#Gwent deck

[geraltgwynbleidd]

This is the POWER of the WITCHERS

[ladycibia]

Playing Gwent is my main mission whenever I do a Witcher 3 run-through. Poor Ciri, I will take myself to the Toussaint Gwent Tourament before I will even go see the Crones to advance her storyline. Also I would 100% play Gwent with chibi Geralt if I could. I play Northern Realms!

I remember getting so sad when I heard the "quest completed" sound effect and then read "Collect 'Em All"...nooooooo XDDDD also, as much as I love the game, I'm still disappointed that you can't play gwent with some major characters...

[bemp0]

Geralt warmup

[eredins-a-king-aint-he]

Sometimes, the game you’ve casually been invited to play isn’t actually Gwent…

Closeups and version w/o glitch below

[fllagellant]

Actually screamed so loudly pulling this card . Legendary card of a character I love and adore ???? Gwent app u spoil me

[jupiterjunebug]

Sososo obsessed w the fact that witcher is this dark and gritty medieval fantasy that also operates on fucking yu gi oh rules. Everyone plays the dominant card game and you can and will throw down at ANY time, including at the shitty minimum wage job where you barely make enough to eat. Npcs will be furious w me for something I did and then they cheer right up when I say "sooooo...gwent?"

Made even funnier by the fact that the cards are straight up The People Geralt Knows. It's like if fucking Exodia strolled into Walmart and challenged the cashier to battle, then played himself

[1spooky-dad]

Been playing Witcher 3 for the first time (wanting to see more eskel convinced me to get it) and i feel so Robbed that No one ever told me that the whole game is just Geralt being autistic and hyper focused on Gwent. Monsters in between him and the next merchant who plays cards? The fucker is dead before it can blink. Nothing can step between a man and his funny little card game and live to tell the tale

[kelemonopy]

One of my Decks got selected!

for the meme category in Lionhart's Deck Roulette Tournament

full list of meme decks

tourney link

if you want to play gwent I'd advise using my friend referal thingy we both get free stuff :)

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

thronebreaker is sooooo fun

[thedemonofcat]

It's fairly well-known that Geralt enjoys playing Gwent. Given the choice, the witcher would often prefer a round of cards over a fight.

However, what’s less known is that Geralt has a second deck—a collection he keeps entirely to himself and never uses. This deck holds Gwent cards representing the people he cares about: Yennefer, Ciri, and his fellow witchers.

When Jaskier, who isn’t particularly knowledgeable about Gwent, discovers this, he’s surprised to learn that Geralt has included his card in this special collection.

[shy-urban-hobbit]

Aiden stared at the ceiling of the wagon which doubled up as an infirmary - in the sense that it had a couple of chests of potions and rudimentary first aid supplies shoved in one corner - trying to ignore the throbbing in his leg. It was bad enough that he'd broken it misjudging the landing after he fell from the tightrope, he didn't want to add to the humiliation by looking like he couldn't handle a little pain.

He heard the rustle of cloth followed by an "Oi." And someone tapping on his splint with a booted foot, causing him to cry out and clutch at the damaged limb.

"Dickhead." He hissed at the interloper.

Sev merely grinned, unrepentant as he squatted down and held out a vial. Older than Aiden, he'd already been on the path a handful of years and was always the first to track him down and show off any new scars earned when they came back for the winter whilst Aiden filled him in on the gossip and any relevant changes to hierarchy around Dyn Marv with all the weight of a child imparting a great secret (which to be fair, a good portion of what he shared would make for excellent blackmail material. Loose tongues ran rampant under the security of home and drink and until you started on the Path, people had a habit of forgetting you actually existed outside of training or chores).

"At least now it's hurting enough you don't have to be a fucking martyr about doing something about it. Drink."

Aiden did so, wincing at the taste despite the healing draft being watered down to make it stretch further (and to not accidentally kill the newly Grassed until they had a better idea of their tolerance to Witcher potions). He had his doubts when the others told him he'd get used to it in time.

"While you're waiting for that to kick in. Fancy a couple of games?" Sev asked, pulling a gwent deck out from somewhere.

"I still don't know how to play."

Sev raised a blond eyebrow, "Fucking hell, how do you actually pass the time here? Aside from throwing yourself out of trees."

Aiden stuck his tongue out in response, "S'not like we get a chance to earn any cards when we ain't allowed to leave here."

"C'mon, I'll teach you now then." Sev said sitting cross-legged next to the bedroll and blankets Aiden was occupying and shuffling through the deck.

"Why?"

"You got anything better to do? Alright, so these are your basic cards."

They managed to get three games in - all of which Aiden lost soundly - before Sev got more or less dragged out to join everybody else for the night before they headed back out again the following morning.

"Here." He said, slipping Aiden a handful of cards "I got doubles of these and they do jack shit in most plays anyway so you're doing me a favour taking them. Get a headstart on your classmates before you head out."

Sev never came back that winter. Nor any of the following.

"Alright. How the fuck did you even manage that?" Lambert asked as he took in the cards on the rickety table in front of them, the top one was so worn it was getting difficult to discern the picture. That didn't stop it from winning its owner the game though.

"I told you. Lucky." Aiden smirked as he gathered up the cards before shuffling through them, plucking out the others which were just as worn and discoloured before handing their more pristine doubles back to Lambert, "Here. You can keep these ones."

Lambert's brow furrowed, "Why? They're in way better condition than the copies you have. Where'd you even get them anyway?"

Aiden placed them in their customary place on the top of his deck. All apart from the healer card, which he tucked into an inside breast pocket of his coat, "A friend."

[dapandapod]

How I would kiss you

Hello there! Remember this drabble? yes it's from 2022, yes it got finished in 2024! Formatting is a pain on tumblr and i'm tired, but here is soem of the good stuff, pulled out from the fic itself! :))) Read the entire thing on Ao3 here! Please enjoy!

After an hour or so, Jaskier gives up, and is in the middle of changing into his sleeping clothes when Geralt returns. He startles when the door opens, standing shirtless and feeling strangely vulnerable when Geralt locks eyes with him.

They stand there just for a beat too long, Jaskier with his arms still in the tunic he was taking off, Geralt's eyes dipping just the once to roam over his chest. Nothing he's not seen before but this feels different.

"Did you win?" he asks, Geralt finally stepping properly into the room and turning to his own bed and his own pack.

"Two out of three. That last woman had a mean deck."

Jaskier will not pretend to understand the language of Gwent, so he nods and rummages for his sleeping tunic. A soft, worn out thing, a tunic that once was light blue now so faded it looks a soft gray.

When his night time routine is done, Jaskier sits down on his bed and watches Geralt. It's almost tradition, waiting for the other to be properly done before tucking in.

It also gives Jaskier a wonderful view of that wonderful witcher body, dimples on his lower backs, muscles on his shoulders rippling under the skin as he slowly puts his sleep wear on. Very...slowly.

Geralt throws a look over his shoulder, catching Jaskier staring. Normally he would wink, but now all he does is blush and look away.

Fuck.

They talk a little about their traveling plans, about rumors of a nest of foglets two days away. As soon as their laundry is done, they will be on their way. Meaning, there will hopefully be a rare chance to sleep in, despite cruel witcher habits, and as soon as

Jaskier mentions it teasingly, Geralt gives him a fond smile.

This is not good.

They settle into their respective beds, Jaskier's heart aching in his chest. He lies staring up at the ceiling, an echo of yesterday, but without the tent and without the rain.

"You came back early today," Geralt says on the other side of the dark room. "Were they no good?"

Jaskier sucks on his lower lip. Now that Geralt has mentioned it, it’s even harder to stop, desperately wanting it to be Geralt sucking on it instead.

"Not bad. Just..... eager."

Neither says anything for a long moment, and Jaskier belatedly realizes something. Maybe Geralt was slow redressing on purpose. Maybe... maybe he isn't the only one thinking about this so much it hurts.

Before he can talk himself out of it, Jaskier does what he does best. He blurts out what's on his mind.

"I think you were right."

The darknes is quiet, somehow more quiet than before he opened his fucking idiot mouth.

"I'm always right," Geralt mutters, making Jaskier huff out a nervous laugh. "What about?"

Well.

Here we are.

"I think you have me figured out. I would want you to kiss me like that."

Not 'to be’ kissed like that. He wants Geralt to kiss him like that.

He can hear nothing but the hammering in his chest, the blood whooshing in his ear, and he realizes he is holding his breath.

"Told you so," Geralt says, and he really doesn't make this easy for Jaskier, does he?

Bastard.

".....Would you?" Jaskier says quietly, feeling every insecure inch of his heart bared.

There is another silence, and then there is movement on the other side, and Jaskier holds his breath again. Rustling of the blanket, footsteps so quiet, Jaskier is afraid he is imagining it. Then the bed dips as Geralt sits down.

Jaskier can't see much, just the dark outline against an even darker room, but Geralt surely can read the longing on his face, hear his strained breathing, his hoping heart.

"You want me to? Now?" Geralt whispers, and Jaskier nods eagerly.

Hot hands grab his, slowly guiding them upwards. The bed dips again, jostling Jaskier, and suddenly he is straddled, thighs on both sides of his, holding him in place.

"You sure?" Geralt whispers, leaning over him, fingers sliding over Jaskier's palm as he pins them over his head.

"Only if you want it too," Jaskier dares, sensing Geralt slowly leaning over him.

"I keep thinking about it," Geralt murmurs, his breath hitting Jaskier's face. "Just like this."

His grip tightens around Jaskier's wrists, thighs tensing as their weight shifts. Geralt is leaning over him on his elbow, holding him in place.

"Last chance, bard," Geralt warns him, and Jaskier full body shivers.

[adventures-in-a-world-of-fiction]

A thing I want in The Witcher 4: Gwent with a risk of losing cards. In The Witcher 3, I love Gwent, but the game is clearly biased in Geralt's favour because as a player, you're never at risk of losing cards. In the Witcher 3, if you win a game against an NPC for the first time, you get one of their cards, but if you lose, you still keep all of yours.

I think it would add an element of risk if you could lose cards. So when you play, if you lose, one of your cards from your played deck is randomly given to your opponent and they can potentially use it against you in future matches if its an appropriate faction.

If you've lost a common card (e.g. decoy, low level combat card, clear weather, etc.) then this makes the card available at other points, so you could buy another copy at a merchant or pick it up from defeating a different NPC gwent player. But if you've lost a rare hero card, your only option is to win it back by beating this particular NPC.

To keep it from being a spiral of doom where one loss leads to another, after you've lost a card to a particular NPC, if you lose again, you get the option to go "Could I give you X instead" where X is a random crafting material and the NPC will accept. This is fair because when you beat an NPC multiple times, you get random crafting materials instead of more cards.

It would add to the realism by not having the rules so clearly stacked in the player's favour, as well as adding an element of risk to the game that isn't really there in the current game.

Maybe this could be part of the difficult settings on the game if this doesn't appeal to everyone, but I think it would be fun.

[clairedelune-13]

I cannot wait to add to my ever-growing collection of chaotic husbands.

Stackin’ up like a Gwent deck 🤣

[faecatastrophe]

"I'm Ravenclaw" "I'm Gryfindor" SHUT UP, find a better universe. Tell me what's your witcher school or gwent deck. What's your vampire clan from WoD. Fuck even what Disco Elysium copotype are you. Anything but that shitty book please.

[stillness138]

Since there won't be any more expansions (and i'm a chronic procrastinator), i updated my personal top 10 Gwent card arts into a top 20, including the few sets that came since then and shuffling things around a bit.

It's a long one, hence the cut.

Personal top 20 Gwent card arts:

20: Bone Talisman by Bogna Gawrońska It's still the most festive looking thing i like. My beloved blue-and-bright red fidget spinner. I really can't explain my weird attachment to it any other way; i generally tend to like the item arts, maybe it's the collector brain, maybe it's because after Homecoming and most of the expansion sets since later 2019 onwards, these base set trinket adjacent arts became more prominent to me among a lot of new, more dramatic and bleak character and scenery art.

19: Ceremonial Dagger by Katarzyna Bekus The entire set of strategem arts from Merchants of Ofir is honestly packed, but the dagger is the one i found myself putting in my in-game profile the most. Maybe it's the item hoarder brain again, maybe it's the color scheme i find relatable if that makes sense, most likely it's the premium helping a bunch to make that choice too. The background weirdly fascinates me. Does it have anything to do with The Spiral? I have never attempted to really assign any logical meaning to the strategem arts, they're clearly more symbolic than anything, but it still makes you wonder.

18: Ard Gaeth by Katarzyna Bekus Somewhat related, here's another piece of wonky multiverse lore. And once again, it's the color that first grabs attention; the contrast of teal and this dusty red. Then one starts realizing the implied size and scope, the birds help with that, apart from being a cute composition detail. The shattery effect makes it look volatile, unstable, dangerous. Ominous. Which ultimately makes it fit with the rest of the Wild Hunt archetype in more than just lore.

17: Coup de Grâce by Lorenzo Mastroianni There are two wolves in me, one loves bright colors, the other actually enjoys a lot of the bleaker scenes. Although to be fair, Lorenzo Mastroianni is a big contributor to that. And it's no wonder, when he casually drops stuff like this. It's almost symbolic, lot less than strategems but certainly more than other, straightforward "war sucks" Gwent art. How do you visually represent something sad in a way that makes it hard to look away not just because of the tragedy but because of the beauty put into making that image? You ask Lorenzo Mastroianni, the modern classical artist, to do it.

16: Viper Witcher by Valeriy Vegera I once described Valeriy's art as "where Lorenzo uses a tight color palette, he uses every pencil in the case". This one is perhaps not as obvious an example, the whole piece has a very unified atmosphere especially from afar, but still, there are so many colors especially in textiles and skin. They're harder to register sometimes but it's how Valeriy does texture and shading. And somehow, he bridges the bleak and the colorful world too. Admittedly, this card also had to be here because mr. Viper is my son, and the voicelines are done by an actor with the nicest, smoothest bass i've heard since Peter Steele.

15: Naglfar's Crew by Anton Nazarenko I was surprised by how much i ended up liking this one. It's the implications, i think; enchanted to laboriously upkeep this monster of a ship, this 'and if you see it emerge from a breach in the sky, you know you're fucked' symbol of death and decay. It's dark in a way i find compelling, i guess.

14: Serpent Trap by Marta Dettlaff Back to the bright ones, i liked this art ever since i discovered it as Nature's Gift in post-Midwinter beta. The card saw play in Scoia'tael spell decks, and to me it became linked to Francesca Findabair for their shared spectral snake thing. But that all aside, the art is just so pretty. Vibrant, yet not oversaturated. And like the item arts, needed to balance out the cool and badass and the dramatic and tragic. Looking at it now, another point comes to mind; it's still grounded? The way Gwent art at large is grounded compared to other card games. Like it's not trying so hard (both this piece and the game's art in general). That's refreshing.

13: Chort by Bartłomiej Gaweł It reminds me of the first game's main menu. The Witcher 1 main menu is, to me, one of the most accurate representations of this universe, its atmosphere. Even if the "you kill cows, you get ambushed by the fucking baphomet" is a meme game mechanic, something about it is...witchery. Superstition, folk legends, and ultimately, monsters. Or that's my takeaway, anyway. But the Chort art, beside being on the more rare side in-game, has always weirdly drawn me in.

12. Oneiromancy by Lorenzo Mastroianni This was the Novigrad expansion key art before they turned it into a card, and i sure am glad they did. Lorenzo can get a bit weird, as a treat, someone said. Are they Condwiramurs and Corinne? Possibly! But i'll abstain from the schizo theories now. It's a gorgeous, well composed and executed surrealist piece. Inception if it had strong palpable atmosphere.

Denis Villeneuve > Christopher Nolan. but Lorenzo beats both

11: Funeral Boat by, you guessed it, Lorenzo Mastroianni One final yippee for the last card set. And my god it's beautiful. Tight composition can get surprisingly hard to coordinate and make decisions for, but this is so well-balanced. The left end of the boat is closer to the frame, but right side has the most noticeable color, the character's face, and of course the bird to even it out. As if to defend the title i gave him earlier, Lorenzo references Isle of the Dead in a way that, even if symbolic, fits into the universe perfectly. Someone stop me before i start rambling about similar concepts in different mythologies.

10: Dana Méadbh (now the token spawned by Call of Harmony) by Anna Podedworna The most famous Gwent artist enters the list. With a piece made around two, when you think about it very bold choices. The goddess of nature and life, glowing with inhuman light in a black and barren forest. Obscured by thin, bare tree trunks. But to make her emerge and stand out, that was necessary. And it's working wonders. A lot of the Scoia'tael faction is obviously green, all kinds of green, but even a simple choice like making it pop out of black makes the card art stand out among others.

9: Circle of Life by Oleksandr Kozachenko It has everything i usually look for in Gwent art; nature, color, atmosphere. A certain tranquility, perhaps. A little bit of story - the orange badge is the Kerack coat of arms. It's that environmental storytelling thing gamers keep talking about, complementing the character and faction drama of the rest of its card set.

There's a slightly changed, extended version, too, and somehow it's even better.

8: Gezras of Leyda by Bogdan Rezunenko As much as i tend to dunk on Bogdan for having played Blasphemous once and making it his entire personality, Gezras is easily the best school founder card art of the set. Once again, the choice to have these prominent arts on the more symbolic side paid off, and the result is a stalking nocturnal animal out for revenge, backed by a giant image of what simultaneously did him irrepairable harm and gave him the means to defend himself. The premium doesn't disappoint either.

7: Rioghan the Undying by Daniel Valaisis To nobody's surprise, the atmosphere, once again, got me hooked. I love the cold color, the dramatic flow, the big imposing silhouette of a ship in the background. Poor boy is the picture of misery. It's pure melancholy (something not that common in the Skellige faction by the way, which is a point in favor of Funeral Boat too), that i, of course, am inevitably drawn to.

he's just like me fr...

6: Witches' Sabbath by Michal Lisowski Did i craft this card already or not? The realist's complaint towards near-greyscale card art. I share this sentiment, if only for the comedy of it, but with a few notable exceptions, and this piece is the main one. The Robert Eggers comparisons were made already i'm sure, but it really is a take on the last good Witcher 3 quest with a dramatic, more dreamy, or you could say cinematic quality ramped up to 11. Gone is the fanservice present in the game and the unnecessarily grotesque depictions of fatness of other parts of this card set, and what remains is a beautiful, ominous callback to folklore and classical art.

5: Tinboy by Valeriy Vegera This is a baroque painting. The drama. Tinboy doesn't take that scarf off, ever. And here this poor soul is, their last will to live dragging it off him. On purpose? On accident? Probably both. The pattern marking Tinboy as a gang member staining with blood of a victim, something something symbolism. All in Valeriy's signature 'which pencil should i pick up next' style. Underrated piece.

4: Lara Dorren by Toni Muntean They finally got our girl. And once again, despite heartbreak, it's gorgeous. Soft, sweet colors with a necessary hint of melancholy (the lighting suggests it's sunset?), and a pure, painted quality without the need for texture assets. A scene like this is better left a comparatively simple and laid back tribute. Beyond the technicalities, i also really, really applaud Toni for the outfit design. This is the Aen Elle princess, dressed well but for the weather. And the fact her mostly blue clothes with yellow sleeves mirror Cregennan's yellow jerkin with blue details, and her red brooch above the heart might, beside contrasting with the blue, very well reflect his fatal wounds... well. As much as death on card art isn't always done the best, Lara is represented together with that which mattered to her the most. Despite being categorized among the Wild Hunt, she remains herself.

3: Lydia van Bredervoort by Igor Klymenko The joy i felt when this was the art of Lydia they managed to get into the game. It's easily one of the best contest pieces and on par with the best Gwent has to offer - it has mood, and that ever present air of groundedness, realism, and in that, unfortunate tragedy. But similarly to Lara, it shows Lydia being her own person; doing what she loved and was good at without sight of Vilgefortz despite her being known as his ever loyal assistant. Likewise, it doesn't sensantionalize her condition, but references it in a subtle, tasteful, and even clever way. I also love her dress and the overall color palette. Igor understood.

2: Eldain by Anna Podedworna Couldn't help it, this asshole has me in chokehold and he's enjoying it. In my defense, this piece highlights everything Anna is known for, because she's damn good at it. Incredibly sharp main subject of the piece contrasted against a blurry background, which allows for insane details like the strings extending from the top of the lute. To add more fun to it, Eldain isn't even in the absolute foreground, but the piece is still composed smart, so he remains the main focus. His silly red collar on mostly green helps. On top of all that, the art tells a little story, something Anna often does too, and in this case it delightfully sums Eldain up. It's also the best premium in the game.

look at his little red ears from sitting against the sun aww

Honorable mention: Lake Guardian by Anton Nazarenko Like the following #1, this card has sentimental value to me as my second card reveal and artwork i made my best emote of. It was a perfect match, bird gals and all. It's a Sirin, bringing in a more obscure but not unwelcome mythology reference to the universe. And I love her vibrant, marble-like eyes.

1: Dol Blathanna Sentry by Lorenzo Mastroianni ...remains my favourite card art since that fateful day sometime in January 2018. I was just discovering what there was to know about Witcher, downloading Gwent in the first place out of need for more content as i was slowly reading through the first book. Gwent has done a lot to explore and build on this universe, and it has helped me contextualize a lot of things early on. I remember scrolling through the deckbuilder, seeing this art, and being struck by its mood, this aura of secret and wonder. "Oh, so this is what Dol Blathanna looks like..." It's quintessential older Lorenzo. Very much admitted brush work, fog, tight color palette. The little specks of blue in flowers and face paint work just right. Maybe it's a reference to Arthurian myth and Avalon, maybe to Greek myth and Hades, or maybe, as is often the case and was the case later (or earlier in this list), both. It spoke to me and my sense of wonder back then. It speaks to me when i search for comfort now.

now, time to tear Karol Bem to shreds in the top 20 least favourites xd