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Master Gwent with these essential tips
Climb The Witcher Card Game's competitive ladder with our help.
As soon as Geralt was introduced to Gwent during The Witcher 3’s prologue at White Orchard, we knew our quest to find Ciri would be delayed by hundreds of hours.
CD Projekt RED’s addictive card minigame had us slaying bloodthirsty beasts, running various errands, and hunting down missing frying pans all so that we could scramble enough gold crowns to build the best Gwent decks. It was only a matter of time until this addictive pastime became a standalone game.
Of course, Gwent: The Witcher Card Gameis both bigger, better, and more complex than ever before, so you’ll need to be on your toes if you wish to climb the game’s competitive ladder.
To help you get the most out of Gwent, we’ve put together a top tips guide that will aid you in your card collecting quest.
1. Focus on learning a single faction
Northern Realms Faction
© CD Projekt RED
There are plenty of factions to master in Gwent and picking which one to play can be a little tricky, especially when you’re a new player. Currently, there are Monsters, Northern Realms, Scoia’tael, Skellige and Nilfgaard to choose from. Each faction has a different playstyle and unique card combos that have various advantages and weaknesses on the battlefield.
For example, Nilfgaard relies on both subterfuge and deception to cripple enemy strategies, while Northern Realms achieves victory by reinforcing their troops’ strength and barrages enemy units with deadly siege weapons. Of course, certain cards and decks often standout due to their overall power and ease of accessibility, but with a little knowledge, you can counter even the hardiest of foes.
Every deck in Gwent is comprised from a minimum of 25 cards, so give each faction a go and see which one fits your playstyle. By both playing and researching what each faction and card does, you’ll be ready to counter and exploit existing strategies.
Picking a faction and building cards tailored towards boosting its strengths is also a fantastic way for new players to avoid breaking the bank. Acquiring cards in Gwent can take a lot of time and money, as you either have to spend valuable scraps to craft specific cards, or be prepared to drop some real-world money if you wish to purchase the game’s card kegs.
As you can imagine, trying to buy every bronze, silver, gold, and neutral card is a pretty big undertaking, so it’s best to simply upgrade one the five starter decks, swapping out the existing cards as you play. It may be very tempting to mill the remaining four factions for scraps, but you should try to avoid doing this.
After all, the Gwent meta constantly shifts with every new update and by having only one faction to play, you could potentially be leaving yourself high and dry, especially if your current cards happen to receive a slight tweak or dreaded nerf.
2. Craft the best neutral cards
Golden Froth
© CD Projekt RED
Unlike the faction specific gold, bronze and silver cards, neutral cards can be played in any deck. These highly versatile cards offer excellent opportunities to round out any deck with powerful tempo plays and can greatly improve your overall strength.
For example, neutrals like Golden Froth, Germain Piquant and the three base Witcher cards (Vesemir, Lambert and Eskel) work wonders in any faction, especially early on when you don’t have access to a lot of top tier cards. Gold Froth boosts all units on a single row by two points, instantly buffing the three Witcher cards and making Germain Piquant’s deploy ability even more valuable. Meanwhile, cards like Muzzle, Geralt: Igni and Dimeritium Shackles can destroy and lock down even the most troublesome cards.
Of course, if you have a faction that you enjoy playing, then consider adding the key gold cards to your deck once you have enough scraps.
3. General strategies and tips
Strategies to succeed in Gwent
© CD Projekt RED
Knowledge is key in any competitive card game and knowing when and where to make a big play comes with practice. However, the most important strategy for winning in Gwent is ensuring you have a healthy pool of cards to choose from.
Many new players often go all out in the first round, often playing nearly all the cards in their hand before eventually passing. While this can be an effective way to force your opponent to burn their own gold and silver cards, it can leave you without the big tempo play you need to close out the game in the final round. As a result, it’s almost always best to use as few cards as possible. This is even incentivised by the new Tactical Advantage card which is given to those that start the first round. Tactical Advantage boosts an allied unit by five and then banishes itself to the graveyard, making big value plays easier than ever before.
For example, neutral gold cards like Vesemir, Lambert and Eskel can be played in any faction and give you a very strong starting hand when combined with Tactical Advantage. The Witcher trio instantly boosts your strength, as if you have all three in your deck, playing any one of them will instantly pull the other two onto the battlefield. In just one move you can access a powerful 17 strength lead that you can either pass on or strengthen further. Of course, you won’t always have the luxury of being able to play strong opening cards, but try to filter your deck at the start to ensure you have the best possible start.
At its heart, Gwent is a game about trickery and deception. If you can read your opponent’s moves, then you can usually plan ahead and counter big plays well before they happen. Obviously, this level of knowledge can only be obtained by playing and learning from your in-game experiences. However, you can win rounds very early on by simply losing on purpose. This may seem like a counterintuitive strategy, but it works wonders when you’re trying to get a read on your opponent’s motives. To do this, start with a few high-value cards and gradually ramp up the pressure until you force your foe into revealing their best units.
Once you have forced them to play their best cards simply pass the round. Just remember to always stagger your card strength to avoid cards like Scorch or Geralt: Igni from wiping out your entire row.
