Notes & Comments
Neutrals
Berengar -Power changed from 9 to 12.
Ability changed to:
At the beginning of your turn, if there are no other Witchers on this row, destroy self.
Comment: Berengar becomes conditional 12 for 6 going tall. Welcomed buff, which makes Berengar play on power vs provision curve again.
Commander’s Horn – Provision cost changed from 8 to 7.
Has a new part of ability:
Boost bronze units by an additional 1 for each gold unit adjacent to them.
Comment: Huge buff, probably making Commander’s Horn autoinclude in most midrange decks playing specials. Possibly 16 for 7 with ideal g|bgbgb|g setup, which is about 4 points above curve. Ceiling value seems pretty easy to achieve in a long round, possibly also being a threat in R1 tempo abuse if golds are in the preparation team (for example Radovid/Istredd/Snowdrop in NR or Birna/Coral/Morkvarg in SK)
Geralt: Axii – Power changed from 5 to 3.
Provision cost changed from 10 to 11.
Ability changed to:
Deploy: Seize a unit with power up to the number of allied Witchers on this row.
Comment: Card for heavy and preferably fast swarming Witchers decks. 21 for 11 raw points ceiling but real value would come from seizing engine cards. A limitation not so obvious at the first sight is row cap; playing Axii as 9th witcher in a row disables seize from the opposite one. I don’t predict this card to be game changer for Witcher decks right now – it is not this strong – but nevertheless control effect may come handy in the future with more buffs to Witchers archetypes.
Geralt: Professional – Ability changed to:
Deploy: Damage 3 units by 1. If you control another Witcher, also gain Zeal.
Order: Damage an enemy unit by 3. If its power is a multiple of 3, destroy it instead.
Comment: Unlike reworked Axii, Geralt: Professional could see play in low-witchers decks. The card gets really good potential (6 points + tall removal) and some synergy with other control tools, like Schirru. Still would be restricted to leaders/decks with 1 point pings, like Precision Strike.
Trial of the Grasses – Ability changed to:
Set a unit’s power to 13. If it’s not a Witcher, damage it by 6 and Infuse it with the Witcher category first.
Comment: Cute, but not too relevant change.
Vial of Forbidden Knowledge: Unsealed – Now has Doomed.
Comment: Lippy players approve
Monsters
Necromancer’s Tome – Has a new part of ability:
Zeal, Order: Trigger a bronze allied unit’s Deathwish.
Comment: Necromancer’s Tome was used exclusively in Relicts decks and there is no Deathwish targets in these builds. It seems like the destiny is different for Necromancer’s Tome – it is supposed to support decks playing Deathwish cards! Maybe fast tempo out with Brewess:Ritual while keeping 1x of bronze Deathwish units in hand would become viable strategy?
Yghern – Power changed from 13 to 15.
Comment: This 2p power buff on Yghern is a great support for tempo abuse in Monsters. Effective threat of win on even is worth more than raw points and forces opponent to play one card more, possibly struggling to keep up the tempo (for example vs thrive engines). Also Sabbath setup becomes easier. With Fruits of Ysgith leader, Roach in the deck and a dose of luck, 2nd turn Witch Apprentice becomes accessible!
Skellige
Magic Compass – Provision cost changed from 8 to 9.
Comment: Good nerf, not only because of Compass raw power, but its flexibility with cards like Svalblod, Kambi or Tyr.
Sove – Provision cost changed from 11 to 12.
Comment: Sove was the source of most Warriors points and still relatively cheap – reasonable nerf.
Terror of the Seas – Power changed from 5 to 4.
Comment: Understandable nerf to stamp Nekker Pirates card, yet maybe something making Nekker worse rather than other Pirate versions was more called for. Still would be played in main deck.
Feral Bond – Provision cost changed from 4 to 5.
Comment: Card didn’t seem very oppressive in Warriors. Very good value, but still just in strong bronze region in practice. It was an important part of my Nekker Fury list, where it found really good value, so I’m a bit sad about this change. Good balance-wise, but mitigating some deckbuilding opportunities to challenge meta.
Northern Realms
Griffin Witcher Mentor – Power changed from 5 to 4.
Comment: Griffin Witcher Mentor 1 -> 2 cards shuffle buff was huge. Deserved nerf, but probably further ones for archetypes playing this cards would be needed.
Scoia'tael
No changes.
Nilfgaard
Assassination – Ability changed to:
Damage a unit by 6. Decrease the damage by 1 for each adjacent non-Spying unit.
Comment: Nice little change.
Syndicate
Blood Money – Provision bonus changed from 15 to 16.
Comment: Undeserved buff but for Bounty to see more play. Blood Money was solid leader already, seeing some success especially in Nekker deck.
Fabian Hale – Power changed from 5 to 6.
Comment: A step towards power vs provision curve level.
Graden – The Deploy ability now targets the unit with Bounty automatically (Similarly to The Scoundrel).
Comment: Remember Sove? He is dead now.
Pulling the Strings – Provision cost changed from 5 to 6.
Comment: Mixed feelings about this change. Seize opportunities felt a bit unhealthy in Pirates Cove deck, especially in conjunction with Bloody Good Friends setup, but at the same time it was one of few trumps accessible for SY. At 6 provision Pulling seems a bit overcosted for how much conditional it is. We will see.
Shady Vendor – No longer has the Blindeyes tag.
Comment: Hard to understand this change after Pulling the Strings got nerfed to 6 provision and rolling instant seize from ranged row Vendors becomes impossible.
Overview And Predictions
Low-unit Melitele decks topped the meta in late January Season. In spite of Mentor nerfs and topdeck bug fix, the point output probably still would be unmatched by any midrange deck.
The most important additive change in 11.2 is Commander’s Horn rework. This card definitely will see play wherever only it could be fit – 16 for 7 is just too good.
On the subtractive side, Cove already struggled in late January meta after Melitele outbreak and with recent nerfs it would probably vanish completely from high ladder play.
Predicted main decks:
MO| White Frost Devotion, Sabbath Degeneracies
NG| Enslave 6, Renfri Imprisonment and Golden Nekker w. Commander’s Horn
NR| Melitele
SK| Nekker Pirates w. Horn, (Self-Wound)
ST| Movement Nekker, Mya-mon Harmony
SY| Bounty Nekker, (Devotion Bounty)
Tier 1: NR