Batmen Beyond

Fun Facts About Bats:
1. They can be scary.
2. They apparently can carry Coronavirus and not get sick.
3. They sometimes fight crime
4. They are nocturnal flying mammals.
5. Dracula may turn into a vampire bat.
6. Bat Guano makes great fertilizer
7. They are apparently an attractive form for Decepticons to take.

Fact #7 forms the basis of this deck, which I call Batmen Beyond!  The fortressmaximus.io deck depiction is included at the end of the post.

Characters
Fangry (6)
Mindwipe (9)
Ratbat (6)
Kreb (1)
Grax (3)

Battle Cards:
Combat Dagger (O,BL)(3)
Energon Mace (B)(3)
Enhanced Power Cell (BL)(3)
Escape Capsule (O,BL)(3)
Fusion Borer (BL)(3)
Increased Durability (BL)(3)
Magnetic Dysfunction Ray (O, BL)(3)
Master of Metallikato (O,BL,B)(3)
Minor Medic Kit (BL, BL)(3)
New Orders (BL)(3)
Precision Fire (O, BL)(3)
Scoundrel's Blaster (BL,G)(3)
Special Delivery (BL)(1)
Wedge Formation (O, BL, G)(3)
Breakdown: 18 Orange, 9 Blue, 6 Green, 37 Black.  16 Actions, 12 Weapons, 3 Armor, 9 Utility.

Why These Characters: They are all bats.  They are all Decepticons.  Sometimes there isn't really any deeper meaning to mine.  Kreb and Grax are ere because they look suitably creepy to fit in, and I like their health bonus.

Why These Battle Cards: Now that I have a team of evil bat bots, I need to find a way to make it work.  Mindwipe likes black pips - in body mode when he flips them, the opponent has to discard a card. Ratbat likes multiple colors to trigger his tap ability, which can heal the rest of my squad.  So, I targeted multi pip cards, with black being a priority.  That got me Combat Dagger, Enhanced Power Cell, Escape Capsule (which will help with two titan masters on my team), Magnetic Dysfunction Ray, Master of Metalliko, Precision Fire, Scoundrel's Blaster (which is also nice because these guys are all Decepticons), and Wedge Formation (a triple pop cared which also benefits from me having melee and ranged players on my team).

New Orders can untap Ratbat (and Grax and Kreb) to allow him to heal everyone again.  Minor Medic Kit, Enhanced Power Cell, and Increased Durability are black pips aimed at keeping my squad alive while being able to trigger Mindwipe's ability. Energon Mace will help against Autobot squads.

Strategy: With Grax and Kreb attached, Fangry and Mindwipe have pretty high health totals, especially if I can get one of the upgrades on them. I think I am putting Kreb on Fangry to keep his star count low (7) because he gets a bonus for attacking someone with more stars than him.  If he goes up against any of the patrols, he's already going to take advantage of his body mode (tough 2 when defending against fewer stars).  Mindwipe gets Grax by default.  Mindwipe is staying in body mode and attacking first to thin out my opponent's hand. Fangry goes second and his mode will depend on what the opposing team looks like. Fangry and Mindwipe are getting all the upgrades because I'm using Ratbat for his tap ability.  Ratbat transforms into bat mode and uses his tap ability to heal whoever got zinged in the first two rounds.  With 24 Multi pip cards, including 6 with three pips, there's a good chance he'll get to heal at least two from each character. Hopefully, between Ratbat's healing, the extra health from battle cards and Grax/Kreb, plus Special Delivery (which moves a damage counter to an enemy), I can keep this squad going until the sun rises and they must retreat to their lair.

The Case for Human Character Cards

In prior articles, I've listed the most wanted characters from the Generation 1 Cartoon and the missing characters from Transformers the Movie.  Many of my wishes have been granted, so I figured it was time to get back on the horse and come up with a new most wanted list.

Why Add Human Characters?

Game wise, star cards (and the new stratagem cards) did a nice job of helping us make use of the leftover stars some team combinations stick us with.  4 star characters fill in that niche as well on the high end.  But what about 2-3 star gaps?  Sure, there are the heads for Titans, but they can't be put into play without a body.  This is where small human cards (could) come in. 

Theme wise, both Decepticons and Autobots worked with humans.  Many times the human would ride in the vehicle form of the transformer, so building that into the game would fit the theme.  As the 'plot' of the card game moves closer to Earth, adding humans will eventually be a natural progression.

How Could Humans Be Included?

Human cards would be small character cards. Humans could be a 2-3 star customization option that teams up with a transformer to give them a bonus.  That bonus might be an additional health for the team or an ability, similar to the head mechanic in wave 5, or it could be a gateway for equipping special upgrades on characters. Their fates would be tied to the transformer they are riding with and the combination would count as one character, unlike the heads who could pop off and fight on their own. 

Who Should Be Included?

There are many humans that appear once or twice, but a few stand out.

Spike Witwicky: Spike is the main human character in Transformers.  His name is pretty cool. He usually hangs out with Bumblee, so whatever bonus he gives should be increased if he is paired with his buddy.

Sparkplug Witwicky: Sparkplug (another cool name) is Spike's dad.  He is good at fixing things, so his ability could be to heal one HP after each turn battle.

Dr. Arkeville (hey, that's me!): The namesake of this site, Dr. Arkeville helped the Deceptions in exchange for a promise to rule the world.  He provided hypo-chips to allow the Decepticons to enslave humans.  After figuring out that the Decepticons were going to destroy earth, leaving him nothing to rule, he aligned with Starscream.  Given his scientific genius, perhaps pairing with him would allow a character to apply two upgrades in one turn.

Carly: Carly starts out as Spike's girlfriend, but by the time the movie rolls around, they are married and have a son named Daniel.  She and Spike went to a rock concert once and took Blaster along, so she's got that going for her.

Daniel: The son of Spike and Carly first appears in Transformers the Movie.  He's honestly a bit annoying, but I would only be excited for him if there is a battle card for his transforming exo-suit armor.  Since he kind of got in the way, he could add two health to a character, but cost it one defense.

Chip: Chip is a friend of Spike who is good at science and computers.  Maybe he could hack into enemy upgrades or something.

Buster: In the comics, Thundercracker befriended a dog named Buster.  Buster seemed to make him happy, so why not have him add 1 health to the character he is paired with and 2 if that character is Thundercracker?  I mean, dogs make everyone happy, right? Or maybe when he's paired with Thundercracker, he can use non-deception faction specific cards.

Dr. Fujiyama: He didn't appear in many episodes (one I think) and when he did, he made Nightbird (which didn't turn out so well).  But, he was a smart guy who could add something to be used by Decepticons, Autobots, and Mercenaries, to reflect the role his creation played in the episode - he made the ninja robot for good, got it jacked by the Decepticons, and she was caught by the Autobots.
In the game, she is a mercenary.

Chumley: Lord Chumley is a big-game hunter who wanted to bag himself an Optimus Prime for his collection.  Why do all jerky big game hunters have to be British lords?  Either way, seems like a potential ally for Decepticon characters to me.

Kremzeek: He's not really human, he's more of an electric thingy who just annoys everyone.  After bursting forth from yet another Decepticon experiment gone wrong, Kremseek began wrecking all their stuff.  So, the Decepticon's dumped him off at the Autobot's base and he began to wreak havoc there.  Perhaps Kremzeek is a character that hurts you while you hold him, but when you pass him to the other team, he messes with them - like a hot potato.  Plus, he's kind of cute.



Marissa Faireborn: A captain in the Earth Defense Command (which I guess would be Space Force?) she is an ally of the Autobots. She's so legit she flew to save Blurr and Wheelie from some bat robots that could transform into bombs.  And the best part about her is, she has a cool retro spacesuit that allows her to fly in space ... apparently without needing a face mask to breathe!

Cade Yeager: Mark Wahlberg's contribution to the Transformers franchise can be  is encapsulated in one line from Transformers: Age of Extinction "I think we just found a Transformer."  If you add him to your team, you should be able to bring back someone from the KO pile - I mean, he did find and repair Optimus Prime! Or if you want to get really freaky, he can 'find a transformer' from outside your starting lineup and somehow get him onto your team.  Imagine how fun it would be to be almost dead but snag a new teammate while proclaiming "I think I just found a Transformer!"  Note: I can't in good conscience really advocate for Cade Yeager to get a character card. I just had to work that quote into an article.

Agent Burns: John Cena played some sort of military guy in the spin-off/reboot/prequel Bumblebee movie.  He had the best line of the movie: "They literally call themselves Decepticons. That doesn’t set off any red flags?" Upon further reflection, they should never make an Agent Burns character card under any circumstances.

Atlas of the Transformers Universe

In a recent post, Wizards of the Coast teased locations as a possible feature in future sets.  How would these things work?  Well, the thing about a location is, I think both sides would have to be there, in order to fight each other.  So, perhaps each player picks a location and the venue changes each round.  I'm guessing they would have stars attached to them, but some of them might not if they could help both sides equally.  Below is a my Atlas to the Transformers Universe, a guide to some Transformers locations that hopefully could find their way into the game. I am most familiar with G1, so most locations come from that source:

Earth Locations

The Ark

 

What is it: The Ark is the spaceship the Autobots used to escape Cybertron.  After it crashed landed on Earth, it served as their base.

Source: Gen1 Cartoon

What it could do: Boosting teams of Autobots in some way, since it is their home base. 

Autobot City

What is it: The Autobots' base on Earth was the location for one of the epic battles in Transformers the Movie.  Starscream shot his own foot, Springer had better things to do than die, and all the cassettes got to face off.  When I was a kid, I thought it was Metroplex, but while it kind of transforms, Autobot City seems to just be a base.  

Source: Transformers the Movie

What it could do: It would be fun if Devastator got some sort of bonus to make him more useful, since he tore it to shreds. This would be nuts and game breaking, but maybe when you are on your last character, you can bring Optimus Prime in from outside the game (or your sideboard) and he gets some attack to save the day and then he dies.

The Golden Lagoon

What is it: I pitched this in my Most Wanted Generation 1 Characters article.  Beachcomber found a golden lagoon filled with Electrum, which had the effect of temporarily making Transformers invincible.

Source: Gen1 episode, The Golden Lagoon

What it could do: Temporarily block damage, perhaps for one character on each side.

Space Bridge

What is it: In the Gen1 Cartoon, the Space Bridge is the key element in Megatron's plans. It allows him to send energon back to Shockwave on Cybertron.  It is through the space bridge that we get most of our glimpses of Cybertron. Optimus used it to go save his long lost love interest Elita-1 (which became its own theme deck)

Source: Gen1 cartoon

What it could do: The Space Bridge was used to transport stuff across long distances. It could allow you to swap out cards in your deck for cards in your sideboard, which could allow you to adapt your deck based on your opponent.  Or you could use it to transport the battle to a new location (which you might want to do depending on what your opponent has).  Since it takes energon to power the bridge, maybe to trigger it, you need to lose a health point.

Sherman Dam

What is it: The site of the first epic battle between Prime and Megatron.  While I don't recall seeing it again, it showed the Mace/Axe weapons.
Source: Gen1 episode, More than Meets the Eye, Part 2.
What it could do: Two bots start with a weapon and slug it out one on one until one is beaten, regardless of who is tapped/stealth/brave.  They'd probably have to be the similar star totals to be fair.

Dinobot Island

What is it: Robot dinosaurs were not enough for the Transformers cartoon.  Bumblebee and Powerglide found an island full of extinct creatures, including dinosaurs.  When the Dinobots went to the island, they dug it.
Source: Gen1 episodes, Dinobot Island 1 and 2
What it could do: Dinobots need some help to be playable, and the Jurassic Punch stratagem didn't really help.  They would get some sort of bonus at this location.

Arctic Circle

What is it: It's the arctic circle, man!  But in Transformers, it is important because that's where Jetfire (aka Skyfire) was found, having been encased in the ice (memorialized in my deck, Fire in the Sky).
Source: Gen1 episode, Fire in the Sky
What it could do: Since he was thawed out, then ended up back in the ice, and then got thawed out again, this location could give Jetfire some sort of bonus.  It would be a very specific card, but so far, we do have two Jetfire cards so it could be useful.

Britain, 542 A.D.


What is it: Warpath, Hoist and a bunch of Decepticons (mostly seekers) were transported back in time to Britain in 543 A.D.  This bonkers episode featured Rumble riding Ramjet in a jousting tourney.
Source: G1 episode, A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court
What it could do: I'll leave it up to the genius developers, but some bonus for Warpath would be nice. Or we could get really wonky and benefit Rumble and Ramjet, to commemorate their entry in the jousting tourney.

Surface of the Moon

What is it: From time to time Transformers have been on the moon (especially if you followed the live action movies.
Source: Setting aside the movies for a minute, in the Japanese Super-God Masterforce series episode, Showdown on the Surface of the Moon, God Ginrai and BlackZarak (two dudes I have no idea about) were having a showdown ... on the surface of the moon. This is really just a way to show off that I've heard about the Japanese only series.
What it could do: If these dudes ever make it into the game, they'd love it here.

Cade Yeager's Barn

What is it: In the live action movies, Cade Yeager found a transformer, which caused him to say "I think we just found a Transformer."
Source: Transformers, Age of Extinction
What it could do: Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

Planets

Junkion

What is it: Junkion is the Junk Planet Wreck-Gar and the Junkions call home.  It's basically a big planet of trash. 

Source: Transformers the Movie

What it could do: Seems like a great place to scrounge some upgrades from the scrap pile.

Quintessa

What is it: Home of the evil Quintessons and Sharkticons, this planet has large bodies of water.

Source: Transformers the Movie.  Hot Rod, Kup, and the dinobots crash landed on the planet

What it could do: This is where Kup said Ba Weep Grana Weep Nini Bong.  I don't know how, but they gotta work that in. More importantly, if I get my wish to add characters from the movie, it could provide a bonus for Sharkticons and Quintessons.

Chaar

What is it: Chaar is the planet the Decepticons retreated to when they lost Cybertron.

Source: Transformers G1, The Five Faces of Darkness. It also appeared in the Headmasters cartoon series.

What it could do: Give a bonus to all-Decepticon teams.

Nebulos

What is it: Nebulos is a planet where organic aliens with mind control or something ... ah it's terribly complicated. Basically, Transformers crashed there and teamed up with the residents to form headmasters and target masters. Somehow this teamwork was effective, so the Decepticons did the same thing.  Characters like Arcana and Stylor were introduced this way.
Source: Gen1, season 4 (The Rebirth)
What it could do: This location could give headmasters and battle masters a bonus.  Perhaps making it harder to knock off battle masters or giving them a +1 attack bonus.

Cybertron Locations

Iacon: 

What is it: The center of Autobot territory on Cybertron.

Source: Iacon appears in many Transformers media, including the Generation 1 cartoon, Marvel Comics (in which Iacon was Cybertron's capital) and the IDW comic series.

What it could do: Give bonus to all-Autobot teams.

Crystal City

What is it: Omega Supreme was the guardian of this city, along with the Constructicons, who helped build it.  The Constructicons got turned into Decepticons and they tricked Omega into leaving. When he did, they destroyed the city, earning Omega's enduring hate.
Source: Gen1 episode, The Secret of Omega Supreme (which I used for another theme deck)
What it could do: Give a bonus to Omega Supreme, which could make the Loot Crate Promo Omega card more useful...I mean useful at all.  One way would be to slightly raise the star cap if autobot characters are added, to make Omega fit with more partners.  This location could also provide a bonus to the Constructicons. Or, they could have the ability to destroy it, removing it's bonus to Omega.

Unicron's Head

What is it: After he got destroyed in Transformers the Movie, Unicron's head became a de facto moon of Cybertron.

Source: Transformers Season 3. Fun Fact, Unicron was voiced by Orson Welles. 

What it could do: Starscream's ghost reactivated Unicron's head and made a deal with him to bring him back to life (and of course double crossed him).  This location could pull an I Still Function with King Starscream, which is very specific, but could be powerful enough to make Starscream Decepticon King playable.

Moonbase Two

What is it: In Transformers the Movie, Cybertron's moons served as the Autobot staging grounds.
Source: Transformers the Movie
What it could do: Give you a chance to say "Jazz to Moonbase Two" and "Any Decepticon Shenanigans in your area?"