Northern Realms Deck Strategies

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soph912;n8716900 said:
Level says nothing. You can reach level 17 with a 30% winrate. You just have to play more.

It seems strange you play Reaver Hunters,Operator and Nenneke but not Henselt. How do you get your Reaver Hunters back late game? Any other Reaver Hunter deck has Henselt for a reason.

RNR is one of the best gold cards.
RnR is cool and all but I think there are better options, I am still testing tho doing this kinda f2p mode hahahhaha, so need to farm to get this rounds going but not sure why I like radovid way better So I can remove most of the big carry over powers

 
So NR isn't the best now but it's getting better. I've been trying to create a unique deck and came up with this Henselt non-trio deck :
http://www.gwentdb.com/decks/22280-henselt-non-trio
it's pretty strong and I'm winning 80% of the time which was never the case with NR decks especially in Ranked. I'm not an expert or a high rank ( still level 7 in ranked ) but I noticed a huge improvement with this deck. Try it and give me your opinions and suggestions.
 
I climbed 6-12 in weekend (yesterday) with a Henselt Tempo RH deck.My winrate is close to 60%.Im being favored against the new Consume MO decks.The only problem is against the SK axeman decks,mostly because of their dears hitting my kaedwani sergeants completelly denying my commandos to come on the board.
 
(Warning, some bad english below)

Quit playing till next hotfix/patch as NR is too weak now(have only neutral and all NR cards, 3800-4100).

Here are two decks that I found somehow playable:

1) Foltest pride (crewman Radovid, fun)
SK storm, Ragnarok and little bit of other weather cards
Key: reuse silver machine with siege masters and shani for full weather and geralt utilization
geralt igni, scorch and ciri for power swings or as finishers
Aretuzas and blue stripes for thining
Radovid mostly needed to lock some key(weather resistant, buffing) cards in long rounds
Iris sometimes great to buff all your weak units

Good in long rounds. Good vs dwarfs and non reveal NG. No big bodies for Shirru, meditation, scorch and igni.

Bad with armor(obviosly) and reveal as they can see what to excpect. Winch helps a little

2) Reinforced threbuchets spam (strongest)
Rng based deck. Winch, muzzle, Shani, Nenneke, Tutor, Operator and tactics works for single Foltest play with 4-9 machines R3.

Good with anything. Rather constant. Enemy CA can be ignored. Some combos:
Operator -> r-t. Rival plays r-t for overtime points. You Muzzle it. +2 machines.
Dandelion with roach(can be buffed) for disalign machine values in deck
Ban Ard Tutor push r-t to deck and get winch
Slow tempo in first preparing round favors to light cavalry

Also some other(one) triple machinery in deck requried for when rng is bad.

Boring. Passive. Can be scorched sometimes. Dead hands are presented.
 
W12;n10143232 said:
(Warning, some bad english below)

Quit playing till next hotfix/patch as NR is too weak now(have only neutral and all NR cards, 3800-4100)...

Completely agree. I have been playing Gwent for a few months now solely using my own NR decks, and vacillate between 3800-4100 MMR, currently. I do NOT net-deck, as I don't derive any enjoyment of it. I like winning as a result of my creativity. That being said, I don't think Gwent has developed enough for one to actually make a ladder-competitive deck outside of the upper-tier net-decks. I believe the NR faction to be underpowered compared to SK, ST and NG. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one revolves around lack of tempo. NR is very deficient in mechanics that allow for chaining (i.e. summoning one or more units in a turn), and recycling (e.g. ressurecting). We all know that NR decks are low-tempo.

For those of you who would point to the classic variations on the NR swarm (e.g. the Blue Stripes Commando/Scounts/Temerian Infantry) as being up-tempo, I would counter by saying they are also usually dead-in-the-water by the third round. With the current meta of Gwent, NR swarm decks are often unable to put enough points on the board in R3 to get the win. The SK bears, the dwarves, and definitely the NG spotter-soldier/manticore deck would crush a NR swarm . And the new NR cursed archetype is a joke, IMO. Too low-tempo and too under-powered. I mean seriously.. you have to get one of those cursed 4 pt 1 armor soldiers on at least two rows, and THEN start using cursed sorceresses and other spells to get them to multiply.. it's just too slow of a setup. I've played against enough opponents using that deck to say that I can put 1.5x to 2x more points on the board in two rounds using classic NR combos (e.g. Rednanan Elite + Kedwenian Cavalry).

Now, rounding back to the playing a NR deck against the NG spotter-mandrake-rooted-knight combo.. I must ask.. how does a NR deck beat that particular NG deck on a consistent basis? The way I see it, defeating that deck is only possible if your opponent has a horrible mulligan, or if you have the tech available to scorch, artefact compress or the like, to the manticore or knight your opponent sets on the board. And more often than not, your opponent is going to have more than one knight in the deck; added to NG leader ability to look for specific cards in a deck, and it's almost impossible to stop that spotter-knight/manticore combo from happening. I guess I could radically alter the makeup of my deck and pack it with Gigni, Scorch (already have despite my dislike of it), artefact compression, and damage tech, but then I would not be as competitive against other deck types. Furthermore, even with a Gigni and Scorch, I cannot take out all the boosted NG units in R3 because the opponent also uses Wyvern Shield to boost units other than spotter, which gives them a slightly different point total, which would make my Gigni or Scorch only hit one of the opponent's highly boosted targets.

So.. any advice dealing with that NG deck-type?
 
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Philologus Hi and welcome to the forums.

First of all, the NG spotter-mandrake-rooted-knight combo is a one-trick-pony deck that only works when it isn't countered. NR doesn't have as many tools to shut down that NG deck, but there are still options, like the Henselt control deck. Regardless, you should not compare how strong a faction is based on whether or not it can deal with that NG deck.

As for a third round finisher for NR, there are various possibilities. Sometimes you can manage to save Henselt for a round 3. Other than that, you've got Dijkstra, the most potent choice. Or, when you are playing Foltest, you can use the Infantry. NR might not have the strongest finishers, but they can still manage.

Henselt Machines has a very decent win-rate compared to some other factions.
 
First of all, 4RM3D, thank you for your welcome! Now.. did you really read what I wrote? I know it's a one-trick pony! However, if the opponent has three shots to set up said "trick", exaclty how lucky do I have to be to have the tech in-hand to deal with it?

I'm not judging the strength of NR based on that scenario, alone. (Again.. did you read my whole post?)

And Mod.. I know NR cards like the back of my hand, but thank you. I don't like playing with Dijkstra, but that's just me. As for the Infantrymen.. as I said before, they usually have to be used R1 or even R2 to keep up with the insane pace of the more popular ST and SK decks, now. And let me say that the Infantrymen aren't going to do jack-squat against 27 pt spotters coming out in the third round.
 
Philologus

There are a few points in your original post that I haven't addressed. Let's delve in a bit deeper.

I have been playing Gwent for a few months now solely using my own NR decks, and vacillate between 3800-4100 MMR, currently. I do NOT net-deck, as I don't derive any enjoyment of it. [...] I don't think Gwent has developed enough for one to actually make a ladder-competitive deck outside of the upper-tier net-decks.

First of all, rank 19 (+4k) is way above average. If you've reached that rank, then that's already pretty good. Besides, a competitive deck is supposed to be upper-tier, or at least it will become that the further you'll climb above rank 19. Now, if you don't net-deck, then that's your choice, which it an amiable one and I respect that, but you also have to face the consequences of that choice. Even so, when you are playing your own deck, you still need to adjust it according to the meta, which could mean something as drastic as switching archetypes or even factions.

I believe the NR faction to be underpowered compared to SK, ST and NG. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one revolves around lack of tempo. NR is very deficient in mechanics that allow for chaining (i.e. summoning one or more units in a turn), and recycling (e.g. ressurecting). We all know that NR decks are low-tempo.

NR is actually a pretty strong faction. The problem is that they have limited choices to what is competitive. Like I have pointed out, Henselt Machines is a viable deck that does well enough on ranked. The "lack of tempo" mostly applies to non-commando decks. Regardless, using Thaler + Dun Banner at the right moment is a way to compensate for that. I would also like to point out that some other competitive decks also run a low tempo deck (up to a certain point), like SK Axemen and MS Consume.

Philologus;n10176992 said:
And let me say that the Infantrymen aren't going to do jack-squat against 27 pt spotters coming out in the third round.

Not every archetype will be able to counter another. Usually, you'll need tech cards for that and even then there is no guarantee. In the end, you'll have to make a calculated choice when climbing ladder. How many times do I face the archetypes my deck is weak against and is it worth it to run counters against it? As for the aforementioned NG shield deck (which I have rarely seen on the ladder) there are options:

1. Counter the big unit in the beginning. The opponent is usually only running two. If you can destroy both of them, (s)he will lose.
2. Go into a (long) round 3 with power generating units. The opponent's deck only has one snipe and no special tactics. You can still take it with sheer amount of power.
3. Go into a (short) round 3 while having double Scorch, optionally with Scorch-aligning cards.
4. Use a hybrid mill deck to brick your opponent (only applicable for NG).

I would like to highlight point 2. It is rare, but still possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwNSIyuqs7E
 
Philologus;n10171812 said:
I must ask.. how does a NR deck beat that particular NG deck on a consistent basi
Witch hunters worked for me

4RM3D;n10177222 said:
NR is actually a pretty strong faction.
https://gwentup.com/report/18/1
12.3% 4000+
8.9% 4250+
Sorry, but it seems that NG is pretty strong (while ST is OP)

4RM3D;n10177222 said:
using Thaler + Dun Banner at the right moment is a way to compensate for that
Almost no way to place last Spy without faction specific Spy spawn (Isengrim: Outlaw, Aglaïs, Yennefer: Enchantress, Hym)
And then you draw two Dun Banner pre round 2 (and you may already have other work-from-deck cards in hand)
Or you see two of them offered by Spy

4RM3D;n10177222 said:
I would also like to point out that some other competitive decks also run a low tempo deck (up to a certain point), like SK Axemen and MS Consume.
"Up to a certain point" is a key. NR lacks Nekkers chains or "bring you engineer from graveyard multiple time" options. Too open and easy disruptable game

4RM3D;n10177222 said:
Henselt Machines is a viable deck that does well enough on ranked
Multipe drawback. Bad draws. Briked Henselt(or Villentretenmerth short R3) risk. Armored or fat disaligned units. General lack of overall points and tempo.

Seriously, Battering Ram, most popular and reliable machine, with 2 crewman and 5 hp unit(and another non armored rival) is just 14 points. Four multiple ways disruptable conditions and 14 points max reward.
 
W12;n10178062 said:
Sorry, but it seems that NG is pretty strong (while ST is OP)

It seems Henselt has dropped a bit since the last period.

W12;n10178062 said:
Almost no way to place last Spy without faction specific Spy spawn

Silver spy spam will be fixed in the coming patch.

W12;n10178062 said:
Multipe drawback. Bad draws. Briked Henselt(or Villentretenmerth short R3) risk. Armored or fat disaligned units. General lack of overall points and tempo.

I agree. I didn't say Henselt was dominating or anything, just that he still has a good shot at winning ranked. Like I've said in my previous post, NR lacks good alternatives. The Foltest 40 is inconsistent and risky, Foltest Swarm is pretty consistent, but lacks ways to deal with the enemy and Henselt can potentially brick. Having said that, and while some NR archetypes could use a bit of a buff, NR is mostly fine. It's just Dwarfs that are getting out of hand together with Consume. Incidentally, Henselt actually requires some more thought than just mindlessly spamming Dwarves, which is part of the learning curve and the reason Henselt is dropping a bit.
 
4RM3D;n10178232 said:
It seems Henselt has dropped a bit since the last period.



Silver spy spam will be fixed in the coming patch.

First.. thank goodness the spy-spam crap will be fixed!


Thank you for your kind reply, earlier. I was a bit frustrated with my initial posts.. I played MtG decades ago, and even then (around the time of 2nd edition, Ice Age, etc..) it was more complex than Gwent, in its current state. I feel that if Gwent is offering multiple factions, those factions should be balanced such that one has the tools to build a creative and competitive deck. I just don't believe that to be the case for NR. While your suggestions have merit (and W12s Witch Hunter solution to the NG spotter is valid), NR seems to have issues competing in the upper-tier. On a related note, the "cursed" archetype for NR, which was introduced with the latest reveal, is incomplete, at best.

Fundamentally ,the fact that NR (or any faction for that matter) is so underwhelming, bothers me I have other issues with the game such as the dumbing-down of the cards, and the fact that mass-chain point-spamming seems to be the only way to win; it appears this game is bereft of deep strategy outside of being able to correctly guess the opponents cards and moves, and being having the mulligan to deal with it. And let's face it, it's not as if there are many running archetypes on the ladder, right now. I can predict opponent moves for a particular archetype.. not that such an ability is impressive given the amount of net-decking.



I agree. I didn't say Henselt was dominating or anything, just that he still has a good shot at winning ranked. Like I've said in my previous post, NR lacks good alternatives. The Foltest 40 is inconsistent and risky, Foltest Swarm is pretty consistent, but lacks ways to deal with the enemy and Henselt can potentially brick. Having said that, and while some NR archetypes could use a bit of a buff, NR is mostly fine. It's just Dwarfs that are getting out of hand together with Consume. Incidentally, Henselt actually requires some more thought than just mindlessly spamming Dwarves, which is part of the learning curve and the reason Henselt is dropping a bit.

I never played the Foltest 40 or Henselt's control. I'll look into it. I bet I have run across those decks during competition. The Foltest 40 sounds like an unviable deck for competition, though, and you allude to that. I tried a 40 card deck when I first started, and quickly came to realize the inefficiency in doing so. Outside of swarm/self-milling decks, I don't see how large decks can compete.
 
4RM3D, you're not going to believe this, but something interesting happened during a couple of my matches in the past two days. I was modifying my NR swarm deck, which is the one (of two I have ) used for casual play. In my opinion, my version, or any version of the NR swarm isn't viable above 4k MMR. Well, I went into ranked mode without switching back to my other NR deck, and ended up facing the dreaded NG spotter deck.

I won. I had a great draw, and went into R3; I ended up Gigni-ing a couple of Spotters my opponent had carelessly put on one row, and won by a lot. I thought to myself: "This must be some kind of Gwent karma for all my complaining on the CDPR NR message board."

So anyway, I switched back to my other NR deck, which I use for ranked. Today, I once again beat a NG spotter deck. Both times, the opponent had no issues pulling their manticore/knight, buffing, and sending back into his/her deck, and then revealing to set up for subsequent boosts. Both times, I had the tech and necessary draw to win.

So there.. I humbly submit it IS possible to beat that deck. Lol.. I just thought to share, because I felt I would remiss not to do so.
 
just wondering what the best strategy when facing a skellige greatsword deck is? using a henselt machine deck and the GS deck is the one i havent been able to crack, its also the one im seeing the most of in ranked play ,any tips greaty appreciated tnx
 
pick a card, annihilate that card every time they play it, and only that card... longships are usually the best target
 
You know GS gets a lot of resurrect right?

Edit: My way to deal with this is to align their units for a last turn / last card scorch.

Edit2: I have also included Sabrina in my deck and it's amazing vs GS and consume.
 
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I like NR, but I often feel under-powered against players who play mainly attack cards.
I put a card down, they kill it. I play a second card, they kill it. And so on. It is not possible to play because you don't even have the chance to start.
How to counteract this game style?
 
How to counteract this game style?

1. Brute force. Just like it sounds. Applies more to engines. They kill engine, you play another. Eventually something has to give. It's generally wise to run 4+ engines when using engine concepts for this reason. It raises the odds of one or more sticking.

2. Tempo. Most kill unit cards don't carry high positive point output. So you can exploit the practice to some extent by going to tempo town. Obviously the timing and match-up matters. Poor choices here can play right into removals.

3. Immunity. A good way to keep stuff from dying is to promote it. Sorry, immune it. There aren't many options here for NR. Avallac'h works and he's neutral. Worst case he will eat a valuable removal or lock leaving one less to go on other stuff. It works surprisingly well (aka, breaks the game) with stuff like Vyso/Anna if the Avallac'h survives.

4. Run stuff out of order. Playing cards you want to survive after cards you don't care about may result in the other player burning cards designed to kill/lock/whatever the important stuff on the non-important stuff. Maybe they think it won't find any use or have to play it because they need to use a card. It's not ideal but an option.

5. Bring bait. This ties into #1. People like to destroy opponent cards. They especially love killing engine or setup cards. So, bait the cards they use for this purpose with cards you don't absolutely need.

6. Hand-buff. Self-explanatory. A point or two of hand-buff here or there can push stuff out of kill range.

There are 6 options you can try. Sometimes you're just screwed. There is stuff you can try though. Happy hunting.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
Eeeesh, long time since this thread got any action...

Anyway, i decided to come here and share my kerack frigate deck, complete with guide and everything:

 
Eeeesh, long time since this thread got any action...

Anyway, i decided to come here and share my kerack frigate deck, complete with guide and everything:


I really like this mid-range style of deck building where provisions are spread over quality units. It feels good when you are confident your draws are always decent and you can afford to mulligan more freely. Margarita feels like she has purpose now that devotion is a thing.

It does kinda feel like frigate flies under the radar power level wise with all the GS hate going 'round. Lol

In my opinion, mobilization is kinda overkill. I think on average you would probably get better value from uprising. Especially with smoke them out. It seems to synergize great with Vissegard and scytheman.

Nice list!
 
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