CD Projekt Red's success with Gwent has paved the way for a new trading card game set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. Developed by WeirdCo, the unreleased Cyberpunk TCG has already garnered significant interest, highlighted by a rapidly successful Kickstarter campaign.
Core Mechanics and Pace
The Cyberpunk TCG is designed for quick gameplay. Standard decks consist of 40 to 50 cards, with a limit of three copies per card and a maximum hand size of six. Each game pits two players against each other.
Inspired by titles like Magic: The Gathering, the game features "Legends," analogous to Commanders, though players start with three instead of one. These Legends are placed face down in a dedicated zone at the beginning of the game. A key distinguishing feature is the game's heavy reliance on dice rolls. A D4, D8, D10, D12, and D20 are utilized, with the outcomes often mattering less than the act of rolling itself. The game progresses rapidly, concluding at round seven unless a sudden death scenario is triggered, which extends the game to round eight.
"We’ve really tried hard to prioritize having a speedy game experience while still feeling like your skill expression is the most important part when determining who wins the game of Cyberpunk," stated Richard Zapp, head of game design at WeirdCo. This focus on brevity is intended to accommodate competitive play, such as regional tournaments, ensuring they can be completed efficiently.
The structured game length and the dice-based "gig" system contribute to a unique chaotic element. Dice rolls determine the number of "gigs" available to players each turn. Players begin with three "eddies" (resources) used to play cards. Additional eddies can be acquired by selling cards, mirroring the in-game mechanic of selling unwanted gear to vendors. This system often incentivizes discarding cards to gain resources for playing more powerful ones.
Strategic Depth and Deck Building
Players can spend eddies to reveal their Legends, enabling their use on future turns. As in other TCGs, cards offer various actions, such as preventing damage or buffing other cards in play. Strategic decisions involve attacking opponent cards or targeting their gigs. The deck's composition is intrinsically linked to the chosen Legends, similar to Commander decks in Magic: The Gathering. Dice rolls influence turn-by-turn actions and can facilitate combo plays. The primary win condition is accumulating seven gigs by the start of a round. While a gig is gained automatically each round, players can disrupt opponents by attacking their cards, potentially preventing them from gaining or stealing gigs.
During a preview session, one player focused on attacking the opponent's gigs, leaving them vulnerable to direct attacks. This strategy allowed for building a "gang" of cards, bolstered by Legends like Jackie Welles, whose ability could reduce dice counts and trigger card draws. The deck in this preview featured Blue (Intelligence) and Yellow (Dexterity) color combinations, reflecting Cyberpunk 2077's skill trees, with Red (Body) and Green (Reflect) representing the opponent's deck.
Another Legend, V, was utilized to steal two gigs when reaching a certain power level. The preview game concluded in sudden death, as neither player achieved seven gigs by the start of turn seven. In sudden death, the first player to reach seven gigs wins, regardless of other conditions. The player managed to secure the win by buffing their existing cards.
Presentation and Authenticity
A full game, including rule explanations, lasted approximately 20 minutes, a significantly shorter duration compared to many TCGs. The Cyberpunk TCG also aims to avoid the dense text found on many TCG cards, with most cards featuring concise descriptions of their mechanics.
The game's artwork is a significant draw, drawing heavily from the Cyberpunk universe. WeirdCo has had access to CD Projekt Red's art vault, enabling the recreation and adaptation of existing art from comic books and other media. The color schemes of the cards are designed to be visually striking, with the art often playing against the card's color identity for contrast, as seen with Corpo V's red lighting on a blue frame.
"At the end of the day, it’s all Cyberpunk, and it’s all an authentic representation of Night City," said Jonny Erner, WeirdCo's creative director. The development team aims to integrate various forms of Cyberpunk media, from in-game screenshots to original art, onto the cards.
While only a single game was previewed, the experience suggests a compelling TCG that could capture the attention of fans of the IP and the genre alike. The game is slated for release later this year.
