What decks are ST players trying in 10.10?

[Raja_Rajan]

After taking a couple of seasons of break, I played Gwent after 10.10 was released. It was fun in first few games, but with the Frost cheese, the NR board wipe, NG boost and Yrden and SK - have a 25+ points immune units, seems like Symbiosis (or at least the Devotion Symbiosis) is unplayable. I had tried a few variations of Symbiosis, but doesn't seems like it is going to work even if I make 100 more iterations.

Does anyone think Pondkeeper or worth the inclusion? I tried so hard to make it work, but it just bloody sucks. Removed them and frog mating season from the decks but still doesn't seem to make symbiosis work. Is there any variations working for you in Symbiosis? Or any other ST deck that can thrive? I tried a GT full control deck, but that failed miserably too. So, what is your advice? If you advice is try playing some other faction, I had already started that and tried NG thingy which is fun and is much more successful than the sad symbiosis (or ST in general).

 

[quintivarium]

I am not really an ST player — I dabble with all factions, but generally don’t like ST. And I haven’t really tried it in standard mode (even if I did, I have let my rank slip to where the competition is so inconsistent I couldn’t really judge its success).

But I have, to my surprise, actually really enjoyed ST in the Trial by Fire mode (prebuilt decks featuring the new cards) where it has become my favorite deck. With the right synergies, the new cards are far better than they appear on paper.

I think all the naiads really need Aucwenn to gain viable power (and if Aucwenn is necessary to create competitive bronzes, I do question whether she plays for a true 13 provisions). I certainly believe either naiad could fairly cost four provisions unless Aucwenn herself comes down in price.

But I do find the combination worth including. If not removed, Fledgling easily adds 6 points of vitality. Fledglings also provide a means to cash in vitality — either because it is excess or for some quick tempo. With a symbiosis proc as well (due to Aucwenn), I am always glad to have a Fledgling on hand.

Pondkeepers are more marginal. Granting a symbiosis tag is worth, at best, about 3 points. Taking the damage is only worth a net 1 after the treant resets — but it can offer decent removal in a deck that is usually removal starved.

I now routinely mulligan frog mating season — the frogs get in the way more than they help (they are anti-synergistic with Hamadryads and Freixenet, and often block Naiad Fledglings from the desired target). Aside from the use you identified with movement decks, I could maybe see frogs helping cash in excess vitality — but this suggests including Shaping Nature, which feels hardly worthwhile.

I very much like the direction this update has opened for ST. I don’t think it is a weak as many argue. But I can’t say that I see symbiosis rising to top tier either. Still, I don’t think any of the expansion cards will do much more than drift the existing top archetypes, although NG might force more tall control into the meta.

 

[Barracuda88]

The new ST cards are basically garbage. I mean, they are "fun", and "interesting," but in terms of power level they would fit in to the game about two years ago, maybe. SK got a 4p Brokvar: 2 body doing 6 damage (as long as the targets get "damaged" wow, harsh condition) and a 4p raid that's basically 2 immune body create a bronze warrior. ST, meanwhile got a 5p 5-body "turn boost into damage but ONLY treant's boost!"+1 OR 5 body +1 per turn engine and a 5p 4-body 2 vitality per turn with an order to cash vitality from one unit, which no one is afraid off. Also, as long as you "activate" them with a required 13p card! these cards will also proc your symbiosis engines... Then there is the Frog Mating season: 9p 12 point card that puts 5 1-point bodies on the board and works against Hamadryads and Freixenet. I mean, you put it down on paper it just looks ridiculous. Especially when you compare these to other factions.

I tried devotion: Generates a decent amount of points, but overcrowding, inconsistent draws, not greedy enough and no counters to anything. Non-devotion: you can run Heatwave and CoC, but the naiads are just weak and cannot carry the match, and Nature's Gift (2 vitality 3 times, wow) itself has long been powercrept. It's "fun" that you can play the Naiads with Fauve and Forest Protector, but after doing it a few times I can tell that it's almost always better to tutor the old, hopeless Nature cards instead.

My guess is the old Nature's Gift decks without the Naiads are going to perform better than with the new cards, though those decks have not been strong in a long time and are not going to be strong now.

The strongest ST deck right now is probably the movement Harmony, which was just nerfed hard, so while it's the strongest ST deck, it's pretty bad against the meta. Tier 4 maybe. I've also had moderate success with my Garrison Dwarves deck from last season and waylay elves, but again, the elves have been nerfed, so it's tough. Straight movement is in theory should be able to counter some of the new garbage, but again, nerfed, and still suffering from no win-con.

Overall, a pretty frustrating experience for the ST player so far.

 

[radesign]

Seasonal Trial by Fire Sums up current upgrades.
Nilfgaard and Northern Realm are tier 0, basically like playing with auto-aim, do not deserve gg.
Scoia`tael is 'meh' tier, just playing it to complete two contracts.
Experience is terribly frustrating, just makes it clear, that there is no testing done whatsoever.
ST needs some Treeant wipeouts,
example
Pondkeeper
Melee row : Destroy an ent and damage an enemy unit by it`s power.
Or - destroy one ent and give vitality of its power to an allied unit
Devotion - boost it instead.
Range row : Destroy two treeants and spawn a treeant of its combined power
Or - destroy two treeants and play a nature card from your graveyard, cost equal to lower power ent of two destroyed

Frogs - should boost unit AND self by that vitality.
ETC, lack of testing, ST is too weak generally now, I had to add Scorch and Quen to my spellatael to keep having good ratio.

 

[Raja_Rajan]

I had given up playing ST this season, at least the Nature's Gift. 5P cards that play for nominal value needing a 13P card is absolutely absurd. Without the 13P card, they are pure garbage.

Also with everyone and their grandmother playing Yrden, it is just a waste of time to play ST this season. I tried Dwarf and Elf, but they suffer with luck of draw. On a perfect hand, they can win some games but otherwise sucks hard.

So, I started to do what everyone is doing. Playing NG . Trying a Enslave 6 deck which just autowins against NR. People even forfeiting on loading screen. Let's see if we get some balance changes next season for ST which can allow ST to be played.

 

[BattouZen]

Hey there, I am new to the game and ST is the first deck I chose to start with. So far I have played the free started deck you get to use either "Invigorate" or "Nature's Gift" and I had more success with it than the others that I've tried so far, which is the Monster and Northern Realms starters decks. I had an extremely difficult time with the Monster deck even at the starting rank!!! Northern Realms seems good but I haven't figured out how to use it yet. For ST, from what I've come across so far, "Symbiosis" is a really strong deck. Although, when it comes to ranking up , you have to add multiple legendary cards and some other expensive cards for it to contend with the "Meta" decks. IMO anyway!

 

[Barracuda88]

I had given up playing ST this season, at least the Nature's Gift. 5P cards that play for nominal value needing a 13P card is absolutely absurd. Without the 13P card, they are pure garbage.

Also with everyone and their grandmother playing Yrden, it is just a waste of time to play ST this season. I tried Dwarf and Elf, but they suffer with luck of draw. On a perfect hand, they can win some games but otherwise sucks hard.

So, I started to do what everyone is doing. Playing NG . Trying a Enslave 6 deck which just autowins against NR. People even forfeiting on loading screen. Let's see if we get some balance changes next season for ST which can allow ST to be played.

After some tweaking, I managed to push the devotion Nature's Gift deck into pro. It loses to reavers, but most of those seemed to have moved on as I was climbing, or maybe I was just lucky with the match making. The deck can sort of hang with NG.

 

[meow_e_mau]

"Frog mating season" puts down four 1 power frogs. If the opponent decides to add to your current over crowded rows.....you are done.
Try the seasonal and see how frustrating it is.