Gwent: Crimson Curse is the first card expansion for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, and launched earlier this week. The expansion brings over 100 new cards, including at least 14 for each of the five factions, and it also brings a brand-new faction leader for each one. Four of these have already been revealed, and today, CD Projekt Red revealed the fifth and final leader; “The Lioness of Cintra” herself, Queen Calanthe, who also happens to be Ciri’s grandmother.
Queen Calanthe is the New Northern Realms Faction Leader in Gwent: Crimson Curse
Queen Calanthe is a new faction leader for the Northern Realms; the last addition to the roster of new leaders in Gwent: Crimson Curse. The expansion also adds Dana Méadbh for the Scoia’tael, Anna Henrietta for Nilfgaard, Svalblod for Skellige, and even “The Beast of Beauclair” himself, Dettlaff van der Eretein for the Monsters.
Calanthe’s unique Order ability is fairly simple compared to some of the other new leaders’ abilities. However, it opens up a lot of tactical possibilities. Her Order allows her to play a Northern Realms faction card which she has in her hand, then draw a card. This can be used to bolster her rows unexpectedly, or provide valuable bonuses and combinations with other cards. For instance, the trailer shows her using it to play a catapult after playing a Siege Master; setting up an attack on her opponent’s rows.
Although she may not be as imposing as Dettlaff or Svalblod, Calanthe is a famous commander; she was just fifteen years old when she won her first battle. After that, she became known as “The Lioness of Cintra”. She is actually Ciri’s grandmother, and a cousin of Queen Meve, the protagonist of Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. Although she plays a major role in The Witcher novels, and will be played by Jodhi May in the upcoming Witcher Netflix series, she never appears in CD Projekt Red’s Witcher game series. She committed suicide in 1263, when Nilfgaard invaded Cintra during the First Nilfgaard War, years before the start of the first game.