Midsummer Waifu Wars
Hey there, lovelies!
It is summer in the northern hemisphere and Midsummer in Gwent! The longest day of the year on the Continent is celebrated with fires and self-made shrines, dance and rituals to bless the crops for a rich harvest later the year. Rumour has it that a Witcher’s signs are stronger on this day, so maybe grab a few Geralt cards for your deck, take it for a spin and hope for the best?
While a Midsummer event was something I already hoped for – there is a Midwinter event during the cold season after all – I did not expect this:
Here we go again – yet another Waifu War! We already wrote about the first one around Valentine’s Day, but this battle is even more heated! Just figuratively given the weather outside, but still: the event is a very welcome opportunity to grab some Shani, Yennefer and Triss-themed rewards while enjoying Gwent in a shady spot alongside a chilled drink.
You can click the card names to see their premium versions.
All card art and premiums were taken from The Voice of Gwent.
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Quests
Unlike a literally heated battle the requirements of the event are fairly chill. All quests are shared between the three women with only the third quest being the exception:
- Finish 1 match in any online mode – 1 Reward Point
- Play 10 units – 2 Reward Points
- Shani: Play 3 cards with Summon keyword – Travelling Medic title
- Triss: Boost units 20 times – Fourteenth of the Hill title
- Yennefer: Damage units 20 times – Janka title
- Complete 1 daily quest – 3 Reward Points
- Win 2 matches – card back
That is conveniently little effort for decent rewards over the course of twelve days and also allows you to progress some Contracts on top of this as this counts as ‘faction challenge’. I am relieved they did not want us to heal units 20 times for Shani.
If you cannot spare the time, but still fancy some card backs: The ones we analysed during the last Waifu War are sold in the Shupe again.
Titles
Shani’s Travelling Medic title is rather self-explanatory, albeit a bit missleading: after various assignments, for example helping out during the Battle of Brenna, she returned to Oxenfurt, finished her doctorate and opened her own clinic there. It can be assumed that this kept her busy enough so not much more travelling has been doon afterwards – especially since her skills and reputation ultimately led her to become the Dean of the academy’s medical department.
I am not sure whether I could stay in the same place for this long, but she seemed to have found her passion. Well done, Shani!
Yennefer’s title Janka – which is also in fact her birth name before she became known as the famous sorceress she is today – carries a lot of symbolism. From her Journey story we learn that her life before the transformation has not been an easy one: she was the daughter of commoners and used to be bullied as a child because of her hunchback, for being odd and ugly. All of this is reflected in this name picked very carefully by Sapkowski:
As an old Polish name that dates back to pre-slavic times, it is the female version of the Polish Jan/Jhon and was a commoner’s name.
No person of status would have named their daughter like this. Given its age, nowadays it sounds a bit pathetic to Polish people, like a joke, it’s silly and sounds rather unfit for a girl. That makes it such a meaningful name Yennefer had before joining Aretuza – to point out how she was this lonely child viewed as pathetic and ugly.
Once you completed the quests for two of the ladies, you receive the title Nature Whorshipper which is not related to them, but rather the Midwinter celebrations earlier. If you are asking for your crops to be blessed by the sun, that definitely counts as worshipping nature. Easha does not strike me exactly as a sun lover, but I am glad to get that title. It goes well with a Scoia’tael Harmony deck or maybe Skellige’s Druids.
We already explained Triss Merigold’s title Fourteenth of the Hill in an earlier post where we tried to predict future Journey characters, so let me just quote myself from there: “[…] the events around the Battle of Sodden Hill during the first Northern War, where 13 mages of the Northern Realms made the ultimate sacrifice and Triss was heavily injured and even believed to be dead like the others. That is why her name is engraved on a stone monument remembering the battle and the dead mages and thus her nickname ‘the fourteenth of the hill'”.
Our prediction turned out to be correct and the very same title (albeit in yellow instead of white colour) even was part of Triss’ extended Journey path before making its reappearrance in this event.
Card backs
All card backs look a bit worn and feature the woman blended into the background prominently in their centre. Each of the portraits is additionally adorned by another flavourful element and the corners of the frame highlight an individual aspect.
Shani is the only one smiling in her protrait. Her element of flavour is the daisy flower which almost looks like a little sun and thus fits the Midsummer celebration well. The corner models on the necklace she is wearing – and still depicts the wrong caduceus instead of the Staff of Aesculapius Easha complained about the last time.
I still do! The first time was a mistake, but I am afraid we now have a pattern here…
But onwards to Yennefer: given her lilac eyes which have quite an intense glare in this artwork, it was only natural to choose this as signature colour for the card back. Her neck is framed by a raven’s feathers as another typical Yennefer symbol. The bird is also featured in the corners and yet another one can be seen in front view at the top and the bottom of the frame.
That leaves us with Triss’ card back. The red colour mimics the one of her hair and of the flames surrounding her. The latter is probably a reference to the Battle of Sodden Hill where she suffered terrible burns. Writing of which… would the lore enthusiasts among you kindly put down their blazing torches and pitchforks? You are making me nervous… I am aware she has auburn hair in the books, but CDPR’s Triss is a redhead after all. Maybe inspired by the company name, who knows… The corners of the card back mimic the ornaments present on her necklace while the upper and lower border feature the Temerian lily given her job as advisor to the court.
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Final verdict
I like Shani’s card back the most because of her smile. Which is why I also appreciate the Shani avatar as final reward of the event once you completed the quests for all three women. A very cute smile, indeed.
Meanwhile do not care much about any of the card backs, but I can appreciate the heavy symbolism of the Janka title. Who would have thought Yennefer’s entire story of her early years would be hidden within?
Glad to have you on the Blaugust choo-choo train this year — I’ll be lurking this month!