Mess With The Bull, You Get The Horns

This deck is not based on a Transformers episode.  No, it is based on a simpler concept, a phrase that has taken many incarnations.  You mess with the bull, you get the horns.  Naming a deck You Mess With The Bull, You Get The Horns implies that your deck is tough and fearless and by extension, YOU are tough and fearless.  It exudes confidence.  The deck name alone serves as a warning to your opponent to give up before things get really bad for them.



Note: The fortressmaximus.io visual depiction of this deck is provided at the end of the post.

Characters

The Bulls: Torox (5) and Horri-bull (6) with Grax (3)
The Horns (Rhinos): Ramhorn (5), Headstrong (5)

Battle Cards:
Energon Axe (B)(3)
Enhanced Power Cell (BL)(3)
Escape Capsule (O, BL)(3)
Escape Route (WG)(3)
Force Field (W)(3)
Hit and Run (W, BL)(3)
HV Electron Breacher (BL)(2)
Increased Durability (BL)(3)
Medic's Protective Field (W)(3)
Metal Detector (BL, G)(3)
Minor Medic Kit (BL)(3)
New Orders (BL)(3)
RR Disruptor Blade (BL)(1)
Special Delivery (BL)(3)
Indestructible Sword (BL, BL)(1)(Star Card)
Breakdown: 32 black, 12 White, 6 Green, 3 Orange, 3 Blue.  12 Actions, 12 Utility, 9 Armor, 7 Weapons.

Why these characters: It's simple.  I have two bulls on this team (Torox and Horri-bull).  I needed more horns to keep people from messing with them.  Who has a cooler horn than rhinos? No one.  Still not convinced?  Rhinos may be the origin of the unicorn myth.  Top that, other animals with horns! So Ramhorn and Headstrong joined the squad.  Grax is there to give Horri-bull health...and a head.

Why these cards: When Ramhorn defends, I can play a white armor.  I therefore added Force Field and Medic's Protective Shield. Horri-bull's body mode pings 1 damage (to him and an enemy) for each black pip card played.  So I stocked up on black pips.  Some of these cards are geared at keeping him alive - Enhanced Power Cell, Hit and Run, Increased Durability, Minor Medic Kit, and Special Delivery.  Indestructible Sword is cool because if it gets scrapped it goes back into my hand, where I can play it again.  New Orders can untap anyone on my team but Horri-bull so it is useful to squeeze in some extra attacks. Escape Capsule is just cool and I want to try it out.  Given my plan to give upgrades to Horri-bull it would be nice to keep them when Grax pops off. Finally, I need Horri-bull to flip every so often to send some of that damage he's accumulated to an enemy. Escape Route should help with this.  I also must recognize my failure as a deck builder for not including plasma horns.

Strategy: Ramhorn has stealth so he's staying hidden until I snag a white armor in my hand.  Most of my flips will be centered around Horri-bull.  He flips first to get into body mode so the black pip ping damage can start.  He'll want to keep transforming to bleed that off.  Most of the other characters don't need to transform much.  Headstrong has brave and defense of 3, but that is less useful now that there is so much pierce, so he may want to transform to ditch the brave.  Torox is happy to prevent healing in bull mode, but his stats are better in bot mode and he lets you plan when you transform.

Will this deck dominate your opponent? That is unclear.  What is clear is, someone in your match is getting the horns ... the question is, who?