A multitude of merchants and innkeepers, as well as some more infamous players and friends of yours, have been known to partake in this pastime. You may also stumble across professionals in a regional competition or encounter an ongoing tournament at a larger social event. There are also a few Gwent players that you have only one opportunity to challenge while tackling another quest. Almost all of these players reward you with a new Gwent card the first time you beat them.
Who Really Plays Gwent, Though?
A Card-Collecting: An Overview
Obtaining cards for your increasingly-large Gwent collection (the complete card collection numbers 255 cards) involves winning a multitude of games (also known as rounds or bouts), the successful completion of certain quests, or purchasing cards from particular vendors, and other general tomfoolery. These can be segmented into the following categories:
Collection Plan #1A: In Your Base Deck (32 Cards)
Congratulations! You already have 32 Cards (mainly from the Northern Realms Deck), meaning you can start playing Gwent immediately (find your cards in the “Gwent Deck” part of the Main Menu (the left column menu, not your inventory menu). Obviously, there’s (much more) room for improvement in terms of creating better decks, but this leaves only 223 left to find!
Collection Plan #1B: In Your Blood and Wine Base Deck (24 Cards)
Great news! When you embark on your adventures into the realm of Toussaint, by Starting the Gwent Quest: To Everything Turn, Turn, Tournament!, you receive an additional 24 Cards, all related to the fifth Faction: The Skellige Clans deck. As you’d expect, there are additional cards to bolster this faction (another 19, in fact) as you explore this new territory.
Collection plan #2: purchased from traders (87 Cards)
Over one hundred of the Gwent cards you’re after are found at the shops of various traders across the Northern Realms. These are always one of the following:
- Merchants (most, but not all)
- Innkeeps (most, but not all)
- Named characters you know (such as Marquise Serenity of the Passiflora brothel in Novigrad City).
Simply hand over your hard-earned crowns in return for the card you want. Each vendor has a specific collection of (usually four or five) cards to buy, so always buy from them if you have the funds. Each card costs between 10 and 70 crowns, and for all of them, expect to pay no more than 26,000 crowns! This may sound like a lot, but have you seen how much that Ofieri Runewright needs to start his business?
If you don’t want to meticulously gather only a few cards from traders in the Northern Realms, there’s good news. The Duchy of Toussaint’s Innkeeps sell a large number of random cards from a specific list. This is a very quick way to bolster your decks without the more involved hunting for cards, though you can’t find the most potent cards by simply purchasing them from Toussaint Innkeeps.
Collection Plan #3: Won From A (Non-Quest) Gwent Player (53 Cards)
Over 50 of your cards are won by challenging a no-name Gwent fan scattered through towns and countryside. Most offer a random card if you better them, though some give you specific cards. There are a variety of Gwent types that would love to play you:
- Armorers, Blacksmiths, Brothel Madames*, Herbalists, Innkeeps*, a Loneshark, Merchants*, Quartermasters*, Scholars, and Traders.*
*Some—but not all—of this type of Gwent Player may also have cards to sell, too.
Players With Specific Cards To Win (6 Players and Cards)
There are 6 Gwent players (Aldert Geert the Gwent tutor in the White Orchard Tavern, the Nilfgaardian Nobleman inside the Royal Palace in Vizima, The Elven Merchant of the Traveling Circus Camp outside Carsten, Shani, Olgierd von Everec, and Hilbert at the Borsodi Auction House during Hearts of Stone Main Quest: Open Sesame who don’t have an associated quest, but hand over a specific Gwent card if you beat them. Over in Toussaint, there are 19 Gwent players (almost all merchants of some kind) that have a specific Skellige Clans card you must win from them. .
Players With Random Cards To Win (83 Players, 67 Cards)
There are 83 Gwent players (across White Orchard, Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige) that hand over a random Gwent card if you beat them. The rest of the Gwent cards are won by challenging them. The first time you beat a Gwent player, you receive the (random) card. Each subsequent time, you simply win any money you bet before the bout. This means you must visit a minimum of 52 of the 65 Gwent players to obtain all the randomly-given cards.
Collection Plan #4: Found Or Won During A Gwent Quest (23 Cards)
There are 23 cards you need to win from a specific individuals as part of one of the five available Gwent Quests (Playing Innkeeps, Velen Players, Big City Players, Old Pals, and Skellige Style). Opponents always give you a specific card, and you must face each one in a particular order (subsequent players in a quest won’t play until you’ve beaten previous ones first). The last (and most difficult) opponent in each Gwent Quest gives you two specific cards (one from their deck, and one for completing the quest. Consult these quests first, and follow the objectives mentioned within each quest.
Collection Plan #5: Found Or Won During A Secondary Quest (15 Cards)
There are 15 cards that are only acquired during a Secondary Quest (excluding Toussaint). Some are won during tournaments with the very best players around, and some are found during a quest. Take great care not to miss these cards, as they can’t be gathered after the quest concludes!
Collection Plan #6: Loose Cards: Found On The Ground (1 Card)
Someone left a card lying around in a barn in Brunwich. It’s the fabled Cow card, with hidden depths to its statistics. Don’t forget that prized heifer! Also, some cards you can’t win from an opponent (due to them dying, for example). These are placed loose for you to pick up, though this isn’t the optimal way to find these cards.
