Gwent is most enjoyable to people who had not yet played it or grew familiar with current meta. Why? Because playing against the same few decks grows old quickly. Everyone who has played for more than a day learns easily to predict opponents' decks due to persistent net-decking and obvious synergies one would do well to capitalise on. There are many positives to Gwent: affordable cards, quality art and animations, the Witcher universe, or ample rewarding systems to progress through. But are these good enough incentives to play in spite of repetition? As of the end of 2023, "active" development for Gwent is at its end. The game is considered finished, which means there will be no more new cards. As a result, the player base is shrinking to the most devoted of players—those are supposed to control the balance of existing cards via collective voting. Yet true to the ways of mob justice, some cards have already been reduced to unplayability. And now, in March 2024, the Balance Council has been monopolised by the Russian speaking community, with some “Nik_r” and “Metallic Danny” at the helm (see Gwent Discord server or r/Gwent). Members of this community post the agreed-upon changes on Reddit as if it was an update from the developers—a done thing; all the while discouraging anyone from voting individually, warning of its pointlessness. Then agitators are sent to English speaking spaces where they foist whatever the Balts and Slavs had devised. These persuasive efforts begin with appeals to reason and end with threats that the Chinese, if unencountered, will push through even more absurd nerfs and buffs. The future of Gwent has become a political power game—and a rigged one at that.
