Queries on Gwent: Duel Modes and Booster Pack Update

How do you turn an online mini-game into a physical strategy-packed card game? If you've been wondering about that since the announcement of Gwent: The Legendary Card Game, you’re in the right place. Today’s blog post will begin to answer this question by introducing the three duel (1v1) play modes: Initiation, Classic, and Advanced. Specifically, we’ll be detailing the differences they bring in deckbuilding. In future posts, we will cover other possible game modes, Gwent rules, faction strengths, and abilities. Stay until the end to learn more about redeeming your free booster pack!

Classic Mode

Let’s begin with a classic game of Gwent. For the sake of brevity, this will only cover deckbuilding rules, not all game play rules. In a classic game of Gwent, players begin by choosing their faction from one of the five (Monsters, Nilfgaard, Northern Realms, Scoia'tael, and Skellige). Each player must then build a deck using cards from their chosen faction. In classic mode, each deck must consist of:

• 1 Leader card
• 22 Unit and Hero cards (minimum)
• 10 special cards (maximum)

Once decks are built, gameplay follows familiar Gwent mechanics from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Players draw 10 cards from their deck and take turns placing one card on the battlefield. The round ends when both players decide to pass. The player with the highest combined strength of Unit and Hero cards wins the round.

Initiation Mode

For newcomers to Gwent or players who prefer a quick setup, initiation mode simplifies deckbuilding. This mode provides pre-built decks for each faction, helping players jump straight into battle. The pre-constructed decks will introduce the strength of each faction. These cards are marked with a white star in the lower left corner, as shown in the Crone: Brewess card on the right.

Skellige also includes a side deck for the Berserker ability. This deck is marked by a black star in the lower left corner.

At the start of an initiation game, each player will find their pre-selected deck from their chosen faction, pick a Leader and draw 10 cards from this simplified deck. The game continues as normal.

Advanced Mode

For players who want an extra challenge, advanced mode adds constraints on the composition of the deck. When playing in advanced mode, a deck must consist of:

• 1 Leader card
• 22 Unit and Hero cards (minimum)
• 5 special cards (maximum)
• 2 spy cards (maximum)
• 2 medic cards (maximum)

In addition, the total power of the deck cannot be over 130. By restricting the number of spy and medic cards that can be used in a game, seasoned players will have to adapt their tried-and-true tactics since card advantages will be limited. Are you up for the challenge?

If you have a question on a game mode or on deckbuilding, leave a comment below!

Pre-orders, Booster Pack, and Accessories Update

Duels and deckbuilding aside, many of you have your eyes on the Legendary Ballad Heroes DLC booster pack. As a reminder, these are complementary foil cards with alternative artwork from the Ballad Heroes DLC.
By signing up to the No Loading Games newsletter, you get a code to redeem a free copy of the booster pack at purchase. Each Ballad Heroes booster pack contains 5 random foil cards.

As of writing this, No Loading Games will be the only place you can redeem the code for a free booster pack. 
You can redeem when pre-orders open around May 2025, at an event or when the game launches later this year.
Please note only the English version will be available on noloadinggames.com, and it will be shipped from our NA or EU warehouse.

Some of our distributing partners have already opened pre-orders. If you have pre-ordered through your local gaming store but want the Legendary Ballad Foil cards, you have two options. You will be able to buy a 10-foil card add-on pack by faction through your local game store or you can redeem your code for a 5-foil card random booster pack at No Loading Games when purchasing other items in our store or at an event.

This leads us to our final and most exciting update for today’s blog: we are working with CD PROJEKT RED to finalize several types of accessories, including a high quality neoprene playing mat, branded faction card sleeves, and the legendary Ballad Heroes Foil card packs previously mentioned! These accessories will be available on our site later this year and at retailers around the world - but plan accordingly if you want to make use of the booster pack redemption code!