After the latest patch I think Ciri is one of the weakest gold cards in the game (unless you play NR). I mean it's got just 6 STR with no especial abilities... and depending on the situation your opp. might lose the round intentionally (that's what I do from time to time).
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
GWENT closed beta now underway
- Thread starter poppedcollar69
- Start date
After the latest patch I think Ciri is one of the weakest gold cards in the game (unless you play NR). I mean it's got just 6 STR with no especial abilities... and depending on the situation your opp. might lose the round intentionally (that's what I do from time to time).
Agreed. They need a better means of improving your deck beyond "hope you win against random matchmaking!"
I still use Ciri with a skellige wounding deck. She's pretty good to use with Harald the Cripple because if you intentionally blow the 2nd round you can run your opponent out of cards for the third. It's not the best against Scoia though, but getting them to blow Eithne in round 2 is good.
ThreePiMatt
Member
NR doesn't really have a lot of good "multi-faceted" combos. Right now, I think Skellige is on top of the pile since just about everything they do builds up and benefits them in the end. They're discarding cards to both benefit them now, and in the later rounds. Wounding decks hurt the opponent and buff them simultaneously. And they're able to cycle through their deck so well that they're almost guaranteed to get every card they need every game.
NR, on the other hand is just not reliable. Everything takes too much setup. With so many things in NR procing off of Gold cards coming out, just throwing out Redianian Elite and Reinforcement is an inefficient use of cards. But every thing you want to add on top of that to take advantage of card synergy is another link in the chain that the opponent can exploit.
Jay Shadow
Member
She fits in pretty well thematically with my dwarves. Since a lot of them have built in adrenaline there's a lot less benefit from opponents taking the intentional loss. And if I do lose it's an extra returning insurance policy.
That is as long as you win round 1 though, which you can never be sure. For comparison you can use Zoltan in all three rounds (much better than Ciri), still he's not a lock in my deck. They are like having one extra card but they're too passive for a gold card, and not particularly strong... I'd rather have a more versatile gold card (Igni, Borkh/Milva combo or Isengrim) and change the outcome of the game, or just some solid one like Geralt or Iorveth.
BTW what's the point of the 2nd Geralt card? It was the 1st card that I crafted (as at the time I though you can have two Geralts) and milled afterwards.
ThreePiMatt
Member
One is a "premium" animated card. Its the bonus people get for playing in the beta. They'll be adding more animated cards in the future.
But they were both animated... they were just mirrors of each other.
They shouldn't have included the 2nd one during the beta.
firenskill2000
Member
Yup I haven't played in a few weeks because of that.
Led_Zeppelin
Member
She is as strong as ever the patch only made that not only Radovid can kill her now, since Iorveth can kill her now as well. The strength in Ciri isn't actually an issue (from 8 to 6) since her power comes from card advantage and not from her strength. Personally I think that card advantage is far more important than anything else in the game. I replaced Cerys with Ciri in my Skellige Deck and went from a Self wounding/Discard Queensguard deck to a Discard Deck and have been winning far more regularly than before and leveling up 4/5 levels per day instead of 3/4 per day with Cerys and the queensguards.
I think she is great because I normally use her in the turn I use my spies, Uldaryk, Birma, Donar and if I am lucky and get all 3 of them, decoy and Ciri I can build up up to 5 card advantage in the final round and some times even have card advantage against ST which is hard as hell to accomplish.
The problem usually comes into how to win the first round, but usually I manage and that is when Ciri also turns useful. Usually If I see that my oponent is pushing to much on the first round I usually play her and usually the opponent will pass, if they have Radovid or Iorveth they will just kill Ciri but the rest will usually pass to avoid giving me card advantage
Also interesting info on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gwent/comments/5hkta0/cdpr_revealed_a_lot_of_major_changes_that_will/
CornBurrito
Member
I tried an NR deck just to fool around with something new. Got run over quite a bit. Yeah it isnt very strong.
I can't believe Demetrium Bomb (probably spelled it wrong) exists as a card. It benefits Skell an unbelievable amount over every other faction. It's brainless and doesn't have any counter play. I can play around Scorch. I can play around Epidemic. You can't reasonably play around "lol all debuffs and buffs are null".
It feels like the elf/dwarf faction and Skellierge are far above Monster and NR in terms of power and consistency. The Monster passive is also poorly implemented and I'm impressed by how poorly thought out it seems to be. It actually runs counter to a number of strategies they seem to want to push for the faction. Yes, print a "fog" archtype and let the passive select a foglet which will instantly die after the round rendering your passive useless. Bravo.
firenskill2000
Member
Is the beta specific to the platform you signed up on or can I get the Xbox version even if I am in the PC beta?
Jay Shadow
Member
Specific to the platform.
Fair enough, so it comes down to winning the 1st round.
I mostly play ST and I usually have the card advantage. But if I wanted to push that card advantage to the extreme, using Zoltan would make much more sense. Or if someone uses Ciri I might use Iorveth to kill him (as long as he's available). So we cab agree that at least when playing with ST (Zoltan) or against ST (Iorveth) Ciri is not an attractive option.
Nice.
CornBurrito
Member
Holy shit. Giving up card advantage to win is almost never ever worth it.
Maybe 1 card, but never more than that.
Maybe 1 card, but never more than that.
poppedcollar69
Member
eh. feels fairly easy to get the cards you want anyways.
lets compare it to hearthstone... your basic pack is 40 dust, your basic keg is 30 scrap... takes 1600 dust to craft a gold hearthstone card, only takes 800 scraps to craft a gold gwent card... you get to pick 1 of 3 when opening a keg, which is massive, less likely to end up with 4 millhouses (millhice? millhomes?)
plus i'll gladly take the no scrap refund if it means they'll be less timid about rebalancing cards
Karsticles
Member
Still no beta invite. 
DiscoShark
Banned
My luck with Kegs is absolutely rotten. Level 35 right now and I only have a single legendary card. Granted with 1600 scrap there's nothing stopping me from crafting a couple this second but with a major update on the horizon that just doesn't strike me as a very good idea.
toastyToast
Member
Not a bad idea especially with that conference announcement saying that there might be double the cards we have now by release.
poppedcollar69
Member
Yeah I'm going to have like 40 kegs saved up by the time the next patch is out, gonna get those premiums boyeee
poppedcollar69
Member
biggest dimeritium bomb eeeeva
but i got too excited and forgot about the obvious toruviel, and passed without playing my clear skies cause i dont bm, and i lost :C
ThreePiMatt
Member
I only have about 700 ore at the moment, but I'll probably hold off on opening new kegs. I've collected all of Northern Realms, so at the moment there's really only neutral cards that I'm looking for.
Took me a while, but after the last patch I finally got a fairly reliable Northern Realms decks again. Card advantage and deck thinning are so ridiculously important in this game
Took me a while, but after the last patch I finally got a fairly reliable Northern Realms decks again. Card advantage and deck thinning are so ridiculously important in this game
poppedcollar69
Member
is it just me, or is winning round 1 essential now
toastyToast
Member
round 1 is probably the most important round in the game. clinching round 1 and then in round 2 you can screw around stalling and waste all the opponents combos, gain card advantage with spies/decoy etc. Unlike the opponent if you win round 1 you'll have exactly as many cards that you want for round 3. it could just be that more people are seeing the value in pushing round 1 just to get that first win under their belt
waxinlyrical
Member
Since I've been running a Skellige hybrid discard rez/self wounding deck since I got into the Beta, I think it actually makes sense for my deck to lose Round 1, then leverage the Skellige passive to win the next 2 rounds. I generally like to discard and rez a Skirmisher round 1, which tends to at least force the opponent to extend as many, if not more cards then me. I then try to win round 2 with big units and try to build card advantage through spies etc. Against some decks that's not enough to guarantee I have the last play in round 3 though, which hurts.
DiscoShark
Banned
I run a Skellige Savage Bear deck and have pretty much come to the same conclusion. In an ideal round 1 I throw out the card that turns into a bear on hitting the graveyard and Skirmisher then pass regardless of the situation. Round 2 I throw down savage bear + axeman, usually bait a scorch with how fast they end up getting buffed with the skellige unit that takes damage when entering, and res a graveyard bear when i know the coast is clear. Throw down that spell card that allows me to keep my super buff bear going into round 3 and usually its enough to clench it.
Winning round 1 is almost never a priority for that deck.
poppedcollar69
Member
my winrate today feels fuckin great!! which is extremely gratifying given that im using this fairly homegrown scoiatel deck
nothing sucks more when i try to improve my decks gradually and its like, wow, this is morphing into a carbon copy of every other xx deck, but my scoiatel deck still feels pretty uniqueish
nothing sucks more when i try to improve my decks gradually and its like, wow, this is morphing into a carbon copy of every other xx deck, but my scoiatel deck still feels pretty uniqueish
CornBurrito
Member
It depends on the deck (Skellige Discard often throws round 1 for example), but mostly I want to say yes.
waxinlyrical
Member
There's going to be the top tier of decks every patch, honestly.
My main concern is that card progression for me is slow enough that I can't really switch out into alternative decks. I've been playing hybrid discard-rez/self-wounding Skellige since I got into the Beta, and I got lucky enough with keg drops that I tried to go into the Eithne Isengrim special card spam deck this patch, but Radovid decks are on the rise and Isengrim is just free food to them, so back to Skellige it is for me. I'd want to give the Radovid Dragon spam deck a try myself but I just don't have the cards for it (No Borkh, no Ocvist, no Bloody Baron, etc)
ThreePiMatt
Member
I wish CDPR posted stats on the most played factions/leaders. I would still say I most frequently see Monster decks, weather is still the most common, I do see more breeders and large monsters as well.
While I do play a Borkh/Radovid deck I've never played against another one. Only time post-patch that I've seen another Borkh was a Skellige deck. I wish there were other NR decks to play, but after the last patch, just none of them are really viable at higher levels. Reviving is now unreliable, buffing and promoting can be undone by D-Bomb, and without the deck thinning/cycling that ST and SK have you can't really depend on any elaborate and deep combos.
While I do play a Borkh/Radovid deck I've never played against another one. Only time post-patch that I've seen another Borkh was a Skellige deck. I wish there were other NR decks to play, but after the last patch, just none of them are really viable at higher levels. Reviving is now unreliable, buffing and promoting can be undone by D-Bomb, and without the deck thinning/cycling that ST and SK have you can't really depend on any elaborate and deep combos.
Led_Zeppelin
Member
Funny I think that control decks are the most played factions by far. I have been trying to play a ST and Radovid Control decks but I kinda suck at them but still easily won most of my matches until I face another ST faction and it becomes an stalemate of trap cards or decoys/Nature gift, bouncing spies or use Milva on them. It is so weird, Radovid Control Deck is also a huge pain in the ass if I don't have my trap cards or Isengrim to Kill Borhk.
Also the Commanders Horn podcast is now live and it is going to reveal 2 new cards that seem to have gotten the info directly from CDPR.
Led_Zeppelin
Member
Just what ST needed, more ways to control the board!
ThreePiMatt
Member
Malena is basically a Reinforced Ballista but way better. Kind of like how War Longships are like Reinforced Ballista but way better.
Led_Zeppelin
Member
I think Malena is a much better than War Longships since the triggering option is easier to achieve and opened up to massive damage in one turn, without taking into account the amount of ST you can build upon it and the damage you can do as well.
I guess is time to say goodbye to SK and join the masses and play ST alone.
Also two new cards from a polish streamer.
Mardroeme and Iris von Everec.
ThreePiMatt
Member
My gripe is mostly related to how NR is overall as a faction. You have three cards, Malena, War Longship, and Reinforced Ballista, all of which have a very similar function, damage random opponent when a certain action happens. The issue is that the action for ST and SK, playing elves and discarding cards, are core functions of those decks. Its something you're always going to do, kind of regardless of how the match is going. Promoting, while a core tenant of NR, is not something that is just done as a matter of course. Every time you play a gold card or use Promote, you're doing because the Gold status is important. For ST, you're playing a character for its specific effect, the fact that its a elf is a bonus on top. For SK you're cycling your deck, drawing a stronger hand, and populating your graveyard for future revives, the discard is a "bonus."
Really like the new cards. Super cool Iris is in and I can't wait to get roach high af on the shrooms or "exile" Octvist.
Back on the topic of Borkh and Octvist, I really hope they don't overnerf them to the point of being situational (like everyone's former blinded fave lol.) If CDPR even bothers with the new bronze specials actually. Borkh especially, really changes up how the round is played in way no other card currently does. Which can be fun, it's just aggravating when he pops out three times thanks to shani/sarge/decoy etc.
Back on the topic of Borkh and Octvist, I really hope they don't overnerf them to the point of being situational (like everyone's former blinded fave lol.) If CDPR even bothers with the new bronze specials actually. Borkh especially, really changes up how the round is played in way no other card currently does. Which can be fun, it's just aggravating when he pops out three times thanks to shani/sarge/decoy etc.
poppedcollar69
Member
Maybe they'll have demoted cards revert to gold once they hit the graveyard
poppedcollar69
Member
whys everyone complaining about scoiatael, all im seeing is the same damn norther realms decks
ocvist borkh ad nauseum
ocvist borkh ad nauseum
CornBurrito
Member
Holy fuck Dandelion seems useless.
Also fuck kegs for offering me Dandelion and then two cards I literally just crafted.
Also fuck kegs for offering me Dandelion and then two cards I literally just crafted.
Dandelion is amazing in hensalt gold rush decks.
ThreePiMatt
Member
No he's not. Its amazing if you manage to draw Dandelion and Margarita, and if your opponent is not running a control deck that will easily keep those two off the board, and if you're not playing against a ST Neophyte deck, and if you're not playing a Monster weather or breeding deck.
So, yeah, he's amazing against other Northern Realm players. Maybe useful against Skellige decks, but all Skellige decks run D-Bomb and have enough deck cycling that they're almost guaranteed to have every match.
CornBurrito
Member
My cheap F2P skellige discard deck seems to be working alright.
I have Sigfrieda (revive any non-gold, and +1 str when anything is revived).
I have the gold draw 2 discard 2 guy.
The silver draw 1 discard 1 guy.
Geralt.
3 priestesses (revive a bronze)
3 pirates (discard other pirates from deck) for deck thinning.
3 of the "if discarded, revive this dude" guy. I think I'll take this down to two.
2 of the "if revived, add +4 base str" dude.
3 of the "add 2 base str to a unit" dude.
Commanders Horn
First Light x2
Scorch
D-bomb
Lacerate x2
I know I eventually want Brinna Brann or whatever her name is, the disloyal "draw 3, keep 1 and discard the rest" unit. I also want Decoy and Last Wish at some point. That means 3 spots need to be opened up on this list. Geralt seems like he should go since he lacks synergy. But that's 12 power on a gold body. I really think I can drop the "if discarded, revive" dudes down to 2. They aren't that good anyway. And probably then drop a single Lacerate.
I don't know what optimal discard skellige looks like.
Also if I ever open a Cerys I'd add Queensguards, I guess in place of the "if discarded, revive" dude.
I have Sigfrieda (revive any non-gold, and +1 str when anything is revived).
I have the gold draw 2 discard 2 guy.
The silver draw 1 discard 1 guy.
Geralt.
3 priestesses (revive a bronze)
3 pirates (discard other pirates from deck) for deck thinning.
3 of the "if discarded, revive this dude" guy. I think I'll take this down to two.
2 of the "if revived, add +4 base str" dude.
3 of the "add 2 base str to a unit" dude.
Commanders Horn
First Light x2
Scorch
D-bomb
Lacerate x2
I know I eventually want Brinna Brann or whatever her name is, the disloyal "draw 3, keep 1 and discard the rest" unit. I also want Decoy and Last Wish at some point. That means 3 spots need to be opened up on this list. Geralt seems like he should go since he lacks synergy. But that's 12 power on a gold body. I really think I can drop the "if discarded, revive" dudes down to 2. They aren't that good anyway. And probably then drop a single Lacerate.
I don't know what optimal discard skellige looks like.
Also if I ever open a Cerys I'd add Queensguards, I guess in place of the "if discarded, revive" dude.
Review of all 17 cards revealed so far: http://gwentlemen.com/new-cards-analysis-1/
There might be more cards coming in the official stream tonight.
There might be more cards coming in the official stream tonight.
