I played Wild Hunt Devo exclusively in 10.10 with a reasonable 60% winrate to pro rank and I wanted to share my thoughts on the deck and on specific cards. The list I used is included at the bottom of the post for reference with a general deck guide included.
Overall the archetype performs well. Wild Hunt still prefers red coin abuse but doesn't struggle as much with proactivity now thanks to the new cards, Aen Elle Aristocrats in particular.
Devotion is still a requirement to play the full archetype which means you can be bullied by meme strats or certain greed strategies. I tried non Devo but it was a nonstarter due to throwing away half the Wild Hunt cards. The nature of your leader + the latest change to Wrath means that you have the potential to delete 1 card, but beyond that you're relying on pure value.
Dominance is still an awkward keyword because the cards that allow you to maintain it require it to begin with, such as Eredin, WH Warrior, WH Navigator. Tir na Lia helps a bit but not by much. Certain decks or cards like NG Buff or Sove can make achieving Dominance for that round pretty much impossible.
Frost itself is actually fairly strong but application remains awkward, although less than before due to Tir na Lia – serving a similar role as Giant Toads in Deathwish which allows carryover and same-turn application, but is draw dependent. Additionally SK Self-Wound and NG Spotters in particular completely cockblock Frost with not much you can do about it.
Card Comments
Caranthir: Golden Child: Conditional card that can reliably reach 15-21 native points for 8 provisions since your opponent can't stop you moving their cards around. Almost worthless against uninteractive decks but not a problem specific to WH. Interestingly this card will include damage done to armour, despite the tooltip specifying "damage done", which in my mind conflicts with some SK cards definition of 'damaged'.
Winter Queen: Surprisingly high perceived threat level of this card on ladder. Often being sank by damage and locks when the primary value is from the thinning. Really strong at winning on even on red obviously if isn't answered. Despite that I think the ability should be buffed to a non-Zeal Order that boosts an ally instead of herself to help maintain Dominance a bit more easily.
Auberon: Still somewhat the sick man of the evolving cards, as R3 Eithne immediately turns off Dominance for R3 Auberon. I mostly used him as a way to pull all my Riders in R3. Still best high provision option for WH, but I hope they buff his utility.
Unused Card Comments:
Ard Gaeth: Until there is a way WH can benefit from Frost being on an open board or a card similar to Rioghan, this card will always be awkward. It should be reworked into a high prov card for WH since those are lacking right now. For example:
11 prov: Echo. Boost a Wild Hunt unit in your hand or deck by 4, then play a Wild Hunt unit from your deck. If the unit was boosted, Spawn Frost on the opposite enemy row for turns equal to half the boost on the unit, then reset the power of the unit.
Ancient Foglet: Should be reworked into something else instead of being a weird stat stick for spamming Frost.
Aen Elle Slave Trader: Good on paper but weak in practice. Another bronze competing for "turns of Frost" condition, turned off by minor damage or simply being killed outright, or target being purified/locked. The effect warrants 5 provisions but the reliability does not. It would be more playable if the lock was a traditional immediate lock and the 1-power reset was conditional. Might be controversial.
Naglfar: Too unreliable for provision cost. Maybe rework into an artifact or disloyal unit
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/gwent/comments/y1ygdg/my_thoughts_on_wild_hunt_after_piloting_it_to_pro/
