So what exactly is a 'non-cheesy' deck?

[4RM3D]

So what exactly is a 'non-cheesy' deck?

So far I've heard people complain about:

• NR & ST Control decks
• SK Discard deck
• ST Neophyte deck
• Monster Weather deck (mostly before the patch)
• Anything with Borkh

So, what kind of deck are we suppose to play which isn't considered being cheesy or cheap?

Personally I dislike controls decks because they are annoying to play with or against. And I dislike SK discard deck for being a one-trick-pony. Regardless, it's not like any of them are exploiting anything. People either play what's strong in the meta or just simply play with the card they have acquired. Granted I have seen very few original decks or any deck that was really surprising, which is really a shame in its own right. But there is nothing cheesy about it.

What decks/tactics aren't considered cheesy? Or to put it differently... Which decks have surprised you (in a good way)?

 

[idomyownstunts]

Any deck that will beat me.


Yours sincerely


The average player.

 

[Rawls]

Lots of decks that weren't cheesy became so when lots of other players adopted the strategy. I remember the first time I for the doubled golden trebuchet's at 30 points a piece in round 2, the first time I saw olgeird or roach promote. The first Insengrim bomb deck I played against. I was impressed by each. None of these exist anymore because they were overly powerful. They were all non-cheesy the first time IMO. People just complain after seeing them a lot. I guess that's the nature of a beta. I've seen a few clever non-control scioa decks, as well as a couple interesting Monster decks lately. But if people start posting fun decks that are powerful and currently "non-cheesy" they may well become cheesy once others adopt the strategy. I'm excited by the new cards they've talked about, I think they'll result in some new strategies or revive some old ones.

 

[LedZep4]

Yup. Absolutely right. Any deck that beats you is cheese.

But I agree with Rawls - I have played some unusual decks in the past few days, so it seems that players are "shaking it up" a bit. I got killed today by an ST control deck that decimated just anything I put on the board. It was pretty impressive. It was amazing how much takeout power they could continually draw over and over through all three rounds.

 

[StrykerxS77x]

Absolutely no good deck in this game would ever be considered not cheesy. People just need to accept it.

I do still believe the game needs more diversity, but I fully expect all future good decks to be cheese.

 

[Koaalar.424]

I considered NR buff+promote and Olgierd+roach+buff+promote cheesy. More or less anydeck that was exploitable and didn't require a lot of thinking but the same moves over and over again. It got boring, it wasn't fun.

Nowadays I only consider Skellige Discard cheesy because it's the same every game.

So for me: CHeesy decks are decks that get played a lot because they are pretty,pretty damn good but don't allow for much variation when playing them. In the beginning it was the same with monster-weather, even if it wasn't that strong after all, but especially with the Ciri+Eredin+pass Move I always felt like this when Eredin got revealed as the enemy leader.

"oh... monsters again. How many times more do I have to play them in a row *sigh*"
Ciri gets played
"*sigh*..."
Ereding gets played
"*SIGH*..."
Opponent passes
"creative..."

I think because of the repitition and the small deck pool of meta decks they get considered cheesy. I'm looking forward to the new cards and Nilfgaard, because I think only variety can stop this problem.

 

[ManuW3]

I'd say it's any deck that overly relies on a particular mindless strategy to win.

 

[sleepyhead062]

Yeah, the trend is, when ppl find a hard deck to beat, it becomes cheesy.

That being said, there are in fact some unusual decks around. Yesterday I faced someone playing a Johny + blueboy lugos + whale based skellige deck (he/she did get a lot of help from Herald though), completely different type than the one we commonly see. I was so impressed and had so much pleasure playing the match that I wished I could give something more than a GG.

 

[idomyownstunts]

Ah me Johnny. Crapshoot but I too have had two spectral whales dishing it out on the enemy. Then again, usually he just gives me a half eaten apple.

 

[Monalba]

I know people won't agree but... I think there are no cheesy decks right now.

I consider ''cheesy'' a deck that relies on spamming the same mindless strategy over and over again, with little to none variation, and usually relying on some kind of ''exploit''.

The old buffing and promoting was cheesy, since I don't think the devs expected a 40 points golden Olgierd and Roach on every round.
The old Control-Eithné-Aglais-Isengrim deck was a bit cheesy. It could easily get a +3 cards advantage and end with Isengrim, which could put ~30 points in the table without the possibility of countering it.

I think there's nothing like that right now.
Mad Rad Control is annoying, but that is because is overly played. And because it relies heavily on Borkh, a card that is overused (I see it played more than Ciri and much more than Igni, for example).
But is not cheesy, is not OP, is just boring after you play it again and again and again...

ST decks have changed, they are now able to put some considerable strength in every round, and than can be countered.

Skellige is fine. Is stable, is reliable, is predictable. Nothing to add.

And monsters... Monsters is Monsters. They are just chaotic. They rely in good draws and bad draws for the opponent, while also requiring some planification. They are fine.
The cheesiest opening was playing Borkh and then passing. Back when they could carry Gold card between rounds.

 

[tortugueta]

The only cheesy crap nowadays for me is Northern Realms: gold spam in round 1. Gold spam again in round 2. And for round 3... yeah some more gold leftovers. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose, but it's always the same, not just match to match, but even round to round in the same match. I think the devs need to add something to that faction.

Until then, I would block Northern Realms if I could.

 

[gnarbrag]

The only cheesy crap nowadays for me is Northern Realms: gold spam in round 1. Gold spam again in round 2. And for round 3... yeah some more gold leftovers. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose, but it's always the same, not just match to match, but even round to round in the same match. I think the devs need to add something to that faction.

Until then, I would block Northern Realms if I could.

You forget to mention the Borkh + Sergeant + Shani cheese. I fortunately don't see it that often, but it will most definitely cost you your GG if you try that against me.

 

[devivre]

You forget to mention the Borkh + Sergeant + Shani cheese. I fortunately don't see it that often, but it will most definitely cost you your GG if you try that against me.

Yup, I'm not GGing that either. I don't think it's such a big deal NR vs. NR (fact is this faction has a lot better ways to deal with Borkh) but against all other factions it's no strategy I want to support in any way.

Aside from that I'm not such a huge fan of using Milva twice with Eithne in round 3 after the opponent has passed. I've tried it myself two times but it always felt like a cheat. And now that I'm playing more with Monsters myself who usually struggle very much when it comes to card advantage... it really is a cheap strategy. Fortunately not that many players do it.

 

[4RM3D]

You forget to mention the Borkh + Sergeant + Shani cheese. I fortunately don't see it that often, but it will most definitely cost you your GG if you try that against me.

But why? It's a valid strategy and taking full potential of the Sergeant. This patch you will also get a card that can resurrect gold cards. Which card do you think people are going to resurrect? Be prepared for more Borkh spam.

 

[Treamayne]

What decks/tactics aren't considered cheesy? Or to put it differently... Which decks have surprised you (in a good way)?

That's why I started this thread. In the hope of inspiring others to flex those creativity muscles. people seem to forget we are in closed beta, so we aren't here to "win more" we are here to test the client and cards. If you only ever play the same card combinations over and over (until patch, then switch and repeat) then you aren't actually testing interactions and finding those bugs. I currently have 1 deck for each leader, and try to never play the same deck twice in a row (unless I'm initial-testing a new build). I try to do a massive overhaul of at least one deck every few days. I admit I have variations on some of the common decks, but I try to avoid the more common versions of those decks (neophytes without Isengrim, for example). I don't even own Borkh and haven't crafted him because I would rather test the cards that aren't being played as much. Another example, right now my Bran deck uses discard, but runs Skjall and Longships instead of Skirmishers (to try for a few, moderate pumps rather than 1 or 2 larger ones).

 

[Azurewraith1000]

Decks made so badly they lose every game with no hope of winning.