Most Wanted Characters: G1 Cartoon

The Transformers Trading Card Game has done a great job of hitting a diversity of Transformers characters, from beloved Gen1 staples to some obscure characters (we're looking at you Firecons), but there are still a ton of characters to feature. Below are some humble proposals for characters from the Generation 1 cartoon.  When applicable, I have added some possible play mechanics to help inspire the game design team.

Gen1 Cartoon Autobots

Huffer and Gears: I remember these two mini-bots as being hilarious because they were always whining. The little pickup truck and mini-semi looking thing never did much in terms of helping out or playing a role in the plot, but they were always there when the Autobots rolled out.  The picture above is he toughest they ever looked in the show.

Beachcomber: He has a cool mellow attitude, is a geologist/environmentalist, and he's a dune buggy.  We need that. Plus, I remember an episode where he found this gold stuff (called 'electrum') in a lagoon that made Transformers invincible temporarily - sounds like an awesome battle card armor to me.

Brawn: He's a small dude with a big chip on his shoulder. For a tiny guy, I remember him being pretty tough and what happened to him in Transformers the Movie was mind blowing (no pun intended).  He looks like a cross between the X-men's Juggernaut and that strange robot from Buck Rodgers (pictured here) so I can't wait to see what the card artists would come up with for him.  He could be a high attack, low defense character to represent his strength but his propensity for charging into battle.

Seaspray: Hovercraft.  Need I say more?  I hope not, because I don't recall him doing anything memorable in the cartoon.  While a hovercraft isn't technically a boat, Seaspray could make it worthwhile for a 'boat' battle card that he could share with Seawatch.

Perceptor: This has to happen.  He's a big nerdy scientist who turns into a microscope (which I believe has been turned into into some sort of sniper cannon in the comics - see picture).  Despite being a total geek, he also survived the bloodbath that was Transformers the Movie.  Legit fighters didn't make it and a bot who turns into a microscope did!  Perhaps his 'smart' mechanic could be the ability to play the "Superior" upgrades on him without needing the Tech Research battle card.

Sky-Lynx: I'm not sure I dig this dude, but he'd be a decent combiner if the game designers can make it work.  He's got a bird part, a lynx part, a bird/lynx combined freak thingy (pictured), and a spaceship mode (all with a strange English accent if I remember correctly).  He's already on a battle card (crash landing), so clearly the game makers know about him. More power to the game geniuses if they can make him work.

Gen1 Cartoon Decepticons

The game has done a nice job of including the G1 Decepticons, but there is one (?) guy who needs his time to shine.

Reflector (the random camera guy who shows up in the background of every group scene but never really did anything): One thing I am learning about collectible card games is, it sucks when you get tons of copies of the same guy.  Here is a chance to remedy that.  Like in the cartoon, three of these guys would make up the alt mode camera. My idea: Two of the same regular common bots would form two halves of the camera, and a mini character would be placed over it to create the lens.  Now, what would this camera do?  I'll leave that up the experts.

Bonus

I have to be honest, I am unfamiliar with Overkill.  But he's a Decepticon robot T-rex mini-cassette so he must happen.  Soundwave needs all the cassettes he can get and you literally can't go wrong with dinosaurs.  Go ahead and throw Slugfest, who is apparently a Decepticon robot stegosaurus, and Beastbox, a Decepticon robot gorilla, at me too. These dudes seem to have hung out with fan favorite Ratbat, so let's give him some friends!


Am I missing someone from Generation 1 we need to get into the game?  Let me know in the comments!

Note: I give permission to the Transformers Trading Card Game to use any of these ideas!