Meta snapshot #40

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Some are returning to school, others to university, and still, others… continue to go to work. However, everyone needs a moment of rest. It took a while for the meta to shape itself, mainly due to the recent major patch and, above all, the new cards. Cards that seamlessly fit into existing archetypes, adding stability and a touch of freshness.
Novigrad has found its place in decks from previous seasons. After a few changes, it can confidently be considered one of the most versatile and flexible decks, translating into the top spot in our meta. For those who prefer total control of the board, bounty hunters are still there, with or without nekkers. Every fan of the treacherous faction, where every coin counts, will find something for themselves.
In Nilfgaard, assimilation takes the lead. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Despite the deck being challenging to pilot at times, it performs the best on the ladder among all aristocrat faction lists. Speaking of them, now that we’re on the topic, thanks to the changes from the developers and a favorable meta, they’ve made a return and are doing quite well.
Unfortunately, Skellige remains without noticeable changes. While the new cards may seem interesting on paper, their archetypes haven’t received enough love. We’ll have to content ourselves with loving Sigvald. I have nothing against that. Feast on mushrooms, dance around the campfires, and fight fiercely on the ladder.

Northern Realms got my dream Adda. Unfortunately, it doesn’t perform as well as I’d like. However, changes in cards have made decks based on high units and large own-point values even better… and NR has such decks. Both Shupe and Knights can appear in ranked matches and often emerge victorious.
Monsters have the most to offer. You can play with Ogroids, the Wild Hunt, though Lara Dorren fits better into the Tatterwing deck, there may be a place for her in an Auberon deck.

For insectoid fans, we recommend Arachas as always, and the rest of this article will be devoted to this archetype.

And there’s deathwish too. But that’s it, it’s just there.

And in Scoia? Elves and traps. My favorite archetype of this faction is the best choice for climbing the ladder. This is definitely the least developed faction, but it doesn’t bother me as long as I can annoy my opponents with more traps.

We hope everyone finds something for themselves. The choice of decks is extensive. Have fun and see you on the ladder!

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Tier #1

Dear friend, don’t worry about the coins. They will be organized somehow, it is Novigrad after all!
We will also take care of their management. The Oxenfurd guards will count every coin you have with you and you can spend the rest on Brawlers. Not only your reputation will benefit, but also that of Ixora and Acherontia. Make yourself comfortable in our beautiful city, my friend.

Import deck

Tier #2

One of the most dangerous decks in this meta – thanks to Kaer Trolde combined with Olgierd or Sigvald we have more control than ever in this Selfwound kind of deck. Our main win condition is Svalblod which blasts our board uneffectively due to our selfwound cards. Winning round one is not crucial, we should defend bleeds with ease due to high points potential with Sigvald and Knut so we can pointslam on round 3 with Sove and leader.

Import deck

Vilge was not the only force in Nilfgaard. It is assimilation, and this deck is perfect for this season. Jan Calveit will ensure a good selection in the next round, and Skellen will deal with the opponent’s uncomfortable ideas.
Angouleme is a really good choice, full of dangerous traps and NR and SK locations. Not only will it make your rounds more attractive, but it will also guarantee additional assimilation, and that’s what it’s all about.

Import deck

Shupe Erland has once again taken the top NR spot in competitive play. This list should be familiar to everyone by now but the general plan is to get good cards from Temple, use it to boost Prince Anseis, and build carry-over with Mutagenerator with Erland as the payoff card.

There’s a variation that swaps out Allgod/Offering for Iris + Companions which can result in a bigger Erland but sacrifices a bit of control.

Import deck

The well known nilfgaard deck is back in the snapshot. At Emhyr’s ball, it’s easy to remove uncomfortable guests, so your opponents should be careful. Aristocrats offer a lot of control. Playing against no-unit decks may be problematic, but there are not many of them. It’s worth giving this deck a chance. It’s really fun to play

Import deck

Despite the provision nerf to Imperial Marine, they are still amazing engines with Calveit setting up your topdecks and the ability to play two cards in one turn with Battle Stations. They are supported with the rest of the bronze Soldier package along with Ramon and Slave Drivers to copy whichever bronze fits your needs. High end golds like Baccalà, War Council and Battle Stations provide a lot of tempo so we pair them with Aerondight to give us a strong carryover finisher and potential control tool. Additionally the Location order abilities provide a lot of flexibility both bleeding and being bled. The deck is rounded out with Heatwave and Vilgefortz to provide tall punish and answer general threats, as well as Traheaern to force our opponents to adapt.

Import deck

Tier #3

Ogres have become the truly dominant deck among all monsters. Who would have expected…The deck is simple and fun to play. It doesn’t offer a lot of control, but it does provide a lot of opportunities for tempo passes.
Even in a short round Triss with Incubus make good points, so don’t worry about the bleed and don’t be afraid to be bleed.

Import deck

Tempo pass r1 can potentially win on even from blue coin as opponents cannot keep up with Dagon and Brewess creating about 40 points making bleed easy later on with carryover such as Toads and Succubi.

Import deck

A control alternative for coin-hungry players. Both the Nekker version known from previous seasons and the one with more witch hunters may prove to be a good choice for fans of dominating during the match.

Spot the threat, place a bounty on the opponent’s head… collect the money for the job done. Let not the filth prevail.

Import deck

The Truzky Idr Sabbath deck is still alive and well, and while some matchups can be challenging (Svalblod, Onslaught Pirates if you run into one, and talented multi-tall punish NG) it’s still a formidable deck.

The general plan is to play Defender, Idr and Arachas Queen in round 1, then use Sabbath to get them back out at the start of the final round. If you don’t have access to Idr or it gets Heatwaved, Kikimore Stalker or Vran Warrior are good alternate AQ targets.

The deck may look simple and straightforward but there is some skill to maximizing the amount of points you get from Vran/Glusty and decks that take round 1 and bleed take some skill to fend off.

This deck prefers blue coin for the extra mulligan and to take advantage of Urn of Shadows on Arachas Queen.

Import deck

New Wild Hunt card Lara Dorren has been printed though it is not as powerful in WH decks as in swarm ones. Keep in mind to put Foglets in both rows so Lord Riptide gains armor.

Import deck

Due to The Heist and Angus Bri Cri or Vanadáin we can create enourmous amount of carryover in Waylays or buffed Deadeyes. So according to this, you can see that this deck is draw dependant as it will lack points later on.

Import deck

A well-known and popular deck. Now we have another large unit… just in case we didn’t have enough of them. Take it easy at first, The Immortals, The Sorceress.

Not much changes here in terms of gameplay. A new feature is Regis, which we quickly transform into a Cursed Knight and the game continues without him banishing our whole deck.

Import deck