Cyberpunk Edgrerunners Combat Zone puts players in control of colorful gangs fighting for their … [+]
The world of Cyberpunk is stronger than ever. Cyberpunk RED is holding it down on the role playing games side of things with a line full of some very strong releases. Fans were excited to hear that although Cyberpunk Edgerunners was originally announced as a one and done series, Netflix announced it would be working with Trigger and CD Projekt to bring another animated Cyberpunk series to the streaming giant.
Fans who can’t wait to see the ongoing story of Night City have plenty of ways to make their own characters and situations. Monster Fight Club released Cyberpunk Edgerunners Combat Zone as both an expansion to their current Combat Zone line and as a way for new fans to experience the game. Demiplane recently upgraded their Cyberpunk RED NEXUS with an online character generator. Both companies gave me review copies of their materials for this article.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners Combat Zone
Cyberpunk Combat Zone is a tabletop battle game set in the world of Cyberpunk. There are two editions that are cross compatible with each other. Cyberpunk Edgerunners Combat Zone takes place around the same time as the Cyberpunk 2077 video game. Cyberpunk RED Combat Zone is set dring the time between the video game and the original Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game.
Combat Zone players build their troops from the various factions in Night City ranging from street gangs like the heavily modified Maelstrom or the circus-themed Bozos to corporate strike forces like Trauma Team or Arasaka. They can also choose to include gonks which are lesser soliders that are usually only good to absorb a single hit before being removed from play. Remaining points are used to buy extra equipment, weapons, armor and programs for any Netrunner characters that can hack the environment or other characters.
Players select a scenario, place their teams and begin play. Each player takes turns activating their main pieces and spending color coded actions to move, attack and so on. Green actions are the best, yellow are average and red are not great.
Combat can break this back and forth up as figures that get shot at can return fire if they have an action ready. I like how this keeps players engaged even if it is not their turn. It also puts pressure on players to decide when thy should press an attack and when to stay under cover.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners Combat Zone plays much like its predecessor with a few changes. The base box is cheaper because it offers plastic standees instead of full minis. It also focuses on recreating moments featuring two factions from the anime; the titular gang of Edgerunners and an elite Arasaka strike team led by Adam Smasher who played villainous parts in the show and the video game.
Fans who want minis to use featuring these factions should consider getting the collectors edition. They can also be ordered separately for fans who just want the minis for their Combat Zone collection. Players can also order standees of the older factions if they want to field a team without having to build their minatures.
I have to admit that my playthrough of Cyberpunk Edgerunners Combat Zone featured some of the worst dice luck I have ever faced in my life. If you roll a critical success, the only way you fail is if the other player rolls a critical in their defense. I had only one critical where my opponent didn’t cancel mine out.
Despite this curse from the dice gods helping me lose my game, I really enjoyed playing this game. It was easy to grasp yet I felt a tactical depth was there for players who really dig into games and sweat over pint buys and campaigns. I can’t wait to play it again and explore the different scenarios available to play.
Cyberpunk RED Nexus Character Creator
Demiplane launched Cyberpunk RED Nexus a few months ago. It’s an electronic toolset that allows players to have all of their role playing game books handy at the table with useful links throughout the text. While PDFs are handy, they are generally built as publishing documents which can make reading them on screens a bit challenging sometimes.
The company expanded the Nexus last week to include digital character tools. Players can use the three paths of character creation with a few clicks. They can quickly make characters with templates that are mostly pre-mad, choose a quick-start character that still leaves room for plenty of personalization or careful spend every character point and eddie for a completely custon character.
The digital tools also integrate information from the Cyberpunk Edgerunners Mission Kit released over the summer. These options include new gear and new lifepath options. They are fully compatible with the classic Time of the Red but are also useful for games set in the most recent Cyberpunk era.
The Cyberpunk Red rules available on the Nexus include the Mission Kit, the gear book Black Chrome and the campaign book Tales From The Red: Hope Reborn. I hope to see the Interface series on there soon with the tons of free content R. Talsorian Games puts out each month. It already has a small gear update and the weather tables from these releases.
I really enjoyed making characters using these tools. The choices on the easier end were quick to make and having options from all my books for the deeper character creation meant more time thinking about cool character stuff and less time flipping through pages trying to remember where I saw that essential piece of gear. Making characters on my phone and tablet also felt more cyberpunk, even though I opted to go old school and export them to PDF so I could print them out.
Cyberpunk is here to stay after years of lurking in the background. Whether a fan of video games, miniatures skirmish games or tabletop role-playing games there are plenty of ways to get strapped, get chromed and hit the streets of Night City. What are you waiting for, choomba?
