Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Normally, my decks are inspired by the Gen1 cartoon.  But this time, I am basing my deck on a movie...a live action movie.  No, not one of the Micheal Bay movies.  This movie came out in the 80s, which fits with time period of the cartoon and if it had any Transformers in it, they stayed in disguise the whole time.  I'm talking about Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, a 1987 comedy starring Steve Martin and the late, great, John Candy.  In the movie, two dudes share a three-day odyssey of misadventures trying to get back home to Chicago for Thanksgiving.  The journey involves planes, trains, and automobiles and has one scene that I can remember that occurred when the guys were forced to share a hotel room):

Neal Page: ...Del? Why did you kiss my ear?

Del Griffith: ...Why are you holding my hand?

Neal Page: ...Where's your OTHER hand?

Del Griffith: ...Between two pillows... 

Neal Page: ...Those aren't pillows! 

Del Griffith: Aaaaaahhh!

So yeah, that's pretty much the basis of this deck.  Is this a dumb basis for a deck? Of course it is!  But given the amount of folks who are sheltered in place, I figured something is better than nothing!

I have the included the fortressmaximus.io visual deck at the end of the article.

Characters:
Raider Triggerhappy (8)
Captain Astrotrain (12)
Dead End (5)

Battle Cards (Pip)(Number):
Attack Drone (WG)(3)
Bad Attitude (None)(1)
Defensive Configuration (O)(3)
Energon Axe (B)(2)
Energy Pack (O)(1)
Extra Padding (BG)(3)
Force Field (W)(3)
Grenade Launcher (O)(3)
Incoming Transmission (O)(1)
Inferno Breath (B)(1)
Kinetic Converter (W)(1)
Mining Pick (O)(2)
Minor Medic Kit (BL,BL)(1)
Repair Bay (O)( 2)
Scoundrel's Blaster (BG)(3)
Sturdy Javelin (W)(3)
Swindled (O)(3)
Terrifying Resilience (O,BL)(2)
Treasure Hunt (O)(2)
Breakdown: 19 Orange, 9 Blue, 10 White, 9 Green, 4 Black. 10 Actions, 16 Weapons, 8 Armor, 6 Utility

Why these characters: Triggerhappy = Plane.  Astrotrain = train.  Dead End = Automobile.  It's kind of that simple. While there is only one train in the game so far, I did have some options with planes and cars.  I decided to go all Decepticon, which narrowed things down.  I like how Triggerhappy can return a weapon from the scrap pile to my hand, which could help rescue grenade launchers and help get weapons onto Astrotrain.  Of the cheap Decepticon cars, I like Dead End's draw a card flip ability as it helps me get possible upgrades for Astrotrain.

Why these battle cards:  Let's get Terrifying Resilience out of the way. It has Astrotrain on it.  It's in.  Attack Drone and Extra Padding are cards that can fill up Astrotrain's upgrades fast.  Treasure Hunt is there to help me dig for upgrades (of which I included a lot).  Scoundrel's Blaster seems like a good idea since this team is full of scoundrels who will either be fighting Autobots or conspiring to keep two humans from getting home in time for the holidays.  Sturdy Javelin will be fun to play with my two ranged characters, and Triggerhappy can always snatch it (and Grenade Launcher) back from the scrap pile with his flip ability.  Repair Bay, Minor Medic Kit, Force Field, and Energy Pack are there to help me keep Astrotrain alive while I load him up with upgrades.

Strategy: At first I thought this would just be a super janky deck built around the title of an obscure 80s movie that wouldn't work.  But I may have stumbled onto something.  After playing equal partner in my Cosmotrain! deck, Astrotrain is the centerpiece.  He needs upgrades.  Triggerhappy (weapons from scrap pile) and Dead End (draw card) have flip abilities that can help him get them.  Could these decepti-bros actually make a team?  With my heavy slant towards weapons, maybe!  First round, if I have an upgrade, flip Triggerhappy to get him in position to snag a weapon, as I expect a weapon to come out during the first round given the number I have in my deck.  If no upgrade in hand, flip Dead End to get a card.  Put upgrades on Astrotrain.  Second round, flip Astrotrain if he has second upgrade.  If he doesn't have an upgrade yet, flip Triggerhappy to get one.  Bonus points if at some point you pull off a combo or pull a sweet card and yell "Those aren't pillows!"