Starscream's Brigade

Starscream.  He's kind of whiny.  He always schemes to take over the Decepticons.  According to Megatron, he's a fool and a failure.  But what if Starscream was an effective leader who could lead a team of planes to finally achieve victory?  Here is my attempt at building a deck around that concept.

Characters: 

Starscream Air Commander (11)

Raider Tailwind (5)

Raider Nightflight (4)

Raider Visper (5)

Battle Cards (Pip Color)(Number in Deck):

Armed Hovercraft (B)(3)

Bombing Run (B)(2)

Cooling Vents (O)(3)

Crash landing (None)(2)

Decepticon Crown (WG)(1)

Emergency Maintenance (O)(1)

Energon Axe (B)(1)

Energy Pack (O)(1)

Escape Route (WG)(3)

Extra Padding (BG)(3)

Grenade Launcher (O)(3)

I Still Function (None)(1)

Inferno Breath (B)(1)

Mining Pick (O)(2)

Rapid Ascent (O)(1)

Rapid Conversion (W)(3)

Repair Bay (O)(2)

Roll Out (OB)(1)

Bigger They Are (B)(3)

Two Pronged Attack (O)(2)

Pocket Processor (G)(1)

Breakdown: 16 orange, 14 blue, 8 green, 7 white.  19 Actions, 9 Weapons, 7 Armor, 5 Utility

Why these characters: I started with the idea that I wanted to get as many planes with Starscream Air Commander as possible to trigger his flip 1x damage per plane.  The best way to do that was to cram as many of the air strike patrol onto the team as possible.  This has an added benefit due to Tailwind's assistance to the other members of the patrol and his bonus when they die.

Why these battle cards: Every time Starscream flips to plane mode, he nails an enemy with damage equal to the number of planes.  With this squad, that tops out at 3.  So, my primary goal was keeping my planes alive and flipping Starscream as many times as possible.

I'll try to keep them alive with Bombing Run, Cooling Vents, Emergency Maintenance, Energy Pack, Extra Padding, Repair Bay, and Two Pronged Attack.  To a lesser extent, my one copy of I Still Function could bring a plane back for a turn (If you have an extra copy, hit me up and I'll love you forever).  To help flip Starscream, I added Roll Out and Rapid Conversion.

I prioritized cards that benefit from ranged characters and planes.  Armed Hovercraft, Cooling Vents, Rapid Ascent, Bombing Run, and Two Pronged Attack fit this.  Where possible, I included green pips to take advantage of the air strike patrol's skills (8 green pips).  I love crash landing as it gives a parting gift to remember you by when you die.  Since we are assuming this team will help Starscream finally succeed, I added Decepticon crown.

Finally, I focused on cards that could do some damage since these guys are pretty puny - Grenade Launchers, Inferno Breath, Mining Pick, Energon Axe.  Because most of the team is composed of small bots, I also added The Bigger They Are...

Strategy: This deck is more about chip damage than having killer bots.  Starscream's flip ability, Armed Hovercraft, Bombing Run, Crash Landing, and Inferno Breath are all ways to chip in some damage without having a strong offensive team.  Tailwind's vehicle mode helps his team out if a green is flipped and Decepticon Crown and Mining Pick might help manipulate the draw to make that happen.  I'd probably lead off by flipping Starscream and attacking with him or Visper (because Visper seems to be the most expendable of the squad).  After that, it is a race to keep people alive and flip Starscream to trigger his ability.  When Visper and Nightflight bite the dust, I can flip Tailwind for an enhanced attack.

Editor's Note: In the cartoon episode Starscream's Brigade, Starscream assembled a team ... but it did not involve planes.  His brigade was made up of old World War Two vehicles that he used to create the Combaticons by installing the personality components of some renegade Decepticons.  The Combaticons are particularly cool because they combine to form Bruticus.