Gwent: The Legendary Card Game
Gwent: The Legendary Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Components
- Game Setup
- Starter Decks
- Board Layout
- Leader Cards
- Unit Cards
- Special Cards
- Game Overview
- Turns
- End of Round
- End of Game
- Appendix
- Building a Deck
- Faction Abilities
- Unit Card Abilities
- Special Card Abilities
- Weather Card Abilities
- Game Modes
- 2 vs 2 Mode
- Free-For-All Mode (3-5 Players)
- Gwent Solo
- Credits
Introduction
To play a game of Gwent, two players sit at a table, each with a deck of cards they have created. A game lasts for a maximum of three rounds. In each round, players will play cards from their hand to the battlefield in one of three rows: Close Combat, Ranged, and Siege.
If both players pass during a round, you calculate their total strength and the player with the highest total wins the round. The first player to win two rounds wins the game!
One of the unique twists in Gwent is that the 10 cards you draw to begin the game must last for the entire battle. Beyond special circumstances, no new cards are drawn during or between rounds, meaning you must choose your battles wisely.
Components
- 85 Nilfgaard Cards
- 85 Northern Realms Cards
- 89 Monsters Cards
- 86 Scoia'tael Cards
- 91 Skellige Cards
- 1 Score Tracking Board
- 4 Score Tokens
- 1 Coin
- 4 Gem Tokens
- 1 Game Board
- 1 Rulebook
- 10 Player Aids
Game Setup
Each player chooses a faction and builds a deck. All cards in the deck must show the color of the chosen faction. Each faction encourages a specific style of play. For your first games, it is recommended to play with one of the starter decks. Once you are comfortable with the game, you can build your own decks, following the rules on page 16.
Starter Decks
To build a starter deck for a faction, find all the cards from that faction with a white star in the bottom left corner. If you are playing the Skellige starter deck, you will also need the cards with a black star in the corner for your side deck (see Side decks p.8). The main themes of each faction are described below.
Monsters — The Monsters faction relies heavily on the "Muster" ability which allows swarms of monsters to be quickly summoned to the battlefield.
Nilfgaard — The Nilfgaard faction has many "Spy" and "Medic" cards which use underhanded tactics to achieve card advantage over the opponent.
Northern Realms — The Northern Realms faction has many units with "Tight Bond" which allows them to empower each other on the battlefield.
Scoia'tael — The Scoia'tael faction hosts a lot of "Agile" cards which allow flexibility on the Close Combat and Ranged Combat rows of the battlefield.
Skellige — The Skellige faction has "Berserkers" which channel their inner monster to transform into more powerful cards.
From your deck, separate out the Leader card which is the one with your faction icon in the top left corner. The rest of your cards form the deck you will play with. Also take two Player Aids: One with Special Card effects on one side and Weather Cards on the other, and one specific to your chosen faction. On the top of the front side of your faction Player Aid is a faction-specific ability that applies to the game. Make sure to read this carefully and use it to your advantage.
Board Layout
- Discard Pile
- Deck
- Close Combat Row
- Ranged Combat Row
- Siege Combat Row
- Commander's Horn
- Scoring Ladder
- Gem Counters
- Player Aid 1
- Player Aid 2
- Leader Card
- Weather Cards
Each player then does the following:
- Places their Leader card in the bottom left of their side of the board.
- Places their two Player Aids above their Leader card.
- Places 2 Gem tokens on their side of the Score tracker and 2 Score tokens nearby.
- Shuffles their deck and places it in the bottom right, with space next to it for their discard pile.
Flip the coin to decide who starts the game unless one of the players is playing the Scoia'tael, who can choose who starts the game.
Each player then shuffles their deck and draws 10 cards into their hand. Both players may then, but don't have to, discard up to 2 cards from their hand and draw that number of cards from their deck. This can be done one card at a time. After drawing the replacement cards, reshuffle your discarded cards back into your deck.
The 10 cards each player now has will be their hand of cards for the rest of the game.
Before diving into the rules, let's take a look at the different types of cards.
Leader Cards
Each player has one Leader card, chosen prior to the battle and placed face up near the battlefield. Leaders are never part of a player's deck.
The faction symbol in the top left corner indicates which faction the leader is from.
Each Leader has a special ability which is either Passive or Active. Passive abilities are indicated by (P) and their effect is always applied for the whole game. Otherwise, the ability is an Active ability and is used once during the game (flipping the card over when it is used).
Unit Cards
Units are the most common card in your deck. When placed on the battlefield, the Strength value (in the top left corner) is added to your Score total, helping you win the round.
Below the Strength value is an icon representing which rows of the battlefield the card can be played to.
Below that are its special abilities (if any) which are explained on your Player Aids. These abilities are resolved immediately after the card is placed on the battlefield.
A unit card shows, from top to bottom: Strength Value, Range, Abilities, Faction, and Name and Description.
Some Unit Cards are Heroes. These have the word "Hero" written above their names and spikes around their Strength value.
Heroes are the only cards not affected by any special abilities (meaning abilities from Special cards, Unit cards, Leader cards, and Faction abilities).
Special Cards
Special cards are everything else. They include Decoy, Scorch, Weather cards, etc. They do not have Strength values of their own, but instead have abilities that can, for example, modify the Strength of Units already on the battlefield.
The abilities of Special Cards are represented by the icon in the top left corner and described on the Player Aids. Special card abilities are resolved immediately after the card is played.
Side Deck
Some cards, such as the "Berserker" from the Skellige faction, can transform into or summon other cards. These cards are not included in your initial deck, but should instead be kept in the side deck near the play area until required.
Golden Rule
Whenever a card's text contradicts rules from this manual, the card takes precedence.
Game Overview
A game of Gwent is played over either two or three rounds; the first player to win two rounds wins the game. In each round, play alternates between the two players until both players have passed, at which point the round ends, and you determine who won the round by calculating the total Strength of all Units on the battlefield. The player with the highest total Strength wins the round. The losing player removes one of their Gem tokens. The objective of the game is to force your opponent to remove both of their gems.
Other than the 10 cards you start with, you will only draw new cards into your hand if you play a special ability that allows you to do so. Therefore, you must choose wisely when to play a card and when to pass, saving your cards for later rounds.
Keeping Score
Adjust the positions of the Score tokens on the Scoring tracker to keep track of each player's total Strength. Use one token on the top row to indicate the 10s part of the score, and the other on the lower row to indicate the 1s. If the score reaches 100, flip the tokens so the 100 side is facing up, and continue to track it.
Here, you have a strength of 34. It is always possible to count your total Strength on the battlefield. See page 14 for some examples of this.
Turns
On your turn, you must choose one of the following options:
- Play a card
- Activate your Leader
- Pass
Play a Card
Choose a card from your hand to play, either a Unit, or a Special card.
Units
Units (including Heroes) are played to your side of the battlefield and must be placed in the row corresponding to their range icon (Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Siege). Whenever you play a Unit, adjust your Strength total to reflect your new total Strength. There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in each row.
In addition to contributing its Strength, many Units have abilities which must be resolved when the card is played. All card effects must be applied if possible. These abilities are all explained in the Appendix at the back of this rulebook.
Special Cards
Some (Commander's Horn, Decoy, Mardroeme) are played to a row of the battlefield, others (Scorch, Clear Weather) produce an effect and are then discarded, and Weather cards (other than Clear Weather) are played to the Weather cards area. Although Special cards do not have a Strength of their own, they have abilities which must be resolved when the card is played. These are all explained in the Appendix on page 14.
Weather Cards
Weather cards can have a massive impact on the game, producing effects that set the Strength of all Units on one or more rows to 1. Weather cards are placed next to the battlefield and apply to both players. Weather cards are discarded at the end of the round.
There can be multiple Weather cards in play at the same time. They are removed at the end of the round, or if a 'Clear Weather' card is played.
Ongoing Effects
Weather cards, "Tight Bond", "Morale Boost", Commander's Horn, and Mardroeme have effects which remain ongoing as long as the card is on the battlefield.
Multiple Effects
In instances where there are multiple effects that modify a Unit's Strength, apply the Weather card first, "Tight Bond" second, followed by "Morale Boost", and then "Commander's Horn" last.
Activate Your Leader
If your leader has an active ability (one without a (P)), it can be activated on your turn instead of playing a card. Resolve the effect of the Leader and then flip the card face down to show that it has been used.
Note: Some Leaders produce an effect similar to a Commander's Horn (doubling the Strength of all non-Hero Units on a particular row for that round). It is recommended to temporarily place the Leader card next to that row to indicate this until the end of the round.
Pass
When you pass, you are out for the rest of the round. Your opponent may continue to take turns as long as they want to, until they also pass.
End of Round
When both players have passed, check that the Strength totals on the Score tracker are correct. Then, the player with the lowest total Strength loses the round and removes a Gem token from their side of the Score tracker. If both players are tied on Strength, both players must remove a gem.
All cards (including Weather cards) are then removed from the battlefield and placed in their controller's discard pile. The winner of that round starts the next round, unless the game is over. If the first round ends in a draw, the player who started the first round restarts the new round.
Note: Whenever a card leaves the battlefield, it is placed in the discard pile of the player who is currently controlling it (it is on their side of the battlefield). Discard piles should be kept face up.
End of Game
The game ends when a player has no more Gem tokens; their opponent (the player with at least 1 Gem token remaining) wins the game. If both players lose their last gem at the same time, the game ends in a draw.
Appendix
Keeping Score
As mentioned earlier, you can always check the position of your Score tokens is correct by re-counting your current Strength on the battlefield. The order of resolving various effects which can adjust the Strength of a Unit is as follows:
- Weather card
- Tight Bond
- Morale Boost
- Commander's Horn (or Leader ability which replicates this effect).
For example, on your first turn, you play a Young Emissary. Your Strength total is now 5.
On your next turn, you play a second Young Emissary. The Tight Bond ability means that the Strength of each of your Units is multiplied by the number of Units with the same name. Therefore, each Young Emissary now has 10 Strength, adjusting your Strength total to 20.
On your 3rd turn, you play a Commander's Horn to your Close Combat row. This doubles the strength of all non-Hero Units and is resolved last. Each Young Emissary now has a Strength of 20, bringing your total to 40.
On your 4th turn, you play Olgierd von Everec, playing it to your Close Combat row alongside your Young Emissaries. Olgierd provides 6 Strength himself, but his Morale Boost ability increases the Strength of all other Units on his row by 1. This increases the Strength of each of your Young Emissaries to 11 before then being doubled to 22 from your Commander's Horn. Olgierd's Strength is also doubled to 12, bringing your total Strength to 56.
On your opponent's next turn, they play the Weather card Biting Frost, reducing the Strength of all Close Combat Units (on both sides of the battlefield to 1). Weather effects are resolved first, so each of your Units has a base Strength of 1. The Tight Bond means that your Young Emissaries are increased to 2 each, and then the Morale Boost from Olgierd increases them to 3 each, followed by the Commander's Horn doubling them to 6 each. Olgierd's Strength is 1, doubled to 2 from the Commander's Horn. Your total Strength is 14.
Not wanting to concede the round just yet, you play the Hero Letho of Gulet who has 10 Strength. Heroes are unaffected by any abilities, which includes Biting Frost, Morale Boost, and Commander's Horn. Therefore, he simply adds 10 to your Strength, bringing your total to 24.
Building a Deck
Once you have learnt the game, you can start to build your own decks. All cards in a deck must be from the same faction and the following rules apply:
A deck must consist of the following:
- 1 Leader Card only
- 22 Unit Cards minimum
- 10 Special Cards maximum
For more details on Advanced deck building and tournament play, refer to the Game Modes p.19.
Faction Abilities
Monsters — At the end of each round, shuffle all of your non-Hero Unit Cards on the battlefield together and choose one at random. Place that Unit back on the battlefield ready for the next round. All other Units are discarded.
Nilfgaard — If the round ends in a draw, you win this round.
Northern Realms — Whenever you win a round, draw 1 card from your deck.
Scoia'tael — You decide who goes first at the start of the game.
Skellige — At the start of the 3rd round, shuffle your discard pile and choose 2 non-Hero Unit cards at random. Play these Units on the battlefield and apply their effects.
Unit Card Abilities
Agile — This Unit may be played to either your Close Combat row or Ranged Combat row. Cannot be moved once placed.
Commander's Horn — Double the Strength of all other non-Hero Units on this card's row. Only one of these effects can be applied to each row and it cannot be combined with the Commander's Horn Special card (or Leader abilities that produce the same effect).
Medic — Choose one non-Hero Unit from your discard pile, and play it immediately.
Morale Boost — Add 1 Strength to all other non-Hero Units on the row.
Muster — When you play this card, find all specified cards from your hand and deck and play them immediately. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
Tight Bond — Multiply the Strength of this Unit by the number of allies with the same name.
Scorch — If your opponent has a total Strength of 10 or higher on the row opposite this card, the non-Hero Unit(s) with the highest Strength are sent to the discard pile.
Spy — Play onto your opponent's battlefield (its Strength counts towards your opponent's total). Draw 2 cards from your deck.
Summon — When this card is discarded from the battlefield in any way (including at the end of a round), take the corresponding card from your side deck and immediately play it to the battlefield.
Berserker — This ability is triggered only when a Mardroeme effect is played on its row. When triggered, remove this card from the game and immediately play the specified card from your side deck.
Mardroeme — Place it on a combat row. Activate the "Berserker" abilities of all the cards in this row, as well as any other "Berserker" ability cards played in this row during this round.
Special Card Abilities
Commander's Horn — Doubles the Strength of all non-Hero Units on its row. Only one can be played per row and cannot be combined with Leader abilities that produce the same effect.
Decoy — Choose a non-Hero Unit on your side of the battlefield and return it to your hand, placing the Decoy on the battlefield in place of the chosen card.
Mardroeme — Place it on a combat row. Activate the "Berserker" abilities of all the cards in this row, as well as any other "Berserker" ability cards played in this row during this round.
Scorch — Send to the discard pile the strongest non-Hero Unit(s) on the entire battlefield (both players' sides of the board). Discard after playing.
Weather Card Abilities
Biting Frost — Place face up in the Weather cards area. Sets the Strength of all Close Combat Units to 1 for both players.
Impenetrable Fog — Place face up in the Weather cards area. Sets the Strength of all Ranged Combat Units to 1 for both players.
Torrential Rain — Place face up in the Weather cards area. Sets the Strength of all Siege Units to 1 for both players.
Skellige Storm — Place face up in the Weather cards area. Sets the Strength of all Ranged Combat and Siege Units to 1 for both players.
Clear Weather — Discard after playing. Discard all Weather cards currently on the battlefield. Their effects are cancelled.
Game Modes
In any game modes and for a more rewarding gaming experience, we recommend that each player has their own copy of Gwent so that they can use different decks. It is possible to play with the same deck as your opponent (This option is excluded in certain modes), but it is not permitted to add additional cards or include multiple copies of a card beyond what is offered in the base game.
Advanced
In this version of the game, there are more constraints to the composition of the deck. This offers a more balanced confrontation between different decks and players.
A deck must be composed of:
- 1 Leader Card only
- 22 Unit Cards minimum
- 5 Special Cards maximum
- 2 Spy Cards maximum
- 2 Medic Cards maximum
The combined Strength of all Units in a deck cannot exceed 130.
Note: Cards in your side deck do not count towards your total Strength.
Tournament Mode
In Tournament mode, each player must show their mastery of the game by playing several decks to achieve victory. Each player builds three separate decks from three different factions. The same Hero cannot exist in multiple decks.
A deck must be composed of:
- 1 Leader Card only
- 22 Unit Cards minimum
- 5 Special Cards maximum
- 2 Spy Cards maximum
- 2 Medic Cards maximum
The combined Strength of all Units in a deck cannot exceed 130.
Players must win two out of three full games to win the Tournament. Flip a coin before the first game to decide who chooses their first deck first. For the second and third games, the winner of the previous game must choose a new deck to use. The loser of the previous game then chooses to keep their deck or choose a different one. A winning deck cannot be used twice.
2 vs 2 Mode
Have you ever wished you could bring a friend to help you during a game of Gwent? When playing 2 vs 2, you can! Team up with a player and battle against another duo.
2 vs 2 match example: the team on top is playing Monsters and Northern Realms; the team on the bottom is playing Nilfgaard and Scoia'tael.
There are some advantages to playing with a teammate. When playing in a duo:
- Your teammate cannot play the same faction as you.
- You will share the same army on the board.
- You will also share a discard pile and gem counters.
- You can look at your teammate's hand. What strategic play will you discuss together?
- Every card played adds to your team's total power.
When turntaking, teams will alternate between turns and each team plays one at a time. For example, A1 and A2 are a team battling against B1 and B2. A1 plays first. It is then B1's turn. A2 plays the next turn, followed by B2. If a player passes, their teammate can keep playing.
Turn-Taking
Team A flips a coin and goes first. They decide between them that A1 plays first.
Team B goes next. They decide between them that B1 plays the turn.
Team A goes again. A2 plays.
Team B goes again. B2 plays. Repeat until all players have passed their turn.
Some abilities will also be used differently in this mode.
Medic: Can be used to recall a Unit from your team's discard pile. This means you could revive someone from either of your faction's!
Commander's Horn: Affects all the team's Units on the line.
Decoy: Can target a Unit played by you or your partner.
Monster Ability: The card that stays in play must be a Monster card or an enemy spy.
Nilfgaard Ability: If Nilfgaard is used by both teams, this power is null.
Scoia'tael Ability: If Scoia'tael is used by both teams, flip a coin among the Scoia'tael players to decide who chooses the starting player.
Skellige Ability: The cards brought back into play must be Skellige cards or enemy spies.
Emhyr var Emreis, The White Flame: Cancels all leader abilities.
Free-For-All Mode (3-5 Players)
All standard rules apply, with the following clarifications for these abilities:
Spy: You choose which opponent gets the spy card.
Unit's Scorch: Affects every enemy individually.
Nilfgaard: If 2 players using Nilfgaard end in a tie, they score the highest position.
Scoia'tael: If 2 players use Scoia'tael, choose randomly among them who will choose the first player.
Northern Realms: If you have the bigger score than at least 2 opponents, you draw a card.
To win in a free-for-all, a player must win as many points as there are total players, plus 1. A point is earned for every player defeated at the end of a round. At the beginning of a new round, the player with the most points in the last round plays first. In the event of a tie, tied players score the same number of points as opponents bested. However, ties do not count as victories (unless you play Nilfgaard).
In Free For All mode, no need for the 2-player board — it's every player for themselves! Grab a pen and paper to keep track of those all-important scores!
Winning Points: In this example, a player must score 6 points to be declared winner of the game (5 players + 1).
If Blue beats 2 players in a round, Blue earns 2 points.
If Red and Yellow tie in a round and beat 3 other players, they both score 3 points.
If they tie in the final round for 1st place (first to 6 points), they will win 2nd place since ties don't count as victory. So it's a draw.
Gwent Solo
By Martin Montreuil, @lasocietedesjeux
Set Up
To set up a game for Gwent solo, choose one faction for yourself and a different faction as an opponent. Unlike other game modes, both you and your opponent will use the whole faction deck for your respective factions, with the usual exceptions like Bovine defence force and Skellige's side deck. From your deck, remove all Weather Cards except the Clear Weather cards.
Place the enemy faction deck on the other side of the battlefield and your deck next to you. Choose your leader and for the enemy faction, shuffle the enemy leaders and form a leader pile face down, next to their deck.
Note: you can also play this mode with standard Gwent deck building rules, but Weather cards still cannot be part of your deck.
Gameplay
For solo gameplay, you respect all standard rules for yourself. However, your opponent will sometimes deviate from these rules (more on that below). The game will start as normal: start by drawing 10 cards. You can choose to discard up to 2 cards and replace them, one card at a time. Reshuffle the discarded cards in your deck.
Your opponent always takes the first turn of a round (unless you are playing Scoia'tael) and always takes a turn after you. On each of your opponent's turns, they play the top card from their deck. On their turn, they play a card. If it is a Unit card, it is played – end of turn. If it is a Weather card, they play another card. NOT take another turn, just play another card.
If your opponent plays a Weather Card, apply its effect, then have them immediately play the next card from the top of their deck. Make sure your opponent plays each card in the most effective way possible. If you pass, your opponent takes one final turn to end the round. After you pass and your opponent takes their last turn, determine who won the round.
Leader Variant
When calculating strength totals at the end of a round, if a player's total beats their opponent's, reveal the top card of their opponent's leader deck and apply its effect. If the player's Strength total still beats the opponent's, the player wins the round.
Ability Clarifications for Opponent's Cards
Commander's Horn — Place on the most optimal row. In case of a tie, place on the row with the most cards. If still tied, you choose.
Scorch — Applies only to your side of the battlefield.
Muster — Search for the first specified card in the deck, play it, and shuffle the deck.
Spy — Place the card on your side as normal. Your opponent immediately draws and plays 2 cards.
Agile — During your opponent's turn, a card with this ability will move position if a card effect (such as a Weather card or Commander's Horn) makes a different position more optimal.
Medic — Take from the opponent's discard pile, the non-Hero Unit Card that will add the most Strength. Take into account "Tight Bond", Weather cards, and Commander's Horn abilities.
Decoy — Decoy does not replace a card. Instead, without looking at it, place the top card of the opponent's deck under the Decoy. At the end of the round (when Decoy is discarded), flip the card under it face up and treat it as if it was just played.
Faction Ability Clarifications
Northern Realms — If your opponent wins a round as Northern Realms, they play a second card in their first turn of the next round.
Scoia'tael — If you are playing Scoia'tael, you go first in the first round. If you win a round, you go first in the round after that.
Ability Clarifications for Opponent's Leaders
Monsters
Eredin Bringer of Death — Draw a card from the Monsters deck and play it immediately.
Eredin King of the Wild Hunt — Search the Monsters deck for the first Weather card and play it immediately. Then, shuffle the Monsters deck.
Eredin Destroyer of Worlds — Search the Monsters discard pile for a non-hero card that gives him the most advantage, then play it and apply any effects.
Nilfgaard
Emhyr var Emreis, Invader of the North — Choose a non-Hero card at random from the Nilfgaard discard pile and play it immediately.
Emhyr var Emreis, the Emperor of Nilfgaard — Discard a card of your choice from your hand.
Emhyr var Emreis, the Relentless — Choose a card from your discard pile that gives your opponent the most advantage and play it on their side.
Emhyr var Emreis, the White Flame — Your Leader loses their ability for the rest of the game.
Scoia'tael
Francesca Findabair, Daisy of the Valley — When revealed, your opponent draw the top card of their deck and plays it.
Francesca Findabair, Hope of the Aen Seidhe — Every "Agile" Unit Card your opponent controls gains 1 Strength.
Skellige
Arnjolf The Patricide — Search the Skellige deck for the first "Tight Bond" Unit card that gives the greatest Strength increase and play it on your opponents side. Then, shuffle the Skellige deck.
Harald an Craite the Cripple — Search the Skellige deck for the first Mardroeme card and play it immediately to the row of your opponents which would give them the greatest Strength increase. Then, shuffle the Skellige deck.
King Bran — Skellige Units only half their Strength from weather card effects (rounded down).
Credits
Game Design: CD PROJEKT RED, Rafał Jaki, Damien Monnier
Game Development: No Loading Games team
Rulebook: Yannick Beaulé, Paul Grogan (Gaming Rules)
Art Team: Émilie Quévy, APEX Ideenschmiede, Martina Nowak, Stéphane Vachon
Card Illustrations: CD PROJEKT RED Art team
Special Thanks: Randolph team, Martin Montreuil, Gurvan Béard, Paul Grogan, CD PROJEKT RED team (Remigiusz Nowakowski, Magdalena Drążek, Vladimir Tortsov, Luigi Annicchiarico, Andrea Sanders, Nick McWhorter, Matthew Woodland)
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