Introduction
In this article I’d review Gwent: The Witcher Card Game Community Patch December 2024 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 and for the influencers suggestions before patch check out Vote Map by A_Reveur here.
It was the 5th council I collaborated with Shinmiri and we published our 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.
Gwent Data
This time i’d take a closer look at stats at GwentData and how to read them.
Top100 Gwent Pro Ladder winrate stats show no clearly superior faction, with NR perhaps being top faction by an inch and Syndicate a bit less successful than other factions when picked. That being said, the difference between top and bottom amongst picked factions winrates is just ~2% in Top100 (very small).
Lowering the threshold to 2500, we see higher percentage difference in picked factions winrates, with spread between top (MO) and bottom (NG) being ~5%. If we think more about it, picked faction with a negative winrate and WR very close to WR(Top4) is a peculiar thing. For it to happen following scenarios are possible:
- Player reached a decent peak and collapsed to negative winrate after.
- Player can’t achieve positive winrate with 4 of 5 other factions
- Player don’t play all factions and NG makes it to Top4 due to higher number of played games.
Out of 2500 players in Nov 2024, ~500 players have score below 9600. It means the latter scenario, which probably has the decisive impact. A faction even if played for memes would be amongst Top4 when total no. of games is not enough. And NG is by far most popular in this regard, with Mill being a staple deck. If we turn to Top1000 or Top500 stats, where all players finished placements, NG would still be the weakest faction, but the winrate visibly positive and difference to top faction lower.
Lesson for me and you to take out is using Top500 rather than Top2500 afterseason for a general picture.
Gwent Ladder Meta Nov 2024 (or what I’ve met around ~2500):
- Monsters | Fruits Midrange, sometimes Tatterwing and other Arachas, rarely Koshchey, Frost, Sabbath decks and Ogroids
- Nilfgaard | Shupe Calveit, Aristocrats, Damage Enslave, Renfri Tactical Decision Rience
- Northern Realms | Inspired Zeal Temple Devo, rarely Stockpile Devo Siege
- Skellige | Patricidal Fury Warriors, Pirates Compass
- Scoia’tael | Nature’s Gift Symbiosis Devo and non-Devo, Precision Strike Dwarves Swarm, sometimes Elves and Schirru decks
- Syndicate | sometimes Vice and Cove Gangs; early in the season Jackpot; least represented faction
Balance Council Results
Nerf Brackets
(++) Change I like a lot
(+) Change I like
(/) Okay
(-) Change I dislike
(- -) Change I dislike a lot
-1 Power Decreased
Henry var Attre (7 -> 6)
(-) I haven’t seen many Henry players on ladder; unjustified nerf in my opinion which will heavily disincentivize using one of the most interesting and synergistic NG cards.
Living Armor (6 -> 5)
(/) Placeholder nerf, maybe wasn’t really necessary in this patch, but better than destroying a card.
Lord Riptide (10 -> 9)
(++) This or +1 prov are both good; maybe power better because it leaves more space for other cards and Nekker decks weren’t that popular.
Roach (4 -> 3)
(++) Good revert, nerf to tempo of many Nekker decks, Pirates or Renfri Beasts.
Alissa Henson (6 -> 5)
(-) Not a fan of this change; decks playing Alissa weren’t in the ladder meta mainstream. Nerf of the decks like 4xHarvest, Workshop or 2x Nekker would lower variety, while main Vanadain + Simlas decks met on ladder do not run Alissa. Would be justified if any of those were more popular. All GIGATEMPEST players are unhappy.
Fauve (2 -> 1)
(++) Explanation
Vabjorn (2 -> 1)
(++) Explanation (this nerf is patch MVP given Warlords revert)
Axel Three-Eyes (5 -> 4)
(/) Mixed feelings about this change. Proactive Axel becomes equivalent to Bride of the Sea into Crow’s-eye Rhizome. On one had Axel was too universal and good as Fucusya target. On the other hand 10 for 7 is quite a weak statline.
Incubus (5 -> 4)
(/) The only nerf to Fruits netdeck in this patch (MO had top %wr in Top1000) and for this reason good to have. Incubus is indeed a good bronze, sometimes playing as 13 or 14 for 5 in perfect circumstances. The question though is if more specific nerf wasn’t needed, because Incubi are crucial for Relicts which see little play now.
Eternal Eclipse Deacon (4 -> 3)
(++) Explanation
+1 Provision Increased
👑 Call of Harmony (16 -> 17)
(++) Okay change. Call Of Harmony is a one-sided leader ability which supports only Harmony and in particular goes in tandem with Quarixis. Extra provision would make it possible to tune Harmony builds more to the current meta call and make them see more play. It is also possible to play Call Of Harmony Nekker, where the leader’s engine overload capabilities are highlighted.
👑 Invigorate (16 -> 17)
(++) Explanation
King Demavend III (13 -> 14)
(++) Very deserved nerf to powerful tutor and simultaneous high ceiling threat. Northern Realms running Inspired Zeal were the highest winrate faction in Top100 in Nov 2024.
Witches’ Sabbath (12 -> 13)
(+) Explanation
Battle Stations! (12 -> 13)
(/) Explanation
Tatterwing (12 -> 13)
(+) Okay change. Tatterwing netdeck got double buffed in the last patch and was one of top Monsters decks.
Shupe’s Day Off (11 -> 12)
(-) Stem from Shupe Calveit netdeck popularity. Given Calveit nerf and – in my opinion – way lower power level than Aristocrats, I think this nerf would only lower diversity for casuals in other factions.
Jan Calveit (11 -> 12)
(/) Trying to force more non-Calveit Nilfgaard deckbuilding. There is a very high chance this change would be reverted in the next patch.
Mourntart (10 -> 11)
(+) Okay change, Mourntart is too efficient for its provision cost and usually turns the game into linear grounds.
Freixenet (8 -> 9)
(/) Deserved change; i’m only not sure if this direction or revert to -1 power was more proper to give more counterplay.
Buff Brackets
+1 Power Increased
Vissegerd (5 -> 6)
(++) Explanation
Dunca (4 -> 5)
(+) Deserved buff given Smuggler being 5p/6c; Dunca at 5 power would be a midrange card which may, but doesn’t have to support Handbuff. Order damage could also come useful more often than not.
Tamara Strenger (6 -> 7)
(++) Bounty is generally tight with respect to provision cost, so Tamara Strenger which doesn’t obey any function but for carryover has to be good.
Gael (4 -> 5)
(+) Deserved buff.
Ciaran aep Easnillen (5 -> 6)
(+) Solid support for ST decks struggling to control opponent’s threats, like Harmony, Spella’tael or Handbuff.
Nauzicaa Sergeant (3 -> 4)
(/) 10 for 6 is more proper than 9 for 6 in my opinion. Given the direction of Axel -1 power though, I’m less sure now.
Standard Bearer (4 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
Witch Hunter (4 -> 5)
(+) On paper Witch Hunters look already strong, but in reality they have proven to be worse than 4p Bounty crimes: Slander and Hysteria. That’s because WH gives no coins on deployment, which delays control action. May result in power creep if the proper deck is found, but worth trying.
Nightwraith (3 -> 4)
(+) Support to Rats poison (e.g. Plague Maiden Nekker) and Haunt, while irrelevant for Tatterwing.
Heymaey Skald (4 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
-1 Provsion Decreased
Renfri (15 -> 14)
(/) Not the end of the world, but I wouldn’t mind if Renfri stayed at 15 either.
In Gedyneith’s Shadow (14 -> 13)
(++) Gedyneith was overcosted for the tempo it offered and Preacher livability. Deserved change.
Hemdall (12 -> 11)
(++) Hemdall is a finisher for Warriors engines archetype (Ulula, Hekja, Dagur…). Welcomed buff although surely not a high impact.
Portal (11 -> 10)
(/) While eyeing thematic plays (Vigilantes, Viper Witcher Adepts…), the result would also be 16 for 10 play on Fiends in decks like midrange Arachas Swarm. Nevertheless, a good change to try to find efficient Portal plays.
Crimson Curse (10 -> 9)
(+) Deserved change, but with mixed feelings for me. For sure it is impactful, deserved for thematic Devo Vampires and also supports Arachas Nekker with Yennefer and Vampires Nekker (where however sometimes can inhibit overload in Nekker into Necomancer’s Tome turn). On the other hand the end result of adding power to already decent Nekker decks is not ideal.
Germain Piquant (10 -> 9)
(++) Explanation
Imlerith (9 -> 8)
(++) Explanation
Saov Ainmhi’dh (7 -> 6)
(++) Explanation
Highland Warlord (6 -> 5)
(–) This revert is by far the main offender amongst buffs in the December patch. Warriors were already top ladder meta pick in Skellige – why to add power to them back?
Slave Driver (6 -> 5)
(/) I generally preferred Slave Driver to be 6-prov card, but given the patch circumstances (buffed Standard Bearers, nerfed Battle Stations!) this revert temporarily doesn’t feel so bad.
Summary
All changes ordered by number of votes and attributed to factions and voting coalitions could be found in the BALANCE COUNCIL RESULTS SHEET.
The buffs were spread quite uniformly between factions, with Scoia’tael getting most (5) and Northern Realms getting the least (1, Vissegerd). Buff to Ban Ard Tutor suggested by MetallicDanny didn’t get through.
The most nerfed faction was Monsters (5), the least Syndicate (0). MO nerfs were spread between various popular archetypes. Probably a single nerf to Demavend in Northern Realms is not enough to get more variety; another one would have been welcomed in my opinion. Finally, Warriors who should have gotten one or two nerfs in fact got slightly buffed with Highland Warlord revert. This change from independent community is by far the worst in December patch.
Subtracting usual reverts to cards like Slave Driver, Sergeants and Renfri, Nilfgaard got net nerfed with Calveit, Henry, Battle Stations! and Shupe being the most notable. Shupe Henry netdeck got 3 nerfs: two nerfs too much in my opinion.
In spite of NG overnerf and Warlord revert, overall I rate the December 2024 Gwent patch high: many changes are interesting and impactful without adding much powercreep.
In the absence of Necrotal, MetallicDanny played va banque and suggested 18 changes. Great decision – 16 of those got through and likely blocked less reasonable ones.
Our recommendations with Shinmiri again got full support in voting (12/12), but less on Reddit. Indeed, especially Battle Stations! pick might have been unfortunate given how important this card is for many non-Calveit decks. Anyway, thanks for your support!
Dauren & Kerpeten coalition got 11/12 changes through! Only Uma’s Curse didn’t make it to the Top10.
Independent contributed to 5 changes.
Qcento’s recommendations didn’t have visible impact – only changes supported by other coalitions got through.
To our best knowledge, China Coalition didn’t post recommendations; it seems likely that another coalition may reappear in the future to have any impact on BC results.
The order of Top10 changes by number of votes suggest some anti-NG bias in the community (Jan Calveit 1st, Henry 2nd, Battle Stations! 4th). Also revert to Highland Warlord couldn’t have been prevented by more alignment between gropus (3rd slot). Again, changes supported by two coaltions done very well in the results: every change where we supported KD coalition ended up in Top3.
What New To Try?
Monsters | Arachas Swarm Yen Nekker with Crimson Curse, in second order Vampires Nekker, Plague Maiden decks with Nightwraith.
Nilfgaard | Look into my eyes… there never was a card called Jan Calveit… you just were lucky to draw all your golds in order every game… (Neuralyzer click) … Now look at this juicy Standard Bearer.
Northern Realms | Boost Swarm with Vissegerd.
Skellige | Alchemy, decks with Discard targets for Heymaey Skalds (Beasts + Corrupted Flaminica, Skirmishers, Iris von Everec…)
Scoiatael | Invigorate Handbuff, Call of Harmony with Ciaran
Syndicate | Bounty with Witch Hunters and Tamara.
Closure
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this review. Feel free to share your thoughts on Reddit.