Introduction
After the Gwentfinity announcement, the amount of Gwent: The Witcher Card Game content obviously decreased. While deck guides, gameplay footage and streams are still there, players who would like to take first step into Gwent, or return after a long break may struggle to find dedicated content.
Indeed, if we type ‘Gwent Beginner’s Guide’ into Google, most references wouldn’t only lead to stuff dated at least 2 years ago, but often also very misguiding, referring to Gwent Beta or early Homecoming times, when the game was essentially different.
Therefore I present to you this guide to Gwent Factions and Crafting, dated December 2024 and written by experienced player. It would be more of a survey than an ultimate guide, so if you are interested for example in how to manage daily quests or how to most effectively gain resources, you’d sadly have to find other sources.
Is It Worth It To Play Gwent In 2024?
As you probably know, from October 2023 Gwent is no longer actively developed – so called ‘Gwentfinity’ state. It means that no new cards are released and the effects of existing ones are not changed. So is Gwent a dead game, doomed to decease? I would say that ‘Definite Version’ is more proper:
- There are ~1200 cards/abilities in Gwent: The Witcher Card Game and way more than 200 playable archetypes which you can use to climb through the ranks. Still new possibilites are discovered!
- Each month meta shifts are done by +/- Power and Provision changes (10 changes of a kind, 40 in total) via public voting => Balance Council.
- Gwent is very generous when it comes to the economy – you don’t need to invest money to smoothly climb to pro rank (proven that you play well enough)! For example Danirai climbed from scratch to Pro Rank with +91 -0 score while not spending a dime; other experienced players regularly ended at 5 losses and below.
- Gwent’s artistic design is uniquely detailed, mature and beautiful amongst card games, especially when it comes to card arts. There are also 8 thematic Journeys and other cosmetics, which you still can buy!
First Steps And Starter Decks
After the first tutorial games you would be asked to pick a faction for a bit more of training practice.
When you finish this part you gain access to all Gwent starter decks: Monsters (MO), Nilfgaard (NG), Northern Realms (NR), Scoia’tael (ST), Skellige (SK) and Syndicate (SY).
Unlike some other card games where starter decks are decently constructed, but don’t include expensive cards, Gwent starter decks are both very underpowered and inconcise in different places, because they weren’t updated with card reworks. For example Monsters starter deck includes Old Speartip: Asleep but not Old Speartip himself, Nilfgaard plays Ducal Guards who used to be simple Assimilate engine, but now are mismatched with Double Cross leader ability and so on.
Starter decks don’t make full use of available provision. They are starting point for your deckbuilding and creativity and you should learn the cards and start to think how to improve the list as soon as possible.
It is generally advisable to concentrate on one faction as a beginner when it comes to the choice of kegs / rewards.
Faction Choice
First and foremost: Gwent factions are balanced well enough that no faction is a trap and none is clearly better than others. Every choice is correct, for every faction you should be able to build up a good enough deck soon.
Also factions don’t have very strong gameplan identities – there are multiple mechanics and archetypes for each one of them – you wouldn’t be tied to a particular playstyle you don’t like. That being said, some builds are more popular on ladder than the other and you may like to know about those. If other players like to pick and play many games with them, it may be no different for you!
In the overview of Gwent factions below I’d present a very short, general characteristic of the faction from the gameplay perspective and then follow with three exemplary popular archetypes (there are many, many more; if the one which interests you wouldn’t be mentioned here it doesn’t mean being inferior in any way).
Gwent Factions Survey
Monsters (MO)
In general Monsters are the faction which interacts the least with the opponent’s cards and concentrates more on developing points on their own board (there are exceptions of course). This aspect makes Monsters probably the most successful faction for beginners.
Classical archetypes (choice):
White Frost Devotion Wild Hunt – strong and thematic archetype which focuses on developing value from Frost payoff cards. Easy to play wrong with success at low ranks, hard to really understand and master. If you’d like to learn more, check out deckbuilding guide for Devotion Frost from Gwent Deck Anatomy cycle.
Deathwish – value comes from consuming units with Deathwish effect, like Succubi or Dettlaff: Higher Vampire. The most canonical Deathwish variant includes control tools to compensate for the pure pointslam character of the archetype.
Vampires – archetype focused on developing value from impacting bleed on opponent’s units. While non-Devotion variants based on cards like Golden Nekker or Renfri are regarded as strongest, Devotion Vampires are also often played for aesthetic value and are favorite amongst many beginners.
Nilfgaard (NG)
Nilfgaard is capable of deep interaction with the opponent’s board, deck and graveyard. In some archetypes you would even direct your opponent’s resources against them! Least repeatable game scenarios, the charm of being an evil genius or just watching your opponent’s strategy dismantled is what make Nilfgaard the most popular faction amongst Gwent players, even when not successful!
Assimilate – a class of decks which copy, spawn and in general make use of the cards from the opponent’s deck, usually triggering the payoff ‘Assimilate’ keyword on units like Artorius Vigo, Braathens or Artaud Terranova at the same time. Double Cross and Enslave are the main leader abilities of choice to host Assimilate. Check out Enslave 6 guide on leriohub to learn more.
Aristocrats – a class of decks making use of cards impacting Statuses, usually feeding Thirsty Dames, which can reach absurdly high value. Aristocrats are probably the strongest Nilfgaard deck and the main tournament pick of late 2024. Deck is not easy to play fully optimally especially as a beginner – resource management and the use of the order of powerful location Ard Feainn are the main things to learn.
Renfri Triss – a class of decks with different leader abilities which try to contain opponent’s threats on board (Locks, Tall Punishment…) and win with points from the Triss: Meteor Shower finisher. Not exactly a thematic archetype, but quite popular. Generally more relaxing and easier to play than most Nilfgaard builds, but also lower point ceiling. Example deck.
Northern Realms (NR)
Northern Realms are a faction of engines, combos and internal synergies. NR would favour players who think prophylactically, playing around the opponent’s control tools and having a clear plan right from the start of the game.
Stockpile Siege – Machines damage opponent units, giving both points value and board control.
Knights – Knights with Grace keyword and powerful Damsel in Distress scenario are a solid and unique Northern Realms archetype
NR Witchers – As of Nov 2024, Northern Realms are the best host for Witchers themed archetypes (followed by Skellige). NR Witchers are a calm archetype, relying on an aerial buff. In the featured list consider swapping Lady + Oneiro for Decree + high-end Witcher (Geralt, Geralt: Professional…) if you feel lacking control.
Scoia’tael (ST)
Scoia’tael uniqueness are rich on-board tactics – movement, poison, damage, traps or Schirrú as a win condition. The range of Scoia’tael archetypes though is wide – from almost solitaire (Dwarves, Harmony), to strongly interacting (Milva: Sharpshooter Schirrú, Traps).
Harmony – Harmony is triggered whenever a non-neutral unit with category not present on the board is played. It is a calm archetype, mixing engine and pointslam value. Example deck (more popular version under Guerilla Tactics and including Schirrú).
Symbiosis – relies on playing Symbiosis units to get extra value from Nature cards. It is possible to play Devotion Symbiosis with thematic evolving card Eithne and Freixenet or Non-Devotion with extra control tools and Tempest which triggers Symbiosis three times. Not outstanding ceiling, but good point slam archetype which invites active Round 2 play.
Dwarves – Dwarves have two main aspects which can be mixed to some extent: Armor (Dennis Cranmer, Mahakam Marauders) and Swarm Payoff (Brouver Hoog, Munro Bruys, Barclay Els, Mahakam Guard). Calm, thematic archetype, not very strong but perfectly playable. Example deck.
Skellige (SK)
Skellige in general is characterized by rich damage (also self-damage!) possibilities and own graveyard use. SK is an honest faction, with damage as the main way of interference with the opponent’s gameplan.
Warriors – the most popular SK archetype for many years so far, mixing pointslam and efficient damage control of low power opposing threats. Check out the deckbuliding guide from the Deck Anatomy cycle.
Pirates – played with Onslaught leader ability. Less points than Warriors, but armored. Pirates excel at damage control and are a tough cookie for many opponents. Pirate decks often like to thin a lot naturally not only because of the possibility of playing Magic Compass, but because crucial cards need to be present in hand to claim Armor value. Example deck (not strong in Dec 2024, but thematic).
Alchemy – unique archetype in Skellige, focused on developing value from 4-cost bronze Crow Clan Preacher with Alchemy cards. Example deck. A cross between Alchemy and (non-beast oriented) Rain could be a source of spectacular combos with cards like Bride of the Sea or Fucusya.
Syndicate (SY)
Syndicate is the youngest Gwent faction, released in the Novigrad expansion in 2019. It has a unique Coin mechanic, which requires planning your moves ahead to make sure enough coins are available for specific duties. Syndicate is commonly viewed as the hardest faction to play and requires more gameplay practice than other factions. The reward is flexibility – Syndicate reached highest fMMR scores in Masters 5 and was used for flawless 91-0 run to Pro Ladder by Danirai.
Pirate’s Cove Gangs – complete Gang categories on the board to unleash huge value from payoff cards: Collusion, Sigi: Mastermind, Pulling The Strings, Little Bird. Poison is used as a source of extra control (especially against tall units), which is missing otherwise. 8-cost slot is the most flexible – crafting Bart has the lowest priority.
Vice – played with Lined Pockets or Off The Books leader ability, Vice aims at making full use of Open, Sesame! coin carryover and ‘infinite ceiling’ golden card: Acherontia. Example deck.
Bounty – could be played in a thematic, full provision variants (example), or with Golden Nekker, which is regarded as stronger (example), but has less flavor.
Short Crafting Guide - Best Cards To Craft In Gwent 2024
Two Types Of Cards Especially Worth Crafting
Most Gwent decks consist of:
- ‘sources of points’ which are usually powerful, unique and thematic to a given archetype; take as an example Eithne in Devotion Nature’s Gift or Brouver Hoog in Dwarves from the decks mentioned in the Factions Survey. Cards of this kind are essential for the deck to be competitive.
- supporting cards, which are generally good and useful and could be included in many decks, but wouldn’t offer cutting edge power by themselves
If you invest Scraps in ‘sources of points’ with narrow use, then you lose the flexibility to switch into another archetype. It is important then to not invest Scaps in too many scattered sources, but rather make them work together. For a demo, as a beginner player in the early Gwent Homecoming I was attracted by various fun and meme ideas, flashy cards with strong effects. When I reached the pro rank I started to regret it – I didn’t have enough resources to craft competitive decks.
List Of The Best Versatility Gwent Cards
Sources Of Points (Win-Condition Cards)
Some ‘sources of points’ are not that specific and support various archetypes or could be used in many decks, for example:
Monsters | Morvudd
Nilfgaard | Battle Stations!
Northern Realms | Temple Of Melitele
Scoia’tael | Simlas
Skellige | Fucusya, Tyr
Syndicate | Novigrad, King Of Beggars
Neutral | Golden Nekker, Renfri
Supporting Cards
Examples of support cards:
Monsters | Lord Riptide, Toad Prince, Fiend
Nilfgaard | Ramon Tyrconell, Lydia van Bredevoort, Vilgefortz, Yennefer: Invocation, Alba Armored Cavalry
Northern Realms | King Radovid, Radovid: Judgement, Amphibious Assault, Margarita Laux-Antille, Siege Masters
Scoia’tael | Mahakam Pass, Backup Plan
Skellige | Kaer Trolde, Freya’s Blessing, Brokvar Warrior
Syndicate | Jacques: Miracle Child, Whoreson Junior, Moreelse, Conjurer’s Candle, Vivaldi Bank
Neutral | Oneiromancy, Runemage, Korathi Heatwave, Mushy Truffle, Eskel: Pathfinder, Geralt of Rivia, Royal Decree, Roach, Knickers, Dorregaray of Vole, Vial of Forbidden Knowledge, Squirrel
That’s the list for December 2024. Note that some of those are necessary to make certain archetypes work (e.g. King Radovid in Stockpile Siege).
Card Functions And Replacements
As you can see, Geralt Of Rivia – a starter card – is listed amongst Supporting Cards. He obeys an important function – limits the opponent’s greed when it comes to going tall with the unit’s power.
In Round 3 the only turn in which a tall unit cannot be punished with Geralt is the last turn after the opponent passed (last say). Often both sides would be supposed to fight for a win in R1 – the player who won R1 without going 2 cards down would have the last say in R3 and be free to punish the opponent’s tall finisher with Geralt and/or sneak own one through.
Geralt’s value looks amazing when a 9+ power target is found, but the floor is very low whenever the opponent is able to play around. The more cards similar to Geralt are run in the deck (Leo Bonhart, Eyck of Denesle…) the more of them would play for sub-par value.
Therefore, avoid doubling cards with a similar function. If you have Geralt, then there is no reason to spend Scraps for example on Leo Bonhart, because the upside is very small. If you already crafted Korathi Heatwave, don’t hurry for Yennefer’s Invocation or Vilgefortz unless necessary. If drafted Cyprian Wiley, don’t hurry for Toad Prince and so on.
Have Fun!
The key to complete a full collection of Gwent cards is… having fun! Nothing else would keep you long enough in the game. Listed cards and showcased decks are only a guidance – the decision on what to craft and play is up to you. Of course, most often you wouldn’t be able to predict how cards would really play out and if Aglais or Tugo The Elder would be cool in the long term. The only thing I can say is that classical, well-balanced decks tend to prevail in the long term amongst the majority of Gwent ladder. Being able to get a fair fight in every game brings more joy than ‘answer or lose’ scenarios or surprise value.
Final Word And Further Reading
I hope this short survey provided you with a pill of useful information. Don’t hesitate to experiment and take your own path! Nothing feels better than winning with your own homebrew decks at limited resources, spontaneously making cards found in kegs work together.
If you’d like to go a step further and look in-depth into Gwent leader abilities, check out Gwent Leader Abilities Guide series on leriohub.
If you’d like to learn more about deckbuilding in general, check out Gwent Pro Tutorial guides on leriohub. The most essential and beginner friendly article to start with is 6 Key Features Of A Good Gwent Deck.
If you’d like to have a point of reference when testing a new archetype, check out MetallicDanny’s sheet (tab “list of all decks”). It is written in the Russian language, but there is no better constantly updated collection of archetypes.
Good luck, have fun and see you on Pro Ladder one day maybe!