It should be indicative of the quality of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's narrative strength that when a card game inspired by the title releases a brief 60-second teaser for its story campaign, it's instantly a newsworthy topic across several prominent gaming forums. The teaser for the story, simply titled "Thronebreaker," is available to view below. Check it out:
Though fans might be disappointed in that the story has apparently nothing to do with Geralt or any of his companions, there's actually plenty of reason to be excited. Meve, though not a character present in any of the Witcher video games, did make an appearance towards the end of one of the novels from which the series is based on. Despite only being there for maybe a few pages, Meve left an impression as an unusually determined Queen, who, when all hope seemed lost, lead the charge against an invading nation.
(Warning: Spoilers for Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series)
In the third novel of the saga, Baptism of Fire, Geralt and his newfound companions are in pursuit of Cirilla or "Ciri," the child surprise, Princess of Cintra, child of the Elder Blood, etcetera, etcetera. Near the end of the book, Geralt and co. find themselves hurriedly steering a commandeered raft down a river whilst surrounded by invading Nilfgaardians on one bank and defending Lyrians on the other.
Shenanigans ensue, a companion is wounded, and Geralt inadvertently finds himself leading the defense on a strategic bridge alongside an enemy-turned-ally and the remaining Lyrian forces in order to buy time for his friends. After some time and quite a lot of bloodshed, Geralt successfully turns the battle in his favor and is subsequently knighted and bestowed his previously-fake title "of Rivia" by the Queen of Lyria, Meve.
Meve knights Geralt. Via the Witcher wiki.
The reason Meve makes an impression here is not because of her brief run-in with everyone's favorite Witcher, but rather because of the effect she's already had on her troops. Meve rallied an army around her and lead them personally in a world where even royal women are still denied many basic rights. She's even wounded; the scar visible in the trailer is a gift from one of the Nilfgaardians she so bravely fought against.
Long story short, Meve's an interesting character for more reasons than one, and we have something to look forward to in Gwent's upcoming story campaign, Thronebreaker. For more information about the game, visit its official website, or follow the developers over Twitter to receive news about any future updates - or even just fan-art. There's a lot of that.
