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Offline 0rph3u5

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And as for the medics: my argument is that, for every other faction, they steal a graveyard unit and play it on their side. Other factions do have options to resurrect, but that is not a main part of their gameplay as is the case with Skellige. When a Medic steals a Skellige card (QG or otherwise), they don't just spawn a (usually) powerful unit on their side; they also deny the Skellige player that Unit. Until now, Skellige players had one option to counter this: the Bears (and, in turn, NG players always had the option of nuking / locking the Bears to let their Medics have free reign). So, no: it's not "everybody elses' problems" here, because nobody else is as massively susceptible to graverobbing as Skellige, and their one counter to it is being removed.

1. You are determined to see the problem, not the opporunity in this. I had to come up with a solution to stop being dealt my own Trappers (Elves) or Earth Elementals (Wild Hunt), I guess the same is true for a Nothern Realms Infantrymen deck which relied on Neeke or Shani to get their multiples back (which is the only other Resurrection Deck I could think of). Solutions that work for other decks may be applicable to your deck if you just bother to look.

2. "Denial" of units in the graveyard is not only Skelliges Problem, with a Necrophage deck this is true to a lesser extend since you cannot control which units your Ghouls consume (the only option is the Grave Hag which takes two turn to consume your own graveyard) and have access to the enmies graveyard as well. Granted the saving graces of the Necrophage deck are to play one of your Nekkers (and swell the ranks of copies with Nekker Warriors) or Arachas Swarm (which hasn't unlimited numbers as the Behemoths' Effort cost and has to played in sequence).

3. How do you deal with Griffins?



May I ask a question? Beside myself, how many QG decks have you seen in casual play or ladder? I wonder if the Matchmaker has been taking the piss just with me, or whether they are truly rare in lower tiers. If they are, why do you think that is the case (if QG is so powerful)?

While I am not sure of purpose of this exercise, as you already presented the argument concerning a Bizzarness/Von Rostorff-bias.... but for completeness I will inducldge you.

The Number is 2.5 3.5 - 12 instances were I am 100% sure, and 3 intances were I am not sure if it actually was a deck focussed solely on Queensguard.

EDIT:Correction



I am proud to say that my Wild Hunt-deck now no longer contains any Fog or Foglets *cue the fireworks*

I can still deal 5 rows worth of Frost however, and I am aiming for 6 once I get Caranthir. To make an offset for this I will be phasing out the Ice Giants next...
« Last Edit: June 11, 2017, 09:22:19 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Enioch

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1. You are determined to see the problem, not the opporunity in this. I had to come up with a solution to stop being dealt my own Trappers (Elves) or Earth Elementals (Wild Hunt), I guess the same is true for a Nothern Realms Infantrymen deck which relied on Neeke or Shani to get their multiples back (which is the only other Resurrection Deck I could think of). Solutions that work for other decks may be applicable to your deck if you just bother to look.

2. "Denial" of units in the graveyard is not only Skelliges Problem, with a Necrophage deck this is true to a lesser extend since you cannot control which units your Ghouls consume (the only option is the Grave Hag which takes two turn to consume your own graveyard) and have access to the enmies graveyard as well. Granted the saving graces of the Necrophage deck are to play one of your Nekkers (and swell the ranks of copies with Nekker Warriors) or Arachas Swarm (which hasn't unlimited numbers as the Behemoths' Effort cost and has to played in sequence).

The above points are good points (especially regarding the Necrophage deck, which I have no true experience playing with; thank you for the insight). I would like to argue, however, that both units that you mentioned above (Trappers and Elementals) are good because they do something. The Trapper plants the mine that nukes an entire row; the Elemental has a shield and carries over 4(?) Power to the next round, but their effect takes time to work (even if it's just one round for the Trapper) and it gives you an opportunity to counter them (Roar, any Lock, any targeted damage for the trap etc.) The value of the Queensguards lies in their power alone - and in that their resurrections trigger Cerys (if you have her in the deck). There is no 'counter' to a medic stealing power (and only power) from your graveyard; if you are aware of any such methods, I truly want to hear them. I do not want to toss this deck, because it gives me true joy to play; if there are ways I can modify it and keep it at least moderately effective, I'd be quite eager to try them out.

Quote
3. How do you deal with Griffins?

I...don't? Griffins are not so bad, because they might steal a card, but they don't play it as part of the same action. In order to utilise the power of the stolen card, the enemy needs to play another one (a Necrophage, for instance), which I find perfectly acceptable (and perhaps a bit weak, in all honesty), as it generally gives you (the SK player) a card advantage.



Quote
While I am not sure of purpose of this exercise, as you already presented the argument concerning a Bizzarness/Von Rostorff-bias.... but for completeness I will inducldge you.

The Number is 2.5 3.5 - 12 instances were I am 100% sure, and 3 intances were I am not sure if it actually was a deck focussed solely on Queensguard.

EDIT:Correction

Interesting. I still haven't en****ered a single QG deck on the ladder. Most Skellige decks seem to focus on the Werewolf and the Boar.

Statistics show that less than a third of the total Skellige decks in the past month have been running QG (and it's impossible to say how many of those are focused on the card / QG archetype).

My point was - if QG are OP enough that they warrant a nerf (and apparently, they have been nerfed once already in the past), why aren't more people playing them? Why aren't QG decks the equivalent of, say, Rot Tosser NG?

Anyway - I'm more than willing to let the post-patch meta settle before continuing this discussion. It was actually good to have this talk - helped me cool off on the matter quite a bit.



Quote
I am proud to say that my Wild Hunt-deck now no longer contains any Fog or Foglets *cue the fireworks*

I can still deal 5 rows worth of Frost however, and I am aiming for 6 once I get Caranthir. To make an offset for this I will be phasing out the Ice Giants next...

Hm. Gud Job on the ice; but why remove the Giants when you are specifically going for ice as a weather effect? I'd imagine the synergy would be good?
'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'  -Salvor Hardin, "Foundation"

So don't take a hammer to your computer. ;-)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Hm. Gud Job on the ice; but why remove the Giants when you are specifically going for ice as a weather effect? I'd imagine the synergy would be good?

The Ice Giants have good synergy with Frost but I rather not be too dependent on a single trick with my decks. If you pardon the turn of phrase, I like to have just another (metaphorical) card to play.

For as the new play in their place, I don't know yet. Once I have Caranthir, I will see what takes the Giants' place.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Mikes

  • 29
So I tried this out and still getting my bearings ...

But the biggest "LOL" moment in the game so far was realizing that they made the Keg guy a ... Troll.

They kinda had to, didn't they? ;-)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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There is a Nothern Realms Silver you should see then :D
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
Caranthir acquired.

For as the new play in their place, I don't know yet. Once I have Caranthir, I will see what takes the Giants' place.
(sry for self-quote)

Griffins, three of them.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Enioch

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Griffins, three of them.

You evil bugger  :p

So, I went back to my raiders / warbotes / discard deck. And I milled my QGs taking advantage of the limited-time-refund-offer (immediately rebought them as static cards, obviously), and I got the seafaring piggy.

It synergises very well with Mork, especially if you spawn Mork via Alzur (for the extra strength). If your opponent is one of those people who insist on taking the first round NO MATTER WHAT, you can start round 2 with a 15+ Mork on the table, which is just dirty.

Plus, every time you discard stuff, the warbotes do damage and the captains get pissed off.

I still feel the deck lacks...well, oomph, for lack of a better word, especially in later rounds.
'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'  -Salvor Hardin, "Foundation"

So don't take a hammer to your computer. ;-)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Changes before the weekend:

- The inclusion of Aeromancy brings the number of rows of Frost I can play in Wild Hunt deck up to 8 in a favourable draw (White Frost and Aeromancy in the same draw). Evil gets eviler.

- I created a Franseca-deck for the "new" Socia'Teal-Buffness after the Dol Blathana Protectors were adjusted. Shuffling cards to success might however even be too random for my liking.

- I finally crafted the Grave Hag for my Necrophages; sadly I can't get a game that let's my experiment with that deck against a human anymore  :sigh: (so I don't get to test the synergy the Arachas Behemoth)
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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thats the final moment of the round

I may have lost the game in the end but the Arachas-phobia is real :D (hey, new name for the deck)

Of course this was fluke, so not quite reflective of the deck's abilites, due to a little card-play including 1x Nekker Warrior (putting 2 extra Arachas in my deck to played when new Arachas were spawned), 2x Arachas Behemoth (make new Arachas everytime a consume ability is triggered), 1x Vran Warrior (every 2 turns consumes the unit next to it), 2x Ghuls (consums a unit from the Graveyard), 1x Celaeno Harpy (spawns eggs for consumtion, eventually consumed by the Vran as well) and finally the Unseen Elder (consumed the high-powered Ghuls and Vran Warrior my enemy had moved to the back row). Result: 14 Arachas.



What worse than Arachas-Spawning? - If the Monster-player gets dealt the Grave Hag as final card after a round of Arachas-Spawning :D





... and the streak keeps on streaking ....


15 is the new record on Arachas played in a single round :D It's still 14, I ignored that I buffed 3 of them, so its not narachas=45/3 but narachas=(45-6)/3
« Last Edit: June 19, 2017, 07:28:24 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Enioch

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This is both an ingenious deck and highly balanced (I'm serious).  :yes:

Lacerate and Dbomb would **** you up something fierce, but I can but marvel at the synergy.
'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'  -Salvor Hardin, "Foundation"

So don't take a hammer to your computer. ;-)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Thank you...

... but I got lucky no one played the obvious counter this morning (putting the weather effects in the row the arachas will spawn to - I cannot control that and the would be dead 2-3 rounds depending on the weather card; my only weather removal in the deck are Archgriffins because the set-up requires so many units present).
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline karajorma

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I'm playing something similar actually. I'll post some pictures when I have time.

EDIT: Here's my current deck. The strategy is based around boosting the Neckers up to high power so that they can be used to swing rounds two or three.

[attachment stolen by Russian hackers]
« Last Edit: June 20, 2017, 06:03:28 am by karajorma »
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Offline 0rph3u5

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Nice and tidy. But I wonder if Nekker Warriors or something can trigger the Nekkers deathscream (Harpies or Shadow) would be a good addition.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline karajorma

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I have three sets of harpy egg laying Celanos so I often get accidental deathwish triggers. To be honest I'd prefer not to trigger the Nekkers most of the time. Normally I want to have more in reserve in case the other player kills them.
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Offline 0rph3u5

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I have three sets of harpy egg laying Celanos so I often get accidental deathwish triggers. To be honest I'd prefer not to trigger the Nekkers most of the time. Normally I want to have more in reserve in case the other player kills them.

That's why I keep Nekker Warriors in my deck:



I still have to invest in more Golds, so I may still make changes.

(I rather have more cards to play more combinations, even if you only ever draw 14 cards per match. While I loose more games to bad draws that way, I also keep making strategies up on the fly. I hope that keeps me more mentally agile in the long run.)
« Last Edit: June 21, 2017, 09:54:31 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline karajorma

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I tried nekker warriors but the problem is that they can only affect units which are on the board already and they only create base copies of the unit they copy. So if I play my 3 strength Nekker, there's a pretty good chance of my opponent wiping it off the board before I can play the Warrior in the next round. Which puts me back down to only 2 nekkers left (a bad idea when they are the heart of your strategy).

Are you finding that a deck with 40 cards works for you? I usually keep my deck as small as possible to maximise the chance of me getting my Harpy / Vran / Nekker combo along with useful golds and silvers.
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Offline 0rph3u5

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Are you finding that a deck with 40 cards works for you? I usually keep my deck as small as possible to maximise the chance of me getting my Harpy / Vran / Nekker combo along with useful golds and silvers.

As I said before, I happen to have more game with bad draws due to the increased number of cards - but then again, I enjoy the thrill of improvising a strategy out of a draw more than the perfection of a formula. So while I win less than I like, I quite enjoy myself.

Another upside is that you have more than strategy you can follow - the "Arachas-Phobia"-Deck may be a bad example - and if you have cards that are played from the deck when you play just one (e.g. Arachas or Blue Mountain Commandos) or cards that allow you to access your deck regardless of the draw (e.g. White Hunt Navigators) it is quite versitile.

If I was highly competitive, I would see that I strink a deck down to the essentials too. But right now this is for the fun of.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline karajorma

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Fair enough, I tend to use my monsters deck to win me my first 6 rounds each day. After that, I experiment. I'm currently playing around with a elf mulligan deck the rest of the time.
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Offline karajorma

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For those who think that Gwent isn't an amusing game, this is the deck I'm experimenting with now. The idea came about when I got sick of having my Harpy eggs killed with weather. I realised that by putting a cow on the board and then maybe boosting it with potions (Or better yet, Bekker's mirror) I could spawn a constant array of chorts to eat AND beat my opponents in the most humiliating manner possible. I've only played one game so far and only just lost the 3rd round by about 10 points (despite pulling no gold cards until the 3rd round and having Ge'els as my only card in that round).

If you've got any idea for how to make things funnier/better I'm all ears.

[attachment stolen by Russian hackers]
« Last Edit: June 29, 2017, 09:27:12 am by karajorma »
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Offline karajorma

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Oh man, I'm having so much fun with this deck, I think I may have actually stumbled onto something really good in an effort to troll.

I next came up against a Nilfgaard resilience deck. As you can see the players strategy was to boost his resilient cards past the point where I could do anything nasty in the next round and hope to take the second round as well as the first. He went into the 2nd round having won the first with only one card left. He then boosted the Imperia Brigand up to 46 points somehow on his first move. Sure I had card advantage but he knew he had another resilience card. My first move was to play the harpy, not an impressive move at all. He then made the brigand resilient again meaning that I'd need to somehow come up with 76 points this round and 46 the next. Which seemed like a good idea until played Bekker's mirror boosted an egg up to 48 points. He forfeited before I managed to send in a Vran Warrior to eat the egg as a final insult.

I'm 10 more games in now and apart from the first time I played the deck, only been beaten twice. Although three of those were from people looking at 5 chorts looking back at them and then ragequiting.

[attachment stolen by Russian hackers]
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