The Transformers Trading Card Game Facebook group's March "back of the binder" unsung heroes deck builder challenge features Private Sideswipe. My first instinct was to go the easy route and pair him with his brother Sunstreaker. Only a heartless jerk would separate two bros, right? But then I remembered the Generation 1 episode, Masquerade and my life (and this deck) was changed forever.
Generally, Autobots are cars and Decepticons are planes. The Stunticons are an exception to that rule - they are Decepticon cars. Cars created by Megatron because ... he was jealous of the Autobots' ability to not fly?
In Masquerade, the Autobots caught the Stunticons while they were on a robbery spree collecting parts for yet another Decepticon super-weapon. Note the particularly innovative capture technique knowns as "playing chicken with another semi" used by Optimus to capture Motormaster. Optimus was keen to figure out what Megatron's latest scheme was and an idea was born - painting the Autobots to look like the captured Stunticons to infiltrate the Decepticons. And that is the genesis of this deck.
In the episode, Sideswipe impersonated Breakdown and Mirage impersonated Drag Strip (Optimus became Motormaster and Jazz became Dead End, but they didn't make as cool of a deck). The Autobots in disguise (see what I did there?) moseyed into the Decepticon lair and delivered the stolen stuff.
Deliver all the parts the Decepticons are looking for? Head into the Decepticon base with the sole protection being a new paint job? If this seems like a foolproof genius plan ... it wasn't because the Stunticons broke out and merged into Menasor. Obviously, the remaining Autobots were no match for a legit Combiner, so he was able to head back to the Decepticon base, exposing the imposters.Luckily for the Autobots, Windcharger had an electric field ability that allowed them to merge together and Mirage used his illusion power to make that combined form look just like Menasor. This begs the question, why didn't the Autobots do this like all the time? Anyway, the two Menasors battled it out, but Megatron was about to shoot the Autobot Mensor with the new weapon built with the parts the Autobots so conveniently brought to him. Luckily, Ironhide had messed with one of the components before they took it to the Decepticons and the weapon blew up. So maybe the plan wasn't so dumb after all.
This deck, featuring two Stunticons and their Autobot doppelgängers, is so awesome your opponents will spend valuable time trying to tell your bots apart while you cruise (see what I did there?) to victory. Note, I have placed the fortressmaximus.io visual depiction of the deck at the end of the article:
Characters:Private Sideswipe (8)
Breakdown (5)
Autobot Mirage (7)
Drag Strip (5)
Battle Cards (Pip)(Number):
Attack Drone (WG)(3)
Bravery (B)(2)
Energon Axe (B)(1)
Force Field (W)(3)
Grenade Launcher (O)(3)
Incoming Transmission (O)(2)
Increased Durability (BL)(3)
Medic's Protective Field (W)(3)
Minor Medic Kit (BL,BL)(3)
New Orders (BL)(1)
Roll Out (OB)(1)
Special Delivery (BL)(2)
Start Your Engines (B)(2)
Stealthiness (O)(3)
Stunticon Swagger (none)(1)
Team up Tactics (B)(1)
The Bigger They Are (B)(1)
Treasure Hunt (O)(1)
Wedge Formation (O,BL,G)(1)
Breakdown: 11 Orange, 11 Blue, 4 Green, 9 White, 13 Black. 15 Actions, 7 Weapons, 9 Armor, 9 Utility.
Why these characters:
In addition to being based on an awesome episode, there was a method to my madness. Sideswipe is happy when his squad bites the dust. In bot mode, he untaps when a teammate is knocked out. Then, when he flips to car mode, he gets +2 attack for each character in the KO area. Luckily, the combiner cars I picked are likely to get smashed pretty easily, which should allow Sideswipe to untap a few times to get some more licks in.
Starting with Sideswipe meant that in order to keep my theme, I needed Breakdown. Breakdown likes blue pips, so that led me to select Drag Strip as my second doppelgänger (he likes blue and orange pips to trigger his draw ability and I have the same amount of both). I also liked him because his counterpart Mirage has a decent power that is triggered when he is in the KO pile, allowing me to scrap actions from my opponent's hand.
Why these battle cards:
This deck is all about keeping Sideswipe alive to take advantage of his team dying around him. This deck is the first time I've used Stealthiness and Bravery, but they is going to be necessary to allow Sideswipe to attack but not get killed. Force Field, Increased Durability, Medic's Protective Field, Minor Medic Kit, Special Delivery, and Wedge Formation are all geared towards keeping Sideswipe upright. Treasure hunt helps me snag some upgrades, which could help get an armor on Sideswipe.New Orders and Start your engines are another way for me to untap characters and squeeze out another attack. Drag Strip, Breakdown, and Sideswipe don't really need to transform much, but Roll Out has good pip colors.
Stunticon Swagger was included because it fits with my theme (It's got Stunticons on it!) and can also help Breakdown and Drag Strip. Given the Stunticons' 5 star cost, I included The Bigger They Are ... because I anticipate fighting bigger bots. Since the Stunticons are kind of weak and I didn't go with an all orange deck, I added Inferno Breath to ensure 3 damage on my attack. Finally, Grenade Launcher, Attack Drone, and Energon Axe are there to help deal some damage.
Strategy:
My overall plan is to attack with Sideswipe, get someone killed, untap and attack with Sideswipe, and repeat.
First turn, I'm transforming Sideswipe to bot mode and attacking with Breakdown. I don't want to attack with Sideswipe first because that will guarantee he gets smacked on my opponent's turn. Breakdown is the most expendable but I'm banking that he won't get one shot killed on the first turn. Second turn, I attack with Sideswipe. My opponent now has to choose to attack Sideswipe or finish off Breakdown (unless I hit a Bravery card and can force the issue). I'm hoping that Breakdown is so close to dying that he makes an attractive target. Third turn, I'm either transforming and attacking with Mirage or attacking again with Sideswipe if he becomes untapped when Breakdown dies. It is hard to map out a decision tree with all the possibilities from there, but I think the second bot I'd like to sacrifice is Mirage, so I can start using his KO pile flip ability to mess with my opponents hand. I considered attacking with Mirage first, but I think Breakdown makes a more attractive target for my opponent's second attack. If I'm playing against a tall deck with with a lot of attack, I could adjust and go with Mirage first. Meanwhile, I'm trying to put armor and Stealthiness on Sideswipe while playing cards to try to heal him.
Why this is the best Sideswipe deck out there:
I can't say whether it will be able to win matches, but you do get to spin a nice yarn about the time Sideswipe and Mirage impersonated Stunticons and saved the day...without even needing Omega Supreme to bail them out.
As promised, here is a visual depiction of the deck.
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