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Acid Storm Art and Thrust, Nova Star Revealed For Transformers Trading Card Game and More

Date: Wednesday, January 16th 2019 5:09pm CST
Categories: Game News, Collectables
Posted by: ZeroWolf | Credit(s): WTF@TFW Podcast, Transformers Official Trading Card Game Facebook page

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Views: 26,411

We've got more card reveals to share today, including the art for Acid Storm which reveals that he's a rare card in the set! Along with Acid Storm we also have Thrust coming to attack with his fellow cons and Nova Star appearing to aid the Autobots. Again, these reveals and thoughts come couresty of fellow Seibertron user, #Sideways#, while the card reveals themselves come from the WTF@TFW podcast and the official Facebook page for Wizards of the Coast's Official Transformers Trading Card Game.

Without further ado:

#Sideways# wrote:


Rarer than a console that doesn't play Skyrim.


We're back again with some new scans! These scans are almost all thanks to the TFW2005 podcast, WTF@TFW, and the official Facebook page! Wizards, of course, having reached out to several content creators to help reveal several cards.

If you noticed above, you might have noticed that we finally have the scans for Acid Storm, revealing his rarity as a Rare! These are roughly as rare as a Mythic from Magic or an EX from Pokemon, with somewhere around two to five being in each box. Acid Storm is a surprising addition to the roster, with a very useful ability to dominate several bits of the meta. If you'd like to hear my full thoughts on him, check out his reveal article here!

__________CHARACTERS__________




Squidhead.


Squi--Er, Thrust is another plane coming out of the WTF@TFW podcast, and dear me, I actually love this guy. Now, his stats aren't too much to write home about. His attack is middling in vehicle mode, his robot mode is just as average, his HP is just about as average as you can be, but the thing about him that I love the most is his vehicle mode's ability.

You see, adding your damage to your other character's attack actually helps you deal more damage than just attacking with each character alone. Why? Well, say you're attacking a character with 3 Defense with -- for this example alone -- Kup or someone else who has 3 Attack on your list. He has 3 Attack, so does Thrust. Assume the flips cancel each other out, so their three damage goes into their three defense -- in other words, no damage comes out of either attack. But, when you add the damage from Thrust onto Kup's attack damage, your damage would then penetrate their armor and deal damage.

This is fantastic for more than that reason, too. Take Grenade Launcher, for example. Grenade Launcher increases Thrust's damage by 4, making his damage 7 -- but now, his tapping ability doesn't trip the Grenade Launcher's self-scrapping effect, meaning he gets to keep it for when he attacks, or taps again. But now you're adding 7 damage to something -- and what could you possibly add that damage to?

How about Ramjet, with his own base 7 attack? Now, you're swinging for 14 with very little effort. The amount of effort that other decks to do that much damage compared to your own is well worth tapping Thrust. But here's the thing about that -- since you're attacking with two characters at once, you're essentially playing Tall since you only have at most one attack left in you. You would need to play multiple untapping effects for Thrust, just to make it a little more difficult for your opponents to punish your playstyle.

All in all, I think Thrust is a very, very good addition to the game, and I can't wait to see what power that Thrust will be able to put in Ramjet's hands. I'm also sitting on the idea that Dirge -- even though we have no confirmation that he will be in this wave -- will likely add another area to this archetype that I can't even begin to speculate.



Part car, part truck, all waifu.


First off, if you thought that Rodimus Prime was going to be the first Truck/Car combo that we were going to get, Novastar would need a word with you. Okay, a little context here:

Back in the earliest days of the game's release, there was a meme around Team-Up Tactics that was even reflected in the FAQ. The meme pondered what would happen if a Car/Truck combo would be targeted by Team Up Tactics, which had a different effect for either of the two. The answer? You would do both effects. Everyone was somewhat excited -- getting to Pot of Greed and heal 2 in the same turn was kind of an interesting prospect.

Everyone assumed it would be Rodimus, but how wrong we were. Novastar comes in like a lion, and with her, come a few interesting thoughts. One: She's the next meme character, taking the reigns from Sergeant Kup from the previous set. I mean, I think they even share an alternate mode. It's uncanny. Two: She's vanilla.

It brings up the vanilla character debate again, with wondering if using Team Up Tactics alone is a reason enough to use her in a deck. Honestly? I'm not quite sure what to think about her. My first reaction is "she's terrible", but my second reaction reminds me of the untapped potential of the Truck archetype, and that she can take advantage of the Car support.

She can pull Cargo Trailers, attack for a sizable amount given her high attack, not take a lot of damage and heal it off thanks to a high defense and the ability to use Team-Up Tactics, and then get to use Start Your Engines to untap again. It's very, very interesting -- I'm not quite sure if it's enough to get her into the meta, but she shouldn't be written off simply because she lacks abilities.

__________BATTLE CARDS__________




"Bad boys, bad boys / Whatcha gonna do? / Whatcha gonna do when I come for you?"


Bad Attitude is another card coming out of WTF@TFW and I personally think that this card does belong in several lists, but my favorite part about the card is the implications that it carries.

First, to the card's effects. It's essentially a combination of Strafing Run and Repair Bay, which could be used in Planes or Tanks to positive effects. I would prefer that it have a pip, a blue one to be more specific, but the effects that it brings are very niche for the decks that might use it. For instance, if Planes were to use it, it would be sort of redundant because of their reliance on Bombing Run.

It's kind of a goofy card that might find its uses in certain places, but I'm not convinced that many lists will be able to find room for it. The fact that it doesn't have a pip makes me concerned that adding it into a deck will make it less consistent in terms of attacking or defending. But, that remains to be seen.

Something that might very much enjoy this card are Decepticon Combiners. Healing one from each of your characters is a very good effect when cards like Armed Hovercraft and Photon Bomb can make your Combiner take 15-18 damage indirectly. Bad Attitude gives them a piece of their own medicine while healing your combiner by 5-6 damage before you Combine.

Combiners might actually be the best users of this Action, and I actually really like the options that it brings to their lists.

But the thing I like the most about this card? Wizards of the Coast know that people can mix-and-match factions, and that some more lore-focused players really dislike that. And, instead of forcing players down a pipe, they are simply making it more fruitful to keep factions together instead of mixing the proverbial mashed potatoes and peas on your plate.

It might not be for every list, but the lists that can make full use of it make use of it to its fullest.



"Evasive maneuvers, Mr. Sulu."


Evasive Maneuvers might just be a better Blast Shield. I'm not quite sure, but it might be. Let's look at the math for a little bit.

Blast Shield is an Armor that has a blue pip -- same as Evasive Actions -- and it gives +2 Armor. Evasive Actions gives 3 Tough, which is a random outcome. You could get 7 Armor off the top of your deck, or you cold get only 1. With Tough 3 you're probably going to end up erring to the former, but the randomness puts me off a bit when you consider Blast Shield's confirmed +2.

The most interesting thought is you could use this in Nemesis Prime as a very good way to mill your deck. Reinforced Plating still might end up being better due to its consistent defensive output, but let me know this: What about playing both? It'd be like playing Flamethrower and Grenade Launcher -- if we can play two Weapons, why can't we play two Armors?

Just a thought.

__________CONCLUSION__________


Thrust makes plenty of new, potential strategies, Novastar makes things more interesting for Trucks and the Battle Cards seek to supplement several archetypes that are forming up in the metagame.

These cards are evident of a paradigm shift in the Transformers Trading Card Game. A shift from crossing streams, a shift from mixing your potatoes with your peas. A shift from playing Autobots and Decepticons to making a homogeneous list. Wizards is aiming to pull off something that most early card game creators cannot not do: An easy transition. Most of the time, a fledgling creative director would simply make a rule change, or simply make "fake synergy" that forces certain playstyles.

Dragon Ball is one of the biggest abusers of this idea. Their power creep made more and more broken combos to where people couldn't play anything else than what they, the developers, intended. It's something that has a stranglehold on the game's health.

Wizards seeks to curb that by putting forward these new ideas, by making it fruitful to play tribal instead of mixing chocolate and vanilla. I only hope that they make it fruitful enough that the lore-minded players are satisfied.

What do you think of these reveals? See any cards you want to add to your decks? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews!

Deluxe Insecticon Venin Revealed For Transformers Trading Card Game And More.

Date: Tuesday, January 15th 2019 3:41pm CST
Categories: Game News, Collectables
Posted by: ZeroWolf | Credit(s): Wossy Plays and Wreck'n'Rule on YouTube, TableTopGaming.uk, VectorSigma.info

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Views: 22,867

Well with the recent reveal of Wave 2: Rise of the Combiners for Wizards of the Coast's Official Transformers Trading Card Game, we have a few more new cards to share with you all! The reveals today come from a mix of YouTubers Wossy Plays and Wreck N' Rule, as well as websites tabletopgaming and VectorSigma.Info!

So as usual, we'll hand things over to fellow Seibertron user, #Sideways#.

#Sideways# wrote:
__________CHARACTERS__________




"Like... A turd! In the wind."


Veno-- I mean, Venin was revealed by VectorSigma.info, a Transformers Trading Card Game competitive article website. Wizards of the Coast has really been fostering the community with these reveals, going to Kotaku, Wossy Plays, now even Wreck N' Rule and others. Hey, Wizards! I have a YouTube channel, too! Let me reveal some, too!!

Anyway, Venin is an odd bird when it comes to Insecticons. Insecticons deal a lot of damage very quickly, but can't take any punishment whatsoever -- at least, that's how things used to work. Venin looks to change that. He has a very disruptive playstyle with his bug mode -- something that is quite unlike other Insecticons. In fact, I would argue that he belongs in a defensive list with Bombshell (despite his vanilla nature) and Ransack with some spare room for Star Cards, but I haven't done any playtesting in that regard so I wouldn't be able to tell you one way or another.

His bug mode has a very interesting ability that adds to his defensive control playstyle that combos really well with Bug Bomb, a Utility that has most of the same effects as Venin. You would be able to play an I STILL FUNCTION!, return Ransack from being, well, sacked and attach a Bug Bomb to him. He would then attack for seven, then die again, discarding three cards from your opponent's hand. That's kind of really nutty. Keeping them there is going to be more difficult, but it pays off when you see Venin's robot mode.

His robot form allows you to give all of your characters Pierce 4 as long as your opponent has no cards in hand, which allows you to deal a considerable amount of damage to Tall decks like Combiners and Titans. He's a very interesting deck concept that really makes this whole "Defensive Insecticons" thing that seems to be just on the horizon.

He's a niche character -- and I don't think he'll find a place in the mainstream Insecticon Swarm decks -- but I don't think he's all that bad for control decks.

__________BATTLE CARDS__________




"Where was the kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!"


Mounted Missiles is another so-called "Star Card" that we're getting in this next wave, revealed by Wossy Plays on YouTube! I gotta say, love this card. Being a third card that could be a double orange pip makes me very happy, and the fact that it can be attached to keep that +2 Damage is very exciting. The fact that you can attach it in your Utility slot makes it even better.

You won't ever be able to play three of these in decks like Insecticons or Dinobots, but having a seventh double orange card in the deck is never a bad thing.



"A'ight, time's up, let's do this! LEEEEEROOYY! JENKIIINNNNS!"


This card is revealed by the Wreck N' Rule YouTube channel, and might I say that Reckless Charge is freaking insane. It's like a better version of One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall. I mean, I get it, OSSOSF does direct damage to your target, but Reckless Charge is an orange pip that deals technically more damage not counting defense. Of course, with defense things get a little math-y, but I'm not going to bore either of us with the details.

Reckless Charge is a very good card for a few decks. Insecticons love this card, Dinobots love this card -- pretty much any aggro deck love this card. But something that I find very interesting is that Optimus Prime -- Battlefield Legend loves this card more than anyone else. Before, OSSOSF wouldn't boost his damage if you flipped it off the top of your deck with his attack and played it. Now, not only do you do +4 damage, you also are getting an orange pip on the top of your deck so you're essentially doing +5 damage.

That damage is astronomical for Battlefield Legend. You deal an absurd 13 damage before counting any weapons. Sure, you deal 3 in recoil, but there are very few things that can survive Optimus' attack when you swing like that. Makes me sweat a little, I'm not going to lie.



What makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?


Wossy Plays gives us another card reveal, and this time, it's finally time to give your Specialists a Pip Boy! I mean, just look at it. I want to listen to Big Iron on it all day, although let's be fair here, I would just end up getting nothing but Johnny Guitar instead.

Jokes aside, this Pip Boy has a white pip, boy, making it the third card for Specialists that allow them to play free cards, the others being Multi-Tool and Multi-Mission Gear. This one, however, is definitely very strong, unlike Multi-Tool. Multi-Tool is redundant -- I mean, why play an extra upgrade by playing an upgrade when you could just... Play that Upgrade? -- but this allows you to essentially draw a card and play it while still giving you +1 damage in your Utility slot.

This is a very powerful effect. Nevermind what random card you might end up playing off the top of your deck -- you can rig that card with Planning effects. Cards that draw one and Plan 1 can look at the top and make sure you really want to play it before you get to play it for free. This is something I absolutely adore, and Field Communicator is definitely worth a spot in any deck that has a Specialist.



Now look upon the face of terror as another poor victim pulls his fifth copy of Sergeant Kup from his booster packs.


Courtesy of TableTopGaming.co.uk, we have a couple of reveals for the next wave, and first up is Enemy Combat Analysis. ECA is kind of an odd card, if you want my opinion. It is at least a very niche card in Combiner lists as it makes the mirror match far better. Having a card like this that gives you incredible advantages against the mirror match is cool, and in Pokemon I often find that people tech in one or two cards to make the mirror less of a coin-flip and more of an autowin.

It's interesting in Combiner lists because they're some of the only ones that can consistently pull off this effect, given that nearly everyone on the enemy Combiner team will have the same point cost as you. I mean, put it this way. You attach this to Headstrong, right? He has Brave and three defense. Now, with ECA, he defends against his counterparts with five defense. That's more damage than most all cards in the mirror can put out in the early game, and that's a very good thing.

Now, outside of Combiner lists, I can't see it getting played all that much unless you're afraid of the mirror, but in Combiners, I would definitely consider putting it in your list.



Focus Fire? Yeah, I play Overwatch Competitive -- it doesn't exist.


Focus Fire is another card coming out of TableTopGaming.co.uk, and this one is sort of an Action card version of Cargo Trailer. I have mixed feelings about it, but I do think that certain decks can make massive use of it. Naturally, decks that can make use of it the most are decks that have high bold, as its Green pipped nature allows you to dig through your deck and amass them.

Part of what I like the most about this is the fact that you're eventually going to build up the three of them in your hand, pretty much no matter what, and that makes me very excited because you will eventually build up to a fantastic Bold 9 turn. See, this card has the same stacking effect that Cargo Trailer has, where the more you play the more exponential your growth. It makes me very excited to see where this will go, as Insecticons, Metroplex and even Dinobots despite their constantly tiny hand.

The best part about this is that it's a green and orange pip. Most green pips are solo green, meaning you don't get any offensive or defensive boost when you flip them. But in this case, you get an offensive boost when you flip it and you still get to put it into your hand afterward. I very much enjoy this card, and in Bold-based decks, you might find that you want to play this card, too.

Of course, after the reveal of Acid Storm, I worry for the success of Bold-based decks like Dinobots and Metroplex. Simply killing him without your bold is harder than you might think, even with his zero defense, and when you have a lot of double orange in your discard pile, he might just be able to heal himself completely with some fancy footwork.

__________CONCLUSION__________


The TFTCG is shaping up to have a wonderful second expansion, with a good emphasis on helping past archetypes and giving tools to help make certain matchups better. Rise of the Combiners is going to be a very good expansion for the game, and if the support for Combiners and previous archetypes continue, I think it can only get better.

I just hope that power creep doesn't take yet another game from me, like it did Dragon Ball. I'm not worried, though -- Wizards seems to be doing a fine job with balance. In a recent interview, one of the chief designers of the game opened a document (that only he could see) filled with cards three sets in the future. If that doesn't tell you that they have a plan, then I don't know what else would.

Another thing I can definitely commend Wizards of the Coast for doing is that they are constantly trying to foster a community through letting certain content creators reveal certain cards, even article writing websites like Vector Sigma. Wizards is doing an excellent job so far -- and I can't wait to see what they do next.

What do you think of these reveals? Will you be adding any of these cards to your deck? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.

Bluestreak and more revealed from Transformers TCG Wave 2: Rise of the Combiners

Date: Sunday, January 13th 2019 6:43pm CST
Categories: Game News, Collectables
Posted by: ZeroWolf | Credit(s): #Sideways# from Seibertron, WTF@TFW and Wossy Plays on YouTube

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Views: 30,132

Thanks to fellow Seibertron user, #Sideways#, we have some new cards to show you as well as #Sideways# look at how the card fares. Included in his run down is a look at the rules change that is coming with this set and some surprises we can look forward to.

The reveals listed here come from multiple sources (Links contained in article):

WTF@TFW podcast
Wossy Plays YouTube Channel

Without further ado, over to you #Sideways#!

#Sideways# wrote:It's the most wonderful time of year -- in other words, it's time for more spoilers for the next Transformers Set! Of course, with a new set means new stuff, and in this case, we have new characters, rule changes, new keywords and an official statement on the use for the green pips!

__________Rule Changes__________


So, normally, the rules read that once a character is KO'd, you can't use them for anything. Generally, when they're KO'd, you can't transform them, attack with them or use any ability. Before, you had to use "I STILL FUNCTION!" to bring someone back to life, then transform them, and let them die at the end of the turn.

Now, though, when you transform for the turn, you can transform a KO'd character. This is phenomenal news. Cliffjumper requires Cars to be in the KO Pile, where -- and chiefly of these -- combiners require all members to be in their robot modes in order to combine in the first place. This means that, once a character is KO'd in their vehicle mode (for instance, a character with Brave like Headstrong), then you can transform them in the KO pile to finally get that combination off.

It's actually fantastic.

No longer do you have to spam "I STILL FUNCTION!" to get your characters how you want them, now you can just transform whenever, wherever you want!

__________Green Pips__________



Everyone's going green these days.

Okay, so, if you didn't read my edited post the other day, you would not have seen what green pips do. So, very recently, WTF@TFW did an hour-long interview with the developers, who revealed some very interesting information, including a new character (which we'll get to later). One of these things was a clarification on the green pips.

Green pips activate when you flip them, and when you do, you may choose to scrap a card from your hand. If you do, you may put that green pipped card into your hand.

This is fantastic news because it makes the game more consistent and way less reliant on draw to get some specific cards, like Combination Enigmas which are confirmed to be all at least in part green pips.

Have you ever had a moment where you accidentally mill the card you've been digging for all game? This is the effect that seeks to curb that. Sometimes, it was horrible where you could discard two out of three Cargo Trailers and suddenly your deck falls apart. It gets worrying when you discard your important cards.

When you need it and you need it now, green pips are your answer.

__________Characters__________



Bringing flip-flopping to a whole new level.


Bluestreak was one of two cards that Wossy Plays, a fellow YouTuber, got an exclusive on. If you'd like to hear his impeccably British opinion on the matter, check out his video HERE!

But you're here for my opinion, and who am I to withhold that?

Well, sorry to say, I'm just not impressed by Bluestreak here. He has a cool gimmick. If you flip one of each, you get to flip to your alternate mode, swapping your zero defense for a whopping four defense in your alternate mode. This defense is probably the best part about him, I'm not gonna lie. His attack is middling, his ability is daunting at times and his eight-star cost makes him a hard sell in comparison to other Cars.

Maybe it's just me, but when I have a car on my team, it has to hit hard and draw harder. Bluestreak does neither of those. That being said, he has access to all the Car support which is honestly the best support in the game, at least at this time of writing. But Bluestreak does have potential.

If you whiff with him, he's dead, but something fascinating about him is the ability to play him in a Cliffjumper deck. There are several effects that can rig your topdeck, and even if you do whiff, then Bluestreak will end up fueling Cliffjumper's high attack stat.

Of course, there are probably better cars to play, but Bluestreak isn't the worst one. In other words? He's no Deadlock!



"I don't like that word, 'insane'. I prefer the term 'visionary'."

For the second exclusive that Wossy got, he got access to the second common Megatron card! Again, you can see his thoughts on it HERE.

So, as for my opinions, what do I think of this new common? Well, I think this card is probably the best Megatron second only to Living Weapon. He's lightyears better than Decepticon Leader, despite Decepticon Leader's innate Upgrade scrapping ability and ability to gain high levels of Pierce. But here's the thing. This Megatron is insane -- pun intended.

First off, in his robot form, you have a draw ability that is always good in Transformers, and even better in the Tank archetype. Megs here can attack, pitch an Armor and then draw two new cards, potentially one of those pesky Hunker Down you've been digging for the entire game. But the scrapping of Armor is always good in Tanks thanks to that Hunker Down, and it's even better with this Megatron.

Megatron can use his alternate mode ability to play an extra card, probably a weapon or a Crushing Treads to make your offensive capabilities skyrocket. But the best part is, you can use that with Hunker Down. You can use it to attach that armor you scrapped (and probably the other Armor that you flipped), then flip Megatron to play a second Upgrade onto one of your characters and then finally attach a third Upgrade, fully upgrading someone potentially, with one card play.

Tanks got a massive buff with this Megatron alone, and I cannot wait to see what else that gets brought to the table for them in the future. After all, they are one of my favorite archetypes at the moment.

Acid Storm -- Toxic Terror

Alternate Mode:

Plane - Ranged
3 Attack / 10 HP / 0 Defense

"When you flip to this mode --> Heal one damage from Acid Storm for every Double Orange card in your opponent's Scrap Pile."

6 stars

>>>>>>>>>FLIP>>>>>>>>>

Acid Storm -- Toxic Terror

Robot Mode:

Ranged
2 Attack / 10 HP / 0 Defense

"Your opponent cannot use Bold."


Whoa, that's toxic!


Acid Storm was one of my first G1-themed toys back in the day. It was the Universe mold for Starscream, and he remains one of my favorite Transformers toys. He was well-painted, and I had a thing for camo back in the day so he got all the sweeter. So, when I heard that there was going to be a Transformers TCG, I got my hopes up for my favorite toy to finally make it into the lime-light. Wave 1 was a tease, but wave 2, thanks to the WTF@TFW podcast, has made my dream come true.

Unfortunately, we don't have a single picture for Acid Storm, but the developers revealed his stats and text in the interview and I've transcribed them here.

Acid Storm is the killer of Dinobots. Dinobots use a massive amount of Bold to deal a massive amount of damage, but Acid Storm's corrosive weaponry stops that from happening. No amount of Bold will keep you down -- this 6-Star splash-in is going to ruin Grimlock's day. Planes got a huge buff with this guy, as Skywarp was depressingly average in the deck. But Acid Storm takes the normally bad matchup of Dinobots and has the potential to make it a fantastic matchup. Really and truly, I am excited to see what Acid Storm can do when put to the test.

Sure, his stats aren't too much to write home about, and his plane-mode's ability is mediocre given his awful defensive capabilities, but his robot mode is invaluable. I recommend placing Heroism on someone else, like Starscream, to keep Acid Storm alive during the game, lest you want to give Grimlock his Bold powers again.

But it's not just Dinos that hate him, it's Bugs. Insecticons make use of high bold as well, dealing usually low damage until their Bold racks up. If you end up facing off against an Insecticon swarm, make the switch to Acid Storm and watch as they start to flounder in their hopelessness.

I can also see using Acid Storm in a Nemesis Prime or Cosmos deck, where the big strategy revolves around a singular entity to pull out wins. All in all, I think this guy is the best card I've seen in Wave 2 as of the time of writing. He's just so good.

__________Battle Cards__________





Thunderbolt and lightning! Very very frightening!


Bolt of Lightning is an interesting addition, and I love it. Bolt of Lightning deals 3 damage straight with nary a downside. You normally only see that on One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall, which deals 3 damage back to you in recoil.

See, I misspoke about the "nary a downside" thing because it does have a "downside": Taking up a Star value. You see, Bolt of Lightning is one of several new cards we're getting that actually cost points to put in your list. Normally, you would have a team that maxed at 25 stars, but your characters could only reach 22 stars. This remedies that lost value in spades, filling out points and filling out your deck with more powerful cards.

As for Bolt of Lightning, I can definitely see it getting played. We don't know how many cards have these star costs, and it would only be logical to assume that there are more than two in this set, and this is one of the better ones I've seen. Sadly, it has no pip so I am a little reluctant to play it, but the rewards of dealing three indirect damage to something without taking any yourself is going to be a hard sell not to play in lists that can spare the point values.



Mounted Missiles is the second battle card revealed by Wossy Plays (revealed HERE!) and might I say that this card is one of the nuttiest Battle Cards I've ever seen. Remember when I said that it would be a hard sell not to play Bolt of Lightning in your list when you have spare points? This is what I meant.

See, unlike Bolt of Lightning, Mounted Missiles is a third -- count them, third card that has double orange pips. This is absolutely absurd. Being able to play a third card that has a double pip like this is one of the craziest things I've seen. Aggressive decks that can spare the points are going to be doing so much damage now that they have access to another double orange.

What's that? I haven't even spoken about the card's bonkers effect? Oh, sure. See, this card can be in your Utility, Armor and your Weapon slots, which means (if I'm not mistaken) you can stack three of them on the same character and reap their rewards. Best part is, it has a static +2 damage effect, so it's never a dead card in your hand because you're not losing that double orange effect.

Mounted Missiles is absolutely bananas. Unfortunately, not every deck can play it to its fullest potential. In fact, most lists can't play it at all. But the ones that will rise up and make the space will love every moment of this card, and all that sweet, sweet damage they're about to deal.

__________Conclusion__________


Rise of the Combiners is looking to shake up the meta, and I can think of no better way to do that than Acid Storm and the point costing Battle Cards. There are so many potential uses for these cards that it's insane. Imagine, playing three of each and simply dropping a character from your list.

These reveals change everything, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that.

But that's not all. There's one more reveal from the WTF@TFW interview that is monstrous -- it's that there will be one combiner that won't be 25 stars in total, and others that won't be five or six-man rosters. Meaning, you are going to be able to play either these new Battle Cards or another character in your list and make out to be the easiest combiner to pull off. The only question is, who is it? Sky-Lynx comes to mind, but there are other options on the table.

What are you hoping to see in this set? Let me know in the comments below!

What do you think of these? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.

Analysis and Description of New Battle Features in Rise of the Combiners Cards for TFTCG

Date: Saturday, January 12th 2019 8:17pm CST
Category: Game News
Posted by: william-james88

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Views: 27,876

We thank #Sideways for this review of the new combiner features and battle strategies in the second wave of the Transformers Trading Card Game.





I thought that Combiners could never be in the Transformers Trading Card Game. I thought they were impossible.

I thought wrong.

Combiners are coming in Wave 2 of the TFTCG, aptly christened "Rise of the Combiners", it features 46 character cards and 81 Battle Cards, with 6 full teams of Combiners. That's right, with six teams and more or less five members per-team, we're looking at a solid 30 characters devoted to Combining.

So. How do they combine? Cards only have two sides, ergo they can't have a robot, alternate and limb mode, right?

That's where you'd be wrong.

See, Combiners are made up of smaller characters in more way than one. These Combiner Teams are comprised of unique folding cards, with one side having the limb mode and the other side having the robot and alternate mode. Simply fold the card in half with the specially designed crimping and you have a character -- albeit smaller than others -- who has three modes.

To show this off, the TFTCG Facebook page has posted a video showing off this feature HERE.

To combine into their gestalt forms, all Combiners are printed with another companion Battle Card called an Enigma. To use this Battle Card, it requires all of the team members to be in robot form, though it does not require them to be currently among the living to combine.

Damage and some Upgrades carry over, including the damage from the currently KO'd, so it's best not to be damaged when you finally combine to make use of your massive health pool, especially since you're likely to start taking a lot of damage from plenty of other sources when you finally combine.

But that's enough on the rules. Let's do a breakdown of the cards we've seen thus far. They all have 5 Stars, of course, so there aren't too many standouts in terms of power -- but there is plenty of utility to go around here.






Razorclaw should be respected, and not just because he's a Leader. Leaders -- more specifically, Decepticon Leaders -- might get their turn for the limelight in this wave, especially with how many Leaders are going to be present. But aside from speculation, there is a very important ability that he has that is worth noting.

Razorclaw, like the Super Rare Bumblebee, can attack untapped characters. That means, turn two (or one if you went second), he can attach a Grenade Launcher and deal 7 base attack against something squishy on your field, like Arcee. He's going to be an utter nuisance to people who play glass cannon decks with a specific order of operations, like Cars or Insecticons.

But, his stats aren't much to write home about. You'll notice that same thing with the other members of his team, but they are all 5 Stars, so that's something you should definitely consider.

Since he's 5 Stars, you can splash him onto teams very easily, making him a contender for other teams even outside of his Predacon archetype.





Divebomb doesn't really do anything. In his bird form, he's a painfully average vanilla. If you Transform him, he's even worse. His only saving grace is his ability, which can Scrap an Action from your opponent's hand if they happen to reveal one by chance. If they don't, then... Well, he has 7 HP and 0 Defense. He's going to die if you attack with him in robot form -- it's a done deal.

My best guess is that you're supposed to transform with Divebomb last, making use of his effect and then combining everyone into Predaking. But other than that, he's really nothing to write home about. Outside of Predacons, he's a simply waaaaay worse pick than Flamewar. At least Flamewar gives your team buffs. She's even a Specialist!

All in all, his only niche so far is in Predacons. But that isn't the most interesting note about this picture. If you notice, there are six icons pictured when showing his place on Predaking. This doesn't mean there are six members -- it was a Photoshop mistake by community manager John Schork, inadvertently revealing that there will be six-man teams, with Devastator being the most prominent of these.

A goof, yes, but a good goof for those of us who crave more information!




Headstrong brings us one of our first looks at a new mechanic, "Brave". Brave reads that all characters that can attack Headstrong, do so. This is an amazing ability. This means that explosive turn one plays by high attack characters like Kickback or Optimus Prime -- Battlefield Legend are going to be directed not at your important characters like Razorclaw, but rather at this poor sod.

Sure, he doesn't have much punching power. At all. But as a sacrificial lamb so that his teammates can get their Transformations in? He may die, but that's a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. Especially if you happen to place a Force Field on him, he won't be able to get OHKO'd.

Brave is a great mechanic, and I honestly love this little guy. He'll probably even see play outside the Predacon archetype, with that Brave utility coming in handy with more "protect the president" styles of decks, like OptiCars for instance.




Rampage is a fascinating character. His effects aren't actually that important, when you consider it. He heals one damage from each of your Predacons when an enemy is KO'd, which would be easy if you weren't doing two damage. He's great against other Combiners, but when you face off against a larger opponent, you're going to be hard-pressed to survive with these low health pools.

Against opposing Combiners, though, we can assume that they won't be OHKOing you like you to them, so Rampage becomes quite the important character in that regard, since enemies will be likely to be KO'd far easier than some of your larger friends.

Other than that, there's not too much to consider outside of the Predacon archetype.




Torox has a very interesting ability that prevents healing. There isn't too much healing going on in the game at the moment, especially with the high damaging meta we find ourselves in, but if there ever was a prevalent healing deck... I know who I would tech in to counter it. Torox's alternate mode stops all of your opponent's healing, which also makes me wonder if we're going to be seeing more healing in the game. He's also hilarious against the mirror match since Rampage wants to be healing everyone.

To make him even better, he draws a card when you Transform him to robot mode, and then we get another "new" mechanic, which is just a keyword for placing a card from your hand on top of your deck. It's good to know that there's a keyword for this common effect, since it will clear up card clutter.

The only bad part about this guy is that he has zero defense in both modes, meaning, even though he has 9 HP, he's going to be dumpstered any time your opponent can take a random potshot at him. Sad, but Force Field and Heroism mitigate that to a large degree.

I honestly would love to see this guy in other lists if healing ever became a mainstay in the meta -- he provides too much utility to ignore.





Dear god, this is happening.

Predaking is honestly a very, very big boy, and not just in terms of physical size. Mind you, each part of this guy is about six inches wide, and there are five parts to this guy -- he's freaking ginormous. Just turn the playmat -- you're never going to tap him all the way.

So, as for his stats, they seem underwhelming at first. I know, 37 HP? Underwhelming? Well, when you combine, you carry over damage, even from KO'd characters. So, that high HP definitely chews itself up over the course of the game before you can ever hope to Combine. But the real staying power of Predaking is in his offensive prowess.

It should be noted that Combiners begin untapped and keep 1 Upgrade in each Upgrade slot from its individual pieces. But this guy has 5 Weapon slots. You can attach multiple Grenade Launcher, Energon Axe, Flamethrower, anything like that. His already high attack doubles to triples in mere moments, and if something isn't dead by the time you're through attacking, there is something very wrong.

Of course, getting all five on my boy Exodia here can be a challenge, which is why he has the effect of being able to draw a card when you combine, and then play a card, including an Upgrade, for free. That's fantastic. Predaking is fantastic.

But there's a problem: He's the epitome of "tall". His defense is middling at best, and with all that damage you have no doubt racked up over the course of the game, you won't live for long. Either you combine early, or you combine as a last resort. Either way, Predaking is a beast of a Combiner. I just fear that, without proper support, most decks will be able to walk over them before they get a chance to set up.




Windblade makes her debut in the TFTCG by doing the thing she does second-best: Make mince-meat out of Combiners. She's expensive, coming in at 12 Stars, and she's a Super Rare, but most importantly, she's actually very good at playing with smaller characters who wouldn't like going up against a big dude like Predaking.

She has an ability in robot form where, when she attacks a Combiner, each of your characters get Pierce 4 -- meaning, if you're still alive when that happens -- you're going to deal a massive amount of damage with a swarm of Pierce taking likely a good third of Predaking's health in one blow.

She's a combiner huntress, but I fear she is also just as much a one-trick-pony. I mean, what else will she do during the game? Won't the Combiner team just focus her down and then combine? It's an interesting dynamic for sure, but I'm sure Razorclaw is up for the challenge. It's good to know that someone who clearly is meant to nerf the Combiner's effectiveness isn't without her counterplay.

Windblade also has access to a very interesting ability in her plane mode, where she may reveal the top card of your deck, and if it has more than one pip color, you can play it for free. i.e. Cards like Roll Out. This is a really interesting ability, but without more cards that have multiple colors, I can't see her making much use of this ability. Although, you can pull it off without a hitch with Planning effects, but the extent of those remains to be seen.

She'll be difficult to fit anywhere else but her own archetype, sadly. But she's definitely one to watch.







This is the first of the Enigma battle cards we're getting for our Combiners, and you'll notice something straight away: That's a green pip. There is not a green pip in the game yet, and there has already been speculation all over the place.

Could it be healing? Could it be draw? Could it be placing that card in your hand instead of Scrapping it? There are countless opinions in the game of speculation, but one thing remains a constant: It's the only way to combine your Combiners.

Also that is a garish orange background.

You may also notice that it's a very good card that acts like a New Designs on freaking speed. You have the ability to draw a card, then play an Upgrade, so not only is this card not completely dead in your hand after you combine, but it is your lifeblood while setting up your Predaking.

This card is nutty -- and I can't wait to find out what that green pip does. My money is on healing, especially with Torox.

UPDATE: It's been revealed that this green effect is putting it into your hand when you flip it! You have to discard a card first, but this is a fantastic idea for the health of the game! I'm so stoked for this!



All in all, I think the Combiners will likely be the most difficult combo to pull off. I mean think about it. With stats that low, turn one your opponent can KO a piece of your team and you would have little to no say in the matter. You can try to build your deck to counter that, but that's neither here nor there.

The fact remains that when you combine, you are built Tall. Exceedingly so. You'll be very weak to wider compositions, as they will be able to punish your inactivity with their overactivity. I can almost see times where I don't want to combine at all, which is actually a good thing; I dislike one-trick-ponies that play the same three cards a game and try to win that way.

That being said, I do play the Pokemon TCG, so I'm a hypocrite.

Either way, there are so many things to love about this next wave and I am extremely excited to play with the Combiners. I'm just hoping that they're well supported -- otherwise, Nemesis/Optimus and Insecticons will remain on top.

Thanks for reading. Hope you learned something from my endless ramblings!

Transformers Trading Card Game Rise of the Combiners Expansion and Predaking Combiner Revealed

Date: Friday, January 11th 2019 7:42am CST
Category: Game News
Posted by: ScottyP | Credit(s): Kotaku.com, Transformers TCG on Twitter

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Views: 18,187

The Transformers trading card game from Wizards of the Coast has shared information via Kotaku.com about the next wave of cards being prepped to hit your deck. The "Rise of the Combiners" expansion will be available March 1st, and features six sets of combiners to collect along with other new character and battle cards. The first of these combiners to be revealed is none other than the Predacon gestalt Predaking!


By collecting all five Predacons and their respective Enigma of Combination battle card, you can combine them into Predaking even if some of the individuals have already been knocked out by your opponent. If you're wondering how these will work in the current format, check out this video from the TCG's official Twitter account demonstating the folding card gimmick utilized. With a huge amount of health and the ability to wield up to five weapon cards (as opposed to the usual one per character), these combiners look like they could swap any battle in your favor with the right deck and a little luck.


Those fans not wanting to utilize combiners will be happy to see other new character cards like Windblade in her "Combiner Hunter" form that will also be included in this expansion. With her lending Pierce 4 to the rest of your characters for a turn, this can help you turn the tide if your opponent suddenly gets extra big and stompy. Although we must note the "Super Rare" status, meaning cruel odds of finding Windblade that are 1 in 79 packs, assuming the first wave's odds carry over.

Are you excited for this latest expansion, or already down about how the Predaking Enigma is a "Rare" battle card? What kind of strategies does this change in how you approach your deck build? Sound off with your other Transformers fans in our Energon Pub Forums by replying to this news post.

Transformers: Earth Wars Update: Coronation Day

Date: Wednesday, January 9th 2019 5:32pm CST
Category: Game News
Posted by: ZeroWolf | Credit(s): Space Ape Games

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Views: 13,680

Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong!

A brand new saga will kick off with a 5-Star Shards event this weekend!





Coronation Day

Gather your Alliance members and take part in this weekend's event to win:

- Up to 3,000,000 Energon and Alloy
- Up to 30,000 Spark
- Up to 3,000 Premium Crystal Shards
- Up to 600 5-Star Shards
- Up to 60 Guardian Crystals each containing 5, 4 or 3-Star Shards!

Event type: Alliance Totaliser
Start Date: 11/1/19 10:00 UTC
End Date: 14/1/19 10:00 UTC
Prestige Allowed: 60
Bonus Experience: Triple XP

How to Participate?

• Reach HQ Level 4!
• Join an Alliance!
• Tap the Event button!
• Select an Event Battle Zone to fight in!
• Win your battle and gather Battle Points!
• Collect Prizes 

Alliance Events:
During Alliance events, you will earn points for rewards for the Alliance you're currently a member of. Points earned will remain with that Alliance, even if you decide to leave.

If you leave an Alliance you will not receive any additional rewards from that Alliance and may miss out on some rewards if you join a new Alliance.

Event Battle Zones



Totaliser Prizes



*Each Gurdian Crystal contains one of the following rewards:





Raid Battles Update



You might be wondering when Raid Battles event will be back? Don’t worry as they are coming back soon!

We’ve been working on bug fixes and improvements since the last Raid event and we are almost there!

The following improvements were added to Raid Battles feature:

• You can check number of attempts done for each member in the alliance leaderboard
• You can now attack a Raid battle straight from the scouting screen if the Raid base is available

And we have also fixed an issue where a player couldn’t see the alliance’s progress and would waste attacks on already defeated bases.

Hope you will enjoy the Raid event more with those improvements!



Under investigation



Here is the issue reported that we've been investigating:

• Bots stuck on the spot in battle
  We have identified an issue within the battle engine that can cause bots to get stuck on the spot. This issue is most prominent withCheetor/Blackarachnia, but have received reports of this occurring on multiple bots. We are currently working a potential fix for this.

This is just an example of the reports that we've received from you and we continue to work hard to improve your experience with the game every day.

We would like to thank you for your time and patience, and if you have any issues to report, please get in touch with us here: [url=mailto:support@transformersearthwars.com]support@transformersearthwars.com[/url]. Alternatively, you can reach out to us in game via Menu > Community > Contact Support.



Bug Fixes



The following bug fixes are coming to the game!

• Raid base select not displaying correct zone status
  During the midweek Raid event, some players were seeing an issue whereby the raid zone select window would display 0% for all bases, despite damage being done. This issue was caused by slow connection or dropouts when loading the data. This issue has been resolved by adding a short load check before the zone data is displayed.

Twitch



Join us for the first 2019 stream with Ioannis, Fabien and Jairo who will be talking about game improvements, new features and more!

First stream of the year will be LIVE Thursday, January 10 @5pm UTC!
 

Follow us on Twitch







Copyright © 2019 Space Ape Games. All Rights Reserved.

TRANSFORMERS and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission.
© 2015 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.

Transformers: Earth Wars Event - Nexus Prime

Date: Wednesday, January 2nd 2019 8:17pm CST
Categories: Game News, Digital Media News
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): Transformers Earth Wars

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Views: 21,254

Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong!

A warm welcome into the New Year from the entire Transformers: Earth Wars team!

Looking back in reminiscence, 2018 was an amazing year for our beloved game. From a roster of new bots, new 5* bots, G1 power cores and skins, all the way to a whole new game mode with new currencies and rewards! 
We really had a great year and are very proud of what we achieved. Even more so, we are incredibly happy to have you all with us. 

Thanks for enjoying our game, and onwards to an even better 2019!





Nexus Prime

A new Prime Core has been found! Take part in this weekend's event to discover it and win:

- Up to 3,000 Prime Core Shards
- Up to 3,000 Premium Shards
- Up to 30,000 Spark
- And Bonus XP per Battle

Each Prime Core will greatly enhance your bots by giving them unique Prime abilities!

Event type: Individual Totaliser
Start Date: 04/01/19 10:00 UTC
End Date: 07/01/19 10:00 UTC
Prestige Allowed: 30
Bonus Experience: Triple XP!

How to Participate?

• Reach HQ Level 4!
• Tap the Event button!
• Select an Event Battle Zone to fight in!
• Win your battle and gather Battle Points!
• Collect Prizes!

Event Battle Zones



Totaliser Prizes



*One Prime Core Chip is obtainable by collecting 5,000 Prime Core Shards. EveryPrime Core Chip guarantees a new Prime Core - no duplicates!

** Combine 1000 Premium Shards into one Premium Crystal.



New Prime Core: Nexus Prime



Nexus Prime: If you deploy before your Combiner deploys, your Combiner will deal a percentage (6% for Lv1) of additional damage with all attacks.