I am back with another Gwent Fix for all you Gwentlemen and this time we will be talking about the Silvers that I suggest you should craft first as a beginner. If Golds are powerful cards that impact the board in a significant way, Silvers are cards that aids you towards your goal or assist your deck’s weaknesses. Still, there are Silvers that are powerful plays like Iris but requires setup to do so. I won’t cover the Silver Spies of each faction as those cards are the second, if not first, Silver Cards that should be crafted. I also won’t be talking about the Silver Lock Units that each faction has as they are niche and are more of the time not needed. With that said, lets dive right into it.
NEUTRAL
DORREGARAY – Deploy: Spawn a Savage Bear, Wyvern, Ekimmara or Drowner.
Dorregaray is one of the most useful and controversial Neutral Silver printed in the game because its very powerful. The card provides utility by spawning four different Cards (and choosing one) which can fit certain situations.
The best use is of course by spawning an Ekimmara which gives carry over Strength to all faction. Therefore it will always be good in any situation and in any deck. Not only that, there are times when Wyverns and Drowners can win games as well.
NORTHERN REALMS
PRINCE STENNIS – Deploy: Gain 3 Armor. Play the top Loyal Bronze or Silver Unit from your Deck and give it 5 Armor.
Prince Stennis, although random and may sometimes pull certain cards that may not be useful, is still a powerful card. Gwent is a card game which relies most often than not on thinning and Prince Stennis thins one card from the top of your deck. And when played on the right time, it will always pull you the card that you want. Furthermore it is a great combo card in the Northern Realms Armor archetype by giving 5 armor to the card pulled. It is one of the best Shanni (that you just crafted) revive target as it brings three total body (Shani, Princes Stennis and the card you pull). Just remember not to play him when there are no Unit cards in your deck though.
SCOIATAEL
MORENN – Ambush: When an Enemy is played (except Leaders), turn this Unit over and Damage that Enemy by 5 before its Deploy ability resolves (but after it gains Armor).
Scoiatael has the hardest Silvers to pick and craft as each Silver Card usually fits certain archetypes and there aren’t many that fit all Silver cards. Still, Morenn fits almost all Scoiatael archetypes where on its own can pose a 12 point swing. Not only that, if the opponent does not expect it, it may cause them the game when Morenn removes one of their engine or deploy ability. Moreover, Isengrim, Roach and Morenn is a great one card combo that brings at least 20 point swing. Just don’t play the card when you expect the opponent to Pass the round as she won’t flip and will stay hidden with 0 points.
MONSTERS
TOAD PRINCE – Deploy: Draw the top card from your Deck, then Consume a card in your Hand. If it is a Special card, Boost self by 5.
Monsters have a lot of great Silver cards and Toad Prince is one of the best to craft first. It works very well with the free Silver card you get, the Imperial Manticore, which can give the Toad Prince a whopping 18 Strength and it draws you a card. Drawing a card is one of the ability in the game as not many cards does this.
Plus, you can then use the Bronze card Ghoul to eat the card the Toad just ate to grow big giving you a great point swing. Its like a feast for these monsters.
SKELLIGE
SIGRDRIFA – Deploy: Resurrect a Bronze or Silver Unit.
Like in my last article where I have pressed the importance and power of resurrecting cards, Sigrdrifa is no different. It has the power of Shani but being a Silver card.
Skellige is well known for being the resurrecting faction and therefore really good in short rounds, resurrecting high Strength units in third rounds. In this way, Sigrdrifa provides a high point swing by being able to resurrect high Strength Silvers like Jutta an Dimun which you get for free.
NILFGAARD
THE GUARDIAN – Deathwish: Create 2 Lesser Guardians on the top of your opponent’s Deck.
The Guardian on its own is powerful enough being a 11 Strength Unit but it brings more than a fat body. The Guardian messes with your opponent’s draw by putting two 6 Strength units with no ability on your opponent’s deck. Therefore, if you play this card in the first round and when the round ends, your opponent will not draw any of his cards and is forced to Mulligan one of the Lesser Guardians (Deathwish still triggers when it dies at the end of the round). This holds the same when played on the second round since they will draw one Lesser Guardians that they are forced to Mulligan on the third round. Plus, it has one of the best reference to books in his quote…if you know your books.
And, that is it for today on Gwent and beginning next week we will be looking more in depth into the game with deck archetypes and deck building. Like the previous article, I highly suggest that the Neutral Silver, Dorregaray, is crafted first as it fits in all decks and all archetypes.
Till next time Gwentlemen, keep on Slaying!
