In a world full of mages, sorceresses, monsters, and mutants, power has become more of an abstract concept. Physical strength alone simply pales in comparison compared to what most people can do to the laws of The Witcher's universe in the Netflix adaptation. For that matter, by strength, we're also counting supernatural feats and capabilities, such is the case for The Witcher.
Now, since it's a show where the power struggle is a thing that drives the plot and the story, it's only fair to compare how these characters hold up against one another in terms of "strength." Their powers certainly play a huge part in the story and can even turn the tide of battles with enough concentration. Here are 10 of those strongest individuals in Netflix's The Witcher.
RENFRI
Most nobles have nothing on Renfri when it comes to skill and resilience. As a more twisted version of Snow White, she was cast out and set on the cruel world as a child. Most other children would have died but Renfri survived, became a cutthroat, and even formed a mercenary band which even the local guardsmen of Blaviken feared.
It might have been a small band, but you have to bear in mind that Renfri was able to form it out of nothing whereas nobles like Queen Calanthe were born into that opportunity. Moreover, Renfri was able to last several minutes against Geralt of Rivia... in battle (and in other activities too). Not many humans could do that.
TRISS MERIGOLD
Triss is often regarded as one of the youngest sorceresses in her circle but she has proven that she's no slouch when it comes to life-threatening situations. In the show, Triss notably held the gates of their stronghold in Sodden against a wave of Nilfgaardian soldiers-- had she not done this, it would've cost them the battle.
Meanwhile, in the books, Triss also did something similarly heroic. Along with several mages, she made a last stand at the Battle of Sodden Hill and thought to have perished with 13 others, giving her the moniker Fourteenth of the Hill. Of course, she did survive and went on to be regarded as a hero.
TISSAIA DE VRIES
Tissaia De Vries is Yennefer's mentor and one of the most influential and proficient magic-users in Aretuza and among the magic circle. Along with other mages, sorcerers, and nobles, Tissaia manipulated the world into their circle's vision and to their advantage. When not dealing in politics, she produces some of the finest sorceresses to be sent as advisers to kings.
Like Triss, Tissaia notably held a heroic last stand at the Battle of Sodden Hill where she held off the majority of the Nilfgaardian soldiers while waiting for Foltest's reinforcements to arrive and for Yennefer to perform something devastating.
CAHIR
Cahir is but a mere human from Nilfgaard tasked to find and retrieve Ciri from Cintra or wherever she ran off to. He's portrayed as the big bad in The Witcher and often keeps an army in tow in addition being fully armed and having excellent combat capabilities. He's a military leader, after all.
What puts Cahir relatively higher up in this list compared to some magic users is due to the fact that he was able to defeat one of the most powerful and skillful mages in The Witcher universe: Vilgefortz of Roggeveen. As a magic-user who's also proficient in weapons, Vilgefortz is as deadly as he is brilliant and Cahir bested him somehow. However, there's another angle to that...
VILGEFORTZ
We still placed Vilgefortz higher than Cahir because Vilgefortz might have actually thrown the fight on purpose, meaning he had to lose for a strategic advantage. It's worth noting that Vilgefortz was already showing signs of betrayal as soon as he woke up and bludgeoned his ally; he could already be working for Nilfgaard before that point, as was his character progression in the books.
By that logic, Vilgefortz really could have easily defeated Cahir especially if he used magic. Still, we might never know what the showrunners are planning with Vilgefortz, whether they're modeling him after the would-be villain the books or making him something else remains to be seen in the next season. One thing is for sure though, he deserves to be on this list based on his future feats in the books.
FRINGILLA VIGO
If there was one person in The Witcher who arguably caused more trouble than Cahir himself, it would be Fringilla Vigo. She's the sorceress who got sent to Nilfgaard and was to act as an advisor for the king there (who will eventually become an emperor). Needless to say, Nilfgaard spared no expense in utilizing Fringilla's magical abilities.
She easily sealed Cintra's fate by conjuring a huge storm and sinking Queen Calanthe's reinforcements from Skellige. Moreover, her involvement in tracking down Ciri has been proven to be of great strategic importance. Last but not least, Fringilla can easily wreak havoc on the battlefield by conjuring firebombs out of human sacrifices; she's a one-woman army, no doubt about that.
GERALT
Of course, being one of the three main characters and someone whom the show is based on, Geralt just had to be here. He's the famed savior of the Striga and the Butcher of Blaviken with dozens of trophies to prove his professional prowess. When it comes to the sword, Geralt appears to be virtually unmatched in the show.
He doesn't even break a sweat against multiple human opponents and only nearly died against several ghouls. The same can be said for Geralt in the books. Now, even though he's the most adept swordsman in the show, there are beings far more powerful than Geralt himself...
CIRI
Most of the longtime fans of The Witcher games probably expected Ciri to be at the top of this list. The game did take quite a lot of liberties with her and practically made her a goddess of time and space. However, her current state in the Netflix adaptation is not quite there yet.
Currently, she can only scream enemies to death and move objects if she taxed her tonsils enough. Besides, she's merely but a child in the first season of the show and is bound to become more powerful as she learns to control her powers along with some new abilities that she can pick up in a witcher school.
BORCH THREE JACKDAWS/VILLENTRETENMERTH
Borch Three Jackdaws initially appears as an eccentric human with two Zerrikanian bodyguards but he's actually a dragon and a pretty powerful one. His real name is Villentretenmerth, one of the last remaining golden dragons in The Witcher universe.
Apart from being a shape-shifting, fire-breathing, and flying beast, Villentretenmerth is also capable of magic to a certain extent. Luckily, Villentretenmerth is more of a pacifist; he doesn't readily utilize his destructive capabilities unless it's absolutely necessary. For being a dragon alone though, he deserves to be on this list.
YENNEFER
For some reason, Yennefer got the most powerful upgrade in the show compared to her book version. If this list was solely about the books, then Yennefer would have been a lot lower, but seeing what the show did to her, Yennefer easily takes the top spot for the most number of visible kills in the show done by a single person.
What catapulted Yen to the top of this list is her final last resort act of channeling the chaos in Sodden to setting it against the Nilfgaardian army. She effectively caused the disgraceful defeat of Nilfgaard even before King Foltest's reinforcements arrived-- and she did it all singlehandedly. As it is, Yennefer pretty much defeated Nilfgaard on her own. No other character can do that in the first season of the show.