faction in this seasonal mode, making it 3 seasons in a row!

Besides how amazing their assimilate/create/steal package is in this mode, i also noticed today Poison is not as bad for this mode, since their scenario allows 2 additional seizes, and those thirsty dames get even more boosts when you seize their other units and they earn the spying status.

Another tactic i see is SC, where their big finisher Oak is even better in this mode since if you have a big unit at the end of the round, between 8-15, they can put the oak strategically so it mimics that value and seizes that big unit. Still, this is probably the only plus SC has in this mode.
 
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Monster tall units works very well. Out of 20 games I lost one. There are few opponents with tall removals and most people don't counter 6/7/8 bronze units.

Special mentions for useful cards:
- Imlerith: If you're dominant you can often choose your opponents card and get 14 points.
- Ozzrel/Ghul: Works like consume, but your not dependent what's on the board.
- Nightwraith: Very good consume target for Endrega Warrior (and Griffin). You can get a 5/6/7/8 play depending what you need.
- Necromancy: Choose what you need.
- Force of Nature and Ozzrel/Ghoul: Useful for stealing tall targets.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Monster tall units works very well. Out of 20 games I lost one. There are few opponents with tall removals and most people don't counter 6/7/8 bronze units.

Special mentions for useful cards:
- Imlerith: If you're dominant you can often choose your opponents card and get 14 points.
- Ozzrel/Ghul: Works like consume, but your not dependent what's on the board.
- Nightwraith: Very good consume target for Endrega Warrior (and Griffin). You can get a 5/6/7/8 play depending what you need.
- Necromancy: Choose what you need.
- Force of Nature and Ozzrel/Ghoul: Useful for stealing tall targets.

I do agree monsters works very well, but i would recommend consume, not just tall monsters. Why? With consume you get versatility, selecting the unit you want to consume to get the seize you want, and also when you play a order consume unit, you can get a 4/5/6 seize, but after you consume others, its out of the opponent's range for seize,

I have faced one opponent who used tall monsters, its true i wasnt able to seize many of his units, but he wasnt focused on seizing mine at all and he ended up losing (im using SY swarm, but MO swarm+consume is also great)

I agree that ghoul/Ozzrel and Necromancy are very good for this mode - like i said before, if you have a choice in what points your unit gets, you are more likely to win.

But i wouldnt recommend force of nature, instead you can use Death's Shadow to get an extra seize, combined with Caranthir this allows some amazing plays.

I also cant recommend Imlerith, not for this mode. I love his new ability, just won 15 out of 17 ranked matches with a WH Gerni deck, but for this mode? Getting 14pts for 13 provisions is terrible. Even 21pts for 13 provisions is not that great when you can get over 24 pts with create golds that allow 2 seizes like Gascon IF and Dandelion Poet.

I still think NG is the strongest faction for this seasonal, and im sure its what most players are using
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
With my recent focus on ranked this season (a bit burned out now so ill take a break), i gained a new appreciation for what might be called 'Midrange decks and cards'. So i decided to share some guidelines and recommendations here:

GUIDE TO MIDRANGE CARDS

What is "Midrange", anyway? I dont think there's a strict definition, but its usually considered something in the middle, so in the case of Gwent, where cards range in provisions from 4 to 14, its usually means cards in the 6-9 provision range, usually cheap golds.

I'll recommend some for each faction and neutrals.

NEUTRAL:
-Dorregaray - im really surprised almost nobody is using locks, except a few NG. Specially with his recent provision buff, he's very useful and at the current meta there is not a single deck that doesnt have a worthy lock target.

-Myrgttabrakke (the green dragon) - a 8 (4body, 2x2 damage) for 8 provisions is pretty good and rarely bricks

-Cyprian Wiley - banishing a 3 pt unit is very useful, specially since it bypasses armor, and with some damage can be used to banish units you expect to see replayed (like crow mother or Dagur)

-Matta Huuri - this one is already very popular, definitely doesnt need my help, but i recommend it otherwise. Just beware of a possible Kambi if opponent is from SK, personally it is one of my favourite things to do (making opponents discard their scenarios and caretakers and shupes)

MONSTERS:
(this is the faction that inspired me to do this guide. i even made a full midrange deck and did quite well, and it was really easy to play and versatile)

-Katakan - really popular card, for a reason. 6+2 body, with both thrive and deathwish on the main unit, even better on vampire decks and thrive decks but great on any MO deck really.

-Armored Arachas - 6body (and armor) and making an enemy unit bleed based on their base power, for only 8 provisions, very easy to make it worth a lot even on a mid-length round.

-Caranthir - my favourite MO unit, so many possibilities. For 8 prov you can create another copy (1pt) of ANY unit. Combos so well with deathwish units like Miruna or Plague Maiden, consume targets like Ruehin or Dethlaff HV, gold engines like Kikimore Queen or the Beast, even create another defender (1pt but 4 armor) or my personal favourite, Living Armor.

-Toad Prince - just like Cyprian Wiley, its value comes from bypassing armor and shields (Endrega warriors or those armored NG soldiers are great targets)

-Adda: Striga - after the latest patch, it should be an auto-include for all MO decks. 7 for 7 in worst case, 9 for 7 in best case, awesome removal (lots of 4pt engines) and since dominance was reverted you dont need a different higher unit to be the highest, it can be this unit's own 5pts

-Queen of the Night - one of the best purifies, since the alternative is 4turn bleed, making it a positive (provision-point) ratio card.

-The Beast - a 2pt per turn engine, when you play it, it should immediately go to 6pts making it very hard to remove and just overall better than SY's Hound, since if it is damaged, it will keep getting back up. (7 prov.)

SKELLIGE:
-Harald Houndsnout - ok i admit this one is no longer has good as it used to be, thanks to armor. Still is a solid choice if you have other triggers for the skulls like svalblod priests.

-Hammond - no one used him, now everybody does. As a big body (6pt), provides movement, bleeding and he's cheap, what more can you ask?

-Ulfheddin - very underused, for just 7 prov, damaging any unit with half of its power is really good, only needs 6pt enemy to be worthy.

-Axel 3-Eyes - this one is not for any SK deck, but if there are some bears and crows involved, he's sure to be worth it. 7 for 7 at a minimum, but i can usually get him to 10-13, sometimes even to 15-16 on a full beasts deck.

-Yoana - i really like this card, and it has won me some games, but with how removal runs rampant, she's likely to get insta removed, so instead i will recommend my next pick...

-Heymaey Flaminica - also 5pt body like Yoanna, but 1 provision cheaper (6), and more importantly immediately heals the row after you play her. Even if instantly removed, she can still heal a full row of damaged units and provide many points, and if she sticks, she can provide many points, specially if you build the deck around self damage

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Will update with other factions soon. Hope this helps and good games, everyone.
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OK, here we go again, Midrange cards for the remaining 4 factions:

NORTHERN REALMS:
-Keira Metz - she was slightly nerfed after her rework but she's still amazing, since she distributes her vitality on two targets, its highly unlikely both will be countered so she usually provides +10pt value (including her 5pt body)

-Hubert Rejk - one of the few units able to get 2 pts out of 1 charge, and unlike Shani he doesnt need to be boosted for that. Unfortunately Demavend and charge decks are quite unviable now (ive been playing with them so i know)

-Voymir - i dont think i've ever seen this card played against me, but i use it all the time. It gives +1boost and +1 armor to all copies of a unit. Even if you use it on just 2 copies of a bronze he's useful, but he really shines on blue stripes decks, Draug decks (target all those revenants after they multiplied) or even Immortal cavalry or Caravan vanguard where each copy creates 2 units and so its easy to swarm the board with them

-War Chariot - another versatile unit useful in any deck. Its the only NR unit able to move enemy units, and can also give bleeding for 4 turns, or both if put in the middle of soldiers (easy for NR)

-Anna Strenger - very popular in NR boost engine decks, can be quite deadly if not countered giving 2pts per turn (4 if combo'ed with tridam infantries)

-Vincent Meis - amazing card at just 6 provisions. I know all Revenants/Draug decks already use him, but i use him on every NR deck. Being able to put any noon boosted unit at 1pt is very useful, and usually destroys Monsters, with their Ygherns and Golyats, and they never carry resets anyway. Also great for Tibors and Savolla's Frighteners (which are in 100% of SY decks)

NILFGAARD:
-Sweers - already super popular, rightfully so. Stealing a 3pt unit is already good, if its an engine even better.

-Artorius Vigo - another auto-include in NG decks, doesnt need any more publicity. Its strength its his versatility, being a great engine in assimilate decks but also providing support for any other NG deck, like soldiers, mill, poison, etc.

-Peter "something" - at 6 provisions, he's the cheapest reset in the game, but nobody uses him anymore, which i find incredibly stupid because there are a LOT of boosted units in the current meta. For poison decks, he might be unnecessary, but other NG decks should definitely use him.

-Vanhemar - another NG unit that lost popularity. And this one i admit, maybe he really is no longer good when there's so much cheap poison going around. Still, a must if your running a "old school" locks deck.

SCOIATAEL:
-Isengrim and Yaevinn - these cards need a nerf. I know Yaevinn was already nerfed last patch, but Isengrim DEFINITELY needs a nerf. CDPR is not seeing the bigger picture here, "Morvudd is 6pt 8 prov, boost all beasts by 1pt, so Isengrim is the exact same for elves"... But a full elf deck is way more viable than a full MO beast deck. Isengrim is usually providing as much as a Great Oak, but for 5 provisions less! (so yeah, these two cards are great. too great)

-Etriel and Murliega - another nerfed duo but still wildly popular in Harmony decks. Honestly, if you're using Harmony you dont even need advice, just play these in any order and you still win.

-Toruviel - a great elf card, also great in movement decks, but doesnt see much play. With both options (damage 2 units or damage a full row) she's versatile and rarely fails to provide value.

-Milva - one of my favourite ST cards, but unfortunately i cant recommend it anymore. Her immunity is great, so she usually goes up to 10+pts on a full round, but spamming harmony units is just more effective and cheaper.

SYNDICATE:
-Adriano the Mink - 6pt body, spawning a seductress which is becoming the most iconic SY bronze, dont need to say anything else, really...

-Hammond - he's a little better in SK because they have synergy with bleeding (Dagur GSs), but still super useful in all SY decks to move row restricted units

-Kurt - you may be asking "Who?". He's SY lock guy. He's 1 provision more expensive than Dorregaray but comes with a 2nd option to purify. He's great to surprise opponents who think you've already used Kalkstein on a previous round and are out of purifies, then here comes Kurt to save the day (and ruin the opponent's)!

-Dire Mutated Hound - very popular 2pt boost engine, however i only recommend it if you have the safety of SY's scarab defenders, otherwise just 2dmg will stop his boosting and providing him armor again is expensive

-Boris - no one uses him but he's not that bad, truly. 3pts, does 3 damage, if it kills the unit, get 3 coins. Simple. Best combo'ed with some of the many SY bronzes that do damage but no one uses, like Endrega or Bloody Good Friends.

-------------------------------------------------------- THE END ----------------------------------------------------------

Hope some of you had the patience to read some of this and it pushes players, old and new, to try new cards, not just the ones they see all the time. Good games!
 
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Portal::::
Infiltrator (4pt) - good for messing with opponents deck, should be used R1

I actually used this for mid-late R1 tempo in a Usurper deck once. I doubt it could work as such anymore actually. It's great to get both infiltrators in there if you can, but these days 8p is not alot, so I guess you rather want to put some kind of engine instead.

Not sure though, it could still be useful.

Cool thread by the way. Keep it up.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Time for another guide!
This one is focused on one of the new leader abilities, probably my favourite...

Note: i won't do guides for the new ST, SK or NG ability as those seem clearly inferior to existing abilities.
I wont do for SY for obvious reasons, everyone's already using it, its OP and super simple to build, just type Hoard, put the other "usual suspects" and you're done.
I might do one for NR's new ability, if someone's interested in that, i would like to know please.

GUIDE TO 'OVERWHELMING HUNGER' LEADER ABILITY AND MORE (MONSTERS)

The reason i decided this guide makes sense is because i witnessed a few players using it in a sub-optimal way.
There seems to be some confusion on what what is a 'deathwish' (DW from here on) deck and what is a 'consume deck', so i'll be comparing Overwhelming Hunger vs Death's Shadow and say what is best for each.

Deathwish Bronzes:

-Ancient Foglet (4pr) - provides 4pts on consume. does not work with DW indirect triggers like MO stratagem or maerolorn
-Archespore (4pr) - awful card, only provides 2pt random damage on consume. dont use
-Nightwraith (4pr) - only provides 2pt on consume, but its decent even if not triggered and great on beast/swarm decks
-Foglet (4pr) - provides 3pt on consume/trigger, but more importantly, thinning. Combos well with Pugo as openers.
-Endrega Eggs (4pr) - provides 3 1pt drones on consume, ideal for Arachas decks or Death's Shadows Kikimore decks.
Noonwraith (4pr) - this is a unit you DONT want to consume, its just pointslam, unless you're playing swarm your opponent's board meme deck.

-Harpy Egg (5pr) - my favourite bronze DW unit. Provides 5pts on consume/trigger, and both the egg and harpy are beasts.
-Bridge Troll (5pr) - terrible card, since it boosts 4pt on your highest unit, so if you consume it, you're creating really tall units, and the risk to removal is higher.
-Rotfiend (5pr) - also provides 4pt, but of random damage. can be really good vs engine decks, as lots of those are 4pt.

Deathwish Golds:
-Penitent (7pr) - good interesting unit, summons a random 7pr unit from your deck. Use it to summon Manticore, Pugo or the Beast.

-Werecat (7pr) - variable point potential, since it does 1dmg on an entire row, on deploy+ on consume. Its rarely used but it can surprise the opponent and offer pts than other DW golds.

-Manticore (7pr) - removes opponent's weakest unit on consume/trigger. One of the most popular DW choices, so the problem is good opponents will play low units or even 1pt drones and deny almost all value out of it.

-Golyat (8pr) - one unit you definitely dont want to consume, and it has no place in DW decks other than pointslam.

-Miruna (9pr) - seizes a random opponent's unit with 4pt or less, so its max value is 8pts. Same problem as Manticore, good opponents will play their weak, non-engines first to deny Miruna value.

-Dethlaff HV (10pr) - this is a CONSUME unit. You can use it with OH ability with 2 charges to get instant 19pts (7+7+5) on 3 bodies without fear of locks or tall removal, but i recommend it for Death's Shadow decks, works great with Scenario.

-Ruehin (11pr) - another CONSUME unit, this one is definitely better with Death's Shadow, if you use it with OH ability, dont waster charges on consuming it.

-Plague Maiden (12pr) - the most expensive DW unit, for a reason. Provides 7pt (7 little rats) on consume. Great for OH decks, since with just 1 charge, you get 16pts, 8 units. Be careful not to swarm your own board too fast on a long round or you might not have enough space for more units. And beware those horrible SK Wild Boars of the Sea, killing all poor rats!

-Haunt Scenario (13pr) - works really well with consume decks with Death's Shadow and Dethlaff HV to instantly advance scenario to chapter 1. Can be used with OH ability but there's the risk of scenario getting removed as soon as its played.

Deathwish support cards:
-Siren (4pr) - boosts a DW unit by 3. There are better cheap bronze options.
-Fiend (4pr) - boosts all DW units on hand by 1. Its unlikely you'll have 5+ of those on hand, as you'll also have consume units and specials, so its not recommended.
-Maerolorn (5) / Abaya (6pr) - triggers a bronze DW unit without consuming it. Can be bricked if opponents locks or kills the DW you wanted to use these on, so its a risk. Also, good targets are only harpy egg (5), rotfiend (4) or foglet (3)

-Ritual Sacrifice (10pr) - triggers all DW units on the board without consuming it. To make it worthy requires 3 or 4 DW units, without the opponent locking them or killing them, so it can be risky, the ideal is to play a DW unit and consume it after, just like you dont poison all units 1 time, then go poison them all 2nd time to finish off.

-Ge'els (10pr) - similar to Ritual Sacrifice, but the opposite (you play it before other DW units). Its a super dangerous unit, so it will be targeted strongly, its very risky to play it. If you do, i probably recommend defender to protect it.

-Whispering Hillock (8pr) - tutor special for any DW unit you want, i dont use it but its not bad at all, if you value consistency.

-Morvudd (8pr) - boosts all beasts by 1. This is the isengrim of beast decks (and it wasnt nerfed!). Amazing value in combo with 1/2 Plague Maidens and their 7/14 rats, harpies, griffins and manticore are also beasts.

-Caranthir (8pr) - a key card in almost all consume, deathwish and swarm decks. Can be used with Living Armor+Death's Shadow; Ruehin/Dethlaff HV on consume decks, Kikimore Queen+Deaths Shadow on Kikimore decks; DW golds like Manticore, Miruna or Plague Maiden on OH decks, etc.

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TL;DR version:
Use Death's Shadow if you want to focus on Ruehin, Dethlaff HV and Scenario. Or if you want a Kikkimore boosting row to reach tons of points. Or if you want 3x 10pt Living Armors.

Use Overwhelming Hunger if you want to focus on Miruna, Manticore, Werecat, or either version of rat swarm (your side with plague maidens/nightwraiths, or opponents side with noonwraiths). The 3 charges allow you to consume without fear of locks, or of getting very tall units with regular consume units like Slyzard, Barghest or Kayran.

Hope this helps a bit, will provide a OH deck here soon. :ohstopit:
Post automatically merged:

Here it is, a simple DW deck that is quite powerful and can deal with most non-top tier decks:

 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
I know my timing is really weird to write a new guide, with everyone excited for what will be revealed tomorrow.
But i promise it will be a short one, and it won't become obsolete with whatever is announced, since its a general strategy:

[GUIDE TO HYBRID DECKS]

What is an hybrid deck?
It's a deck that comprises 2 (or more) different archetypes.

What are the disadvantages?
By dividing your cards in 2 different archetypes, you risk not getting a combo you needed, and getting separate pieces of each archetype you're using that simply dont work well with each other.

What are the advantages?
The element of surprise. Most metadecks rely on a single archetype (i.e. Harmony or Poison), with a few extra cards for pointslam and techs. With an hybrid deck, you can play a strategy R1 and let your opponent think you will keep using the same strategy on R3 - he will mulligan according to what he's expecting you to play - and that's where you can take the upper hand.

This is specially useful for players with considerable knowledge of current metas, and know the opponent's deck pre-emptively, but that is not required to get the benefits of using an hybrid deck, just an added bonus.

I will give 2 examples, of decks i used recently with reasonable success, to better illustrate my point:

-i was using an Overwhelming Hunger and it had 2 cores, 2 win conditions: a Manticore/Succubus that work well to dominate the early turns of a round (lost track of how many Hefty Helges i stole with Succubus, even those protected by Defender).
But then also had Plague Maiden and swarm cards like Morvudd, Triss TK+ Bone Talisman / Yennefer, that give more points than any Yghern or Ozzrel.
These 2 strategies are very different, and by not "revealing" what your other strategy of your deck, you can really catch an opponent offguard and increase your chances of success (damn, i sound like one of those enterpreneurial speakers, but i promise i wont try to sell you anything...)

-the other was an Uprising deck. One core was a popular one, with Germain to get as many units as possible and boost them, to maximize Vissegerd and Scythemen. This is a very passive cardpool, that doesnt really threaten the opponents size until the Vissegerd is played.
What the opponent didnt expect is the other side: those bronze charges mages with Adalia and reinforcements, so you basically get an army of mages and an engine deck is quite unstoppable vs pointslams.
Why was this better than a full charge deck? Because everyone would push against those like crazy on R1 to avoid a long R3 against them. But by using this hybrid deck, i made the opponent feel unthreatened, even let them win R1 because with the charges core of this deck, i prefer to start R3, and then its too late and the opponents didnt have enough counters and some even forfeited.

TL;DR version: use different archetypes on a deck (50-50 or so), and use those archetypes on different rounds to trick opponents and win more :cool:
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Time for another Seasonal Mode Guide:

[GUIDE TO GRIFFIN SEASONAL MODE - "POWER SHIFT"]

In this mode, each unit's power is equal to its provision cost.

1. This rule only applies to cards in your starting deck. So if you use a special, leader ability or spawn to generate units, their points WON'T be their provision, instead being their regular value.

2. For the reason above, this mode is the opposite of last month's season - this month, units are great and specials are terrible, in general (there are some exceptions, like revives or tutor specials)

3. The best strategy is to use units with the biggest difference between their points and provisions - low points and high provisions. Example: Falibor becomes a 11pt in this mode, Phillipa becomes a 12. Which one do you want?

4. There will be tons of points on the board, so tall removal units are very good. I want to highlight 3 Geralts:

- standard Geralt, 10pt, most likely will kill a 10pt or more unit, easy 20pt. Good choice

-Geralt Igni, 10 pts, this card is ESSENTIAL in every deck, and rules this mode. ALWAYS use it, but more importantly, ALWAYS PLAY AROUND IT. There are a lot of witcher trios being played (3x8=24pt burn), and the 35pt condition when you dont have initiative is rarely hard to achieve, so you can lineup enemy units nicely (my records are 5x10pt and 4x11pt, in just one day of playing seasonal :ohstopit:)

- Geralt Yrden, 11 pt. This one is trickier to recommend, because there are 2 popular, powerful decks in this mode: MO Ruehin/Dethlaff HV consume and SK Lippy. Against the former, Yrden will be gamewinner, against the latter, it will be a 11pt brick. Choose wisely...

5. Witcher trio and Roach are incredibly popular in this mode, for an explosive 34pt play, usually R1, that thins the deck by 3. If the roach doesnt go the same row as the trio, you usually get a window for an Igni to instantly destroy said trio.
I personally dont like using trio, but recommend Roach in NG, with Assire, and in SK Lippy decks (with Knickers too)


Next up, i will point out some excellent cards, neutral and faction-specific.

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Great cards for Griffin Seasonal Mode:

---NEUTRAL---
Geralts, Witcher Trio, Roach (already explained above)

Dandelion Poet - very expensive, which is good for this mode, and lets you play another card in hand, goof for tempo bursts

Saer Quann - costs 8 prov, gives 18 pts (after a turn, which can be an advantage, since at 8 its not vulnerable to tall removal)

Triss TK - can be a good choice, but requires a powerful bronze special to be worth it (lacerate, SK freya's blessing)

Faction specific tutors - they're not neutral, but i dont know where else to put em. At 8pts (2pt in standard mode) + special, they're decent value

---NORTHERN REALMS---
This faction is not being used much, but its actually quite good for this mode, as it has a lot of engines that likely wont be stopped, and allows for the best Igni lineups.

Vissegerd and Redanian Archers - best used for Igni lineups

Vysogotta - Usually he's very fragile at 3, in this mode he's 8, so tall but not tall enough for tall removal. Best engine to buff your units and counter possible lineups of the opponent for an Igni

Vincent Meis - in a mode full of base strength tall units, super easy to get great value (6 provisions for 15 value on a 10pt enemy unit)

Ronvid - NR carryover, plays for 11pt, but its revived as 6pt on later rounds when a soldier is played

Caravan vanguard - i know its a neutral, but works best in NR. You can use Adalia or Reinforcements, but the spawned units wont have 6 base strength. Immortal cavalry is a decent alternative

Philippa BF - 12pt+10pt random damage is pretty good

Anseis - 10pt, he's good but you definitely need a 1pt boost to make him duel, otherwise its just 4dmg

---MONSTERS---
Tall monsters arent very good, because they're often less points than in regular mode due to their provisions. Still, this faction shines in consume

Nekkers and Endrega Larva - thrive engines that provide great value on long rounds and unlikely to be countered on a mode where everyone is more focused on point slam

Ruehin - 11pt, quite possibly the best unit in this mode, even on a short R3, he's worth it, specially combined with Overwhelming Hunger, just make sure you dont line up a perfect Igni for your opponent

Dethlaff HV - 10pt, pretty much the same as Ruehin, but limited to 2 consumes.

Caranthir - to make more Ruehins, Dethlaffs HV. Simple

Geels/Ozzrel - massive points due to their point/provision ratio. Careful because they go extremely tall, so vulnerable.

---SKELLIGE---
I havent tried or seen anything else, but im pretty sure Lippy (with Ursine Ritual) is the best type of deck for this mode, even better than in standard mode due to the high provision costs of the units generally used with it... which you play twice.

Cerys, 2x Shieldmaidens, Roach, Knickers, Crowmother, Lippy, Morkvarg, Geralt Igni - all the ones in standard Lippy deck, but you can add Witcher trio if you want, they can be Igni'ed but they probably wont be Igni'ed twice.
 
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Guest 4368268

Guest
Mixed feelings about this mode. I love the concept and the games can be incredibly fun, with all factions there's interesting and fun stuff you can put together. However the mode is also infested with decks that are reminiscent of y'old Brouver coinflip days (the PTSD is still strong) it's incredibly punishing and decisive to be on blue.
So much so a lot of games are literally just won or lost based on the coinflip and people build their decks accordingly.
And we all know how this game can be sometimes, you can just get that awkward streak of 10 blue coins in a row :giveup:
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Mixed feelings about this mode. I love the concept and the games can be incredibly fun, with all factions there's interesting and fun stuff you can put together. However the mode is also infested with decks that are reminiscent of y'old Brouver coinflip days (the PTSD is still strong) it's incredibly punishing and decisive to be on blue.
So much so a lot of games are literally just won or lost based on the coinflip and people build their decks accordingly.
And we all know how this game can be sometimes, you can just get that awkward streak of 10 blue coins in a row :giveup:

True, you can lose CA if you're on blue coin really easily, that is why its so important to have a smart deck.
I have only used NR so far, with pretty much the cards i recommend in my guide.

I havent seen SY, had no problems vs NG or ST, NR are pretty much mirror matches, SK are very dangerous but most i've faced are bad players and i managed to win, only MO decks pose me a real threat, since im not packing Yrden.

The good part is last say isnt very important in this mode (at least for me, relying on massive ignis to win), so i dont mind passing R1 earlier to avoid losing CA.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
I return to my guides topic, after an almost 4 month break since the last.
This one will be HUGE, but i really enjoyed making it, and hopefully it can help players who like the currently weakest faction, but want something different from its common decks:

[GUIDE TO NILFGAARD SOLDIERS]

I love NG soldiers, and most players dont consider it a proper, fleshed out archetype. There are 4/5 bronze soldiers that are popular, but usually they are just support to the main core of the deck, usually poison or spies.

This will be an extensive guide on all bronze NG soldiers and their potential. I will start by some general info, then the golds and strategies that support them, finally i will go through each bronze soldier, if you make a complete deck around each one. Most of these won't be competitive and some are very memey, but i guarantee they offer a lot of diversity and fun.

You need proof of my vast experience with Nilfgaard and its soldiers? Say no more:
1337 Nilfgaard edit.jpg


INTRO:
There are 23 different bronze NG soldiers. Some have a fixed value, while others can escalate their value. I will only focus on these, not because they are better but because they actually require some strategy and can have interesting combos.
I will also avoid the soldiers belonging to well known archetypes, as im sure most already know how to use these and there are videos and guides if not, i would only be repeating someone else.

SOLDIER SUPPORT:
The bronze soldiers have very different effects, but the gold soldiers and support cards are usually the same, i will divide these in "packages" to avoid repeating information later on:

- "Gold Soldier Trio" - that is Ramon, Affan and Fiffion. Ramon is a must in EVERY one of the soldier decks below. Affan, include if you plan on using Tactical Decision or Imperial Formation abilities, and if its a deck that favours thinning or swarm. Fiffion, the defender, use only if you are using soldiers that are engines or other cards you need to protect from removal.

- "Vr Buddies" - Vrygheff and Vreemde. The former is useful when you have deploy effects on bronze soldiers you want to repeat. He costs 8 provisions and has a 3pt body, so you should be getting 5 or more from its effect to be worthy. Vreemde is 7pr and 4body, i would say he's worthy if you will have more than 3 copies of a bronze soldier (a must on daerlan or slave infantry decks where you get way more than 3)

- "Core Copy Package" - everyone who's played against Mill knows this package. In Mill its used on Viper Witcher, but it can be used on several other bronzes with amazing results. Im talking about: Operator, 2x Duchess Informants, Artorius and Braathens (for 2 extra informants). With this you can get 5 extra copies of any bronze (soldier)

- "Extra Copies Package" - if you wanna go the extra mile, you can get even more copies of a bronze in many ways:
Experimental remedy, to revive a destroyed informant or revive the bronze you put on enemy side with operator on a different round; Coup de grace on informant for an extra one, but its too expensive, not usually worth it; necromancy to revive one of your bronze soldiers if one is killed or in another round; sweers/amnesty - to seize the bronze soldier you put with operator if its 3pts, ONLY after you are done copying it with informants

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

BRONZE SOLDIERS LIST:
The following are the ones that dont really have much potential to be explored, and i wont include in the "deck shortguides":

Ard Feainn Tortoise; Impera Brigade; Deithwen Arbalest; Nauzicaa Brigade; Alba Spearman; Magne Division; Recruit; Ard Feainn Light Cavalry.

Next, are the ones that belong to other fleshed out archetypes, so arent really part of the soldier archetype, they have an archetype of their own:

Impera Enforcers – Spy Deck
Slave Hunter + Ducal Guard + Ard Feainn Heavy Cavalry – Assimilate Deck

And NOW, all of this so far was just the setup, only now we get to the good stuff :oops:
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Slave Infantry – the oldest NG soldier deck I used, from early HC times. It’s weaker now, because slave infantry went from 5 to 4pts (and adjusted 7 to 4 provisions) and because of the powercreep of the past 5 expansions.
The best way to pull this off is still with Germain AKA “cow guy”, you use 2 slave infantries on 2 1pt cows, then Vrygheff to transform the remaining 2 cows, then Vreemde on the 6 slave infantries – this gives you 48pts for 32 provisions on 5 turns, which is good, but it requires all the poor vulnerable cows to survive and having all these cards on hand.


Venendal Elite – this soldier synergizes with tactics and is already a part of most enslave decks, where he can play as opener for 8-13 pts if you have a ton of tactics in hand.
The best way to capitalize on him is to play venendals 4times, 2 at the beginning of R1, 2 more at the beginning of holepfully a 10 card R3 (use Artorius Vigo and Ramon to get 4 in total).
You CAN play more venendals in a match, but by doing that you’re reducing their value by having less tactics on hand, so I recommend 4 max.


Nauzicaa Sergeant – he used to be on most NG decks, but was replaced by thirsty dame. I do not recommend a full-on Nauzicaa sergeant deck, as the more you create, the less triggers you will get from them, and usually just add 1 pt per turn. It would play very similar to an assimilate deck, just completely worse in all ways.


Daerlan Soldier – one of my favourites NG soldier decks, highly underrated because its quite consistent, and one that has existed for a long while and recently got buffed (daerlans cost 5prov instead of 6 now).
It’s a swarm deck, but because daerlans are 3pt, they can survive wide punishments like lacerate, werecat or lambert swordmaster. Only nightmare is Schirru, but he’s very rare in current meta, even Precision Strike lists aren’t using him as much.
Ramon, Vrygheff and Vreemde are essential, this is the soldier that gets the most out of Vreemde, I have got 20+ points out of this 7 provision card.
Do not be afraid to go full swarm with 2x bone talismans, maybe a Triss TK for a 3rd one as finishers (you stil have enough provisions for any high provision techs you prefer, like Heatwave or Invo).
If you go full-on Daerlans you can even fill the board with them on 2 rounds, by using the “Core Copy package” for 4 additional pairs of Daerlans.


Alba Pikeman – these are the ones that ping 1mdg on opponents on melee row per turn. A full-on Pikemen deck is not very good, I tried recently, even when they stick, protected by boosts or defender, you need movement to constantly keep units on the melee row.
Since it includes a lot of movement, and opponents will stack on ranged row, lacerate/surrenders are a must and the only thing that can net you some games with this deck.
NR can do a very similar deck with reinforced trebuchets, but they at least have synergy with scenario and bombardments, NG with Pikemen doesn’t.


Ard Feainn Crossbowman – popular soldier, but not for a full-on crossbowmen deck… Which I’ve tried. Its not one of the best but definitely one of the most fun. Pings everywhere.
It’s very simple – play as many crossbowmen as you can, then keep playing soldiers and soldiers. Leader definitely Morvran, as he’s a played soldier, triggering all Crossbowmen. Try to limit your units to soldiers, i got 20 on mine, the rest were tech specials.
The opponent will waste damage when he tries to remove the crossbowmen (3pt 2 armor). Alternatively, you can use defender to try to protect the crossbowmen, but remember heatwave is popular on current meta.


Spotter – tried doing a spotter deck (one day before Freddybabes posted his), and my version was different but equally terrible. Spotter reveals a RANDOM unit from your opponents deck, not the top one, so the only way to ensure that card is the Tibor/Golem you put there is to mill them to 1 card, then use Offieri Merchant, and pray they don’t have a way to tutor it. Mill is just awful and everyone will think you’re regular mill and try to 2-0 you, and usually succeed. I would recommend Hyperthin instead of Spotters, although spotters are much cheaper than Xarthisius and Yen Divination and you can play them 3/4 times and replay their effect with Vrygheff.



Nilfgaardian Knight – you can make a full-on NG knight deck by using the Cahir/ DoubleCahir+Regis strategy, where you boost a single unit a lot then steal his boosts with Regis (use Petris Philter to reduce risk of counter). However, I think this meme strategy is best played with boost specials instead of only 2pts per NG knight, for a massive swing at the end.
You can do a more restrained version where you just play the NG knights to boost a unit, then destroy/reset it, but its nothing special.


Alba Armored Cavalry + Slave Driver – Locks Deck
These 2 soldiers synergize well with each other, so should be used together. You can go full meme and just lock everything up, even non engines, then have these slave drivers doing like 10pt damage that would even make a Yaevinn or Oak jealous.
On a locks deck Vanhemar is a must, and Vattier is also good (with Petris Philter, specially if you baited the heatwave out of your opponent). Leader should be Imposter or Imprisonment, just to have more locks.
This is a very weak deck, unlikely to win, unless you go against a full-on engine deck like stockpile, and you are able to lock everything up, or if you manage to steal a huge locked unit Vattier and kill another Vanhemar.


Standard Bearer – one of the most underrated bronzes in NG, its basically reverse Scythemen, and can get the same amounts of points if played on a 100% Bearer deck. While the NG Knight deck focus on boosting a single enemy unit, with bearers you want to boost as many units as you can.
Luckily, I made one recently, which is a lot of fun, and even made a guide for it:

 
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DRK3

Forum veteran
Returned to my guide topic just to complement it with some screenshots of one of the NG soldier decks above, the last one - the standard bearers - which i've also posted a guide for:

Bearers vs Symbiosis (36pt Yrden).jpg

Perfect St Bearer Match (After).jpg


This is just the ideal case for this deck - a 10card R3, where you are able to swarm properly.
On the 1st screen, against symbiosis, he helped me by creating so many boosted treants.
On the 2nd, he quickly swarmed the board too, when i used Yen he actually had more units but thats ok, the absurdly giant bearers make up for it.

In both matches at least one giant standard bearer got countered by heatwave, which is totally fine when i have huge bone talismans and an even bigger Yrden.
Actually in both those matches i didnt even need Yrden to win, and they were both 30+pt Yrdens.

Gigantic Bearer.jpg


And this was another match, from early October, where i got my biggest bearer (thanks to Vrygheff's doubling the deploy effect), so i decided to share it too.

I would show some screens of the other NG soldier decks, but they were either catastrophes (Pikemen, Spotters) or kinda boring (Venendal Elite).
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
So, it seems Viy decks are creating some trouble, with quite the pointslam without a chance to the opponent to interact with Viy itself.
Worry not, i come to you today to share some decks and tips to destroy these oppressive Viy players.

[GUIDE TO BEATING VIY DECKS]

Viy is a new Monster unit that strengthens 3pts everytime its consumed. Its doing so well because it plays around the omnipresent Heatwave and in most cases you can only counter the units that consumed Viy (and there are MANY).

There are 3 ways to beat Viy decks:

1) Outpoint them
2) Punish their tall units
3) Shutdown the Viy

I will not advise tactic 1), as there arent many, if any decks that can outpoint Viy, the ones that might usually like long R3s and Viy decks like to push R1 and R2 hard since they can often win short R3 even when they have less cards.

I will give some decks for 2) and some for 3).
Please note: the better your deck counters Viy, the less likely it will be competitive and do well vs other decks. So yes, you can do a deck that destroys Viy everytime but it will suffer against all other decks.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

To start off - there are actually several netdecks of the old meta that probably do really well against Viy without any change. I wont explain them as you can find them easily on meta reports:

-NR Shieldwall (include Anseis, Seltkirk, Baron and Viraxas for 4 massive tall punishments)
-NG Enslave Ball (include Yen Invo, Vincent VM, ball and poisons)
-ST Precision Strike (include Geralt Pro, Curse of Corruption, Heatwave and Boar/Pavko)

An important thing to note is all-out Viy decks focus all their provisions on ways to tutor it, leaving them no room for control (one heatwave/parasite max) and their bronze units are cheap thrives and thinning (foglets/riders)

Now, some decks that go for tactic 2) punish their tall units

This is my 7 Geralt deck and its very memey and not competitive at all, but does really well against Viy with so much tall removal.

This is a more balanced deck - a ST witcher movement that might do well against other decks, but it has a little more of tall removal with Villentretenmerth, Eyck, Yrden and a Spores.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

And now we get to the fun stuff: tactic 3) shutdown Viy.
Viy will only go to the GY if left on the board at the end of a round, which is unlikely (unless you make it happen). Killing it with tall removal will just send it back to the deck, so you need to banish it, seize it or steal it, and its usually an instant win if done early enough. Also i havent seen Viy decks use purifies so locking Viy is another way to shutdown.

This can be done in several ways, some more conditional than others.

(Any faction) Ihuarraquax - all Viy decks run this card, and one of the best ways to counter Viy is to run it too. The trick is to play your Ihuarraquax after the opponent's, and unless you have a way to counter Viy immediately (check NG deck guide below), you must do it AFTER the opponent passes, and DO NOT destroy his Viy, that way it will go to his GY instead of deck. This might make you lose CA but win the match.

(Any faction) Shupe Mage - transform rightmost card in each player's hand into a random special - this MUST be done after opponent plays Matta (they always use her). Should be done after the 1st Viy consume so you know its in deck. There are 2 cards in a Viy deck more expensive than Viy: Haunt and Oneiromancy, so to be 100% sure you will hit Viy, those 2 cards must have been played.

(SK) Kambi - similar to the previous strategy, must be used immediately after a Matta to discard his beloved Viy

DECK GUIDE - This is a SK warrior deck with 2 ways to shutdown Viy and balanced overall.

DECK GUIDE - This is a NG manipulation deck devilishly designed to be Viy deck's worst nightmare.

Hope this guide helped you and please share if you come up with other strategies to shutdown Viy decks i missed.
 
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I would highly advise Ivar Evil-Eye if you're NG. When it comes to really tall units he's the best punish there is
 
How does the NR Shieldwall / Ihuarraquax option shut down Viy? Doesn't killing it just trigger the deathwish and send it back to the deck boosted by 3 points to be summoned once again? All you gain from that is it gets played one fewer times that it would have otherwise.

The Shupe / Kambi methods are quite clever, though. ;)
 
(Any faction) Shupe Mage - transform rightmost card in each player's hand into a random special - this MUST be done after opponent plays Matta (they always use her) and you know the card he draw was Viy (to be sure, it must be done after the 1st consume, so you know Viy was on deck and not already on hand and Matta pulled another card)
Just a small addition, since the Viy players usually runs Oneiromancy you need to make sure that they already used it before they use Matta if not it's highly likely that Matta will give them Oneiromancy instead of Viy which could end up in a totally wasted Shupe Mage or Kambi.

How does the NR Shieldwall / Ihuarraquax option shut down Viy? Doesn't killing it just trigger the deathwish and send it back to the deck boosted by 3 points to be summoned once again? All you gain from that is it gets played one fewer times that it would have otherwise.
From my experience you need to wait until the Viy player has passed at some point during round 1 or 2 and afterwards use Ihuarraquax to summon Viy on the board without any chance for the Viy player to consume him. Edit: in NR's case you could also lock it with Margarita Laux-antille on board after Viy is summoned with the Unicorn.
 
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rrc

Forum veteran
[GUIDE TO BEATING VIY DECKS]
Dear @DRK3 I wanted to create a new Thread and I was confused what I should title it. In that confusion I hadn't created till now and you had added as post in one of your brilliant series of guides in this thread. But I have a very very VERY simple deck which usually wins Viy decks in at most 4 or 5 turns into the R1. Yours need skills and playing the entire game and Viy decks don't deserve that. Mine is lazy tech against Viy decks.

Some titles (for my supposed to be a guide thread for Viy) I considered are:
1) How to eat Viy for Breakfast!
2) Killing Monsters
3) Viy, Two can play the game!

Enough Intro, I created an Imposter deck which pretty much finishes Viy decks in 4 or 5 turns. It is ridiculous how quick you can get the win. But the deck is not optimized for regular games (even though it is serviceable and I think with little optimization it can get much better).

Ihuarrquax. Just wait for them to consume the first time (since they have have it in hand too) and as soon as they have consumed, play Ihuarrquax and lock it with Imposter. Wait for 3 or 4 seconds until you see "Victory" banner. Peter is an AMAZING card which is good against many decks and he is dirt cheap. Even though the deck is HEAVILY teched against Viy, it can beat other decks too. Warrit + Mentor + Canterall/Alchemist is EXCELLENT. You are not going to get a lot of wins against other decks, but against Viy, it is 100% guaranteed victory.

Deck: https://www.playgwent.com/en/decks/07b16c4823eb9252083f555534623b33

This was my own original idea which I got inspired by Viy decks only. If others have already done this, kudos; but be assured that I haven't copied your idea and presenting it as mine.

Edit: I am sorry I didn't read your full post and I just see now that you had mentioned the key card I use it in your post too, through the posts which were added when I was typing my post. Cheers!:beer:
 
How does the NR Shieldwall / Ihuarraquax option shut down Viy? Doesn't killing it just trigger the deathwish and send it back to the deck boosted by 3 points to be summoned once again? All you gain from that is it gets played one fewer times that it would have otherwise.

The Shupe / Kambi methods are quite clever, though. ;)
You don't kill Viy because you never get to interact with it. You kill the tall units that consumed Viy.
 
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