Hello everyone, and welcome to my 1st guide of the year.
I really loved this seasonal mode last year, and made a guide for it (last posts on the 1st page of this thread if you want to check it out), but i decided to make a new one due to significant changes.
I find it very easy to win in this seasonal mode, if you read and follow this guide you will find yourself in the same situation
[GUIDE TO WOLF SEASONAL MODE 2021]
-This mode is NOT well balanced between the factions.
Last year, it was NR that was the best (even though NG was the most played), and this year it changed - SK is the best (although for now, most are using NR which is easily the 2nd best)
Personal rating:
SK - 10/10
NR - 8.5/10
NG - 8/10
ST/MO/SY - trash/10
-This is because SK and NR have cheaps of making many witchers, SY and MO dont even have bronze witchers.
Dont try to use Viy, its so much worse than in standard, since everyone is running Yrden and better points than what MO has.
- YRDEN. The absolute must-have in every deck. In mirror matches, the winner is usually the one with the best Yrden.
Unlike last year, Renew cant be used for a 2nd Yrden. You got Lippy (SK), and Fringilla, Doublecross Leader, Bribery (NG) to try and get a 2nd one.
Always try to distribute your boosted points on two rows to minimize opponent's Yrden.
-Igni is also very good and will rarely brick. Most good opponents will play around it, so you need to line it up. The 35pt condition with initiative is usually met on long rounds, so that isnt a problem if you hold charges to line up a big Igni.
-Heatwave doesnt seem good in this mode. Havent seen any scenarios or defenders, and for tall removal, Geralts are better.
-In general, more units is better - 2x 4pt units will boost to 6pt each=12pts, while a single 8pt will boost to 10pts.
-Avoid ANYTHING that is 1/2pts because it will instantly die. Exceptions are witchers and spying units.
-Armor, shields and the new expansion witchers are great choices for this mode.
SKELLIGE
This is Tier 0 material in this mode. Having blue coin, getting bad hands, doing terrible misplays... usually doesnt matter and you still win, unless you're also facing an optimized SK list.
-Armor Up - 17pts for 5 provisions (3 bodies of 5 + 2 dmg). OP broken. Best bronze in this mode.
-Bear Witcher Quartermaster - 8pt body for 5 provisions, 20pts after charges are used on armor.
- Armored Drakkar - instantly goes for 9pts. Not as good as the previous 2, but good Igni bait, to protect your lines of 5/6pts units.
-Freya's Blessing - use this to revive quartermaster. Dont use Haern Caeduch, in this mode its not as great, since there rarely is any damaged unit, and it costs 8 provisions while this bronze revive only 6pr.
-Cerys+ShieldMaidens - this is INSTANTLY triggered, no need for Ursine Ritual charges, so you can use her with any SK leader. And it completely bypasses Lockdown matchups.
-In this mode, Lippy Cerys is Tier 0, except you dont need to use Ursine Ritual, in fact any other leader is better. Ursine is only good for extra provisions and to dmg own units to stop a lined up Igni.
You can use Yrden twice, and you dont even depend on the Cerys play since your bronzes give more pts than most other faction golds. The discard package should also be included, great points and thinning.
NORTHERN REALMS
If you play well, its possible to beat SK with NR. Most players are using Uprising Witchers and that really is the best choice for NR.
Note most players are using greedy versions of this, all focused on boosting and only control they have is Yrden. I dont think this is the best choice, as the opponent Yrden will be more devastating.
-Target practice - not as good as SK's armor up but still a worthy inclusion.
-Bronze Griffin Witchers - none of them are essential, but they provide good points, and GW can help line up an Igni
-Keldar - this is a 6pt witcher machine, so i keep my lock/control when facing this deck, and try to bait control out when using the same deck.
-Kerack City Guard - amazing synergy with last card Yrden, and best movement option for NR.
-Immortal Cavalry - i selected this card for best bronze in this mode last year. Not anymore, although 14pts (2x7pts) for 6 provisions is still amazing. Definitely include Reinforcements for this.
-Immortals, Kaedweny cavalry - shielded units are great because the shield denies the 2dmg that every non witcher unit gets in this mode.
NEUTRAL
The following cards are really great with witcher-heavy decks of NR and SK:
-Selective Mutation - instant 12pts for 6 provisions, plus it can get you one of your better cards if it has adrenaline
-Leo and Berengar - just good, cheap pointslam for this mode
Vesemir Mentor - amazing unit if you're packing a lot of witchers and generate many witcher students
-Wolf witcher trio - im not a fan of this play, but in this mode its 21 for 21 (or 24 for 21 if played with vesemir mentor). But this is the perfect target for Igni (which will likely be more played as players figure out the mode), so have a bigger unit on the row you play this.
-Artefact compression - no, im not joking. I use this in my seasonal decks and it will either do a massive reset or stop a troublesome unit like a Keldar, Ciri, Ciri Dash, Damien, etc. and its very cheap
-Nivellen or other movement - this is the ace in my sleeve. Good players vs good players, play around Yrden. But movement can make you Yrden so much better than your opponent.
I hope this helps, and makes players enjoy this mode more. I didnt share decklists on purpose, but anyone who read this guide can recreate my SK or NR decks and win pretty much everytime. Good luck!
BONUS - NILFGAARD
I've tried this faction and it can do some serious damage on this mode. It can beat NR or SK, but only by using their own strengths against them.
Alba Armored Cavalry - these are amazing, and trade even with NR's Griffin Witchers and SK's Bear Quartermasters (8 for 5)
More locks - i dont think 2 is enough, so i recommend at least a 3rd one, so you dont let a single engine/order do its thing.
Yen's Invo - this is good for the sneaky players who veil their units, like a Ciri Dash (extremely dangerous in this mode), and you can use it later against them
Braathens, Informants and Remedies - the key is to lock NR and SK's best bronze engines, then copy and steal as many as possible.
Warrit + Cantarella/VW Alchemist - this is great on R1, and usually it gets you a great card, often a Yrden (with 2 Yrdens and 0 for opponent, its much easier to win), or it forces the opponent to play it early to deny it for you, either way he wont have that card anymore later (and you can also Yen Invo it)
Assire - dont be afraid to play Yrden R1, you can just pop it back and replay it with Oneiromancy on R3.
Triss TK - i only use this to either get an experimental remedy or to get 'armor up', the main card that gives SK the upper hand in this mode
Doublecross Leader - gives you plenty of provisions, and if you failed to steal/force his Yrden earlier, you can copy it at the end, double Yrden is usually a win in this mode.
Note: ive seen players using Joachim+Coup in this mode. I dont think this is a good option, since everything is already going big and tall removal and Yrdens are everywhere. I recommend more control (not dmg specials, but Geralts or cheaper cards like Peter/Vanhemar)
Note 2: i hate poison and ball, but it seems rather effective in this mode, and no one is running heatwave to counter scenario, so it might be a good choice. im surprised i haven seen any poison users in this mode with so many tall units