4Game

I would like to take a moment to appreciate and thank the CDPR balancing team for deciding that restoring old archetypes through balance changes is their goal this year and the work is underway, the results of which we are already beginning to see.

Everyone knows how narrow the meta was and how wider it is slowly becoming. The work is still in progress so I am excited to see what else we get!

Unfortunately I have to exclude Syndicate from what I mentioned above because that faction is still stuck in midrange land, and not for lack of trying because CDPR did indeed separately buff Tributes, Bounty/Witch hunters, and self-poison a little bit.

As for the others,

NG:
– Terranova/Braathens assimilate
-Enslave tactics,
– Enslave midrange (Shupe),
– Mill and Clog ( controversial in community)
– Hyperthin,
– Imprisonment illusionists
– Masq Ball with the new patch
– Emhyr Spies is now a bit better.

SK:
– Druids
– Pirates
– Self-Wound!
– Rain (when it works it works)
– Warriors (can still win matches)
– Reckless Flurry hypercontrol midrange( got me to pro this season

ST:
– Symbiosis Gord/Gezras or newly buffed Oak.
– Handbuff (from forgotten to semi-viable, yes last-say dependent but still)
– Alzur Orbs (different versions, with new francesca new ideas emerging)
– Dwarves are missing just a tiny bit more to be their own striking force
– Harmony buffs were here and there but the core cards still missing a buff (waters of brok)
– Madoc/Milva traps still a thing.
– Movement witchers may be like a tier4
– All-in Elves can still win the occasional match, just not consistently.

MO (CDPR promised they would be the focus of the next balance patch, so stay tuned):
– Kelly (many versions with sabbath, caldwell)
– Deathwish ( much better than before will always be challenging to balance consume/DW)
– Pure relicts ( can win pretty consistently even if Gerni or Selfeaters get answered, heavy engines deck)
– Arachas swarm is around a tier3, match-up dependent.
– Vampires feels way better to play than the pre-Regis era.
– lesser popular archetypes like frost and thrive koschey can still hold their own just as well as before, dunno why people play them less

As I got to writing those lists I realized that NR doesn't have that much variety even though it had been reworked multiple times,
– Siege is definitely a whole archetype now (used to be 1 or 2 wincons in a deck before)
– Mages Alumni definitely still a huge threat
– Shieldwall engines (Immortals, Keldar, Anna strenger, King Rognar as finisher)
– triple commandos I guess still can win idk
– NR witchers is still very good, just powercrept
* The problem with NR is lack of viable leaders outside of inspired zeal, this makes cards like duels and Raffard auto-include and the whole issue makes NR feel very monotone. CDPR please rework other leaders to bring it up to this level

Syndicate is the sad exception, as literally 100% of their decks have the same golds and pay-off cards, 95% of them play jackpot, and despite the firesworn support it takes a backseat to the faction's midrange fiesta.

Since I wrote a lot, I know there will be a lot to discuss and maybe disagree with, feel free to express your own opinions to the matter 🙂

TL;DR: thanks CDPR for beginning to reinvigorate old archetypes through patches, there is still lots of work to be done, but in many factions the results are starting to show.
NR lacks good leaders outside inspired zeal.
Syndicate has no archetypes, just one overpowered leader and a pile of auto-include golds at the moment.