This time i come with a "small" guide, pretty different from my typical guides, way more subjective.
Perhaps nobody is interested, but i've had this idea for weeks, and seems the only way to get rid of it is to actually execute it, so lets do this:
GUIDE TO GWENT MIND GAMES
Throughout the years, i've taken a look at plenty of Gwent articles, posts, guides and the meta reports i loathe so much.
Most are very objective, and focus on what you should play, but that's only half (ok, maybe more than half...) of the game, the other half is HOW you play! That's what i'll attempt to do now.
NOTE: this is not a 'dirty player's handbook' of any kind. Behaviours like spamming taunts or roping to annoy and possible make opponents forfeit, BM'ing (playing cards when you already won on R3) are not endorsed here in any form.
NOTE2: i've seen 'good guy' guides, on trying to avoid "tilt" (getting mad, basically) or anxiety, with sensible advice like taking regular breaks after losing streaks, trying not to take individual matches too seriously and look at the bigger picture, being rational and respectful, etc.
This is also NOT that type of thing, i'm going to delve more into the 'dark side', while still being ethical hopefully.
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Gwent is an online game, so you dont see your opponent. Also, there is no voice/text chat available. You have very little interaction with your opponents. Most players might say the main form of interaction are the taunts. I say otherwise, i say its... time.
When you start playing Gwent, or any other CCG, you only look at the cards that are played. After a few hundred hours, you know the cards, you start noticing other details, even if subconsciously, like how long it takes for your opponent to play their turn.
Players have different playstyles, but in general, a confident, experienced player will take less time to play, inexperienced players always take long to play because they need to read the cards of the opponent (you can see if an opponent is hovering over a card, another form of interaction), netdeckers with tier 0/1 decks play relatively fast, while a player struggling in a situation will always take longer.
I love the mindgames that can be played with this, all sorts of bluffing possible, but unfortunately they often fall flat, in the face of metadeck aggressive playstyle of never passing and always going for 2-0, its quite sad, as if the opponent doesnt acknowledge you as another human player and just cares about the win.
But nevermind that, this post is not meant as a pit to wallow in misery, but to actually help players, do better and even get more enjoyment from playing Gwent!
1. Analyze the speed of the opponent. It doesnt matter if he's fast or slow, what matters is if he is going faster or slower than before.
If he's speeding up, it probably means its going well for him, knows what cards he will play next and you're playing into his gameplan.
If he's speeding down, it might indicate he's feeling loss of control over the round, or playing unusual cards which make him feel suspicious.
2.
Control your own speed. I advise this but rarely apply it. Im lightning fast in +90% of my turns, as i play too much and unfortunately that means knowing the metadecks by heart, so i usually know whats coming next, when i take more time, its because i found a conundrum or dilemma, where each of my options is pretty bad, which the opponent can easily read.
3.
Time mindgames dont work everywhere. At high level play, like tournaments, which use open decklist format, they dont work, mostly because all players take long in all turns, due to the high stakes of the situation. However, they still play other mindgames, like the standard bluffing, which is always enjoyable to watch (i.e. playing a poison card without having a 2nd poison to force a pass or less value purify).
4.
Unpredictabilty is a weapon. You can play original decks, filled with cards your opponent wont see coming. But even with this advantage, sometimes its hard to beat metadecks. Sometimes just changing 1 or 2 cards is enough, specially if they're finishers. If all your cards are weird, your opponent will expect weird next, but you can trick into a false sense of security then strike hard when it counts.
I love doing this, like playing 2 tall removals, the 1st is the meta one, they assume i dont have another, then hit with the unusual one.
Or using Yrden in SK, they never see it comin! (gonna get hate for this
)
5.
Take advantage of the aggressive playstyle. This is one of my favourite tricks, specially in blue coin R1. This round is fought very intensely, and its rare to see an early pass from the red coin. I play very fast, which makes it look like im an aggressive player, but if i get a decent lead, i frequently pass at 5, i've won so many games because my opponent wasnt really looking at the numbers and needs to go down a card or use leader to take R1.
6.
NEVER drypass on R2 with more than 7 cards. Best for last eh? Seriously, this is my best hint, im 100% sure of it.
This is kind of a continuation of the last point, but it deserves its own spot.
Ive seen a few arguments whether you should get more mulligans or thin your bad cards on R2, after you win R1 and are at 8-9 cards. Personally i prefer thinning, unless after mulligans i have the perfect hand, which is very rare.
But you SHOULD play these, for the sole possibility it might make your opponent think you're going to bleed R2 and immediately commit an important card. I thought only bad players did this mistake, but ive seen it so often its unbelievable. Ive seen Masquerade balls being dropped on R2 after i play a terrible bronze on the wrong row, so i was quite clearly signaling i wasnt going to bleed... i always taunt and pass in these situations.
This is another situation where being fast is important, playing it fast gives the impression you're going for the push R2. If you want to take this into the next level, you might even wanna commit an expendable gold to pretend you're pushing, i do this sometimes and it has worked well for me... And of course, you can also play the card to 'test the waters' and then actually push R2 if it the conditions are favourable.
I hope this guide has been helpful or at least entertaining to those who read it. Its more dedicated to advanced players, but it might also help beginners and intermediate level players, in understanding how other opponents might be thinking.
POST #100!!!