Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion is regarded as one of the best DLCs of all time. It adds multiple things to the game, including a fresh location, new characters, and a fifth Gwent Deck. The addition to the popular card game is a particular highlight as it introduces the people of Skellige to the minigame.
From the An Craites to Madman Lugos, pretty much every Skelliger is either a hero, leader or a typical unit. Overall, the new deck isn't the strongest in The Witcher 3, but it's still solid overall. And there are several cards in the deck that are as good as anything the others have to offer. Here are the best Skellige cards.
Updated on September 16th, 2021 by Ben Jessey: The Witcher 3 has maintained its popularity a lot longer than the average single-player adventure, and Gwent is one of the reasons why. The excellent card game is still as addictive as always. And the Skellige Deck is one of the most fun to use when playing against the game's various innkeepers and supporting characters.
However, players who want to win much more often than they lose will need as many great cards as possible. So, we've added a few more gems to our piece about the greatest Skellige cards. With them all, players can build the best Skellige deck and have no trouble beating the toughest opponents in the game.
13 Clan An Craite Warrior (Tight Bond) - Strength: 6
The Tight Bond skill means that when two of the same card are placed next to each other, they both double in strength. Several Gwent cards have this power, but most of them don't boast an initial strength of six.
So, for those not wanting to do the math, players can possibly have two 12 strength cards in play. What makes them even better is there's no need to go searching around for them as they're a part of the base Skellige deck.
12 Light Longship (Muster) - Strength: 4
Light Longship is the sort of card that isn't too impressive on its own. However, the Muster ability means that anytime players use this unit, any others of the same name will be played instantly.
So, for instance, if a player had three Light Longships in their deck, then they'd place them all at once, even if they're not in their current hand. Therefore, it's possible to use a couple of extra cards with this one. And luckily, two of them are included in the base deck. Plus, players can win a third one from the Perfumery Merchant, which is a victory that can be achieved by players who know all of the best tips.
11 Young Berserker - Strength: 2
The Young Berserker is a ranged card with a strength of two, which doesn't sound too impressive. But place a Mardroeme in its row, and it becomes a Transformed Young Vildkaarl. This new form not only has eight strength, but it also comes with the Tight Bond ability, so if there's two of them, their power is doubled.
A pair of Transformed Young Vildkaarls is more effective than anything in even the best Skeillige Deck. Unfortunately, having two of them plus a Mardroeme isn't always possible. At least, it's easy to get a few Young Berserkers as one is a part of the base deck, and players can win the others from the Tourney Grounds' Blacksmith and Pierre at the Tailor's Workshop.
10 Birna Bran (Medic) - Strength: 2
It's always useful to have a medic in any Gwent hand as it allows the player to bring back a card from the discard pile. The Skellige deck only has one healer, Birna Bran, and she's included in the first group of cards players are given.
She's especially vital because she allows Skellige players to reuse opposition spies as they have none of their own. Plus, the deck has several powerful non-heroes that the medic can put back onto the battlefield. The helpfulness of the card is surprising, considering the character it's based on is not far from being among the evilest in the game.
9 Clan Dimun Pirate (Scorch) - Strength: 6
In the right hands, scorch cards can be devastating, as when used, they destroy the strongest units on the field regardless of who owns them. So, a well-placed scorch can rip an opponent apart.
While burning powerful cards, Clan Dimun Pirate still serves as a regular unit. Yes, six strength isn't much, but if the card also destroys two 10s when it's unleashed, then it has accomplished a lot. Players earn the card by defeating the merchant from Dupont & Sons.
8 Mardroeme (Special)
Mardroeme is a special card that's exclusive to the Skellige deck. When played, it transforms any Berserker units in the same row into more powerful beasts. It turns a Young Berserker into a Young Vildkaarl with eight strength, whereas a regular Berserker becomes a level 14 Vildkaarl.
Sometimes, all players need is one Mardoeme to change the tide of a game. It's certainly a must-have for players with multiple Berserkers in their deck. And the first one is easy to obtain as it comes with the base pack, while others can be won from the madame at The Belles of Beauclair and the herbalist from the Herb Store.
7 Berserker - Strength: 4
There's not much point to the special Mardroeme cards without any Berserkers. The close-combat one is slightly better than its young counterpart because it's able to turn into the strongest card in the entire deck, aka the Transformed Vildkaarl.
Although its Mardroeme transformation doesn't just improve its power, it also gains the Morale Boost ability. For those that don't know, the Morale Boost adds one strength to all units in the same row. Thankfully, it's an easy card to acquire since it's part of the base deck.
6 Hjalmar (Hero) - Strength: 10
Hjalmar is a popular character, mostly featuring in Witcher 3's side quests. He's also one of the hero cards from the Skellige deck.
As with all hero units, he's impervious to any special card, meaning scorch or weather changes can't hurt him. Not only is he highly defensible, but he's also very strong with his rating of ten. And players don't even need to win tournaments or pay thousands to get him; he's just a part of the original deck.
5 Kambi - Strength: 0
A zero-strength card doesn't sound incredibly useful. Yet, Kambi has a unique power that spawns the powerful Hemdall when it leaves the board. Hemdall is a hero card, so he's indestructible and has an impressive strength rating of eleven.
There are several ways to use the Kambi card. For instance, players can place it in rounds that they already expect to lose, forcing the opponent to waste another card to ensure victory, then in the following round, Hemdall will be there. To get the card, players must beat the armorer in Beauclair.
4 King Bran (Leader)
Despite being a strong leader in the story, Crach An Craite isn't the greatest leader in the Skellige deck. The best person to have in charge of a hand is King Bran as he has the ability to reduce the effectiveness of weather on his units.
Instead of bad weather bringing each cards' strength down to one, it only takes half of their power away. And as weather affects both players, Bran's defense against it can give the Skellige forces an edge in certain situations. However, to get the leader card, players need to defeat the Ducal Camerlengo in Skellige.
3 Cerys (Hero And Summon Shield Maidens) - Strength: 10
Cerys is not much weaker than the strongest characters in Witcher 3, and she's also one of the best Gwent cards. Naturally, as a hero unit, she's defended against special abilities and has got a good strength rating of 10.
Yet, the An Craite separates herself from other heroes by also having the 'summon shield maidens' ability. As the name suggests, the power means that when Cerys is on the battlefield, she's joined by every shield maiden in the player's deck and hand. Obtaining the impressive card means winning it from The Barrel and Bung's Innkeep.
2 Ermion (Hero And Mardroeme) - Strength: 8
Along with being a level eight hero, the Ermion card works the same as a Mardroeme. Thus, once the Druid enters into play, any berserker in the same row turns into a powerful Vildkaarl. As Ermion can only be placed in the ranged row, only Young Berserkers can transform.
Still, adding an eight rating to the field while vastly improving another unit is very helpful. To add Ermion to their collection, players must best the innkeeper at Francollarts.
1 Olaf (Agile And Morale Boost) - Strength: 12
Not to be confused with the little snowman from Frozen, Olaf is a fistfighting bear and an excellent Gwent card. He boasts an impressive strength rating of 12, and his agile ability enables players to place him in either the close combat or ranged row, making him very versatile. And he's certainly stronger than the bears Geralt fights during the game as all of them are among the weakest monsters.
Whichever row he joins is enhanced because of his morale boost skill, which improves the strength of everyone beside him by one. This is another card players need to earn, this time by beating the owner of The Adder and Jewels Winery.
The Witcher 3 was released on May 10, 2015, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.