New Players - Tips and Suggestions

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New Players - Tips and Suggestions

Update in Progress for Public Beta 0.9.7 - updated 13 Jun 2017 -
- New Starter deck contents updated.
- Starter deck suggestions updated

Starting this post as a one-stop shopping suggestion thread for new players. Please keep comments helpful and positive.



First, the formalities: (In the Tech Support Forum you can find the below, specific links may break if the Thread name is changed)
- Read (or know to check) the Known Issues Thread - Always check here first if you think something is a BUG
- Read The non-Bug FAQ - you don't need to read the whole thread, just the first post (which we hope to keep updated as items are added or changed) -- This has some items that are (likely) not BUGs, but you might think they are. These things are good to know and understand - Link update also in progress.
- If you think you have found a bug that is not in the Non-Bug FAQ or the Known Issues thread, please make sure to take a screenshot or video (if possible) and report it to CDPR. First, do a search in Tech Support (link above) to look for similar threads that already exist (advanced search with a time frame for the last patch, and limiting the subforum searched to Tech Support can help a lot).


--More information on reporting issues to CDPR can be found here
-- If on PC, make sure to create the DXDiag file (type dxdiag in the run field of Start - Click "Save all information" and save the results.
-- When starting the submission form, when you select "Report a bug" a larger form will show. Upload the DXDiag first and it will fill in most of the fields for you.
-- Complete the form and submit. CDPR has been very good about emailing players back about submissions. Depending on how busy they are, I have usually received a reply between 6-20 days after a submission (granted that longest wait was over Christmas)


Resources:
Gwent Forum Index | Public Beta FAQ | Gwent FAQ
- Riven-Twain has made a great Acronym Guide and Glossary
- Starter Deck assistance - The contents of this post are now integrated here, though reading the thread may still offer some insight.

Closed Beta Patches:
Public Beta - 0.9.6
Patch 0.9.7

Helpful Tips:
- It's Okay to Pass: Especially if you won the first round, it's okay to pass the second. It is rarely (if ever) a good idea to play every card in your hand trying to win round two if you won round one. If on round one you are 15-20+ points behind you should at least consider your options. Passing (especially if you still have more cards in hand than your opponent) may be preferable to playing about 3-5 cards to try to make up the difference in round one (with some notable exceptions - such as you think the opponent is planning a buff > adrenaline rush strategy)
- Scorch: Since you may not have read the Non-Bug FAQ above, I will reiterate: Scorch will kill your unit(s) if they have the highest non-gold strength. If you have scorched your own units, don't feel bad (and please don't immediately forfeit). Everybody scorches their own units at least once (I still do it from time to time if I am not paying close attention).
- Mind your unit strategy: Both in deckbuilding and playing. Obviously, some archetypes will be more "single-row" heavy (like Wild Hunt Monsters) but when building the deck, and during play, be aware that you should avoid over investing in one row. Over-playing a row will open you up to possible heavy losses from many cards like Lacerate, Geralt: Igni, Weather, etc. When possible, maintain flexibility in your build so, when needed, you can play around possible threats.
- Mind your buffing strategy: It is generally a bad idea to put all of your buffs onto one unit. Spread the love, so that if a unit is removed you haven't lost everything.
- Don't forfeit on round 1: Even if you think you have no hope of winning, playing through the games is the best experience you will get. Also, many players will often throw round 2 in the hope of gaining card advantage for round three - which means you will likely get at least 1/2 crown just for sticking it out (every little bit helps), and who knows you may even get lucky and Draw or Win the round.
- Bronze Commons: These are the meat of every deck. Everybody talks about pulling Epics and Legends from Kegs, or saving up to craft them. For the first five levels your Primary goal should probably be to crack or craft three of each staple bronze in the deck. Sure, crafting those silvers and golds bring raw power, but getting to three of each of your staple bronzes is what brings consistency. Consistency is what will win you games until you have built enough collection to focus on power.
- Deck Size: Speaking of consistency, deck sizes should really be kept in the 25-28 card range. Early on, the tendency is to build a slightly bigger deck as you want to test cards and see what is helping and what doesn't. Consider building two or three very similar decks (remember you can rename them in the deck builder by clicking on the name). Example: if you want to test your Scoiatel deck with Alzur's Thunder, Arachas Venom and Lacerate, but only have 4 card slots to be at a 25 cards, consider three decks with 2 each of two of the cards rather than adding 2 of all three and going up to 27 cards (or three of each and going to 30 cards). Then you can alternate which deck you play to see which one performs the way you prefer.
- Filters: Learn to use filters, both in the deckbuilder and collection screens. Collection filters default to all cards (Premium and non) in the collection. Deck-builder filters default to all cards that are elligible for the deck (all owned cards for the deck's Faction and all Neutral cards). Filters still have some improvements they need, but are already functional and helpful when you get used to using them.
***Needs Verification again***- Deck Builder: Keep in mind that the order shown (here and when choosing a deck to play with) is the order of creation, with newest Decks to the right, older decks to the Left. However, the most recently played or edited deck will always be in the first (furthest Left) spot. I don't know the new order - seems random so far. You can rename a deck by clicking on the name. As your collection of decks grows, you may want to organize them in whatever fashion helps you the most. Simply recreate the decks one-at-a-time and delete the old version when it's been remade (right click a deck to delete it). For example, my collection has each faction's decks next to each other (I keep one deck for each leader).

Faction, Starter and Card Specific Hints:

Note: Suggestions are limited to Bronze cards,with a bias toward commons when possible. Silver and Gold cards received through early keg can push your strategy in a number of ways, so this guide is to help small collections get started with informed bronze selection.

Neutral:
- Ciri: Generally speaking, for Rounds 1 or 2, Ciri should be played when you expect to lose the round. If you see an early Ciri on Round 1, it is likely a sign the opponent will pass next turn. Depending on the board state, consider passing yourself rather than spending another card. Even if you lose the round, they have lost the card advantage of Ciri - so it is still a plus for you. Round 2 offers less options, but if you lost round 1 then try to play so that you are barely ahead of the opponent until they pass. An early Ciri usually means they don't intend to win round 2 and are building card advantage for round 3.

Starting Neutral Cards (Public Beta):

Gold:
1x Geralt
1x Triss Merigold
1x Royal Decree

Silver:
1x Cleaver
1x Dudu
1x Decoy
1x Commander's Horn
1x Scorch

Bronze:
2x First Light
2x Biting Frost
1x Impenetrable Fog
1x Torrential Rain
1x Adrenaline Rush
2x Swallow Potion
1x Thunderbolt Potion
1x Quen Sign
1x Stammelford's Tremors
1x Alzur's Thunder
1x Epidemic
1x Lacerate
1x Dimeritium Shackels
1x Mardroeme
1x Arachas Venom

If you haven't yet gotten them in Kegs, you may want to consider crafting the following to make your starters more consistent:
General Events:
1 - 2 Adrenaline Rush
1 First Light
1 - 2 Bloodcurdling Roar
1 - 2 Swallow or Thunderbolt Potion
(depending on starter deck preferences)


Damage/Control Events:
1 - 2 Lacerate
1 Alzur's Thunder
1 - 2 Epidemic
1 - 2 Arachas Venom
1 - 2 Mardroeme


Monster Faction Notes:

- Pseudo Card Advantage: One of the oft ignored perks of monster faction is the ability to swing a high score with very few units early on. If you can get 18+ power out of two cards, consider just passing round 1. An opponent of another faction will either have to spend 3 or more cards to take the round (giving yo card advantage) or let you win the round. There are of course a lot of considerations to this, it's not the "always good idea" the tutorial makes it sound like, but it also has its merits. More often, if you win round 1 and can use this in round 2 where the opponent has to win, it yields better results. The opponent is forced to spend extra cards to beat a higher score from fewer cards and concede you card advantage for round three. And if their first card is also 8+ points, maybe spend a Thunder or something to keep them scrambling.

Monster Starter (Public Beta):

Leader - Eredin

Leader: Eredin (G)

Melee:
1x Cleaver (S)
2x Wild Hunt Hound
2x Wild Hunt Warrior

Ranged:
<None>

Siege:
2x Ice Giant
2x Wild Hunt Navigator

Agile:
1x Geralt (G)
1x Triss Merigold (G)
1x Imlerith(G)
1x Nithral (S)
1x Dudu (S)
1x Archgriffin
2x Chort

Special/Disloyal:
1x Royal Decree (G)
1x Decoy (S)
1x Scorch (S)
1x Commander's Horn (S)
1x First Light
1x Alzur's Thunder
2x Biting Frost

Suggestions: Initial testing (Casual and Challenges) show you can easily take this starter in one of two directions - Wild Hunt Theme or "Frost" theme. The latter being slightly easier as it needs less 80 scrap Rares.
Add: 1x Biting Frost, 1-2x First Light, 1-2x Lacerate and/or Mardroeme, 1x Archgriffin, 1-2x Wyvern
Remove: Alzur's Thunder, Wild Hunt Navigator, Chort
Why: You don't want Alzur's thunder if you are going Frost themed, because you want the Frist to do the work for you, so more small 2-3 damage effects (Lacerate, Wyvern) are better than 1-2 larger effects. Mardroeme can help reverse a crazy buff strategy (ambassador, anybody?). Remember a Hound will only pull Frost if there is still at least 1 Biting Frost card in the deck

Nilfgaard Faction Notes:

- Ration the reveals: With Emhyr's ability and the many cards that can reveal cards in hand, it's fairly easy to have the opponent's entire hand revealed, but remember they will draw more cards in rounds two and three (and if playing spies) so don't play all of your reveal cards first thing out of the gate. Use them strategically over all three rounds, and time when to use cards powerd on reveal (like Serrit). Emhyr is no longer the "reveal" leader

Nilfgaard Starter (Public Beta):

Leader

1x Emhyr Var Emreis

Leader: Emhyr Var Emreis (G)

Melee:
1x Cleaver (S)
1x Peter Saar Gwynleve (S)

Ranged:
2x Alba Spearmen
2x Black Infantry Arbalest
2x Vicovaro Medic

Siege:
2x Rot Tosser
2x Combat Engineer

Agile:
1x Geralt (G)
1x Triss Merigold (G)
1x Cahir (G)
1x Dudu (S)

Special/Disloyal:
1x Royal Decree (G)
1x Decoy (S)
1x Scorch (S)
1x Commander's Horn (S)
1x Swallow Potion
1x First Light
1x Alzur's Thunder
2x Emissary

Suggestions: Initial testing (Casual and Challenges) show you can tailor this starter to Emhyr's "decoy" ability by focusing on deploy abilities and making a toolbox of effects, so the best effects are always there to be (ab)used.
Add: 1x Black Infantry Arbalest, 1-2x Impera Enforcers, 1x Nauzicaa Standard Bearer
Remove: Alba Spearmen
Why: "The White Flame Dancing on the Graves of his Foes" wants deploy triggers for his decoy-like ability (and Cahir to use it twice). With up to 3 "reuse" abilities (decoy, Emhyr and Cahir), this is one of the few decks that prefers viraiety on it's bronze cards over the consistency of 3x each bronze unit. Each round you want to have access to a couple of different "deploy" abilities so, when needed, you can use them again. Don't forget, in a pinch Emhyr can return an opposing unit you got with Vicovaro Medic to your hand to either reuse now, or save for later.

Northern Realms Faction Notes:
- Deck Thinning: Reaver Scout is one of the best commons in NR. That said, if you have your three scouts then that is the only unit you should want more than 1 of in your hand when you mulligan. You should also strive to play at least one Reaver Scout in Round 1. The way the scout chaining works is that going in to round two, when you play your Field Medic, it will either grab you the higher power unit or the scout. But the scout will just grab another Medic from the deck that will bring back the other unit as well.

Northern Realms Starter (Public Beta):

Leader

1x Foltest

Leader: Foltest (G)

Melee:
1x Cleaver (S)
2x Tridam Infantryman

Ranged:
1x Sile de Tansarville (S)
2x Reaver Scout

Siege:
2x Reinforced Trebuchet
2x Dun Banner Heavy Cavalry

Agile:
1x Geralt (G)
1x Triss Merigold (G)
1x Philippa Eilhart (G)
1x Dudu (S)
2x Redanian Knight-elect
2x Redanian Elite

Special/Disloyal:
1x Royal Decree (G)
1x Decoy (S)
1x Scorch (S)
1x Commander's Horn (S)
1x Thunderbolt Potion
1x First Light
1x Alzur's Thunder

Suggestions:
Suggestions: Initial testing (Casual and Challenges) show you can easily take this starter
Add: 1x Reaver Scout, 1x Reinforced Trebuchet, 1x Redanian Knight-elect, 1x Tridam Infantryman
Remove: Redanian Elite, Dun Banner Heavy Cavalry
Why: The heavy cavalry is really only good against other NR decks, as armor is used widespread enough to justify this card yet. Northern realms really needs the consitancy of 3x each bronze unit. Ideally, you want to get a Knight elect between two trebuchets or two Infantrymen (consider Redanian Knights instead for melee row, once you have them - much better WX resistance).


Scoia'tel Faction Notes:
- Best Faction Hype: There is a lot of talk about how strong Scoia'tel is, and how it dominates the competition. Keep in mind they mean advanced and developed decks. If you are running Scoia'tel and think you must be doing something horribly wrong because you just can't win; you are not alone. Scoia'tel is (arguably) the weakest starter deck and (not as arguably) the hardest to play. Especially for a new player. If you have your heart set on Scoia'tel and want to play it, try a few different decks (control, dwarves, etc) and find what you like or blend them up. Just don't be surprised if you feel your deck is slightly underwhelming that early in building your collection.

Scoiatel Starter (Public Beta):

Leader

1x Francesca

Leader: Francesca (G)

Melee:
1x Cleaver (S)
2x Mahakam Guard
2x Mahakam Defender

Ranged:
2x Dol Blathanna Archer

Siege:
1x Barclay Els (S)
2x Dwarven Skirmisher

Agile:
1x Geralt (G)
1x Triss Merigold (G)
1x Saesenthessis (G)
1x Dudu (S)
2x Hawker Healer

Special/Disloyal:
1x Royal Decree (G)
1x Decoy (S)
1x Scorch (S)
1x Commander's Horn (S)
1x Swallow Potion
2x First Light
2x Alzur's Thunder

Suggestions: Initial testing (Casual and Challenges) show you can take this starter toward wither a control or buff strategy. Trying to do too much of both will likely hamper deck performance. Since a true buffing "dwarf deck" needs a heavier investment in gold and silver units; the suggestions here focus on damage based control.
Add: 1x Dwarven Skirmisher, 1x Dol Blathanna Archer, Epidemic and/or Lacerate
Remove: Swallow Potion, Hawker Healer, Alzur's Thunder
Why: You can use Lacerates, Skirmishers, Archers and other incremental small damage to line up multiple opposing units for a single Epidemic to destroy 3+ units at a time. FOr this you don;t want as many heavy damage cards like Alzur's thunder. Also, while you retain some buff with the Mahakam Defender, you don't want to split your focus too much with things like Swallow potion, which could make a timely Scorch difficult.



Skellige Faction Notes:
- Buffing: More than other factions, Skellige is prone to the "buff one unit forever" trap (with the possible exception of NR buff > Promote). More specifically, new players will spend all of their medics resurrecting one Skirmisher over and over to get it to 15+ Strength. Resist the urge. Spread your Shieldsmith buffs over multiple units, and have at least two (preferably more) good resurrection targets in the graveyard for Round 3. Your opponent wants you to overbuff, so they can pull that rug from under you at the end of round 3.

Skellige Starter (Public Beta):

Leader: Crach an Craite (G)

Melee:
1x Cleaver (S)
2x Clan an Craite Warrior
2x Clan Tuirseach Skirmishers

Ranged:
<None>

Siege:
1x Holger Blackhand (S)
2x Clan Brokvar Archer
2x Clan Tordarroch Shieldsmith
2x Priestess of Freya

Agile:
1x Geralt (G)
1x Triss Merigold (G)
1x Ermion (G)
1x Dudu (S)
2x Clan an Craite Warcrier

Special/Disloyal:
1x Royal Decree (G)
1x Decoy (S)
1x Scorch (S)
1x Commander's Horn (S)
1x Torrential Rain
1x First Light
1x Alzur's Thunder

Suggestions: Initial testing (Casual and Challenges) show you can easily take this starter into a "warcry" deck. Most other Skellige strategies are heavy on Epic and Legendary cards, but if you get those from your kegs, they can generally offer a better path.
Add: 1x Clan an Craite Warrior, 1x Priestess of Freya, 1x Clan an Craite Warcrier and/or Clan Tordarroch Shieldsmith, 1-2x Bloodcurdling Roar
Remove: Clan Brokvar Archer, Torrential Rain,
Why: Your catch-up plays with this kind of deck is to have Skirmisher and/or an Craite Warrior on Melee row, use Crach to get another an Craite Warrior (strengthened) then use Warcrier to boost them all. Bloodcurdling Roar can help with killing the Skirmishers for a Priestess to bring them back stronger.



Feel free to suggest edits, updates and changes in thread.
 
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Nice initiative, i will try to contribute when something comes to mind, but i'm out of ideas at this moment. You might want to add a small list of important cards rewarded by level, like Ciri and Decoy, or you could add this link.
 
Great start, Treamayne. Your faction roundups are especially helpful.

TheWalkingHawking;n7597410 said:
Nice initiative, i will try to contribute when something comes to mind, but i'm out of ideas at this moment. You might want to add a small list of important cards rewarded by level, like Ciri and Decoy, or you could add this link.

Good idea. I wish I'd seen that link when I first started, so I wouldn't have chosen Decoy from a keg.


Treamayne's thoughts above are a very helpful starting point. Gwent guides for newcomers are hard to find, beyond basic rule explanations.

I wonder if we can expand the offerings. Would any veterans consider making guides or videos on Gwent topics for beginners, such as playing early decks, common card combinations, counters, and the like?

Here's a set of very helpful such guides for Hearthstone, in case they can generate some ideas here.

from this link to New Player Guides
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/hear...ic/12034043452


Video Guides
Trump Teachings - Introduction
Trump Teachings - Board Control with Mage Basic Deck Guide
Trump Teachings - Favorable Trading with Shaman Basic Deck Guide
Trump Teachings - Card Advantage with Priest Basic Deck Guide
Trump Teachings - The Long Game with Paladin Basic Deck Guide
(etc - there's more)

Tips for Those Just Starting Out by Daerbon
Hearthstone 101: Beginner Handbook by TheWaterBoiler and Rafajafar
Hearthstone Overview: Heroes, Common Effects and Exclusive Cards by Vincent
The Beginner’s Guide to Hearthstone by Khalanil
A Beginner’s Guide to HS Terms by Hayl_Storm
A Beginner’s Guide to Hearthstone Mechanics by MoonBear
An Updated Guide to Deck Types by Hearthstoneplayers.com
Con's Free to Play Survival Guide 2.0 by Con

Constructed Deck Building – These guides are for players who know the basics, and want to try something new.
Aidan's Free To Play Budget Decklists by Aidan
Hearthstone: How To Build A Deck by Vlad
Starting Stone #1: Six Steps to an Ultimate Deck by curi
Starting Stone #2: The Best Free Neutral Cards by curi
Beginner's Guide to Crafting Legendaries by Hearthstoneplayers

Advanced Concepts
How To Improve Your Ladder Performance by Stonekeep
Core Concept Breakdown: Tempo by Jakadasnake
A Guide to Odd Hearthstone Mechanics by Jagos
How to Avoid Overextending


Any chance of adding such Gwent-specific guides here?
 
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I think something about not over-committing to a single row would be helpful. Igni, weather, lacerate, etc can ruin your day.
 
Knightlon;n7678770 said:
Level 30 is random neutral epic, not Gaard.

Oh, that's what I got at 30. As a high profile card I thought it might be a static reward (like Decoy). Thank you. Edited
 
First update for 0.8.60 posted. It still needs a bunch of work, and input is always welcomed. Also, please post if you find mistakes I missed.
 
New players guide

HELLO FELLOW GWENT PLAYER! AS A 1350 mmr player and lv 20 something I have some few tips that may help you in your struggle to rise up in the ranks:
#1 DONT OVERCOMMIT WHEN LOSING BY A LOT OF STRENGHT:
It is really not worth it , unless your cards can stay to the next turn, sometimes its a lot better to hold and let the opponent waste cards instead of you
#2 ALWAYS HAVE SOME ANTIWEATHER IN YOUR DECK:
This is one of the hard-lessons in Gwent , it's better if you know this one early on
#3 INVEST IN NEUTRAL CARDS FIRST
A lot of people are higher up in the ranks mainly is just for this one , neutral cards are price efficient and help you in all the decks you'll create in the future.
#4 DONT RUSH RANKED MODE
Just dont, play at least 10 times your deck and tweak it , so you can learn the weak parts and work around it or change them.
#5 DECKS ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THEIR PLAYER
Meaning dont just copy-paste decks you see in gwentdb, try to think of good combos you can do with the resources available for you, there are a LOT of great ideas!
#6 THINK AND PLAN AHEAD
Gwent (and most of other card-games) require you to anticipate some of the movements the opponent can do , therefore think about what the opponent can do to beat you all the time when building a deck and also when playing.
#7 HAVE FUN IT'S A GAME !
Game is such an awesome game! Avoid tilting and stop playing when you are not having fun anymore!
Please if you are an experience or new player feel free to contribute!
Will update with more soon!




 
thanks SlewedDock , Though bolded headers may work better than all caps.

Small updates added, links fixed. Looking for feedback on the Types and Keywords section added. I think I found most or all of the cards that specifically reference Categories, but I may have missed a few. If people have alternate suggestions for simple tweaks to the starter decks, please let me know that too. I've rebuilt some of the starter decks (been so long since I used a starter) and am re-playtesting some in the new meta to see knowing what I have learned in the last four months will change some of the suggestions (also since those suggestions were around 0.8.15/25, they may be outdated due to card changes). Post here or PM if you have ideas or suggestions for improvements to any portion of the OP.
 
I wish I knew how to post suggestions for the game developers, I think they should have a section that you can play with your deck, like see how your planned moves work out, without actually playing a game. make it so you can go through your moves without opponent interruption. this way you can test plays and figure out how certain cards work off of each other. also would be awesome if you could use misc to talk to each other.
 
roundert;n7762970 said:
I wish I knew how to post suggestions for the game developers, I think they should have a section that you can play with your deck, like see how your planned moves work out, without actually playing a game. make it so you can go through your moves without opponent interruption. this way you can test plays and figure out how certain cards work off of each other. also would be awesome if you could use misc to talk to each other.

Riven-Twain;n7762980 said:
roundert , the developers read the forums, but you can also send them feedback and suggestions more directly here: https://www.playgwent.com/en/contact-support

Also, while not quite what you are asking for, the Practice Room does at least let you playtest decks against an AI. I use it often both for fine tuning a deck and for checking possible bugs to see if they are reproducible.
 
hey guys need help, with skelliga my freya won't res another freya. I keep seeing people on YouTube doing it can't figure it out
 
I've barely been able to play since 0.8.72 released. When I do, I get to complete maybe one game out of 10+ (game loss with no reason, or the "lost connection" error nearly every game). If anybody with consistent access has time, can you please scan the OP for anything information that is no longer relevant (so I can update it). New players, can you confirm there have been no changes to the starter cards?
 
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Hi there,
sorry I'm new and not sure whether I can write here. I couldn't find the right topic.
Could someone explain me how can I hit 2/3 opponents cards?
for example : I have a card that strikes 2 opposing cards with 3 points... now if they are not in the same row..how do I target them. I saw some opponents did so...
thanks a lot for your help
 
Bubcik There are four types of spell targeting.

1) Targeted: You can select the target (and sometimes the adjacent cards). These are limited to one row. Example: Manticore Venom.
2) Conditional: All targets on the battlefield that meet the condition will be hit. This usually translate to all the strongest or weakest targets. Examples: Scorch and Epidemic.
3) Random: Selects one or more random opposing units on the battlefield. Example Ragh Nar Roog.
4) Triggered: Target will be hit when the ambush is triggered. Example Fireball Trap.
 
Since i can't create topic on my own here yet, i'll ask here.
So i wonder how exactly Renew golden card works. It say it return non-golden unite from graveyard on table. But does it means it will be count as 'played' again, thus activate all abilities on 'been played' Or just plainly return it on battlefield and no 'on play' abilities will be activated?

In particular i wonder how would in work on Nekker Warrior card. Which is on been played will create 2 copies of another unite on table and will put them in graveyard.
So, if one or more of my Nekker Warriors is dead, and i will play Renew on them, and put them on the table. Will activate its special ability again, and will allow me to create another two copies of another unite, or will it be just been put on battlefield and nothing else?
 
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