Introduction
In this article I’d review Gwent: The Witcher Card Game Community Patch June 2025 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 12th council we formed Coalition with Shinmiri and 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.
Before Patch
Probably due to Harmony buffs, Scoia’tael was in a slight lead in terms of general performance. That being said, the highest performing deck wasn’t Harmony, but a Spella’tael Nekker built by returning player gwentsonneillon and adopted by many other players at the top.
As I didn’t play at 2550+ fMMR ladder this season, I can’t really refer to own experience there, but only other players. Apparently Angouleme was a meta call in Enslave 6 Assimilate, which resulted in Pajabol suggesting a power nerf to her. As predicted, after mulitple buffs Off the Books Sesame (or even cut Acherontia) decks also were very strong arguably strongest especially from red-coin. After Temple of Melitele provision revert to 15-cost also Erland Shupe somehow made it to the meta (all lists here from Pajabol’s sheet).
According to Top10fmmrs chart, Nilfgaard, Scoia’tael and Syndicate were the most successful factions for high fmmr climb. Now let’s turn to my 2400-2525 fMMR ladder experience:
I played off-meta decks late in the season. The late season mmr inflation effect was really felt, both in terms of mmr gains and the profile of faced opponents. I’ve met mostly:
MO | Fruits Midrange and Nekker Deathwish
NG | Enslave 6 Ivo and Assimilate
NR | Zeal Temple, Shieldwall Engines
SK | Reckless Flurry Witchers, Patricidal Fury Warriors
ST | Harmony, Non-Devotion Gift, Precision Strike Renfri / Dwarves Swarm
SY | different decks, 10 games total; OtB Sesames, Lined Pockets Fallen Knights, Hidden Cache Forgotten Treasures, Jackpot Yago…
Meta in 2400-2525 region had way higher presence of MO Fruits decks and SK Witchers/Warriors compared with the top fmmr chart. Top MO score is White Frost from Murlytzo (2664 fMMR is really good, congrats!); top SK scores are Self-wound (IloveBears) and Alchemy (rvs3).
My Top4 decks:
ST | Golden Nekker Harmony (Youtube)
MO | Organic Nekker
NG | Enslave 6 Specials (Youtube)
SK | Golden Nekker Selfwound w/Arnaghad (Youtube)
Balance Council Results
Nerf Brackets
-1 Power Decreased
Torres var Emreis: Founder (2 -> 1)
(++) I’m not much into Assimilate recently, but this nerf feels quite harmless. It just lowers the point output of 1st form Torres, which makes it less secure to go greedy with targets from blue coin due to loss on even risk. Also playing for Torres reach in Round 2 is mitigated.
Lara Dorren (5 -> 4)
(-) After a month we are back to this change, which is a heavy buff to Tatterwing decks which don’t need to run Ard Gaeth as Red Raiders are enough to trigger Lara Dorren played from Ge’els. Walking in circles is fun, especially if you’re 2 years old, but maybe if Lara 4 power is a constant of the universe right now we can try alternative balancing via Tatterwing.
Stefan Skellen (5 -> 4)
(++) Explanation
Vesemir: Mentor (5 -> 4)
(-) I guess this change is directed against SK Witchers deck and indeed due to high popularity and success in the mainstream it warranted a nerf. But in my opinion Vesemir: Mentor is too thematic card for Witchers archetypes to pick him as nerf target here; he would be run in thematic NR or ST as well. I think a power nerf to Geralt: Quen or provision nerf to Portal was a better idea. Finally also Bear Witcher revert to 8 power was a consideration.
The Flying Redanian (4 -> 3)
(++) The Flying Redanian at 4-power was 12 points coming from the deck at the cost of 5 provisions, small deck building restrictions, sometimes sequencing problems. This card was power buffed in the very first Gwent Balance Council. Very good, but not broken in the common opinion. Well, we’re in a spot, where the broken bucket is depleted and very good also has to be nerfed. At 3p/9c it is possible that Redanian wouldn’t be much played; going for 3p/8c is a consideration – less power, but more deckbuilding freedom compared with the previous state.
Slave Driver (4 -> 3)
(++) Slave Driver is 3/6, Sergeant is 4/6. Above all, decks playing mid-end cards for pure points are not the most entertaining. Now if the Gwent community uses a table tennis racket on their own head rather than Nauzicaa Sergeant we are good to go.
Harpy Egg (4 -> 3)
(++) Harpy Egg even at 4-power wasn’t played anywhere outside Necromancer’s Tome decks. Therefore this power nerf is an indirect mitigation of Golden Nekker Tome Monsters decks, effectively lowering power of those by 3 points. Good change.
Griffin Witcher Ranger (2 -> 1)
(-) Maybe that’s just me, but the only GW Ranger opponent I’ve met in the last season was all-in Archgriffin abuse, where GW Ranger power didn’t even matter. I don’t regard this nerf as essential at this moment; while GW Ranger has a good 12 points + utility ceiling, it is also dependent on the opponent’s board and scales badly into short rounds. It could be I just lack information though.
Siege Support (5 -> 4)
(++) Explanation
Chameleon (5 -> 4)
(++) Natural nerf which was bound to happen after Chameleon power buff to 5 in the preceding patch. One can only wonder whether this or +1 cost direction was better. There are arguments for any of these.
+1 Provision Increased
👑 Mahakam Forge (17 -> 18)
(++) Explanation
Temple of Melitele: Congregation (15 -> 16)
(++) Temple of Melitele got buffed as a revert in the previous patch. With NR Temple decks being most successful and popular on ladder (and at times autowinning with Temple highrolls with no opponent’s agenda), another try at provision nerf seems fair.
Tyr: Slayer of Yngvar (14 -> 15)
(+) A nerf to be done sooner or later, because all very good cards are doomed to be nerfed and the absolutely broken ones are no more around. Tyr is an answer or lose threat and can be one of win conditions in Skellige decks. He was played almost exclusively in Warrior decks, therefore those would be effectively nerfed by provision, may even consider cutting Tyr and try to not play any targets for typical control cards. This nerf is a bit sad for non-meta Tyr decks, but no nerf is perfect.
Novigrad (13 -> 14)
(++) Very strong card, mainly due to the value of carryover between rounds, but otherwise not bad either. Carryover Novigrad is worth ~25 points. Good nerf.
Kraken (13 -> 14)
(+) Kraken at 3 or less power requires no support to activate Deathwish effect, which makes him a long round win condition not really requiring specific deckbuilding. Yet a part of the Gwent community seems like this direction and keeps buffing Kraken by power, even after a nerf to 4 two patches ago. This nerf accepts that fact and tries to balance Kraken by provision instead of a revert this time.
Golden Nekker (12 -> 13)
(++) Explanation
Tainted Ale (10 -> 11)
(++) Tainted Ale is a card unplayed outside armor abuse in Onslaught with Syanna, Operator and Heymaey Protectors combo, which is regarded as toxic and binary by a good deal of the community. Tainted Ale has already been nerfed to 10-provision in March 2024 because of the Golden Nekker version of the same abuse. Therefore if we want to be consequent, there is no
possibility to buff Tainted Ale to playable state; we can only hate nerf this card as a part of Armor abuse. Okay nerf.
Necromancer’s Tome (9 -> 10)
(-) Getting out of the Golden Nekker range effectively kills this “zero tempo” card for competitive play. Seems too harsh, likely a revert object from silent voters in the next patch.
Lord Riptide (9 -> 10)
(++) Lord Riptide is an autoinclude card in Monsters but for Tatterwing and some more niche decks. Lord Riptide is a more recent ping-pong card (monthly buff-nerf cycle). The reasoning of people who nerf Riptide is that this card is efficient when it comes to early game control and usual pointslam value of 12 for 9 isn’t bad either; the card will still be played even at 10-cost. The proponents of Lord Riptide at 10p/9c argue that Monsters lack other control options and the faction as a whole is the weakest performing. As a seasoned council influencer I’m in the first group: Monsters may be weak at the top of the ladder, but in the mainstream it is still a well performing faction. Riptide in the Golden Nekker range makes tempo decks not too healthy from the red coin. Monsters really don’t have to rely on this card as an autoinclude everywhere!
Seagull (4 -> 5)
(+) First step towards more experiments with 2 power Seagulls, but at a more balanced provision cost. Please go to 6-cost before power buff though.
Buff Brackets
+1 Power Increased
Eist Tuirseach (3 -> 4)
(/) Blaze Of Glory Warriors are underrated and underplayed compared with Patricidal Fury, but still Tier 2 level. Power buffed Eist is more likely to stick on the board, which makes it a bit easier to get full value even when bloodthirst condition isn’t satisfied. Okay change, but feels a bit powercreep – Eist was already a strong card.
Saesenthessis (8 -> 9)
(++) This card isn’t much interesting in the current Gwent. All it really offers is Dragon tag, useful for Dragon Lineage decks and Golden Nekker Harmony.
Ruehin (4 -> 5)
(/) This change has little to do with balance, but at least is interesting, invites building new decks.
Hjalmar an Craite (3 -> 4)
(/) Hjalmar was already played in Greatsword Golden Nekker decks. After power buff it will be trading better against threats and be more considerable in different SK decks, but mainly in already played GN…
Toruviel (4 -> 5)
(++) Good buff to an unplayed card. Toruviel is not a card to build the deck on because of dependence on the board state. Many cards in Gwentfinity suffer from the same issue. Probably still wouldn’t be played that much in spite of 20 for 8 ceiling, but definitely a step in the right direction. A thing which probably will make this card naturally better in the first days of the patch is opponents stacking the front row against to play around the backup plan into Bowman. For elves decks provision buff could have been more effective given how provision tight Elves decks already are, but also may be interesting in a small package with cards spawning Elven Deadeyes, for example in some midrange Golden Nekker decks with Ele’yas.
Urcheon of Erlenwald (4 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
Nauzicaa Sergeant (3 -> 4)
(++) … and now stay where you are…
Temerian Infantry (2 -> 3)
(++) Explanation
Aen Elle Conqueror (7 -> 8)
(+) Okay buff, justified given that Fiend is there as universal 8 for 4 almost every time and Conqueror is supposed to be a payoff for Devotion. That being said, this buff doesn’t promote new stuff – it adds more proactive value to White Frost Wild Hunt netdecks when it comes to competitive play and makes Devotion Vampires a bit better for flavour guided players.
Thanedd Turncoat (4 -> 5)
(++) Explanation
-1 Provsion Decreased
The Manor’s Dark Secret (14 -> 13)
(+) The Manor’s Dark Secret is a thrive-themed Scenario card in Monsters. It is typically used in Koshchey decks to force a win in Round 1. Probably because of TMDS contributing to a linear gameplan it hasn’t been buffed so far. TMDS itself is one of the weaker scenarios compared for example with Mysteries of Loc Feainn or Damsel in Distress, therefore buff feels deserved. Koshchey decks can be nerfed very specifically if necessary, while TMDS maybe can find place in other decks as well.
Amphibious Assault (13 -> 12)
(–) Amphibious Assault has been buffed twice, from 14 to 12 in Gwent Balance Council. With bronze units gradually becoming stronger in BC, the value of AA also grows; for example AA into buffed Kaedweni Revenant or Kerack Frigate is a strong threat, scaling no worse than gold cards. The main power of AA though is the echo effect. It is equivalent to playing twice a “buffed bronze card for 8-cost”; depending on the circumstances it can be 13 for 8 tempo Kerack Marine / Kaedweni Knight, or a strong engine buffed by 3 or 4. Moreover, AA is a warfare card and can trigger resupply on some siege engines for extra points. There was no reason to revert AA nerf, the card was still good. AA revert is a typical example of nerf barrier – you can read more about it here.
Iorveth’s Gambit (12 -> 11)
(++) Buff to all-in trap decks, which I regard as quite weak vs good players. Iorveth’s Gambit can be used for example to combine Incinerating Trap and Sticky Situation in one turn (the power of unit is counted after damage, even if died)
Coup de Grâce (10 -> 9)
(–) Gwent Balance Council is supposed to be about nerfing the strongest cards in the meta… but doesn’t work if the card is popular 🙂 Read more about it here.
Olaf (10 -> 9)
(++) Olaf isn’t played, but at 9 cost it will be a really good card, supporting Self-wound Nekker but also possibly included in known Svalblod netdecks. Olaf combined straight up with Knut plays for 15 points and you can only get better from there.
Bekker’s Rockslide (8 -> 7)
(++) Explanation
Van Moorlehem’s Cupbearer (7 -> 6)
(++) Explanation
Highland Warlord (6 -> 5)
(–) For some reason if the more or less exactly same Warriors netdeck isn’t the most popular SK on ladder, Highland Warlord must go to 5 cost. If it is still very popular, but not high enough in Tier 2, then Highland Warlord also must go to 5 cost.
Wouldn’t it be better if Raids were playable without Warlord (Blood Eagle…) and Warlord was a fairly priced upgrade?
Elf and Onion Soup (5 -> 4)
(++) Explanation
Dimeritium Shackles (5 -> 4)
(+) Interesting buff to bronze control toolbox; Shackles are not a card to play to trade up against opponent’s threats, but rather to keep greed in check, especially some engine carryover R1 schemes. Shackles have Alchemy category and can be replayed with Crow Clan Druid, which makes this buff especially interesting for Alchemy archetype.
Summary
All changes ordered by number of votes and attributed to factions and voting coalitions could be found in the BALANCE COUNCIL RESULTS SHEET.
Whatever to say about June 2025 balance patch, it isn’t boring. Changes proposed by coalitions which get through are mostly very good. There are some unexpected guests, especially reverts to Amphibious Assault, Coup de Grace and Lara Dorren.
This season Shinmiri & Lerio Balance Coalition took a realistic approach, with only one original change per buff bracket. 11/13 of our recommendations got through, thanks for your support! The changes which missed it are Lesser Witch +1c (support of Pajabol) and Winter Queen -1p.
Due to a weird twist of fate, both of MetallicDanny SY buff suggestions: Adriano The Mink and Bart didn’t get through. Therefore SY ended up with no buffs, but two solid nerfs to Novigrad and The Flying Redanian. Its fine, Syndicate was buffed a lot in previous patches and there is still stuff left to try out.
What New To Try?
MO | Ruehin w/Haunt, White Frost w/Conqueror, Tatterwing Lara after a month break, Koshchey with Manor’s Dark Secret
NG | NG Spies with Urcheon and Turncoat, Aristocrats with Cupbearer
NR | Shieldwall Roegner and Stockpile Siege with Temerian Infantry
SK | Self-wound with Olaf, Blaze Of Glory Warriors, Alchemy with Dimeritum Shackles and Elf and Onion Soup
ST | Traps w/Iorveth’s Gambit, All-in Dragons Lineage with Saesenthessis, Elves with Toruviel
SY | Stuff from previous patches
Closure
June 2025 Gwent Community Patch looks unbalanced, but entertaining, with a couple of changes inviting deckbuilding effort.
See you on ladder!