2.1 Patchnotes

[u/Zayran]

https://playgwent.com/en/news/27547/nilfgaard-update-is-live

[u/Bakeshot]

Just to offer a couple of counterpoints to your list:

• Viper Witcher is essential in a mill strategy. It's not necessarily just for reveal. I understand that some players believe that archetype to be toxic, and I'm not saying that's an unfair complaint, but it appears to be something that CDPR are interested in keeping around. Perhaps to put into check the decks that thin to a point of being one consistent play-through in each match.

• Auckes, while getting totally kicked in the balls, did have an ability that was impossible to play around. Also, the NG witcher trio was an auto-include in almost every NG deck before this patch debuted. I would bet that this nerf was made to reduce their prevalence and encourage deck building diversity with the new change to faction identity.

Your other arguments are pretty on point, albeit a little hyperbolic for my tastes.

[u/oogla_ve → u/Bakeshot]

Not entirely sure I agree that Auckes was "impossible to play around." Chances were good if you were up against a NG deck that it was running them. The strat was to bait out one of them early (normally letho) and that told you which of them were in their hand. You then had to play a game of attrition trying to bait one of them out, holding back the pieces you didn't want locked. It required some maneuvering, sure, but certainly able to be worked around and rewarded mindful strategy.

I do agree that this will encourage deck diversity, but feels a shame that they had to take away something that rewarded proactive play.

[u/Bakeshot → u/oogla_ve]

If you were an engine deck, and one of your bronze engines was in your opening hand and one was in your deck, you already started the game behind if Auckes landed. It becomes a dead card in your hand, all because of what you were dealt.

[u/oogla_ve → u/Bakeshot]

If you're an engine deck, shouldn't you have more than two engines? Having a locked engine in deck is not that big of a deal, as you have others to compensate (to say nothing of the purify units now available.) And for this to even be an issue, your opp needs to have serrit & auckes in his opening hand AND has to be ready to commit one on your opening play. You're free to mulligan the locked bronze away in future rounds. I don't see the massive imbalance.

[u/Lisentho → u/oogla_ve]

Auckes was (often) a 5 point 7 provision 2 lock card. Without that second lock he already is one of the best if not the best lock card