Gwent has been updated recently and with it bringing more than 100 cards. There are some changes to the User Interface and also alterations to older cards. There’s a lot of controversy over the update with some liking them while others disapprove it. Today though, we will not talk about the controversies or the User Interface changes, but instead I am going through new cards of each faction that I am excited about. Let’s get on with it!
NEUTRAL
AGUARA
Choose Two: Boost the Lowest ally by 5; Boost a random unit in your hand by 5; Deal 5 damage to the Highest enemy; Charm a random enemy Elf with 5 power or less.
Aguara is an interesting card that will almost be 15 power play (the exception being charming an Elf with less than 5 power). I am excited about it because the card being flexible offers something different than most Gold cards. If you need something removed, Aguara can remove it and also boost something on your side of the board. There are times charming an Elf can be useful but it most likely require some damaging to be done to bring it down to 5 or less with the power creep the update provides. At worst, it can boost a unit on board and in your hand by 5 which in itself is great.
HONORABLE MENTION: SHUPE’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE
If your starting deck has no duplicates, send Shupe on an adventure.
Shupe’s Bizarre Adventure is a very bizarre card indeed as it requires singleton in your deck to be able to work. Although the adventure that Shupe will be going is random and the abilities it spawn will be random, most of them are powerful. For instance, Mage Shupe lets you draw a card although being loyal, or Knight Shupe that is a 25 power Strength unit. Some may see the singleton cost as detrimental, but for me it is a challenge, and it’s a challenge I will take once I craft this card.
VANDERGRIFT
Deal 1 damage to all enemies. If a unit is destroyed, apply Ragh Nar Roog to its row.
Vandergrif is cool. Vandergrif is hot. Vandergrif is hard to pull off, but when it does pull off, it’s flashy and it’s powerful. Trying to line up 1 Strength units will be hard but the Henselt machine deck should be able to do it. The effect is good enough to deal damage to swarm decks and bring a huge tempo. It does feel bad when your opponent Clear Skies and boost all those damaged units.
XAVIER MORAN
Boost this unit by the starting power of the last different Dwarf you played.
Dwarfs have been receiving the short stick since a few patches ago with nerfs and little cards added to help the archetype. With this patch they introduced Xavier Moran and also Paulie which pushes the Dwarf archetype a little bit to the top. Maybe resilient Dwarfs won’t be as it used to be but maybe other Dwarf decks can be viable. With Dwarven Agitators and Dwarven Skirmisher, a High tempo can be made in the third round.
WEAVESS: INCANTATION
Choose One: Strengthen allied Relicts by 2, wherever they are; or Play a Bronze or Silver Relict from your deck and Strengthen it by 2.
Weavess: Incantation enables a new archetype for Monsters which is playing big Relict. The triple Crones Silver cards get boosted with Weavess: Incantation and can provide a 32 Point swing when you resurrect Weavess: Incantation with Renew. Not only that, the bronze card Fiend becomes a 15 point card which synergises really well with Ghouls. The setup with Weavess: Incantation will be a slow tempo which can cause a quick first round pass but it can prove to be a great boon for Round 3.
ULFHEDINN
Deal 1 damage to all enemies. If the enemies were damaged, deal 2 damage instead.
Like the Dwarf archetype, the Clan Axeman decks was also left behind by the patches nerfs and power creep of other cards. With the new Leader Eist which can spawn a Clan Axeman, the new Silver card Derran and Ulfhedinn which hits the opponent’s whole board, the Axemen may be able to come back. This is the first card I am going to craft and try out in the Axeman deck.
SHILARD
Truce: Draw a card from both decks. Keep one and give the other to your opponent.
Shilard is a weird card that supports the Mill archetype but the cards for Mill has been nerfed and almost removed. Shilard will be a challenge to build around and play, but being able to give a low Strength Bronze card to your opponent while stealing their Gold card unit is enticing. This will be a great card when it hits and a sad card when it doesn’t. Still it will be fun to try out and try to have the best outcome from Shilard.
As I said, there are over 100 cards added to the game and there are other more powerful cards, but these are my choices as exciting and different cards that entices me as a deck builder.
