If you’re wondering what the best Gwent decks are we’re here to help guide you, offering advice on which faction may suit you best. Of course, it’s important not to put all of your eggs in one basket, so you should think about building a couple of strong decks – this is the only way to ensure the cards aren’t stacked against you. Or, you could let the cards fall as they may.
If you’re after similar content, you might like our Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links decks, Clash Royale decks, Legends of Runeterra decks, and Hearthstone decks guides. We also have a list of what we consider to be the best mobile card games if you want to experience other great titles in the genre. Alternatively, if the luck of the draw isn’t on your side, and you want to try something else, our lists of the best iPhone games and best Android games are full of great recommendations.
Without further ado, the best Gwent decks for each faction.
Nilfgaardian deck
If you’re a fan of The Witcher, you likely know that Nilfgaard controls the Continent’s Southern region, under the command of Emperor Emhyr. In Gwent, it’s crucial to consider diplomacy and subterfuge when creating a Nilfgaardian deck, as this is where its strengths are. Ultimately, you want to disrupt the flow of combat for the opposition, put a stop to their strategies, and make them bow.
Recommended cards:
- Mage Assassin x2
- Tactical Decision
- Magic Lamp
- Sunset Wanderers
- Royal Decree
- Affan Hillergrand
- Roderick of Dun Tynne
- Dimeritium Bomb x2
- Spotter x2
- Viper Witcher Mentor x2
- Madoc
- Vilgefortz: Renegade
- Letho: Kingslayer
- Lydia van Bredevoort
- Rience
- Kolgrim
- Assassination
- Blightmaker
Northern Realms deck
Unsurprisingly, the Northern Realms deck is composed of troops from all across the region. As such, you can expect to see cards that feature people from Temeria, Redenia, and other Northern countries. Because of this, there are some seriously powerful cards in this deck, one of which is John Natalis.
So, which cards should you aim to have in your Northern Realms deck? Well, we suggest the following:
- Geralt of Rivia
- King Radovid V
- Tactical Advantage
- Anna Strenger
- Shieldwall
- Queen Adalia
- Damned Sorceress x2
- Griffin Watcher Adept x2
- Megascope
- Immortals
- Geralt: Quen
- Kaedweni Cavalry
- John Natalis
- Donmir of Troy
- Cintrian Artificer
Monster deck
The leader of this deck is Eredin, who happens to be the leader of the Wild Hunt. So, yeah, he’s not one to trifle with. The monster deck is, unsurprisingly, full of despicable creatures that are capable of anything. In the end, it’s all about power when putting a hand together for this faction, and yes, that means being prepared to have your troops devour their kin in order to gain more power.
Recommended cards:
- Force of Nature
- She Who Knows
- Whispess
- Brewess
- Weavess
- Selfeater x2
- Witch Apprentice x2
- Hideous Feast
- Red Haze
- Rat Catcheress
- Yaga
- Miruna
- Lesser Witch x2
- Wild Hunt Hound x2
- Wild hunt Brusier x2
- Ge’els
- Nithral
- Eredin
Syndicate deck
This faction is unique to Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, making no appearance in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s centred on the criminal underworld of Novigrad, which, if you’re familiar with the mainline series, should give you an idea of which cards to expect here. For one, Djikstra is part of this faction, as are the other members of the big four – Whoreson Junior, Cleaver, and the King of Beggars.
You can make one mean deck with this faction, one that will have the opposition running for the hills. Make no mistake. You can build a range of formidable decks under the Syndicate banner. However, the below is one that we suggest, and it focuses on the use of coin.
Recommended cards:
- Lined Pockets
- Payday x2
- Bloody Good Fun x2
- Whoreson’s Freak Show
- Philippa Eilhart
- Cleaver
- Whoreseon Junior
- Harald Gord
- Azar Javed
- Tax Collector x2
- Shakedown x2
- Oneiromancy
- Pickpocket
- Korathi Heatwave
- Novigradian Justice
- Halfling Safecracker x2
- Sea Jackal x2
Skellige deck
The Skellige deck wasn’t initially part of Wild Hunt. However, it came as part of the Blood and Wine expansion, cementing its place in the spin-off mobile Gwent game. If you’re unfamiliar with the region, they love to fight. It’s a location all about honour. As such, it should come as no surprise that you have the option to create some truly aggressive decks in this faction.
With this style of play, it’s likely your deck will sustain casualties. Fortunately, those from Skellige live for the fight, gaining power from wounds, and even death.
Recommended cards:
- Cerys: Fearless
- Coral
- Mask of Uroboros
- Olaf
- Cerys an Craite
- Ursine Ritual
- Morkvarg
- Hermit x2
- Tuirseach Veteran x2
- Armoured Drakkar x2
- Sigrdrifa’s Rite
- Hym
- Svalblod Priest x2
- Birna Bran
- Bekker’s Dark Mirror
- Artis
- Freya’s Blessing x2
- Blueboy Lugos
- Vildkaarl
Scotia’Tael
This faction is composed of non-humans, such as elves, dwarves, and dryad. From these species, you can probably figure out that this deck is full of combatants that excel at versatility, with most proving to not only be agile, but masters when it comes to traps, ambushes and support.
There are many valuable cards to use in this faction, and we have a few suggestions on which ones you should consider.
Recommended cards:
- Precision Strike
- Oneiromancy
- Frost Protector
- The Mushy Truffle
- Brokilon Sentinel x2
- Red Haze
- Mahakam Marauder
- Dimeritium Bomb
- Northern Wind
- Bountiful Harvest x2
- Simlas Finn Aep Dabairr
- Allgod
- Saber-Tooth Tiger
- Eldain
- Serpent Trap
- Avallac’h: Sage
- Incernerating Trap x2
Gwent neutral cards
Neutral cards can be integrated into pretty much any deck you choose, and while there are plenty of these available, we’ve named a few that you might want to consider squeezing into your collection.
We have no doubt that the below recommendations come as no surprise, especially since a few of them are main characters of the franchise. We have legendary witchers, sorceresses, traps, allies, and spells.
Recommended cards:
- Geralt of Rivia
- Yennefer of Vennegberg
- Triss Merigold
- Ciri
- Merigold’s Hailstorm
- Dudu
- Eskel
- Vesemir
- Scorch
- The Last Wish
- Dandelion
There you have it, our suggestions for some Gwent decks. If you’re after more action on the Continent, you should give The Witcher: Monster Slayer a try. It’s a location-based mobile that sees you slay some beasts. We even have The Witcher: Monster Slayer fake GPS and The Witcher: Monster Slayer friends guides to help you get started.
