Titan Masters Attack will change the entire landscape of the Transformers TCG. Of that there is no doubt. Being able to have multiple characters within a single character is very Metroplex-esque. The difference this time is that there is no additional work required to get those extra bodies. This set also has some cards that rival the power level of cards from Wave 1, some even surpass the average power level. However, there have been plenty of “hot takes” the past month or so that are completely incorrect. Most of these are derived from an antiquated way to evaluate specific cards within any given metagame. Today we will address some of the failed Called Shots from spoiler season as well as a few of the most overrated characters within the set.
This is one of the largest misses in my book. Had this card existed during the Wave 4 metagame, it would have been one of the most warping cards in the format. However, remember when Sabotage Armaments was supposed to completely make orange decks unplayable? Yeah, about that….
Trip Wire IS good against 5-star (or lower) bots. There is no argument there. What everyone needs to understand is that these cards do not simply exist within the same realm as previous metagame lineups or even entire decks. As new cards come out, they need to receive the proper evaluation amongst the set in its entirety. Thinking that Trip Wire would have demolished the decks that rose to the top during our time with Wave 4 automatically means that it will be a powerhouse within the constraints of Wave 5 is just downright LAZY. It just so happens that being able to punish those bots requires your opponents to be lazy as well. We all know that is inevitable. Some players will just try and update Tailwind with new cards or continue to try and control the pace of a game with a 3-wide blue team with a huge focal character (think Galaxy Prime and Captain Jetfire) that relies of having 2 extremely small characters for support.
For the disbelievers who say that “at worst” it’s a blue Zap.
Arguably incredibly weak. I will concede that the upside of Trip Wire is MUCH higher. You are playing the card for its tertiary effect and not the damage. Let’s not continue to lie to ourselves. Once we can agree that the strength of this card has NOTHING to do with its damage, then we can discuss how easily it is to play around its effect. If you are going to include 5-star bots in your initial lineup, they need to attack first. The only exception is Tailwind. He is powerful enough that he will force a Trip Wire, which will cause the entire strategy to implode. Relegating Trip Wire to a blue Zap effectively neuters the card. Now I can already see some of you puffing out your chest claiming that it can tap any of the Heads in the set. While that is technically true, most of the time the head will detach after combat when the body is killed. The few times that a body is killed without involving an attack (with direct damage or effects) it requires the use of an action already. So, 1 of 2 things happens:
- The remaining characters are untapped, and you can attack the head directly
- The head is untapped, but an action was required to kill the body
In either of these situations, Trip Wire does nothing more than the incredibly weak Zap. Not even close to a Time Walk…
IF you want to discuss true Time Walks:
This card is going to define Wave 5. If this card isn’t in your deck you are just putting yourself at a disadvantage against the rest of the field. I believe that this format is going to rest heavily on who can punish their opponent with Peace Through Tyranny the best. Remember GenCon ’19? Battle Masters and Peace were a match made in heaven and completely dominated the metagame. Both Private Lionizer and Private Firedrive would decimate any opposition given the chance to weaponize through Tyranny. Getting 2 attacks is backbreaking (and it has been since Wave 1). The difference in Wave 5 is that instead of turning into a weapon (which can be destroyed), now you are able to generate an additional attacker. Before, you had to sacrifice a character to leverage additional turns. Titan Masters do not require the same pound of robotic flesh. Yes, you technically need to sacrifice a character, but that character has already attacked, defended and likely gotten an effect from a flip. Staying even on board with the amount of characters and most likely generating an ADDITIONAL attacker in addition to an extra turn is tyrannical. Peace through Tyranny has never been stronger! Do yourself a favor and include this actual “time walk” in your deck in lieu of the previous poser.
DON’T BELIEVE THE
Nightracer is the new FlameWar! I have seen/heard this incredulous statement multiple times since this little FemBot was spoiled. Both share a tough bonus to your entire team it does come at a cost. FlameWar has always taxed character flips in whatever decks she was in. She required one initial flip in order to boost the toughness of everyone else. Nightracer gains both a point of defense and health all the while not burdening the flips of the team. However, she does require a (Secret) action to be used to grant that toughness. A lone Spymasters Ruse can do a great Flamewar impersonation in tandem with Nightracer, but the cost is still there. It may be difficult to push damage in you are required to always have a Secret Action to play to keep the team healthy. FlameWar requires a single flip but no additional resources on the following turns.
The only allure to using Nightracer comes from her Strategem. Turning her into a pseudo 6-star bot for deckbilding purposes to allow additional starred secrets. There are only 3 available currently:
This is generally just a way to cheat additional double pips into your deck. While all three secrets are powerful, they are also all incredibly narrow and will likely require the use of Spymasters Ruse in order to extract the proper amount of effectiveness from them.
With all that being said, the true reason not to buy into the hype is the archetype’s current weakness. Both characters lend themselves to a heavy defensive based deck with a large focal character who does most of the heavy lifting. In the past, these strategies have been able to rely on additional defensive flips to extend the lifespan of the characters through Tough-enhancing abilities and battle cards. Sparring Gear and Hidden Fortification jump to the forefront with Extra Padding working itself into niche character lineups in order to dodge some serious bashings. Titan Masters Attack includes at MINIMUM 10 playable black pipped cards. That’s more than Siege I and II combined! 4 of those are orange/black pips:
Only one of these cards is questionable when it comes to playability. Decks will not be forced to play Opportune Repairs and Combat Dagger anymore. a few of the cards would see play if they were only orange (Most likely not good enough if exclusively black). Going forward, there are going to be more black pips jammed into decks based on power level instead of strictly pips for pips’ sake. That grossly hinders blue decks that have been reliant on their 5 Star supporters. These characters will not be able to play to their strengths in the new meta.
After understanding what will likely happen for a future meta, that leads me into the next overrated character:
This is hands down the coolest character in the set. He’s a flying werewolf! His strength lies in his star cost. He is a 6-star bot that must include a head. So, at the bare minimum, he is a 7-star character that can be abused with Peace Through Tyranny as well being two characters in one. That low star cost also likely lends him to having an inborn Bold 2 while attacking. If you are using Parsec, you have Bold 3 without any battle cards…. If there are larger opponents across the table. This is where I feel that he unfortunately falls short.
Fangry would be excellent at chewing through large blue bots. His strength lies in being able to flip more cards which gives me access to more pierce damage (black pips) without requiring additional battle cards. Given the opportunity to use battle cards, he attacks on Wheeljack-levels of bold. However, I foresee those decks not being in the spotlight for quite awhile until they figure out how to adapt or wait until everyone cannibalizes themselves for mirrors matches. In other orange matches, Fangry will likely be on the same level as the defender which makes him lose his Bold 2. He is also likely the first attacker that you want to send out, so you have the highest chance to survive and then abuse Peace Through Tyranny. 4 attack with Bold 2 is “alright” but likely will not kill characters larger than himself being able to go first. I don’t think that Fangry is “bad,” he just is going to be mediocre more often than not right out of the gate.
This card is what I always wanted Espionage to be back in Wave 2. Not only does it require you to be more educated on cards, you must also know how to properly utilize this tool. Being the first card that can interact with cards that previously were untouchable is amazing. Secret Actions historically put the attacker in a difficult position. That has not changed, and in fact it has gotten slightly more difficult to properly access what you may be facing. Counter Espionage changes all of that. You will know EXACTLY what your opponent is working with in addition of being able to negate their defensive strategy with precision accuracy. This should be a staple for EVERY orange deck moving forward. Choosing not to utilize it is just plain wrong.
It’s understandable that players get things incorrect during spoiler season. Frankly, I’m surprised that more mistakes aren’t made. Just continue to question things until proven otherwise. Never forget that our Energon Invitational Champion thought Galaxy Prime wasn’t good enough until the night before the event. Just because there are weekly podcasts, that doesn’t correlate to being correct. If anything, it lends itself to being full of hot air and talking just to talk instead of talking when you have something of importance to convey.
Dark Confidence: Competitive TCG Analysis 