And what is so special about it, you say?

This card has a new non-primary category for Gwent - naiad. At the moment it doesn't provide any benefits. But who knows, maybe it has something to do with other cards of the new expansion?

So, who are the naiads actually?

Naiads (mermaids) are one of the species of nymphs that live in rivers, lakes and ponds. Naiads are exclusively female as are dryads. It is safe to say that naiads kidnap human girls for further conversion. But… In fact they prefer more traditional methods of population reproduction. In many ways this explains the historically developed love of fishing among men.

By the way true fans of the Witcher universe have already met a naiad during the quest "Habit is a second nature" in The Witcher.

Well, let's try to find the strengths of this card. Let's compare with the similar 5-provision card Duen Canell Guardian.

1) Duen has fixed damage for 2 from an order which can't be called control. While Naiad can setup her damage. And it isn't necessary to have units with symbiosis on the battlefield to get a Wandering Treant with good power - you can simply buff Wandering Treant with other cards (Tempering or Dryad's Caress for example).

But if the power of the Wandering Treant exceeds the power of the target, we'll lose points. In this sense guessing in advance may not be easy. Also, if the opponent destroys Wandering Treant, Naiad will not play as a control card. Ideally Naiad can destroy the enemy engine by playing on 5+1=6, which is not bad.

Actually "symbiosis" decks on devotion (the most popular version) have very little control at 4 or more. These are 2 Nature's Rebuke cards and the ability to replay one of them through the Forest Protector (but more often we play the Forest Protector in Bountiful Harvest). In rare versions we can see The Great Oak. And perhaps, that's all. Therefore additional control from the Naiad looks very appropriate. By the way Nature's Rebuke helps us to buff the Wandering Treant.

It is worth noting that opponents will have to spend control not only in our engines, but also in Wandering Treants to save their own engines.

2) Duen is more vulnerable (finding control on 4 is often quite easy). While the Naiad can infuse "symbiosis” to a less vulnerable (with greater power) unit. This could be a unit played from the Call of the Forest or Isengrim's Council. You can also take a Magic Lamp in your deck for this purpose. In this sense Naiad seems better in a long round. Veilis Duen'sonly advantage.

3) Of course Duen looks more preferable in the version of the decks with Saskia: Commander (not the most popular version). Because Naiad's abilities only work when she's deployed.

This concludes the analysis of the Naiad Pondkeeper card because i've not found any non-standard interactions with other cards yet. I repeat, there is a chance that additional features of this card will open up for us when we see the remaining three Scoia'tael cards revealed.

Let's summarize the preliminary results:

Where can we use the card? It's logical to use in decks with symbiosis.

Is it worth taking Naiad into the deck at all? It looks good as a filler at the moment. Can play in a long round.

Who is better to take - Duen or Naiad? Duen is better in the version of the decks with Saskia: Commander.In all other cases i would choose Naiad.

What is the strongest side of the card? Variability (the ability to play according to the situation either as a control or as an engine).

What is the card's weakest point? In a short round it can play for 5 points.

How balanced does the card look? The card doesn't look super strong (Nauzicaa Sergeant takes the opportunity to say «Hello» to everyone). Can play both for 5 points in a short round and for 10+ in a long one. On average it should play for 7-9 points (or play for 6 points plus control) which is now quite balanced for a 5-provision card.

Will “symbiosis” come back into the meta reports? Haven't seen the other cards of the new expansion yet. Naiad has no chances by oneself.

How well did the artist do? The art is good like all the art of the latest expansions. Many thanks to the artist!

Thanks for your attention, friends! Looking forward to the rest of the reveals.

Have a great season everyone and enjoy Gwent!