Each damaged enemy they grow stronger and stronger. They live on their boats, eat fish and raid villages. They take no prisoners and bring cataclysms on their enemies’ houses. You might get terrified when you see their sails and axes.  Crach an Craite also known as Wild Boar of the Seas is their leader, and just like Holger Blackhand, they are merciless. You can be astonished when their Terror of the Seas finish the game with a 15 damage order.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Find good bronze cards like Seagull, Longships and Deranged Corsair. Look for golds like Terror of the Seas, Crach An Craite and Holger Blackhand.

Round 1:

From red coin you can SMOrc with good bronzes and Holger Blackhand. You should be able to easily abuse it because you have strong cards. Build carryover with Seagulls and damage as many units as possible. From blue coin just try to win round one.

Round 2:

You can bleed with Crach an Craite and your strong cards, you have lots of removals so you shouldn’t have problems with removing opponents’ engines and other threats.

Round 3:

If round 3 is short then play Fucusia into Crach, if the round is long it’s more valuable to resurrect a bronze and get some rain value. Also be careful and do not waste your rain turns just by bringing cataclysm to the same row.

Matchups

Mirrors

Just try to build more armor than your opponent. Boatbuilders are crucial for this matchups, they are a real nightmare for the opponents because they make it harder to stack armor. First say with Crach has a lot of value.

Other matchups

Against NG you don’t want to keep Renfri or Renfri’s Gang in hand. Wait until your opponent play their Renfri’s Gang.
Against ST just play around Igni, and be careful of getting abused with Zoltan Warrior and Munro. Most of the times they have no way to remove Crach two times so you should have a good time.
Against SY try to keep your Richard Hammond and move his Maraal. Also Bjorn is a good answer for Roland Bleinheim, and Deranged Corsair with leader is really good to answer to the defender.

Details

Good against:

Poison SY, ST Renfri, Vamps

Bad against:

Nope.

Win condition:

Terror of the Seas, Answering your opponent win conditions

Card replacements:

Nope.

Ya’ll got any more of ’em? Fisstech?

The Bleinheim brothers are back from the sewers after 15 year, and going for revenge. They even brought a strange yellow creature with them as an honorary member to the Bleinheim family, that nobody wants to know where they found it.

The Nekker list from the previous meta got a new toy in the form of Treasure Huntress. This version now can be extremely engine-heavy, with most of your units being 1, or even more points per turn. Bincy and the townsfolks can get huge value from the order of the Huntress, and you have access to the normal Nekker tools, the Golden boy itself, Nova, and many stong midrange cards. Usually the Nekker decks don’t have tall punish, but this list can delete lots of them by various poison cards.

The deck excels in a long round, but has some decent options for a short round as well. You should be vary of the positions of your coin-giving cards, as they trigger front-to-backrow, and left-to-right, so your Saul should be in the backrow, rightmost position, so he grows more after you fill your pouch.

With all the coin, you should find a decent spender, so A: you can use it for points, and B: if your pouch is full, your Bincy and townsfolks won’t grow, as you can’t get more coins.

Try to get out the Boat as soon as possible, so it won’t brick, and watch out to have at least 1 unit, special, and location in the deck when you go Nekker.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Your only true bricks are the boat, and the bestest boi. Also, bear in mind that you only have 2 locations, and 3 specials (besides Nekker) so you can mulligan some of them to avoid bricking Nekker.

Round 1:

You should build up a decent engine with coin-giving cards, and cards that boost upon it. Also having a spender is really nice, you can take the round only using bronzes and 1 or 2 midrange golds.

Round 2:

Depending on the opponent’s deck, you can either bleed, or go for a long r3. If you bleed, you can drop most of your cards, and check out if your opponent has the tools to stop you from a 2:0. If the bleed goes wrong, you can try to preserve some big cards for a short r3, and try to deploy Ciri for carryover (if you haven’t done it in r1.)

Round 3:

If you somehow didn’t win in r2, you can try again in r3, in a short round Nekker can be game-deciding, with some decent accompanying cards.

Details

Good against:

Renfri Vamps, Renfri ST, Renfri NG

Bad against:

Pirates

Win condition:

Long round with Bleinheim Brothers, Golden Nekker

Card replacements:

Not really, but if you want to spice it up:

Azar Javed -> Walter Veritas

Decree -> Roach

Do you remember Harmony? It was like the best archetype in Gwent for over a year, then leader reworks made it unplayable. Now we have new ways to play Harmony, a more controllish list, with big finishers like Lake Guardian or Great Oak. Once Harmony was an engine-heavy deck, now it’s more tempo-oriented with a clear way to win round one, bleed out the opponent’s win condition and finish the game in a short round 3 with your Lake Guardian.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Try to find Saskia round one, she is the key to win round one, if you have Saskia then try to find good cards like Zoltan, Munro and keep cards that are bad to pull out with Saskia like Cat Witcher or Chariot. Of course you want to mulligan away Milva

Round 1:

Slam Saskia and try to win the round with bronze cards or if you didn’t find Saskia just jam your Harmony engines and try to win the round that way, you can jam Munro or Zoltan if needed to win since Saskia is also good for bleeding.

Round 2:

If you won round one, just bleed the hell out of your opponent. If you are the one being bled just defend it, you have strong cards so it should be super easy.

Round 3:

Win with strong finishers like Lake Guardian or Renfri with leader, or whatever was left in your deck.

Matchups

Mirrors

You need to figure out what your opponent is trying to do, he might coin abuse if he is on red so you have to be prepared to that, but also you have to be careful and try to not overcommit round one. Keeping Saskia might be a consideration, you should be in a good spot if you save her for round 2.

Other matchups

For most of the decks in this meta strategy is the same, there are some cards you should be afraid of in specific matchups:
Against SK: Deranged Corsair into leader against your Saskia or against Rowdy Dwarfs.
Against NG: Mage infiltrator, they run at least one copy of those, which means they can use her at least 2 times with Braathens. You have to be careful because they can snipe your Saskia with Blightmaker and kill her with this spy or they will just try to brick your Munro with her by killing the dorf tokens.
MO: If you face triple cat, you just won, Milva with leader counters all of them after Sabbath.
SY: Just try to not go tall, instead try to go wide, just remember that they have Ciri carryover and Golden Nekker is their most important card, so bleed it out.
PS. Try not to play into Igni, this meta is full of it.

Details

Good against:

MO, Pirates Renfri.

Bad against:

NG Renfri

Win condition:

Bleeding out opposing win conditions and finishing the game with Owl or Renfri

Card replacements:

Nope.

Handbuff is finally strong, probably even the strongest it has ever been. With Torque now starting in hand, Farseer being one of the strongest bronzes in the game (if combined with leader ability), and Renfri as a big finisher that doesn’t require any setup. Obviously it’s not handbuff you would expect to play, it doesn’t contain any Hawker Smugglers, Dunca or Sirssa, it does contain Farseers and Hawker Supports because it’s not an engines deck, it’s more a value-heavy one.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Try to find your best cards, mull out Roach and Knickers. Look for Farseers.

Round 1:

Play leader twice without targeting Torque, then play Farseer and choose her. If you are on red coin you can try to smorc with Zoltan+Munro package. If you are on blue then try to escape the round with the least committal plays.

Round 2:

Try to force your opponent to play Geralt or Igni, so your Torque round 3 can feel safe. If you won round one just bleed your opponent, your finishers should be bigger than his. If you are about to be bled then try to win the round with a big finisher in hand, also you can try to escape the round with Renfri into big AoE or something.

Round 3:

Finish the game with Torque, Renfri, Skaggs.

Matchups

Mirrors

Just do not commit more than your opponent, first say can be useful because you are first to set up Dwarfs.

Other matchups

Against SK just remember that your opponent has access to two Morkvargs, one from hand and second from Fucusia.
Against NG it’s worth to mull out Renfri’s Gang and Renfri, the bronzes because Duchess’s Informant or Braathens can play for a lot of points and thin two cards out of their deck. And Renfri should be kept in deck because you don’t want your opponent to see her from his leader, you also should not play her (unless your opponent already passed) because she might get Spying tag and then his Artaud will play for tons of points.
Against Guerilla Tactics most of the times you win because you have bigger finishers, you should be only aware of losing on even from blue coin and their Geralt in hand. Against any other ST deck you can try to brick his Munro with Elven Wardancers and Zoltan: Warrior.
Against SY you should focus on going wide instead of tall because he will easily poison your biggest targets. It’s one of the worst matchups.

Details

Good against:

ST Guerilla Tactics, MO Vamps

Bad against:

SK Pirates, Poison Syndicate

Win condition:

Renfri, Torque, Dwarfs Package, Skaggs

Card replacements:

Wardancer > Pellar

Renfri’s arrival can be easily compared to the Nekker’s one – she replaces your leader with abilities like row punish, control, 2x Stratagems, additional card and even cooldown which makes it the most hated card in the meta because of how diverse she is. Here comes Artaud, Assire and Roderick to use her powerful abilities once more, besides these you have the good old assimilate cards – worth to mention Runemage as he improves create options.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Against Renfri lists keep Gang in the deck so your Duthess’s Informant or Braathens can play for a ton of points and thin 2 cards out of his deck.

Against ST keep your Mage Infiltrator, because it hardcounters Rowdy Dwarfs and you can try to brick their Munro.
Other than that just look for your best cards and remember about units that give spying tag because you don’t want to brick your Artaud.

Round 1:

You want to win round 1 to have the ability to push your opponent and reuse Renfri later on.

Round 2:

Slam your leader and play Renfri which makes it quite a big point gap so you can either pass or push even more if you smell blood.

Round 3:

Play Assire into Renfri. Now you have option to play her with Roderick or if you have chosen Curse of Sloth ability in the previous round to draw her.

Details

Good against:

Pointslam decks

Bad against:

Engine decks

Win condition:

Top-end Golds

Card replacements:

Nope

What if you combine good old Vampires with one cursed woman and her gang? Exactly, one of the strongest decks in the current meta. They are greedy, they grow big, and they are thirsty for your opponent’s blood. You can either be bled or join them in their never-ending bloodthirst. You have Fleders that grow big with each bleeding you give, you have Regis as carryover play, who is even better if you find Curse of Gluttony from Renfri. If you want to go big this is definitely the deck for you.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Look for Fleders, Nekurats and Alps. Find your Runemage (he is a good round 1 play), and other golds.

Round 1:

Be sure that your opponent has bleeding on his side each turn it’s possible, this is going to be crucial for Regis. Also try to win the round with Fleders. Do not hesitate to use leader ability, it helps Fleders stick on the board. Be careful about bleeding your possible Geralt target, you don’t want to bleed units above 9 power until there are more of those on your opponent’s side of the board.

Round 2:

This might be the only time you don’t have to bleed, you have a decent long round 3 and last say makes Regis and Curse of Gluttony a safe play. But it is also a consideration, you have tools to bleed the opponent and forcing some good cards from him while keeping Regis as a big finisher for round 3 might be just as good.

Round 3:

Just play what you have left with Regis as a finisher.

Matchups

Mirrors

Keep a lock for Fleder, remove one Nekurat with Toad. Winning round one is very helpful because then your opponent won’t be able to keep Geralt and Regis as the last card at the same time so either your Regis with leader is safe or you can Geralt his Regis.

Other matchups

Against NG you don’t want to keep Renfri or Renfri’s Gang in hand. Wait until your opponent plays his Renfri’s Gang, also keep Triss: Butterflies to tutor Renfri after they use their leader ability.
Against ST just play around Igni, and be careful of getting abused with Zoltan Warrior and Munro. Keep Toad for Zoltan.
Against SY try to keep your Queen of the Night and deny one poison. Also Maraal is rowlocked so you can try to move him with a Drowner.
Against SK keep Drowner in hand, it is really good against boats. Without last say I wouldn’t recommend to pick Curse of Gluttony, they have Morkvarg. Also you should keep a lock for Crach an Craite.

Details

Good against:

Pointslam

Bad against:

SK Pirates, ST Renfri

Win condition:

Regis with Curse of Gluttony

Card replacements:

Nope.

Have you heard the story of Gigachad The Maiden’s Shield and Ser Bronwen the Bold? If not, then you can make their own story yourself and try to protect the meta from Renfri decks. Do you like to have big numbers on your side of the board instead of controlling the opponent’s? I think this deck should be exactly what you want to play. You have big carryover, huge numbers and some cards that were staying in the dumpster for way too long.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Look for Dandelion and keep your Maiden’s Shield in deck. Do not brick your Nekker, you need a unit, special and artifact in deck.

Round 1:

Set up Dandelion either with your leader ability or with stratagem. Buff Maiden’s Shield as big as you can. Setting up carryover for a potential bleed or to defend the bleed is also good. Keep Mahakam Ale (so-called pivko) in case your Dandelion gets locked. You can pretty much secure the round with 4 points per turn Immortals with Damned Sorceress combo.

Round 2:

You can bleed your opponent, try to get your units big and bait their Igni into a single unit. If your opponent doesn’t want to bleed you just set up carryover with Vandergrift, Ciri: Nova or even Squire (his order ability can go through rounds). If you opponent decides to bleed, you might consider playing your Gigachad, remember that Bronwen infusing Vandergrift will make him carry over his infuse to another round.

Round 3:

Play what you have left, either Gigachad with some cards like Garrison or Nekker.

Matchups

Against SK you should be afraid of double Morkvarg play with their Fucusia, try to spread buffs around more units instead of putting everything to the infused one.
Against NG just try to 2:0. Also remember to Xavier Lemmens their Renfri in case they play Assire.
Against Poison SY try to bait up some of their poisons to your bronzes, also just bleed the Bleindheim Brothers combo in round 2.
Against ST just slam cards and try to 2:0, be careful because of Geralt so you don’t want to put all buffs on the infused unit. Once Geralt is gone you are safe.

Details

Good against:

NG Assimilate

Bad against:

Poison SY

Win condition:

Gigachad with Garrison and other buffs. Ildiko with Seltkirk, Golden Nekker

Card replacements:

Nope.

Siege might not have his best days in its history but it definitely still has some power. Henselt into Foltest’s Pride with leader might mean up to 34 points swing in just one card. Siege on its own can easily win 2:0 because of engine overload and the control it provides.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

Try to find your best cards, there is no bricks for you, so it should be easy. Typically you want Foltest’s Pride in the deck because you want to play it with Henselt.

Round 1:

Try to win the round with engines but also remember that you need at least two siege engines to proc Siege in later rounds. Sometimes when you feel you can win on even playing Siege from red coin in your first move might be right because there is no Heatwave in current meta thanks to Renfri.

Round 2:

Try to bleed with your scenario and other engines, keep Henselt for round 3 as a big finisher. If you are bled just try to keep at least one of your big finishers, either Siege with siege engines or Henselt with leader ability.

Round 3:

Finish the game with Henselt into Foltest’s Pride and 5 leader charges.

Matchups

Against ST you can try to kill Saskia with some lucky Bombardment while your siege engines are on the board, this should secure the round and make their consistency awkward, since she pulls out garbage out of their decks.
Against NG if you face Imprisonment you should never play Radovid, you just lose if you do that because they can copy it with Artraud, which will give him another 2 locks for your engines. Against Double Cross you should have fun time until he rolls perfect leader with Renfri (deal 7 damage and deal 8 random).
Against MO you just win.
Against SY just bleed out his Nekker, you can also try to set up a good Boiling Oil next to Ciri so you purify her with its deathblow.

Details

Good against:

NG Assimilate, SY Nekker

Bad against:

SK pirates, ST Renfri

Win condition:

Siege, Henselt with Pride and leader

Card replacements:

Bombardment > Squirrel

Bombartment > Pellar

New cards to Syndicate were printed to help the Hoard archetype rise again from a really long time. The whole deck is super engine-based and has very little control as your tools are poisons and Philippa but if you encounter any not heavy-control decks you might create quite a brothel in a long round thanks to Passiflora’s personnel and the Tidecloaks involved.

Gameplan

Mulligan:

The Flying Redanian

Round 1:

Do you remember the play Feign Death and Vanadain round one of the Elves deck? You can do the same with Passiflora scenario as substitute to tempo pass and then gain first say and a long round to release the full potential of your engines.

Round 2:

You drypass here possibly with Conjurer’s Candle and other bronzes.

Round 3:

Play In Search of Forgotten Treasures then develop your engines and as fast as you can Flyndr’s Crew to gain even more points from Hoard cards especially the Scenario.

Details

Good against:

Pointslam decks

Bad against:

Control decks

Win condition:

Your engines, Scenarios

Card replacements:

Nope.