Gwent: The Witcher - The Strategy Card Game

The board card game Gwent is a one-on-one competitive game based on the Geralt of Rivia series. Originally a mini-game from the adventures of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Gwent quickly gained popularity among gamers from all over the world thanks to its dynamic gameplay, entertaining mechanics, and, of course, colorful design. Ultimately, the developers from CD Projekt RED, known for their attentive attitude to the wishes of players, decided to turn a small extra-story entertainment into a full-fledged project why you should buy Gwent The Witcher Card Game – in a detailed review from the Igrorai online store.

Board card game Gwent – The history of entertainment and the main features of the new format

Where it all began

The first mention of Gwent can be found in the book “Baptism of Fire” by Andrzej Sapkowski: the original source says that this is a card game, very popular among lowlifes and dwarves. The author did not provide a detailed description, but the words that Zoltan Chivay, Percival Schuttenbach, and the rest of the squad members spent literally every free minute playing Gwent make it clear: the game was very, very exciting.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, players are introduced to Gwent through CD Projekt Red’s vision. The mechanics, at first glance, seem extremely simple: Geralt, the main character of the series, at the start has a basic deck, which he replenishes in one of the first quests with a legendary card that has clear advantages over the others. The next task is to fight with the rest of the Neverland players in order to get all the other legendary cards into the collection. In addition, cards of individual factions, which differed in their abilities and characteristics, became available for purchase from merchants or as rewards for completing quests.

The gameplay itself is not complicated: there is a lined field with three sectors for each participant, where cards of combat vehicles, magicians, and melee or ranged fighters are located, as well as cards of bonuses and enhancements. After all the cards are laid out, scoring begins, and the player whose cards beat the opponent’s layout in terms of damage wins the round (of which there are only three). Despite the simplicity of the gameplay, the matches themselves sometimes evoke serious emotions – just remember the “High Stakes” quest, in which Geralt had to play several rounds in a row with the strongest players in Novigrad.

How it continued

Having become an independent project, Gwent received several new mechanics and a number of features that diversified the gameplay compared to the version from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Firstly, leader abilities have appeared, which become available once per battle and change depending on which faction cards the game deck is made up of. The game decks themselves have also undergone significant changes: the fighters’ skills and improvements have become more diverse, and the cards themselves have become much larger compared to the original RPG. In addition, in addition to the classic match, various competitive modes have become available to players around the world: ranked, draft (with a random set of cards), and seasonal, the conditions of which change once a week and are completely redesigned with the release of a new patch.

The main advantage of Gwent is the low barrier to entry: to start the game it is not at all necessary to have experience in similar projects or knowledge of the world of the original series of games about the Witcher. All rules and mechanics are explained in tutorial matches, which can be revisited at any time if necessary, after which the player is given a starting deck. You can replenish your set of cards by fighting with other players, as well as completing seasonal tasks, the list of which is updated regularly. Therefore, if there were doubts about buying Gwent due to the lack of cards from the early seasons, then worries are in vain: the game provides new recruits with a full range of opportunities to catch up with the experience and strength of the deck.

Gwent in the world of eSports

It is noteworthy that the first Gwent competitions were held on May 13, 2017 – that is, more than a year before the official release of the game. The event was called Gwent Challenger, and four professional eSports players and the same number of beta testers were invited to participate in it. A few months later, on August 22, 2017, CDPR announced its own series of tournaments called Gwent Masters, which includes qualifications of different levels of difficulty and prestige.

Also popular among Gwent players are Russian Claymore tournaments, which are not official competitions from the developers, but are held with their partner support. Well, don’t forget about local amateur matches, which are held on a regular basis as part of various gaming festivals or fan communities – both online and offline.

How Gwent became available in real life

Since its release on October 23, 2018, Gwent has won the hearts of players around the world and has not lost its popularity for several years now – so it was only a matter of time before decks appeared for matches outside the Internet. The first amateur decks appeared even before the release of DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and today full-fledged high-quality sets for offline battles have become available. These kits include base decks (with the Nilfgard, Skelige, Northern Realms, Scoiathael, and Beasts factions), a stylized game board, a stylized scoring table, and player tokens. In addition, it is possible to buy additional decks: a set is currently available for sale, including cards from the Novigrad, Toussaint, and Ophir regions.

All the mechanics and tactics presented in the game from CD Projekt Red are available here – and the high quality of the materials used to make the decks, chips, and field will allow you to conduct dozens of battles with your friends.

How to play Gwent: General rules

Gwent is a cardboard game designed for two people. The game consists of three rounds, the winner of each of them is determined by calculating the total strength of the units played. The one who wins two out of three rounds is declared the final winner of the game.

Preparing for the game

Before starting the game, each participant needs to prepare a battle deck. The deck includes:

1 Leader card
From 22 squad cards or more
Up to 10 skill cards
tokens

Note: The number of unit cards, unlike special skill cards, is not limited, so the player can add almost any number of units to the deck. However, it is important to remember that this significantly reduces the chance of getting a strong card during the round.

Preparing for battle

The fabric field has seven rows. The three closest to each player are used to place unit cards depending on their siege, ranged, or melee type, which is marked on the map with the corresponding icon. The middle row is used to display weather maps.

Factions

The game has several factions, each of which belongs to a game region or race. Each of them has a different set of units and skills, which can be further enhanced by the skills of other cards of the same faction. In addition, each faction has its own personal game bonus:

Monsters: At the end of the round, the player shuffles the played unit cards, after which he draws a random card, which remains on the battlefield and participates in the next round.
Nilfgaard: In case of a tie during scoring, the victory is awarded to the player with the deck of that faction.
Northern Kingdoms: After winning a round, allows the player to draw an additional card from the deck.
Scoia’tael: Allows the player to choose who makes the first move in the round.

Leader Cards

Depending on the selected faction, the player becomes available the corresponding Leader card, which has a unique skill and has a corresponding icon with a pattern, which is located at the top left side. Leader skills can be active (that is, requiring use during the game) or passive (that is, triggering automatically when certain conditions are met). Before the game starts, the Leader card is placed to the left of the battlefield.

Accounting of played rounds

Players mark the results of past rounds using special tokens that are placed under the Leader card. If a player loses, he removes one token, and the one who lost both tokens is declared the loser.

Unit Cards

Unit cards are one of the combat units of the deck, responsible for the damage inflicted on the enemy deck on the battlefield. There are two types of such cards available in the game: regular and hero cards that are not affected by the skills of other cards. It is easy to distinguish a hero card from the rest: they have an icon with curly rays in the colors of the faction.

Each squad card, regardless of its type, contains:

The meaning of strength. Represents the damage of the card and is taken into account when calculating points at the end of each round.
Position icon. Indicates the possibility of placing a card in a particular row on the playing field.
Card skill. The ability of a unit to influence other cards, which is used when placed on the battlefield.
Faction coat of arms. Demonstrates the unit’s race or region.
Name and cards and a brief description of the squad.

Unit Card Skills:

Double: By playing this card, the player gets the opportunity to look through his deck and place all units with the same name or type of army on the field.
Spy: placed on the opponent’s battlefield and allows you to draw two additional cards from the deck, while the unit’s strength is added to the opponent’s final score.
Agility: allows you to change the unit’s attack type and move it to another row.
Medic: Resurrects a unit from the clearout, allowing it to be replaced in the appropriate row. The Medic cannot revive a hero or allow a skill card to be replayed.
Strong Link: When placed next to a unit of the same name on the battlefield, it doubles the strength of both units.
Surge of Strength: increases the strength indicator of all units in a row by 1, with the exception of herself.

Cards with special skills.

They do not have their own power, but are able to influence other played cards or units:

Commander’s horn. Placed in the same row as combat units, doubles the power value of all cards that are located in that row. For each row, only one one-time reinforcement of this type is allowed.
Execution. When activated, it destroys the strongest squad among those deployed, after which it goes into retreat. The selection of a unit for destruction occurs solely based on the strength value and does not depend on who the unit belongs to – the player who played the card or his opponent. If there are several units on the battlefield with an equally high strength level, all units with this value are destroyed.
Scarecrow. Allows you to replace any unit card (except for heroes and cards with special or weather skills) on the battlefield and return the card with it to the player’s hand. The power of the Scarecrow card is zero.

Weather maps.

A card of this type allows you to reduce the strength of all unit cards in a row to a value of 1. When a card is played, it is placed face down on the battlefield and can only be used in the corresponding row:

Frost: a number of melee units;
Mist: a number of long-range units;
Downpour: a number of siege units.

The Clear Sky card removes all negative effects imposed by weather cards and is retired along with the canceled weather card.

Beginning of the game

If one of the players has a deck belonging to the Scoia’tael faction, he chooses the turn order and the first attacking player. Otherwise, players flip a coin. In case there is no coin, the player with the shortest name goes first.

Players then shuffle their decks and draw ten random cards. Before the game starts, both players can discard up to two cards and replace them with the same number of new ones.

The selected cards become the very army with which you need to beat the enemy – so it is important to play them wisely: a player who does not have a single unit or skill card left during the round is automatically recognized as having passed.

Conducting rounds

After all the preparations have been made and the game decks have been formed for the game, the players begin their moves. To do this, they alternately play unit and skill cards, placing them on the battlefield.

If one player decides that he no longer wants to lay out any more cards in a given round, he can pass – but the opponent will be able to continue turns until he decides to pass.

Note: If the description of a card or skill does not match the meaning of the rules in this guide, then players must act in accordance with the description given on the card itself.

Account management

Players have score tokens with the symbol of the game faction at their disposal, as well as a scorecard with digital marks in the middle. To the right and left of them there are two columns for each player: the first means tens, and the second – ones. When changing the unit strength value, you must place a score token with the faction symbol facing up in the appropriate cell. When 100 points are reached, the icon flips over and the tens and ones marking continues as before.

Scoring

The round ends in one of three cases:

If both players run out of cards;
If both players pass;
If one player runs out of cards and the second player passes.

To calculate points, you need to sum up the strength of the unit cards played during the round and placed on the playing field. The player who scores fewer points removes one token from under the leader’s card. If the sums of points coincide, a draw is declared – unless the skill of the Leader’s card provides for a different outcome. All cards played during the round are discarded, and the winner opens a new round. The good thing about the Gwent card game is that you can buy one set and use it for completely different formats. For example, if classic matches get boring at some point, you can always play a series of games with a random selection of cards, like a draft: this will be a great way to take a fresh look at the available decks and diversify the gameplay.

Another drink?

Getting to know new games very often raises concerns that you need to master a large number of unfamiliar rules and compete with those who have more experience – and already at this stage many refuse to discover a hitherto unknown project. However, CD Projekt RED managed to create a game in which tactical skills are more important, which, together with a bit of cunning and a bit of luck, will allow you to win round after round even with a basic deck. Buying the board game Gwent will be an excellent solution for those who were looking for a simple but very exciting entertainment in the company of friends for long winter evenings – so it’s time to go to the catalog of the Igrorai online store and order a set for playing Gwent!

Detailed descriptions of cards, skills, and effects

Despite the huge variety of available cards with their skills and features, in practice this division is quickly mastered, allowing you to use cards with maximum efficiency.

Faction Leader:

The commander card has one ultimate skill that is either activated by the player or triggered when certain conditions are met. In classic games, the leader is chosen based on which units predominate in the deck, that is, a leader from the Skellige region cannot be placed as commander over Scoia’tael units.

Unit or squad:

This category includes ordinary soldiers or siege engines, which are located on the battlefield depending on the type of attack. Each card has its own attack and defense power, which are added to the army’s main indicator. In addition, a number of cards have auxiliary skills that have a positive effect on the player’s army, or a negative effect on enemy units:

Medic: heals the selected unit from the discard deck and returns it to the battlefield;
Spy: when played, it is placed on the opponent’s field and sums up with the strength of the opponent’s army, while giving the player the opportunity to take two new units from his deck;
Strong connection: applies a boost to already played cards that have the icon of this effect;
Double: when placed on the field, place two similar units on either side of itself;
A surge of strength: adds one point of strength to units located in the selected row. This effect does not apply to the card itself when played;
Agility: when played, allows you to place a squad in both the ranged and melee rows;
Calling of an Avenger: the destroyed squad is sent to retreat, and a new one of similar strength is laid out in its place;
Mardrem: Turns summoned berserkers into bears. While this effect is in effect, all berserkers placed on the battlefield also turn into beasts.

Heroes:

Legendary cards that exist in the deck in a single copy and have increased attack rates. They are immune to weather cards and control effects.

Neutral units:

Cards of units and heroes that do not belong to any faction Can be placed in any region deck.

Special skill and weather cards:

Cards from this category are not units or heroes, but can radically change the balance of power on the battlefield by applying special effects:

Commander’s Horn: allows you to double the attack rate of all cards in the selected row;
Scarecrow: replaces the selected unit on the battlefield. When replaced, the unit replaced with Scarecrow returns to your hand and can be replayed Cannot be applied to hero cards;
Execution: Destroys the card with the highest power rating among those played on the battlefield. If there are two or more such cards, all are destroyed. The effect applies to both players;
Rain: reduces the attack of units in a row with the opponent’s siege units to one;
Mist: reduces the attack of units in a row with the opponent’s ranged units to one;
Frost: reduces the attack of units in a row with the opponent’s melee units to one;
Storm from Skellige: reduces the strength of both ranged and siege enemy units to one.
Clear Skies: Cancels negative weather effects.

Features of each faction in the game Gwent

As mentioned above, in the full version of the Gwent board game, which can be purchased in the Igrorai online store, maps of five regions are available (and not the four presented in the base edition): “Nilfgaard”, “Skellig”, “Northern Kingdoms”, “Scoiatael” and “Monster”. Let’s take a closer look at the features of each of them.

Nilfgaard

Leader: Emhyr var Emreis.

Leader skill: if the game ends in a draw, the victory is awarded to Nilfgaard.
Advantages of the region: a large number of spy cards, with which you can not only get additional cards into your hand but also view enemy units that have not yet been played.

Skellige

Leader: Krah an Krayt.

Leader skill: At the start of the third round returns two cards from the discard to the battlefield.

Regional Benefits: Units receive additional boosts when damaging an enemy. In addition, it is possible to resurrect fallen allies – more often than decks from other regions.

Kingdoms of the North

Leader: Foltest Temersky.

Leader Perk: After winning a round, a player can take an additional unit into his hand.

Advantages of the region: a large number of cards with enhancements that increase the defensive properties of the army on the battlefield.

Scoiathaeli

Leader: Francesca Findabair.

Leader Skill: At the start of the round, gives the owner of the deck the opportunity to choose who will go first.

Advantages of the region: the overwhelming number of unit cards have reinforcing synergies, allowing you to multiply the power of the army with each turn.

Monsters

Leader: Commander of the Wild Hunt.

Leader Skill: Allows you to save one unit at the end of the round and place it on the field again in the next round.

Region Advantages: Most units are immune to weather conditions. In addition, most units have the “Double” ability and allows you to summon several units at once in one turn.

With the release of the add-ons, three more factions became available: Toussaint, Novigrad, and Ophir. Along with them, both new leaders and new units have been added, thereby making it possible to increase the starting decks by more than two hundred cards. Each of the new regions has its own strengths and powerful skills, which allows you to significantly expand the list of game tactics for defeating your opponent.

Gameplay of Gwent from The Witcher: answers to basic questions

Even the most detailed rules of the game cannot account for all the nuances that can arise on the battlefield – especially when it comes to the variability available within the board game of Gwent. Therefore, in this article, the Igrorai online store has prepared a small cheat sheet that will help resolve common controversial issues.

How is the turn order determined?

If one of the players has a Scoia’tael deck, he determines the turn order. In all other cases, players throw a coin, choosing in advance the side of heads or tails: whichever value the coin lands on top, he goes first.

What to do in case of a draw?

A draw is declared when, after scoring, the players have the same number of points (attack units). If one of the players has the Nilfgaard faction as the basis of their deck, and Emhyr var Emreis is the leader, then victory is awarded to him. Otherwise, both players remove one victory/defeat token located next to the commander cards. If one of the players has this token as the last of the three, then he is considered a loser, but if the players still have tokens left, then a new round begins.

What to do if a situation arises that is not described in the Gwent rules?

The board card game Gwent was created so that friends can have a good time – therefore the rules are quite flexible and provide for the possibility of independently resolving situations between players. In order to avoid heightened passions, you can appoint a judge who will not take part in the game, but will monitor compliance with the basic rules, and will also be responsible for counting points and resolving issues that arise.

How to win a game of Gwent?

Try to place a sufficient number of units on each of the rows of the battlefield: if the opponent plays the weather card, there will be enough powerful units left on other lines of attack;
Don’t try to play all your strong cards at once, even if the advantage seems undeniable. Be sure to keep some strong cards for later rounds;
Before activating weather cards or effects, be sure to ensure that they will not affect your units. This is especially true for the “Execution” card, because of which, due to inattention, you can lose your strongest unit;
Consider the characteristics of the enemy faction and keep cards ready that will allow you to give a worthy rebuff to a large number of low-level units (for Monsters) or cards with a high level of protection (for the Northern Kingdoms), and also avoid a draw as much as possible if you are playing against Nilfgaard.

Even if it seems that the advantage is on the enemy’s side, you should not give up: remember that the board game Gwent is not only about luck but also about proven tactics, as well as knowledge of the strengths of your deck.