RWBY: Combat Ready is a cooperative tabletop game that combines elements of loose deckbuilding and combat. It is based off the RWBY franchise by Rooster Teeth (still running). Being a fan of RWBY the show, when I saw RWBY the game on Kickstarter that was an easy invitation to back. For friends in my circle who liked RWBY, but not necessarily tabletop games as a whole, this was enough of a draw to get them to play the game. There is a larger trend of popular, or at least engaging, IP moving to the table: Hellboy from Mantic, the Power Rangers game from Renegade, the Harry Potter deck building game, etc. Do you like the sandbox already? Hey! Here’s more sandbox to play in.
I think RWBY: Combat Ready gets the feel of the IP mostly right on the table. Players can choose from five of the main characters (Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake, plus Penny Polendina unlocked from the Kickstarter). Each has their own nuance as well as deck with unique cards and abilities. My personal favorite is Yang, who’s Semblance (a special ability each character has) is Rage. She functions much like a barbarian in that her Semblance refreshes every time she takes damage. Ruby can speed herself up, Blake can avoid damage, and Weiss can buff others.
Players in the game are ultimately attempting to defeat a Villain. There are three villains included in the game with a number of expansions available as well. Actions in the game hinge on the cards players have in their hands. Cards allow a player to interact directly and indirectly, either through attacking an enemy or supporting their comrade in an attack. Speed is the crucial ‘to hit’ metric. The higher the speed the more likely it is the attack will land. When judging what cards to play the players need to decipher the stance of the villain’s card: Aggressive (most likely high speed/low damage), Balanced (medium speed/medium damage), or Subtle (usually low speed and damage). Aggressive and Balanced are fairly straightforward, but as we ran into with Adam’s Villain Deck a subtle card, based on the conditions, can have a speed as high as 12 with the right cards in play. Good strategy is to play the slowest card you feel you can get away with.
My friends who haven’t seen or gotten deep into RWBY the IP enjoy the game’s mechanics. RWBY has become a staple of our longer gaming sessions. With four people playing the games do tend to run long and we take the collaborative aspect of the game very seriously. The replayability for us hinges on:
- Multiple objectives that are active for each game
- Upgrading cards and building better combinations
- Different bosses
Further on upgrading cards, each player’s unique deck has 12 Tier 1 cards that are shuffled and used throughout the duels. As duels continue and players build experience they can purchase additional cards up to Tier 4. Having those higher tier cards are crucial to success. Between sessions we track what cards are in our upgraded decks with sticky notes as dividers.
The game also comes with a scenario book for 2-4 players. There are 4 sample campaigns laid out with fights with Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, and Cinder Fall. There are additional objectives that operate in addition to the main Villain’s deck. Some are straight forward minion decks. There is one for defusing a bomb and another for finding Zwei, a dog in the series. This keeps the games variable, even if the base mechanics remain the same.
After several games there are two notes of caution: with a full table that likes to talk the game can run long (1.5+ hours) and the depending on the objectives in play the strategy can get repetitive. Adam Taurus’ deck provides a heavy challenge. We’re looking forward to taking a run at Cinder Fall once we finish with Adam. For groups that enjoy cooperative games with plenty of ties and references to the IP they are based on, this would be a good investment for established fans of RWBY. Even if your gaming group isn’t into RWBY, if they like cooperative games with the ability to specialize your character over time this is worth the investment.
Ross Blythe is a Chicago based gamer interested in all things tabletop. He enjoys reading history as well as fiction, and so has a soft spot for historical wargames like Pike & Shotte. For the campaigns he runs as a DM he often looks to history for inspiration, for the lessons of the past to challenge the players at his table.
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