The Ark Wave 1 Spoilers!

Spoilers?  Isn't the Transformers Trading Card Game canceled?  While Wizards of the Coast is no longer making new cards, the Transformers TCG community has stepped up to keep the game alive. I am excited to preview two cards from Wave 1 of a set of custom cards being released from The Ark. In this article, I'll reveal the two cards I've been given to preview.  I'm happy to report that these guys really know what they are doing - both of these cards are stratagems that really help make otherwise forgotten characters usable in a deck.  In a future article, I'll try to build some fun decks using them.

Such Heroic Nonsense

History lesson: Heroic Nonsense refers to a line Megatron coldly delivered in Transformers the Movie. While the (spoiler alert from a movie from the 1980s) death of Optimus Prime gets most of the press, this one was the scene that really got me as a kid when I saw the movie in the theater.  For more historical context check out my previous Heroic Nonsense decklist writeup.

Why this card is exciting: Looking beyond its awesome name, this is a stratagem card for Megatron, who has consistently been underpowered in the game.  Any card that makes him more usable is welcome. As an added bonus, the card helps all tanks by getting a tank card into your hand easier.  Thanks seem to be underused so this is should encourage some tank squads.

What does this card do? For the price of a star, Such Heroic Nonsense essentially adds a green pip to the Hunker Down battle card if you have Megatron, Decepticon leader on your team.  This is a small change that doesn't break the game, but definitely helps. Hunker Down is a great card for tanks, as it allows each of them to fetch an armor from the scrap pile.  The problem with the card is, without the green pip, you will often frustratingly see the card pass you by in a battle.  This stratagem helps balance that out.  The best part is, while Megatron has to be on the field, this stratagem applies regardless of who is battling.

Hunker Down's flipping ability works well with Megatron, Decepticon Leader.  You will likely want to fight with him in bot mode (which somehow has more attack than his tank mode?), but when you flip to tank mode, you can scrap a card from your hand to scrap an enemy upgrade.  Scrapping an armor isn't so bad when you can retrieve it from the scrap pile with Hunker Down.  If you couple this card with some card drawing and flipping abilities, you could really drive your opponent nuts.

What kinds of decks will this card be useful in? While my full deck idea will be featured in a separate article, I think this stratagem not only helps Megatron, Decepticon Leader, but multi-tank decks.  My first instinct is to go with a tanks team of Brunt, Artillery Drone (4), Megatron (10), Demolisher (6), one of the (4) star battle patrol tanks, and this card (1). Demolisher would draw a lot of cards, which Megatron could discard to scrap enemy upgrades.  If you are willing to go with one less tank in exchange for an all Decepticon squad, you could swap out the battle patrol for one of the 4 star deception car or plane patrol bots.

Bust Some Deceptichops!

History lesson: A perfect card to pair with Such Heroic Nonsense, because Ironhide is who Megatron said it to in the movie.  While it is lacks the emotional gut punch of that card, the phrase has become Ironhide's trademark catch-phrase.  Is it clear what exactly Deceptichops are?  Not really, but that makes it even more awesome.

Why this card is exciting: Remember all those decks you made using Ironhide, Veteran Autobot?  Probably not, because he's the vanilla starter that you stopped using as soon as you bought your first booster pack (unless you wanted to run my Vanilla Trucks deck for some reason).

What does this card do?  For the low low price of one star, this card adds a whopping 4 health to Ironhide, making him an 11 health bot for the total price of 7 stars.  But wait, there's more!  This card also gives Ironhide a huge +2 bold and tough if he's fighting a Deception. All of a sudden, a lame card with no abilities has a chance of being helpful in a fight.

What kinds of decks will this card be useful in? While my full deck idea will be featured in a separate article, this card really helps revive the otherwise unusable Ironhide.  You don't get any fancy tricks or gimmicks, just a solid across the board increase in stats that doesn't create an unfair gamebreaking advantage.  I haven't played around a lot with combos yet, but my first impression is Ironhide + this card could be a good 7 star filler in a truck deck, especially if you know you are going up against Decepticons.  There are a lot of Autobot truck options, including Optimus. the off road patrol, Brawn, Gears, Outback, Hound, Trailbreaker, Inferno, Grapple, Ultra Magnus, and ... wait for it ... KUP!  Throw in 3 copies of 4-Wheel Drive, Battering Ram, and Cargo Trailer and let the mayhem begin.