I have been writing for Magic the Gathering for some time now but unfortunately I have slowed down in playing the game itself. Therefore, I have passed the baton of writing about Magic the Gathering to someone else while I write about something I am playing at the moment. So what am I currently playing? As the title suggest, I am currently playing Gwent, focusing on climbing to qualify for the Pro Rank Ladder. If you want to learn more about Gwent, you can check out my article on Gwent here;
I am going to start slowly with today’s article being an article mainly for those who have just started the game. Like any other Digital Card Game, Gwent also has the Crafting Cards feature to make it easier for new players to collect their cards while playing the game. Any new players who have just gotten into a new Card Game could well be overwhelmed by the amount of cards and what cards to get or craft. Today, I am going to suggest one Gold card for each faction that a new player should craft to help them in building decks and playing easier games (other than the Intro Golds that you get for free). Lets get to it!
NEUTRAL
ESKEL – Deploy: Destroy a Bronze or Silver Enemy that is not boosted
Eskel is one of the best Neutrals to craft right now as it outright kills a unit on the other side of the board as long as it is not boosted (a unit is boosted if their number is green). There are units in factions that have abilities which are engines like the Kaedwani Siege Support or the Vrihedd Dragoon. These units will provide certain buffs over time and will sometimes be overwhelming when long rounds. Eskel deals with them cleanly and as his voice line would say “Sure, no problem.”
NORTHERN REALMS 
SHANI – Deploy: Resurrect a Bronze or Silver Unit and add 2 Armor to it.
What is better than playing a card? Playing that card again. Shani is a great beginner card as it fits into any deck that you can build reviving any card and adding 2 Armor to that card, protecting it. Any card that you play in the First or Second round can come back in the Third round with Shani. In the worsts of scenarios, you can resurrect a card with high Strength, giving at least a 15 point Lead. Shani is best used to resurrect engine cards or combo cards like Prince Stannis or Trololololl. She’s the best medic there is, and she knows what she is doing!
SCOIATAEL
SASKIA – Deploy: Mulligan up to 2 cards, but choose any Bronze cards from your Deck to replace them. Then shuffle your Deck.
Saskia is one of the best beginner friendly Gold Cards there are. In the First Round, a player is only given three times to Mulligan a card while only once for each Second and Third Round. Therefore, there are times when you are stuck with cards that you may not want. Saskia solves that by not only mulligan-ing two bad cards in a players hand, but also putting two Bronze cards of the player’s choice from the deck into their hand. This could enable combos and engines easily by drawing the cards in each game.
MONSTERS 
CARETAKER – Deploy: Resurrect a Bronze or Silver Unit from your opponent’s Graveyard.
What is better than playing your own card? Playing your opponent’s card! Caretaker is a great card all around because it not only provides a good body (being the opposite of Shani) but also denies cards from your opponent’s discard pile. Any cards that would allow the opponent to resurrect their cards in Third Round is denied by Caretaker. Not only that, any engine or combo your opponent has is now yours as well.
SKELLIGE
CORAL – Deploy: Transform a Bronze or Silver Unit into a Jade Figurine.
Coral is the best Gold Card in Skellige if not the best card in all Gold Cards. A Jade Figurine is a 2 Strength unit that loses all boosts, abilities and any other buffs. This card is an almost auto include in all Skellige decks because of the versatility it brings even at high rank play. Any high Strength, Engine or Combo units your opponent has is changed to a mere 2 Strength unit. It is one of the best last cards and first cards to be played in any round.
NILFGAARD
VILGEFORTZ – Deploy: Destroy an Ally or (only possible if your opponent has not passed) an Enemy. If you Destroy an Ally, play the top card from your Deck. If you Destroy an Enemy, your opponent draws the top Bronze card from their Deck and Reveals it.
That is a mouthful to read but quite easy to understand. Vilgerfortz can destroy your own units (usually the lowest Strength unit you have) to draw a card and immediately play it. This means you can trade a low strength card for a better card. The other part is when neither player has pass, you can destroy an opponent’s unit (usually the highest Strength unit they have) to let them draw a card revealed. At most time you would destroy your own cards to draw a better card where sometimes you might even destroy a spy your opponent put that could be damaging to your side of the board. Plus, the card has one of my favorite quotes when played, “You Mistake Stars Reflected In A Pond For The Night Sky”.
Those are the Gold cards that I would suggest to be crafted first as these cards are versatile and are usable in any deck archetype. I do implore that ESKEL be crafted first being a Neutral Gold unit that can fit in all factions and all deck archetypes. Next time, we will talk about the Silvers that I would suggest to be crafted instead.
Until next time, keep on slinging those spells! Or in this case, Witcher Signs!
