Montabi Launches: A Tactical Monster-Taming Deckbuilder on a 3×3 Grid

Montabi (AppID 3141630) is now available on Steam, priced at $19.99 USD. For the first 14 days following launch, a 10% discount brings that price down slightly — the only window the developer has announced for reduced pricing.

What is Montabi?

The game is a monster-taming roguelike deckbuilder built around a 3×3 grid combat system. Players take the role of a Trainer trying to recover stolen companions while fighting through city districts and dismantling a criminal gang. If the Trainer character is defeated — described as functioning like the king in chess — the run ends.

What's in the game

• 22 starter Montabi to choose from, each belonging to a unique evolutionary line with its own deck
• 500+ cards across all Montabi and their evolutions
• Montabi level up, evolve, and gain new card abilities over the course of a run
• Equipment and charms can be collected to shape strategy
• Multiple playable Trainers, each with a distinct playstyle — positioning-focused, close-range, or support-oriented
• Café rest stops serve as hit-point recovery nodes between encounters

The positional grid is the mechanical hook that sets Montabi apart from flatter deckbuilders: deploying units in the right cells is part of the strategy, not an afterthought. Whether that depth holds across repeated runs is something players will determine — but the breadth of starters and card pool suggests the developer built for replayability from the start.