Yesterday’s official Gwent stream brought with it a host of new information about the upcoming positioning patch (but no ETA), showcasing how the new mechanic will work with existing cards, and revealing a whole bunch of balance changes. You can view the list of changes here.

Being able to choose where you place your units, and having it define the interaction with positioning-focused cards, is set to add a significant new dynamic to Gwent and fundamentally change the game as we know it.

While we cannot know for sure how heavily the game will be impacted by this mechanic’s introduction until the patch goes live, it is a forgone conclusion that decks focusing on ‘row stacking’ — that is, building up a ton of strength on one row with buffing cards — will no longer be competitive. Cards that are essential in Swim’s Dorfs deck and to some extent Lifecoach’s Skellige deck will be severely nerfed: Hawker Healer and Clan Heymaey Skald will only buff adjacent units, capping their overall strength at 10, Mahakam Defender will stay on the board for one more round like other resilient units, and Commander’s Horn will buff a maximum of 5 adjacent targets, capping its strength at 20. Put simply, these decks will no longer be able to pump out the kind of power that has taken them to the top tiers of the current meta.

“Oh my!”

Speaking in broad terms, how else can we expect the meta to change? With row buffing out of the equation, it appears the meta will shift in favour of control-oriented decks. This is backed up by the second most significant change coming in the positioning patch: locking. Following the revelation that locked cards will remain locked in the graveyard, I predict that Cleaver (whose strength will be increased to 7) and Dimeritium Shackles, which now locks a non-Gold unit, will be auto-includes in any control deck. They will just be too valuable not to include, as they will counter Morkvarg and Roach, both of whom are staples in Skellige decks, and they will also be able to unlock cards on your side.

Some additional high-priority targets for locking are Villentretenmerth, Kambi and possibly Ciri after being Dimeritium Bombed. Players will be desperate for an an ‘answer’ to these high-pressure cards, now that Gold cards can’t be targeted by Triss Merigold, Iorveth, Vernon Roche or Radovid. As such we should expect to see a lot more of these three indirectly buffed cards, even though they are already very strong; a dubious side effect of what I consider to be some dubious nerfs.

Spot the difference

Those aren’t the only balance changes I have reservations with. Radovid’s new ability seems to be grossly underpowered; it is weaker than Cleaver, dealing a measly 4 damage to a non-gold unit and locking it. This makes no sense if we compare him to Eredin, who provides an 11 strength body with weather immunity to boot. Keeping in mind that silver cards are designed to provide an average of 10 strength, the average strength of a leader ability should be slightly more than a silver, which Radovid’s clearly isn’t.

I also dislike the change to Wild Boar of the Sea, which had an interesting ability that could have been buffed in some way, but instead it was replaced with some boring damage dealing. Then there is the change to Draug which introduces an RNG element (deal 1 strength to a random non-Gold enemy 7 times), something I am averse to as an ex-Hearthstone player. Hopefully we won’t be seeing more of this in the future.

On a more positive note, I am pleased with most of the other balance changes. Nearly all of the cards I listed as overpowered or borderline one month ago in my previous post will be getting nerfs, however negligible, although in the case of Cahir and Rot Tosser it’s hard to say if they were actually nerfed because they will still be very strong after the changes, in my opinion. The cards I listed that won’t be getting changes, but worryingly are getting indirect buffs are Kambi and Madman Lugos, which I feel may be an oversight by the developers.

The new game board looks cleaner while showing more information

Emissary got its RNG element reduced which I am happy about, but the buff to Impera Brigade seems unnecessary and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets nerfed somewhere down the line. The changes that most impressed me are the new look Philippa Eilhart and Dijkstra; two previously overlooked cards that have been given useful and fair abilities, which are also consistent with their faction’s identity (deck thinning and gold power). I’m actually looking forward to trying them out (Keira Metz not so much…)

All in all, it’s hard to say whether the positioning patch will be good or bad for the game. But barring a few small exceptions, Gwent’s next major development looks promising.

Predictions

As a little bonus I will make some predictions for the meta after the patch. Manticore Venom and Thunderbolt Potion will be the new go-to spells (we don’t know what will happen to Lacerate yet), guaranteeing 12 points as long as there are 3 targets on a row; I expect control decks to rise to the top, most likely Scoia’tael and Nilfgaard, as well as Monsters weather. I think Jan Calveit spy and Kambi decks will be Tier 1 or 2, but Skellige will suffer in general due to so many of its important cards getting nerfed. Consume Monsters will still be viable but nowhere near as meta-defining as it is now.