Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is one of the most unique CCGs, and offers gameplay that’s quite different from Hearthstone, and most other card games really! There’s a lot to learn when you are starting out on Gwent, so I hope that the following tips will help you avoid common mistakes, and let you enjoy the game to its fullest as soon as you’re done reading!
Even though these tips are aimed at new Gwent players, I’m going to assume that you have completed the tutorial of the game, and have a basic understanding of how card games – or at least Gwent in particular – work! If you feel that it’s too much to take in, then I’d suggest you play a couple more games first, and then keep reading! 
I. Know Your Deck & Always Redraw
This goes without saying, but knowing your deck in and out will unlock its full potential, as you will always be aware of the best timing to play each card! Whether it’s a deck you created yourself, one of the starter decks you received in the game, or an OP deck you found in a guide, the best way to learn it by heart, is just play a few games with it!
After 5 games or so you will know what most of your cards can do in various situations, and which are the strong early or late game cards you should be looking to get in your hand. Therefore, redrawing will be super important in order to set yourself up for success. You can redraw 3 times on the starting round, and 2 times on the following rounds.
As an extra tip, I suggest not keeping two copies of the same card in one round, unless they have a Bonded ability (then always try to play them at the same round), or they can offer a unique advantage in your current situation.
II. Keep Your Best Cards for Last
Unless you want to trick your opponent to pass early (a risky tactic, that won’t work in your favour most of the times), it’s imperative that you keep your strongest cards for the late-round, and surprise your opponent as much as possible with a great Power difference.
As an example, if your opponent has a powerful card that he keeps boosting, and you have a way to destroy it, just wait until the end to do it, and tip the scales as much as possible! Similarly, be prepared for the same to happen to your own cards, so always make sure you have an ace up your sleeve! 
III. Don’t Run Out of Leader Abilities Before Your Opponent
Leader Abilities play a very, very important role in the game – you could consider them as an extra Gold Legendary card that goes into your deck for free! There’s a big amount of abilities offered per faction, and they usually come in three forms:
- Abilities that damage enemies or boost allies, that usually have 3 charges.
- Abilities that damage enemies or boost allies for way less, that usually have a cooldown of 2 turns, and can be used repeatedly.
- Unique abilities that have a single charge, and offer a big round advantage when used.
So always be aware of your enemy’s Leader Ability, as it can easily turn a game against you if you don’t pay attention. Try to keep your own Ability for the last round if it’s not based on cooldown, and take advantage of an opponent that has run out of his.
IV. Count Your DoTs Like A Proper Warlock
Damage (or Boosting) over time is a common concept in Gwent, and there are many keywords that employ this playstyle, like Bleeding, Vitality, Order and Dominance, as well as many cards that can get more powerful by other means, just by staying on the battlefield.
It’s a bit much to take in as a new player, but any time you are playing a card that can have long-term effects on the round, make sure that you gauge its effectiveness, and that it can have the biggest possible impact on the power difference between you and your enemy.
V. Card Advantage (Almost) Always Wins Rounds
Since Gwent is heavily balanced around each single card being of similar power – based on its provision cost – the number of cards on each player’s hand, can almost always tell who has more power available to unleash.
Therefore you should always be cautious of who gains and loses the card advantage through each round, and always try to balance it to your favour:
- It’s easier for the player that goes second to keep the card advantage in the first round, that’s why the one that goes first receives the “Tactical Advantage” special card.
- If you have a big power advantage during the round, and 2-4 cards left in your hand, it’s usually wise to bait your opponent by passing. In order to win he will have to use all of his cards, leaving you with a big card advantage.
- If you win the first round with a big card disadvantage, it may be wise to pass on the next, or bait your opponent to play a couple more cards than you, so that you balance the card advantage on the last round, and get a fighting chance at the game.
This is one of the hardest concepts to get used to in Gwent, so starting out I suggest you always try to play less cards than your opponent, and definitely not more. But each game and each round is unique, so the best you can do is always be cautious of the card advantage’s importance, and employ it into your deck’s strategy.
VI. Never Play a Card Without Using All of its Abilities
This is another tip that must be obvious, but judging by my opponents even in the higher Ranks, I think it’s important to set it as a hard rule for your gameplay. Always make sure you take the full advantage of your card’s abilities! Any text that is on it, must be executed when you play it towards your benefit!
The game is balanced around the overall power of each card, its provision cost, as well as what kind of power potential it offers through its abilities. So when you are not using the card’s full potential, you are willingly making your deck weaker, and giving your opponent an irrevocable advantage!
VII. Use Only 1 or 2 Main Keywords Per Deck
With so many different Keywords that offer a unique flavour to each faction and card type, it’s easy to get distracted, and build a deck that feels overpowered and amazing to you, but it will end up winning only against enemies that use starter decks maybe.
The first thing you should decide before starting a deck, is the Keyword that you want to use as the main mechanic, and build everything around it ideally, along with your Leader Ability and obviously Faction. Most of the Keywords lose their power if they don’t have a lot of other cards to synergize with, so never forget about this.
VIII. Use “Pro” Decks At Your Own Risk
A tactic most new Gwent players use, that’s common in all card games, is searching for the “best” decks online, and choosing one of them as their starting point. That’s not necessarily a bad thing to do, as a popular deck will be popular for a reason, but it’s a bad choice in my opinion, since you will have to use a lot of resources, for a deck that you have no idea how is going to work out for you.
Using the game’s starter decks, or searching for some low-cost starter decks is the better choice here, as it will let you discover all of the game’s mechanics in real matches, and make much more educated decisions for your own future decks, as well as learning each faction’s unique mechanics and playstyle.
IX. Don’t Spend All Your Ore, Scraps & Meteorite Right Away
Especially when starting out, you will be flooded with a lot of in-game resources, that let you craft cards, make premium animated versions of them, as well as buy card packs! It’s best to wait as long as possible before spending any of them, since the more you learn about the game, the better you will know how to spend them.
Thanks to the Reward Book that’s mentioned in the next tip, you will always have ways to get more resources long-term, but I do suggest you restrain yourself from spending too much at first. Meteorite especially that lets you create premium cards is very hard to come by, so I suggest you keep it for a deck you will fall in love with, and you know that you will always be using!
Keep in mind also that after you level up your account level to 60, you will unlock the Prestige 1, and be able to level all over, while also getting at least 2 rare cards out of each pack! So it’s definitely worth keeping all of your Ore until you reach that point, as each card keg you open will be that much more valuable!
X. Unlock the Reward Book in the “Right” Order
Gwent’s Reward Book is hands down the most amazing progression path I’ve seen in a CCG before, and I really wish all other CCGs would follow a similar progression system! You unlock a ton of resources for crafting cards, premium cards and buying card packs, as well as a ton of cosmetics, and all of it through in-game currency!
My only advice here is to try and restrain your excitement about this great system when you are starting out, so that you invest your Reward Points into Trees that make more sense for your playstyle when starting out! My main piece of advice, is to follow the Trees that give you Faction-specific kegs of the Factions you like the most!
It’s also worth noting that the 3 Trees in the top center of the 1st page in the Reward Book (Season of the Elves, Aelirenn & Ida Emean Aep Sivney), will contain some Quests that lock your progression, so you might want to start by unlocking these ones, as it will take some time to complete them either way!
You can also choose to focus on Trees that offer more Ore for card packs, or Meteorite for premium cards, but be careful so you don’t run out of them fast! The good thing is, that the Reward Book is getting bigger and bigger with each Season, so I think it’s time I stop praising this amazing system, and leave you to unlock some rewards for yourself!
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