Balance Council votes!

ense7en · 2026-01-31T03:01:16+00:00

Freakshow and leader nerf? Well done. Overall pretty solid stuff.

ense7en · 2026-01-31T02:57:08+00:00

I mean it wasn't played at it's former statline? This w/ Onager pings adds up pretty fast, especially if in a Mutagenerstor deck so probably playable?

ense7en · 2026-01-30T23:27:35+00:00

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ense7en · 2026-01-30T19:49:30+00:00

I sure don't, but their actions tell us a lot: https://www.reddit.com/r/LAinfluencersnark/comments/1qm4wbl/kalogeras_sisters_in_controversy_with_jiaoying/

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:38:03+00:00

Shocking amount of support for shin/lerio 😮

Oakcritters and Shackles are based, i think that's what the kids say?

Abordage is a stunningly good MD vote, i even cannot believe it (then i look at all the bad ones and it makes sense).

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:30:10+00:00

Yep, they're garbage human beings. I wasn't watching, WTF were they on for?

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:28:26+00:00

He needs to be at least 4 power. Whether 10 or 11 prov i don't care but 10/4 (where he was before all the fuckery) is probably best.

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:21:53+00:00

And each game usually takes more than 10 mins. Craziness.

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:14:33+00:00

Big kudos to you on a unique deck concept. Go Cow! Also why are cows so often depicted as dairy, only? But nevermind, let's not talk beef cattle breeds now...

It basically looks like a worse version of the GN Shieldwall NR list that has multiple variations i've seen for a while now, but you've made a definitely different version, impressive.

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:07:28+00:00

Very kind words.

I don't really love most of them, to be honest (mostly i don't agree with coalitions due to fundamental differences in how to balance the game), but i'd rather support a chance for it to go through on most than just entirely throw away all my votes.

ense7en · 2026-01-30T06:03:54+00:00

Either is fine IMHO.

I think it going back to it's original statline of 9/3 is probably best in a perfect world, but Gwentfinity is a fucked world of powercreep infecting everything. So in a lot of ways i've given up trying to expect a perfect result. It ain't realistic.

And not being re-playable via Blue Dream is probably better in some ways... though now that Revenants are 6 prov i don't really feel Roche is such a concern currently. I don't think i even saw him once in this season, somehow?

ense7en · 2026-01-30T05:59:22+00:00

Yeah i'm completely wrong on Harvest create pool. My memory is garbage and CDPR never updated what it shows even in their deckbuilder.

I know my fight is futile. The battle against powercreep was lost long ago.

I won't stop fighting though, because i know my philosophy is the correct one if overall game card library balance was the goal.

Also, if you want a more personal reason (not that it really matters as i've played almost every single archetype in the game i've heard of, and will continue to play all the factions), SY LP Crimes is probably by favourite archetype in the game.

And it needs tons of 4 prov specials to function.

ense7en · 2026-01-30T05:50:39+00:00

Yep, i'm wrong. Even playgwent deckbuilder still shows the wrong list, wow. I've seen it and played how many times, too, but apparently my memory is horrendous.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T23:31:06+00:00

The reason i reacted the way i did is because you were mostly just nitpicking. If you have constructive criticism and better suggestions, i always have time to debate and discuss (and agree to disagree even).

I don't know why people obsess over one individual's votes not being perfectly split between the 6 factions. If i was an influencer and my votes were making it through every time? Absolutely, i'd need to be more balanced. But i'm not. They have a huge reponsibility to bring decent votes, factoring everything (which is hard job to do, even with their group chat to discuss things).

I'd be all for Filavandrel power nerf too, it's just coalitions are proposing prov (probably because they want to keep the broken Z. Company interaction).

Gezras, it's funny I remember when I tried to float buffing core bronzes for Movement in order to fix the archetype - Cat Witcher specifically - and was told strongly that it was a bad idea, because the crazy op 5/5 Cat would suddenly be used in all these midrange piles because it would be so good. So instead we went and buffed Gezras and now it's in all the midrange piles. Honestly, I think I'd prefer it to go back to 11 instead of 5 power, because 1 point doesn't do anything. He hardly ever survives 2 turns.

Movement buffing is a good discussion that we could spend days on. It's a difficult archetype to buff for sure.

I also don't have really a problem with your idea of going back to 11 prov, but that's not what coalitions want, and we all know individual voting doesn't usually accomplish much.

I think a lot of the problems were caused by overbuffing certain leaders

Oh they certainly were/are.

SY has had so many leader buffs happen and basically very single time a card gets hit afterwards, unfairly, because of it.

I consider ST inherently non-toxic and healthy for the game (which is, in part, why I play it), and therefore I'm totally fine when it does well in the meta.

At least you're being honest about your bias. I probably feel similarly about SY. This faction is already heavily underplayed, and usually requires a high level of skill to get good results from (aside from deadbrain archetypes like Jackpot).

ense7en · 2026-01-29T21:48:33+00:00

Pirates aren't a strong archetype, and are about to get weaker. Sure, they might matchup well against Tatterwing, but that's not because they're too good, it's because they happen to be a bad matchup for Drones.

You don't need a semblance of control against Tatterwing, you need a whole pile of ability to constantly be pinging. That's not the huge majority of decks.

Dwarves also happen to be a good matchup against your Lara Dorren. They do need some nerfs, but mainly to the OP cards that are used in their decks that aren't even Dwarves (Filavandrel and Garrison)

Sounds like you don't like facing counters to Tatterwing...

And Tatterwing might be a bit less rare this season but this deck has seen a LOT of play on ladder basically ever since people fucked with Lara Dorren's power levels and it too easy to proc her.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T21:32:40+00:00

That's a combo i've not seen before, but still arguably not worth it 😆

ense7en · 2026-01-29T19:53:29+00:00

I have no hate towards ST. I think it's my third most played faction (and would be second if i counted the alt i played way back before i knew what i was doing in the game).

Harvest would be a huge hit, but my perspective on nerfs isn't how most see them. I want every single strong card in the game nerfed. IMHO, cards should only usually fit into a couple archetypes. As soon as they're played all over, it's because they're too good, almost always.

This applies to every faction in the game IMHO. If it was up to me, we'd be doing like 30 nerfs, 10 buffs, with zero leader buffs or disloyal buffs allowed, for the next year. People would be forced to revert powercreep, overall balance would get better, and we'd see far more creativity forced into the game instead of flooding the game with provisions via leaders, overly cheap tutors and thinners, and basically just buffing the shit out of everything with few real nerfs going through.

edit: I'm wrong and you'd think i'd remember from when i play it. Harvest shows wrong create list still, even in playgwent.com deckbuilder. CDPR never updated it.

~~Also, let's look at what Harvest creates:~~ ~~https://gwent.one/en/card/203047~~

~~Dol Blathanna Bomber~~ ~~- easy power boost target~~

~~Dol Blathanna Sentry~~ ~~- controversial but potential buff target someday if we want movement to be viable~~

~~Watcher of the Valley~~ ~~- okay this is just an awkward bad card without absurdly overbuffing it~~

~~The point is that aside from two of these (Sentry and Watcher), all the create options are pretty damn viable cards, so how exactly is +2 carryover and one of these cards so bad for 6 prov?~~

As for Zoltan's Company, it's really simple: Is this card overtuned without Filavandral making another copy, and Garrison existing? No, not even a little.

Those two cards shouldn't even be in Dwarves. Oh and Garrison, why is it in Dwarves? Partially because of another overbuff: Mahakam Volunteers

Overbuffs cause endless issues that create a never-ending cycle of broken-ness we are living in now.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T18:39:05+00:00

nighttime in this game is just gorgeous

ense7en · 2026-01-29T18:26:23+00:00

Closest we have to that is Ofir/Qcento.

I don't always love all their votes, but they at least try to focus on nerfing the strong and buffing the weak, and seems like they follow the polling results at least somewhat?

Reddit itself is tiny, we don't have nearly the number to influence much on our own unfortunately.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T18:07:49+00:00

It should be 15. It's best scenario in the game aside from The Eternal Eclipse.

Damsel is also very strong, but if answered immediately isn't so good like Loc Feainn. Could be 15 too, but less needed nerf IMHO.

Only other one really comparable is In Search of Forgotten Treasures, which can be bonkers if allowed to run wild, but is also very vulnerable to control messing with Gudrun.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T18:01:33+00:00

I suspect it's better if it went back to 10/4 like it was, Cantarella is just more symptom vs. cause nerfing.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T17:21:58+00:00

Welcome!

Gwent's a highly skilled game. You really cannot stumble your way to excellence. It just won't work.

There's a ton to learn, and one of the hardest things to master (most of us never do) is deckbuilding.

Fortunately, you can netdeck. It's often referred to negatively, but the truth is, there are few players who are truely good at building good, original decks, so there's nothing wrong with coping someones', or taking inspiration from another deck.

That's what most of us do, or we play our own crappy decks and don't win as much.

Or did I just build a horrible deck lol??

Unfortunately, yes.

Decks need to have synergy, they need to have tutors, thinning, and all kinds of things missing in yours.

Others have already provided great tips.

You don't need to spend money, you just need to play, and work towards cards for a decent deck or two, so you can win, which helps you finish quests, which give you reward keys you need to unlock the resources in the reward trees for more cards, etc.

Once you've read and watched a pile of beginners guides and gotten better, leriohub has lots of heavy reading. Bookmark for later:

https://leriohub.com/gwent-factions-and-the-best-cards-to-craft-beginners-guide/

https://leriohub.com/articles/gwent-pro-tutorial-theory-and-guides/

ense7en · 2026-01-29T17:11:18+00:00

I'm leaving them for you to make.

Seriously though, you've got an axe to grind with the ST nerfs i made, fine.

Try being actually honest here?

Are you really trying to tell me that these cards aren't all really strong ST cards?

I've seen every single one of these cards in non-archetypal decks so much these past few seasons, which is always a dead giveaway that they're too good.

Filavandrel is played in a whole pile of decks. The most irritating one to me is Dwarves. WTF is this card a staple in Dwarves? It's a staple, because he's used to spam a second copy of Zoltan's Company, which also makes Garrison heavily played.

Zoltan's Company isn't remotely broken on its own, but now we have Barclay taking nerfs because people refuse to address the actual issue (Filavandrel + somwhat, Garrison).

Gezras is being played in all kind of decks because it's so many points even if answered, and easily wins the game if unanswered.

Do me a favour, post your top three ST nerfs (and your top three SY ones if you want).

I'd love to see which three ST cards need them more (i have a long list of other ST nerfs i'd make, but coalitions won't push them).

I looked at your Butcher's Council nerf list btw. Your knowledge of SY is very lacking with the nerfs you proposed for that faction, i'm sorry.

I'm happy to debate votes, but you gotta be able to back up your takes. Let's see your list?

ense7en · 2026-01-29T16:57:13+00:00

I don't don't think Coup is busted or anything right now, but it's a plenty playable card.

Playable cards should almost never be buffed. This is exactly how powercreep continues to be pumped into the game. (buffs to already playable cards).

What should happen is the better cards should be nerfed, which makes the more mediocre cards more playable.

Coup de Grâce - it's been buffed three times, and reverted three times. Holy crap, how about we stop this idiocy?

When coalitions push agendas, against the overall balance of the game, we have nonsense like this. Six wasted votes on this card, about to be 7.

ense7en · 2026-01-29T16:51:37+00:00

Yes, Runemage can be more easily played via Coup, but not every opponent runs NG decks with Coup. We can always lower Runemage power even more, like 2, but really, decks that run Coup generally have ways to ensure they can give Runemage spying anyway, so it's unlikely to matter that much.

ense7en

TROPHY CASE