The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Remastered: Best Skellige Gwent Deck

TL;DR

• The Skellige Gwent deck is exclusive to the Blood and Wine DLC and set in Toussaint.
• Their faction ability places two random cards from your graveyard on the board at the start of Round 3 — for free.
• The whole strategy is built around stocking your graveyard in Rounds 1 and 2 so Round 3 becomes a free win.
• Cerys is the single most powerful combo card in the Skellige deck — she calls all Clan Drummond Shield Maidens to the board at once.
• King Bran is the best leader. Units in bad weather only lose half their strength instead of being reduced to 1.
• Tight Bond with Clan an Craite Warriors and Light Longships creates big consistent scoring.
• Supplement with neutral Hero cards — Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer all strengthen this deck significantly.

The Skellige Gwent deck is unlike anything else in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is the only faction locked behind a DLC expansion. It plays differently from every other deck in the game. And when you understand how it works, it can produce some of the most explosive final rounds you will ever see in Gwent.

Skellige does not rely on spies or card draw like Northern Realms. It does not use Muster flooding like Monsters. It plays a long, deliberate game — sacrificing early rounds, filling the graveyard, and then cashing in everything in Round 3 with a free two-card resurrection and a Tight Bond explosion that is nearly impossible to stop.

This guide covers exactly how to build it, which cards matter most, where to find them all in Toussaint, and how to win with it.

How to Unlock the Skellige Gwent Deck

The Skellige deck is only available in the Blood and Wine DLC. You cannot access it in the base game or in Hearts of Stone. You need to travel to Toussaint and start the Gwent quest there.

When you arrive in Toussaint, look for a Gwent-related quest that leads you to Count Monnier at an inn in western Beauclair, southwest of The Gran Palace signpost. Speak with him and he will hand you the basic Skellige starter deck at no cost. This gives you a solid foundation of cards to build from.

From there, you need to defeat 19 marked Gwent players scattered across Toussaint to complete your collection. The quest Gwent: Never Fear, Skellige’s Here! tracks all of them on your map. This makes the Skellige deck the most time-intensive to build, but also the most rewarding to play once complete.

If you are also working on completing all Gwent content across the whole game, our Witcher 3 Remastered: How to Get Every Gwent Card guide and our DLC Gwent Cards guide cover everything across base game, Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine.

Why Play Skellige Gwent?

Skellige’s appeal comes down to one thing: the faction ability.

At the start of Round 3, two random non-hero cards from your graveyard are automatically placed onto the battlefield. You get them for free. No card spend. No ability activation. They just appear.

This means that every card you send to the graveyard in Rounds 1 and 2 is an investment. The more valuable units you sacrifice early, the better your chances of getting powerful cards back in Round 3 for nothing. A Tight Bond unit revived this way immediately triggers its bond bonus with any matching card still on board. A Medic brought back this way can pull another unit from the graveyard. The combos compound fast.

No other faction in the game gets free units at the start of Round 3. This alone is why Skellige has one of the highest potential ceilings of any Gwent deck when played correctly.

Best Skellige Gwent Deck Build

Keep your deck at exactly 22 unit cards. More than that dilutes your draw and reduces the chances of getting your key combo pieces in hand when you need them. Every card in this build has a role.

Leader Card: King Bran

King Bran is the best Skellige leader for most matchups. His ability makes all your units lose only half their strength from weather effects instead of being reduced to 1. This is enormous. Without him, a single Biting Frost or Torrential Rain can cripple an entire row of Tight Bond units. With him, those same cards barely scratch you.

The other Skellige leader is Crach an Craite, whose ability shuffles all cards from both players’ graveyards back into their decks. This is a niche pick. It can deny your opponent a Medic play and give you back cards you needed — but it also resets your own graveyard, which interferes directly with Skellige’s faction resurrection ability. Stick with King Bran in almost every situation.

The Cerys Combo (Your Win Condition)

Cerys an Craite is the most powerful card in the Skellige deck and arguably one of the most explosive single plays in all of Gwent. She is a 10-strength Hero card. When you play her, she immediately triggers a Muster-like effect that calls all Clan Drummond Shield Maidens from your deck directly onto the Close Combat row.

Each Clan Drummond Shield Maiden has 4 strength with Tight Bond. Play three of them together and they double to 8 each for 24 total — plus Cerys’s 10 strength — giving you 34 points in a single play. Drop Commander’s Horn or Dandelion on that row and the numbers become staggering.

This combo is so strong that opponents will often immediately pass or scramble to play Scorch. To protect against Scorch, play your Shield Maidens before Cerys whenever possible. Once they are on the board and Cerys is used to call them, Cerys herself is a Hero card and immune to Scorch. The Shield Maidens, however, are not.

Hero Cards (Immune, Reliable, High Strength)

Skellige Hero cards cannot be affected by weather, Scorch, or Commander’s Horn. Always count at face value.

• Cerys an Craite — 10 strength, Close Combat, Hero, Muster for Clan Drummond Shield Maidens
• Hjalmar an Craite — 10 strength, Close Combat, Hero. A solid anchor that sits safely at 10 no matter what your opponent plays.
• Ermion — 8 strength, Ranged, Hero. A reliable mid-strength hero for your Ranged row.
• Geralt of Rivia (Neutral) — 15 strength, Close Combat, Hero. The highest raw strength card in the game. Include him in any deck.
• Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (Ciri) (Neutral) — 15 strength, Close Combat, Hero. Same value as Geralt. A must-include.
• Yennefer of Vengerberg (Neutral) — 7 strength, Ranged, Hero, Medic. Her Medic ability lets you revive a unit from the discard pile each time you play her. In Skellige, she directly supports your graveyard engine.

Tight Bond Cards (Consistent Big Scoring)

Tight Bond cards double in strength when two or more matching cards share the same row. Skellige has two excellent Tight Bond groups that work independently of the Cerys combo.

• Clan an Craite Warrior (x3) — 6 strength each, Close Combat, Tight Bond. Three together give 12 each for a total of 36 points. One of the most reliable scoring engines in the entire game. You receive all three copies in Count Monnier’s starter deck at the beginning of the Skellige quest.
• Clan Drummond Shield Maiden (x3) — 4 strength each, Close Combat, Tight Bond. Doubles to 8 each with three copies for 24 total. Works on its own, and becomes even more powerful when combined with Cerys. Collect all three copies across Toussaint.
• Light Longship (x3) — 4 strength each, Ranged, Muster. When you play one Light Longship, all copies are called from your deck to the Ranged row automatically. Three together score 12 points from one play. Fast, cheap, and reliable.

Utility and Support Cards

• Birna Bran — 2 strength, Close Combat, Medic. Low strength makes her a good early sacrifice into the graveyard. Her Medic ability lets you retrieve a non-hero unit from the discard pile when played. Use Decoy to replay her and pull out a second unit.
• Kambi — 0 strength, Close Combat, Summon Avenger. When Kambi is removed from the board — by weather, Scorch, or any other effect — he is replaced by Hemdall, an 11-strength Hero card. Play Kambi early and let your opponent’s Scorch or Biting Frost trigger the swap for free. This is a great bait play in Round 1.
• Olaf — 12 strength, Agile. Olaf is one of the highest-strength non-hero cards in the game. He can go in either Close Combat or Ranged, making him flexible. He is a prime candidate for Round 3 graveyard resurrection given his raw value.
• Mysterious Elf (Avallac’h) (Neutral) — 0 strength, Hero, Spy. The only Spy-type card accessible to Skellige through neutral cards. Play him to give your opponent 0 strength while drawing two cards from your deck. Since Skellige has no native Spy cards, Mysterious Elf fills a critical card draw gap.
• Clan Dimun Pirate — 6 strength, Ranged, Scorch effect on the melee row. He destroys the strongest unit in the Close Combat row at the time of play. Useful for clearing a threat before it scores. Note that his effect is not targeted — it hits the highest-strength card in melee regardless of which side it belongs to, so play carefully.
• Villentretenmerth (Neutral) — 7 strength, Close Combat, Scorch for the melee row. Same Scorch effect as Clan Dimun Pirate but slightly different targeting. Good for wiping out an opponent’s stacked Tight Bond group.

Special Cards

• Decoy (x3) — Return any unit from the board to your hand and play it again. In Skellige, use Decoy on Birna Bran to trigger Medic twice and pull two units back from the graveyard in a single round. Also use it to return Kambi before an opponent removes him, or to send Clan Drummond Shield Maidens back to your hand before playing Cerys so Cerys can call them fresh.
• Commander’s Horn (x1) — Doubles all non-hero units in one row. Drop this on a row holding three Clan an Craite Warriors or three Shield Maidens for massive point output.
• Skellige Storm (x1 or x2) — A weather card unique to the Skellige faction. It reduces all Ranged and Siege units to 1 strength. With King Bran as leader, your own affected units only drop to half strength instead of 1, giving you a significant relative advantage when Skellige Storm hits. This asymmetry is the card’s hidden strength in this deck.
• Dandelion (Neutral) — 2 strength, Melee, acts as Commander’s Horn for the Close Combat row. Weaker than a true Commander’s Horn, but a useful supplement if you have the slot.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Remastered Best Skellige Gwent Deck

Full Skellige Deck Card List

Here is the complete recommended deck at a glance.

• King Bran (Leader)
• Cerys an Craite — Hero, 10 strength, Close Combat, Muster
• Hjalmar an Craite — Hero, 10 strength, Close Combat
• Ermion — Hero, 8 strength, Ranged
• Geralt of Rivia — Neutral Hero, 15 strength, Close Combat
• Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon — Neutral Hero, 15 strength, Close Combat
• Yennefer of Vengerberg — Neutral Hero/Medic, 7 strength, Ranged
• Mysterious Elf — Neutral Hero/Spy, 0 strength
• Clan an Craite Warrior x3 — Tight Bond, 6 strength, Close Combat
• Clan Drummond Shield Maiden x3 — Tight Bond, 4 strength, Close Combat
• Light Longship x3 — Muster, 4 strength, Ranged
• Olaf — Agile, 12 strength
• Birna Bran — Medic, 2 strength, Close Combat
• Kambi — Summon Avenger, 0 strength, Close Combat
• Clan Dimun Pirate — Scorch (melee row), 6 strength, Ranged
• Villentretenmerth — Neutral Scorch (melee row), 7 strength, Close Combat
• Decoy x3 — Special
• Commander’s Horn x1 — Special
• Skellige Storm x1 — Special (weather)

Where to Find Every Key Skellige Card

Almost all Skellige cards are found exclusively in Toussaint during the Blood and Wine DLC. The fastest way to track them down is to start the Gwent: Never Fear, Skellige’s Here! quest, which marks all 19 Gwent-playing NPCs on your map.

Count Monnier — Free Starter Deck (Beauclair)

Speak with Count Monnier at the inn southwest of The Gran Palace signpost in western Beauclair. He gives you the following cards for free as part of the quest introduction.

• Berserker, Birna Bran, Blueboy Lugos
• Clan an Craite Warrior x3 (all three copies — in the starter deck)
• Clan Brokvar Archer x2, Clan Heymaey Skald, Clan Tordarroch Armorsmith
• Clan Drummond Shield Maiden x1 (first copy)
• Crach an Craite (leader card), Donar an Hindar
• Hjalmar an Craite
• Holger Blackhand, Light Longship x2, Madman Lugos
• Mardroeme, Svanrige, Udalryk, War Longship x2, Young Berserker

Beauclair NPCs

• Olaf — Win from the Sommelier at The Adder and Jewels Winery, Beauclair
• King Bran (leader card) — Win from the Ducal Camerlengo in Beauclair
• Kambi — Win from the Armorer in central Beauclair
• Clan Dimun Pirate — Win from the Merchant at Dupont and Sons, Beauclair
• Light Longship (3rd copy) — Win from the Merchant at the Perfumery, Beauclair
• Draig Bon-Dhu — Win from the Innkeep at The Pheasantry, Beauclair
• Mardroeme (2nd copy) — Win from the Herbalist at the Herb Store, Beauclair
• Mardroeme (3rd copy) — Win from Madame at The Belles of Beauclair
• Skellige Storm — Win from the Butcher, Beauclair

Outside Beauclair

• Cerys an Craite — Win from the Innkeep at The Barrel and Bung Inn in Flovive village. This is the most important card in the deck. Do not miss it.
• Clan Drummond Shield Maiden (2nd copy) — Win from the Armorer in Francollarts
• Ermion — Win from the Innkeep at The Scarlet Cardinal Inn in Francollarts
• Clan Drummond Shield Maiden (3rd copy) — Win from the Innkeep at The Cockatrice Inn
• Clan Brokvar Archer (3rd copy) — Win from the Herbalist at Castel Ravello Vineyard
• War Longship (3rd copy) — Win from the Innkeep at the Tourney Grounds
• Skellige Storm (additional copies) — Win from the Armorer and Barber at the Tourney Grounds

For a complete list of every missable card and how to avoid losing them permanently, see our Witcher 3: All Missable Gwent Cards guide.

How to Play the Skellige Deck

Skellige rewards patience above everything else. The strategy is not to win every round. It is to set up Round 3 so thoroughly that your opponent cannot compete.

Round 1: Load the Graveyard

Do not try to win Round 1 outright. Instead, play your lowest-value cards first — Kambi, Birna Bran, low-strength units. Let Kambi get removed so Hemdall appears for free. Play Light Longships for a quick 12 points without touching your key combo pieces.

If your opponent drops Scorch, let it remove a weak card. If they play Biting Frost, King Bran’s ability means your melee units only drop to half strength rather than 1 — so you still score. Eventually pass Round 1. You may lose it. That is fine. What matters is that your discard pile is now full of decent cards that Skellige’s faction ability might resurrect in Round 3.

Round 2: Win With Mid-Range Plays

You have more cards than your opponent because they overcommitted in Round 1 trying to beat you. Now push back. Play Tight Bond Clan an Craite Warriors, your Hero cards, and Yennefer to pull back a unit from the discard pile. Win Round 2 cleanly without spending your Cerys combo or Commander’s Horn — save those for the close-out.

Round 3: Cerys Combo and Free Resurrection

Round 3 starts with two free cards from your graveyard appearing on the board. Check what came back. If a Clan an Craite Warrior or a Clan Drummond Shield Maiden returned, your Tight Bond numbers are already building.

Now play Cerys. She calls all Shield Maidens from your deck to the Close Combat row instantly. If three Shield Maidens enter the board together, each doubles to 8 for 24 total points plus Cerys’s 10 — that is 34 points in a single action. Drop Commander’s Horn on that row and the total climbs past 60 in one row alone.

Use Decoy to replay Birna Bran for a second Medic trigger if needed. Throw down Geralt and Ciri as 15-strength anchors. Your opponent, running low on cards after Rounds 1 and 2, usually cannot answer this.

Key Tips for Winning

• Always play Shield Maidens before Cerys. If you play Cerys first, she triggers Muster to pull Shield Maidens from your deck. But if Decoy was used on Shield Maidens, those specific copies are in your hand, not deck — Cerys will not pull them. Play any hand copies first, then Cerys pulls the rest.
• Bait Scorch with Kambi before dropping your Tight Bond groups. If your opponent has Scorch or Villentretenmerth, let Kambi take the hit in Round 1. Kambi becomes Hemdall and your opponent wastes their removal.
• Use King Bran’s weather resistance against Skellige Storm opponents. If you run one Skellige Storm yourself, you can drop it on your opponent’s Ranged row — their units drop to 1, yours only drop to half strength. This asymmetry can swing a round by 20 or more points in your favour.
• Do not overcrowd the graveyard with Hero cards. The faction resurrection only pulls non-hero units. Heroes cannot be resurrected by the passive. Keep your graveyard stocked with strong non-hero units like Clan an Craite Warriors, Olaf, and Birna Bran.
• Keep your deck at 22 units. Skellige has many tempting cards but weak filler like Svanrige (4 strength, no ability) or Blueboy Lugos (6 strength, no ability) dilute your draws without contributing to your combos. Replace them with better options as you collect more cards.

What Not to Include in Your Deck

The Skellige starter deck contains several cards that look useful but are not worth the slot in a tight build.

• Berserker and Young Berserker — These need a Mardroeme card in the same row to transform into bear form. Without it, they sit at 4 and 2 strength respectively. The dependency makes them unreliable. Skip them unless you specifically build around Mardroeme.
• Mardroeme — Only worth including if you run Berserkers. Without them, Mardroeme is a dead card. If you skip the Berserker synergy entirely — which this build does — leave Mardroeme out.
• War Longship — 8 strength, Siege, no ability. There are no Siege multipliers in this deck, and 8 strength with no Tight Bond or Muster is weaker than it looks compared to your better options.
• Svanrige — 4 strength, Close Combat, no ability. Flat filler. Below the value threshold for this deck.
• Blueboy Lugos — 6 strength, no ability. Same issue. Replace with a neutral Hero or Tight Bond unit.
• More than 22 units — As with every other faction, a larger deck means worse odds of drawing your win conditions.

Skellige vs Other Factions

Understanding how Skellige matches up against each faction helps you decide which special cards to include.

• vs Northern Realms — They rely on Tight Bond rows and Spy card draw. King Bran protects your rows from Biting Frost. Use Clan Dimun Pirate to Scorch their Close Combat Tight Bond group before it fires. See our Best Northern Realms Gwent Deck guide to understand exactly how they play.
• vs Nilfgaard — Nilfgaard wins draws. Never let a round end tied. Always push for a definitive win margin or concede cleanly. Their Spy cards can also bloat your score in Round 1 — use Decoy to return opposing Spies and deny them extra draws.
• vs Scoia’tael — They use Agile units and Muster combos. Their Muster typically fires in one big play per round. Match their tempo in Round 2 and overwhelm them in Round 3 with your free resurrection plus the Cerys combo. Our Best Scoia’tael Gwent Deck guide explains their playstyle in full.
• vs Monsters — Monsters keep a random unit after each round. This gives them a free unit entering Round 3 just like you. Out-combo them with Cerys and lean on your superior Hero card count to finish the match.

Skellige in Witcher 3 Remastered

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered includes the Blood and Wine DLC, which means the Skellige Gwent deck is fully available. All cards, faction abilities, and strategies in this guide apply directly to the Remastered version. The Gwent rules are unchanged.

If you are going for full achievement completion including Gwent, our Witcher 3 Remastered: Ultimate Achievement Guide covers everything you need. And for the rest of the game, our Best Builds guide, Skill Tree guide, and All Quests in Order guide will take you the rest of the way.

Frequently Asked Questions