You might’ve seen it in our Other TCGs tab and wondered “What is Weiss Schwarz?” Well, that’s what I’m here today to give you a crash course on!
Are you a fan of anime, anime-styled games, and anime-inspired Western productions? Then Weiss Schwarz is right up your alley! Weiss is a trading card game that is designed to emulate an anime battle with constant escalation and was created by the Japanese multimedia giant Bushiroad. You might know Bushiroad if you’re a fan of Cardfight!! Vanguard, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!, or Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight!
The game itself, what is it? As mentioned before, it’s all about an escalating battle between characters from different franchises! Unlike other TCGs Weiss features sets based on different franchises such as SPY x FAMILY, CHAINSAW MAN, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Attack on Titan, and many many more! There is no rotation for Weiss so sets from years ago are still viable. But how do they balance this? Well, that’s where it gets interesting! Each set is themed to the franchise that they are representing. For example, the original Attack on Titan set featured the Colossal Titan which was played as a 3-part card on the field that could not be killed via normal means and you needed to use effects in order to remove it from play. Or how in the Kantai Collection set, it was about building a fleet of ship-girls on the field. It can be a lot of fun and means that power-creep is less of an issue as the sets are self-contained but can play against other sets.
The aim of the game? To make your opponent hit level 4. Each player starts out on level 0 and once a player has taken 7 damage, they level up to the next level. You want to balance taking damage as the more damage, the more powerful cards you can play but it also means you are closer to defeat! For more information, the official Weiss Schwarz YouTube channel has a handy tutorial on how to play the game!
So you want to give it a go? Where do you start? Anywhere is the simple answer. Weiss is a super-friendly TCG to get into as you don’t need to collect the newest set to be competitive. Instead, you can jump in if you find a franchise you enjoy! Let’s take SPY x FAMILY for example, it was a very funny and exciting anime from 2022 with a second season and a movie on the way! If you enjoyed SPY x FAMILY then you’d be right at home with the upcoming set! Your options are to buy Trial Decks or to buy Booster Boxes. In Weiss, more often than not, the Trial Deck is an excellent starting point and, if you modify two trial decks into one deck, then you have a fairly competitive deck right there! Of course, the other route to go is via Booster Boxes like any other TCG. Then boom, you’re done! You’ll be able to nurse whichever set you have until the cows come home. Then when a new set related to a franchise comes out, then we do the whole thing over again!
There’s a lot more I could say about Weiss as it’s a personal favourite game of mine, I must leave it here but hopefully, there was enough information here for people who are morbidly curious to look into the game further or even take a punt on it!