Introduction
In this article I’d review Gwent: The Witcher Card Game Community Patch August 2026 generated by democratic voting via Balance Council tool. I’d sketch the situation before the patch, analyze the changes one-by-one and then provide summary and a general review.
Check out the discussion of balance changes on Reddit.
It was the 26th council we formed Coalition with Shinmiri and published our balance suggestions on Reddit. I also welcome you to check out ‘Balance Council‘ page on leriohub if you haven’t yet – there is a lot of practical information and my Council philosophy. There is also an analysis of how Balance Council works in practice: What Gwent Balance Council Does? Successes, Failures and Democracy Analogies
Before Patch
In July Season 2026 I finished my placements, but didn’t play enough games to reach high scores and learn top ladder meta. Therefore personally I can refer only to 2.4k – 2.5k fMMR pro ladder experience. For high mmrs you can check out vods on Kerpeten’s channel.
July Season 2026 felt quite well balanced when it comes to faction power. No particular deck stood out in the ladder mainstream when it comes to performance, although last season staple builds like Lined Pockets Crimes or Shupe Imposter Create were still very solid and probably should have been nerfed more.
Probably low competitive profile of the season contributed to the balance – players didn’t try hard enough to really test the balance between factions. Casual top ladder suspects like Sanvanter, Bart, Rvs3, lavk945 or me all didn’t put in effort – Top10 is the least recognized in the whole 2026. Its a bit concering for the future.
Indeed the quality of play felt quite low in my 2.4-2.5k experience, but also that’s common in the late season. A special mention here is deserved for Mobilization Reavers players – I have never seen this deck so misinterpreted in my career. Wrong sequencing, peculiar deckbuilding focused on weird techs rather than getting reaver action going, finally an opponent using Petri’s Philters to zeal Reaver Hunters.
2.4k – 2.5 late season ladder meta (not confuse with competitive!):
MO | Vampires Devotion and other, Fruits Midrange, Unitless Deathwish
NG | Shupe Imposter Create, Enslave 6, Renfri Tactical Decision, Albrich Hyperthing
NR | Zeal Devo Viraxas, Melitele
SK | Pirates, BoG Warriors, Shupe Flurry
ST | Dragons, RnR Midrange Gift, Elves Traps, Scholars Schirru
SY | Pockets Crimes
Kerpeten96 won the season with 2.6k+ scores on all 6 factions. It was close to unexpected triple 10.7k mmr streak for pro ladder winners since May.
Scoia’tael 2.7k in 75 games (~85% winrate) is especially impressive numberwise. Repeated for each faction, such score would give give almost 70LEI (69.8). In Masters 4 there was no more efficient score, in Masters 5 only Pajabol’s SY score of 2736 fMMR/91 games: 70.4 fLEI.
Kerpeten’s decks:
- ST | RnR Midrange Gift (vod)
- MO | Carapace Striga Shupe Thrive (vod)
- NR | Melitele (vod)
- NG | Enslave 6 Assimilate (peak) / Imposter Shupe Create (earlier climb)
- SK | BoG Eist Warriors (vod)
- SY | Lined Pockets Acherontia Casimir
Balance Council Results
(++) great change
(+) good
(/) acceptable
(-) bad
(–) very bad
Nerf Brackets
-1 Power Decreased
Ivar Evil-Eye (3 -> 2)
(–) Sometimes in our lives an unfortunate accident of head hitting a hard object happens.
Yennefer: Illusionist (5 -> 4)
(++) Deserved nerf; Yennefer shined in Imposter Shupe Create or Arachas Swarm Midrange.
Viraxas: Prince (7 -> 6)
(/) Evolving card used as a placeholder. Viraxas is never played in the first form. The only concern may be interference with Kimbolt in R1.
Eldain (6 -> 5)
(+) Explanation
Anna Henrietta (4 -> 3)
(-) Not sure about this change. Anna was buffed to diversify Assimilate with respect to old Enslave 6 netdecks. Anna’s ceiling is for sure high (15+), but sometimes she plays as just 10 points against decks like Nature’s Gift. I think this nerf would have small negative impact.
Kayran (6 -> 5)
(/) 2-step change to 5p/6c, where Kayran wouldn’t be summonable by Penitent in Deathwish decks. Personally I’d just start with provision buff and see if power nerf is even necessary. Power nerf bracket though is hard to fill.
Geralt: Aard (5 -> 4)
(++) With the same numbers, in BC33 the support for Aard nerf in our poll was 10% (2nd lowest) and in BC34 it was already 29.4%. It just shows how dependent public opinion is on ladder experience rather than “objective” assessment of card value.
Geralt: Aard after years of being unplayed became a midrange option to include in any deck. 11/7 was good enough value by itself, with occasional upside of moving a melee locked unit. Good change.
Caravan Guard (2 -> 1)
(/) Placeholder
Oxenfurt Scholar (3 -> 2)
(++) Explanation
Acherontia Deckhand (5 -> 4)
(++) Explanation
+1 Provision Increased
👑 Mobilization (15 -> 16)
(–) Mobilization is a leader which can duplicate a bronze soldier engine and protect both of them, playing for 10 raw points + protection + extra threat in one turn. In many matchups in a longer round Mobilization plays for ~20 points thanks to engine overload. Subpar value happens rarely in decisive rounds, therefore the usual strategy is bleeding out Mobilization leader ability just as we bleed long round cards. Due to the character of Mobilization decks, which is usually engine overload, such a strategy can be very effective. Yet winning R1 is not easy against engine overload, especially from red coin, which makes many matchups binary and hopeless. Harmful, absolutely unnecessary buff.
Melitele (16 -> 17)
(++) Explanation
The Manor’s Dark Secret (13 -> 14)
(++) Explanation
Shupe’s Day Off (12 -> 13)
(/) While Shupe itself is a dope card, annoyingly efficient in various situations, I think that this nerf is too widespread. The really problematic Shupe decks in my opinion are all Nilfgaard Calveit, and these could have been addressed directly, for example via Calveit multistep to 8/12 or Baccala +1 cost.
Ragh Nar Roog (12 -> 13)
(+) Understandable nerf given the 26 points + control ceiling of this card. RnR is often included as a surprise value card in a variety of builds. The main, open question now is whether at 13-cost this low tempo card would be played. If still worth it in dedicated builds, but not as a surprise, then it would be perfect.
Schirrú (12 -> 13)
(/) Understandable nerf given good performance of Schirru decks on ladder, but personally I think that’s a step too far. I like when complex payoff cards are played over instant value.
Kolgrim (9 -> 10)
(++) Explanation
Bribery (8 -> 9)
(–) An effect of Violet.Kiramman coalition going for -1 cost to Bribery countered by MetallicDanny with +1 cost. Both are reckless. At 7-cost Bribery is too high ceiling while purely random, at 9-cost inconceivable to be played.
If Danny didn’t counter VK, then we would have got a clowny season of 7-cost Bribery followed by instant revert, but in the long term probably the card would stabilize at 8-cost. Now I think its a matter of time when VK and CN community would approach this clownfiesta change again, maybe in a less open way. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Sandstorm (7 -> 8)
(/) Placeholder. I had preferred Sandstorm to not be used this way as considerable after one buff in specific decks, but at this point I don’t mind more nerfs.
Coën (7 -> 8)
(/) Explanation
Buff Brackets
+1 Power Increased
She Who Knows (10 -> 11)
(/) I like She Who Knows getting buffed, but I don’t like the direction. 11 power SWK polarizes its decks even more for the red coin in a binary way, quite similar to Ogroids. Instead I’d prefer -1 cost for less coin polarization and more deckbuilding freedom if this card is included.
Queen Meve (6 -> 7)
(+) Explanation
Dagur Two Blades (4 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
Toruviel (5 -> 6)
(++) Toruviel was already not terrible, limited mainly by short round performance. At 6 power Toruviel should be able to play at least as 12 for 8 in mid-length round, which is okay, then a bit of extra value with round length / opponent’s swarming or rowstacking.
Prince Stennis (4 -> 5)
(/) I don’t love such slow buffs when for example a similar card like Nenneke can be brought to play faster and with more synergies. I think this plan may limit Ofir influence on meta in the next patches, which is sad because these are on more reasonable side.
Nevertheless a deserved buff and establishing this card as a real one rather than placeholder. I’m firmly against Stennis as placeholder as its a part of starter set.
In the long term, as suggested by u/Unacceptable on Reddit, I think that Stennis should be power buffed rather than brought down in provision, so that he becomes essentially different to Kaedweni Sergeant.
Van Moorlehem’s Cupbearer (5 -> 6)
(++) Explanation
Adalbertus Kalkstein (5 -> 6)
(/) Kalkstein power buff makes sense in the context of recent buffs to similar cards, like Caretaker. Better purifiers should make the “lock lock lock” strategy less efficient. I wouldn’t find Kalkstein as a priority though – engine overload in SY already feels good enough and with Candle they can often be safe from damage removal, so that nothing but locks and poisons are left. Instead something like Ida was higher on my list.
Many players surely also view Kalkstein as a buff to 2xSalamandra decks. I think it’s almost irrelevant there (because Kalkstein’s body doesn’t matter if he dies), while for single Salamandra the impact is good and welcomed.
Kerack City Guard (3 -> 4)
(++) KCG was clearly underpowered. Comparisons between factions can be deceiving at times, but compare KCG with Aen Elle Aristocrat. AEA is active after order use, fits perfectly in its archetype where the movement is useful, brings effectively 2 or more points per turn due to extended frost duration. Meanwhile KCG trades down to Iron Falcon Infantry if blocked by order movement.
Quite sad that KCG beauty is not moving enough to work on own units.
Eternal Eclipse Deacon (3 -> 4)
(–) We know the high ladder experience was bad with Deacon at 4-power, a compromise has been made with Cultists players to buff stuff by provision rather than power, so… let’s go there again thanks to a third-party!
Peasant Militia (4 -> 5)
(/) Something to test, but I think that Militia would be too good in dedicated decks where it can scale by more than 1 per turn.
-1 Provsion Decreased
Roche: Merciless (12 -> 11)
(++) Overcosted card specific to Blue Stripes decks.
Coup de Grâce (10 -> 9)
(/) Coup at 9-cost is considerable outside the easiest setup decks like Damage Enslave or Aristocrats (both with Joachim). I’m not sure about an instant revert though.
Gaunter O’Dimm (10 -> 9)
(++) Explanation
Ulrich (10 -> 9)
(++) Ulrich, while good on paper, usually underperforms a bit due to the requirement of having a good bronze target in hand, especially in shorter rounds. 10-cost is a bit too much for him to see play. At 9-cost Ulrich can be tutored with Mercenary Contract and played at an optimal moment.
Avallac’h: Sage (8 -> 7)
(–) Tutors are not equal; their scope is important for their power. Royal Decree costs 9 and brings zero body. Does it mean Decree should be buffed to 7, or maybe 6 because of no 1-power? Avallac’h: Sage is already played in a variety of decks, from Mobilization Mutagenerator, through Adda Striga Thrive, up to Alchemy. This change would only incentivize playing with artifacts more without any balance justification.
Werecat (7 -> 6)
(++) Explanation
Prism Pendant (6 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
Kingslayer (6 -> 5)
(–) Buff to Mill I don’t mind, but -1 cost to Kingslayer would just make this card included in midrange NGs to win games on a spot with a highrolled banish of a strong gold. Not that its a efficient strategy, but that’s how people are in my long Gwent experience. +1 power was much better and thematic to Mill.
Selective Mutation (5 -> 4)
(++) Good change for standalone playability of this card – even 5-cost was too much, the handfix value is balanced with low tempo in non-decisive rounds, while in decisive 4 points play most often means autolose. The only exception is NR Witchers, which however can easily be balanced directly.
Stribog Runestone (5 -> 4)
(/) Stribog becomes the first 4-cost Runestone. The reason for a buff was replayability with Crow Clan Druid and Bride of the Sea without Rain. This change is as silly as funky. Stribog into Freya into Crow Clan Druid into Runestone… with a couple of Preachers active on the board… Get ready for chains like this one (clip).
Summary
All changes ordered by number of votes and attributed to factions and voting coalitions could be found in the BALANCE COUNCIL RESULTS SHEET.
Out of 14 changes we recommended with Shinmiri this month, 13 got through – thanks for your support! The missing change is Kaedweni Cavalry – support of one-star power buff recommended by Ofir&Qcento.
Next to what got changed in the patch it is worth noting what didn’t happen. Phooca 2-step change from 4/5 to 3/4 didn’t get finished in spite of MetallicDanny recommendation. That’s probably because of MD proposed 5 other original changes in the came bracket, out of which only Falibor didn’t get through. Abordage didn’t get instantly reverted to 5-cost this time, which is great news – maybe finally balance of other Pirates and Warriors cards around 6-cost Abordage would be possible.
Nerf brackets, with the exception of Bribery and especially Mobilization and Ivar Evil-Eye are okay – various stuff present in the ladder meta was addressed, high supported power nerfs from our poll happened.
Buffs are a mix of less and more impactful stuff, spread well between factions. I was afraid of Nilfgaard not getting much reasonable buffs. Indeed, stuff like Deacon, Kingslayer or Ivar hardly can be treated as reasonable and therefore long term. Coup de Grace revert unsupported by main coalitions in this context doesn’t look that bad. Also Peasant Milita should be hosted well in NG with cards like Slave Driver or Magne Division.
What New To Try?
MO | Threat Overload / Relicts with She-Who-Knows, Deathwish w/Werecat
NG | Ivo with Peasant Militia, Threat Overload + Deploy Peasant Militia, meme Assimilate with Cadaverine + Cupbearer
NR | Boost Swarm w/Meve, Mobilization Engine Overload and Mutagenerator Revenants, GN Gaunter with Zeal givers, Blue Stripes w/Roche:Merciless.
SK | Engine Warriors w/Dagur, Alchemy w/Stribog Runestone
ST | Precision Strike w/Peasant Militia, Prism Pendant Golden Nekker and Invigorate Filavandrel into Frog Mating Season.
SY | Pockets Fallen Knight Crimes w/Ulrich, Devotion Firesworn with Ulrich, Single Salamandra Jackpot w/Kalkstein.
Closure
August 2026 Patch is surely worth a try, although some changes go in a clearly wrong (and uninspired) direction, like Mobilization provision cap or Ivar -1 power. The ladder experience is supposed to be a bit worse than in the previous season, in a good deal due to Evil Coalition spoiling the game in a boring way. If I were to break the balance I’d pick sth fancy rather than old abuses requiring one brain cell to click the mouse. Nevertheless, there is a couple of deckbuilding challenges which should bring fresh air, like Peasant Militia or Prism Pendant.
See you on ladder!
lerio2