Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by the main editor or a guest. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.

Top 5 Best Transformers Minicon Teams + All Minicon Teams Ranked

Hello everybody! It’s good to be back. This year marks the 20th anniversary of what has been one of the most influential Transformers toylines ever created, whose wild success eventually opened the door to investing in the Bayverse.
Armada introduced us to minicons as the “third faction”. Spawn of Unicron and pokemon of the week, these tiny robots were hunted down by both Autobots and Decepticons as “power ups” for larger Transformers.

Minicon toys came in two flavours: teams, sold, in 3-packs, and partner minicons sold together with their bigger partner. Partner minicons will be ranked in the second part of this celebration.

This first top 5 will focus on Armada mini-con teams were sold in 3-packs, each with a dedicated theme. Minicons have been defined as “feature-activating micromasters.

In ranking these teams, 1-10 scores were given for:

- Theme execution: how well does the trio represent its unique concept?
- Team gimmick: how well implemented is the team’s gimmick?
- Power-up credibility: how credible does the team look when powerlinked?
- Engineering: how well was this toy built?
- Transformation: how original and well executed is the transformation?

We also add a couple of completely arbitrary notes on best partner for powerlinking, and best repaint out of many (MANY!) available. The list includes all 21 minicon team molds: 11 from Armada, 1 from Energon, 2 from Cybertron, 6 from Classic and 1 from Thrilling 30.
Let’s get started!


#5 Armada Race Team

Score: 43/50
Theme: 10, a nice variety of racing cars, no doubt
Gimmick: 10, the Skyboom shield combiner gimmick is great fun, and it doubles up as a “flying thing” which is fun by itself
Power-up: 10, the shield looks great in the hands of most ‘bots
Engineering: 6, the individual robot modes are quite sacrificed for the Skyboom combination

Transformation: 7, one of the three members, Mirage, barely transforms
Best partner: Smokescreen or Hoist
Versions: 8
Best version: Armada Road Assault team, which looks great with a variety of holders.






#4 Armada Air Military Team

Score44/50
Theme: 10, no doubt about what these planes are about
Gimmick: 10, they handle triple-changing at minicon scale very well
Power-up: 10, an excellent homage to G1 targetmasters
Engineering: 7, Terradive is prone to breaking - you can be careful, but it’s way too fragile
Transformation: 7, it does the job for all members, but it’s not revolutionary
Best partner: Armada Starsceam
Versions: 9
Best version: Galaxy Force Calibur Team, remolded and repainted to be paired with GF Sonic Bomber






#3 Armada Space Team

Score: 45/50
Theme: 10, they went above and beyond with an additional “ground transport” combination of two members
Gimmick: 10, the combination into the Requiem Blaster is well executed, with a stable weapon which can be comfortably handled by most TFs
Power-up: 10, a blaster for every season
Engineering: 7, the satellite is prone to breaking or losing pieces
Transformation: 7, one of the three is at G1 micromaster level of simplicity
Best partner: Armada Megatron (if you don’t know why, ask Smokescreen)
Versions: 6
Best version: The Umbral Blaster made up of the minicons from the 3 different mini-con vs packs (to go with TFCC Timelines Astrotrain)






#2 Armada Sea Team

Score: 48/50
Theme: 8, this is indeed a Sea team, but the terracotta colors are truly baffling. The Micron Legend original X-Dimensions release and its DVD version make this set worthwhile..
Gimmick: 10, three boats which double up as rocket pods for their partners
Power-up: 10, three credible weapon attachments
Engineering: 10, all three minicons are well built and sturdy
Transformation: 10, three diverse transformations, including an excellent one
Best partner: Micron Legend Shockwave (the purple version)
Versions: 6
Best version: Micron Legend X-Dimensions Sea Team (of course!)






#1 Armada Land Military Team

Score: 49/50
Theme: 10, three military vehicles which mean business
Gimmick: 10, three excellent rocket pods, with a well-designed pressure-based gimmick
Power-up: 10, possibly the most credible minicons for powerlinking
Engineering: 9, all three minicons are well built, with minor issues for Knockout’s legs
Transformation: 10, Bonecrusher has possibly the best transformation of any Unicron Trilogy toy
Best partner: Armada Demolishor (of course!)
Versions: 6
Best version: Armada Night Attack Team, to go with… anything, really, it’s just that good.





With the top 5 done, let’s find out which is the undisputed worst minicon team ever made as we rank ALL remaining teams!

#6 Armada Air Defense Team (42/50)
6 / 9 / 10 / 9 / 8
Iconic because of the Star Saber, but with an uncertain theme overall
Best partner: Armada Starscream or Micron Legend Hot Rod
Versions: 12
Best version: Air Assault Team, to go with Armada Galvatron

#7 Classic Night Rescue Team (41/50)
10 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 9
Original and partly awesome transformations, possibly the best post-Armada minicons.
Best partner: none - most Classic minicons don’t really work well when powerlinked
Versions: 6 Divebombs, 4 Firebots, 7 Strongarms
Best version: Classic

#8 Thrilling 30 Assault Team (40/50)
10 / 10 / 5 / 7 / 8
A great homage, reimagining Armada Perceptor at deluxe scale, with uneven engineering.
Best partner: none - these three are just too large for powerlinking
Versions: 1
Best version: T30

#9 Armada Destruction Team (38/50)
8 / 10 / 5 / 7 / 8
Together with Armada Cyclonus, the Destruction team represents all the best aspects of Armada. It’s a shame that Dualor got one of the most boring alt modes.
Best partner: Armada Cyclonus
Versions: 9
Best version: Micron Legend Space Galaxy Destruction team, to go with Energon Cyclonus

#10 Armada Adventure Team (37/50)
10 / 10 / 7 / 6 / 4
Meant to be the equivalent of the Destruction team for the Autobots, Armada Hoist’s cost-cutting led to losing its gimmick, limiting the value of this team. The micromaster-level transformations don’t help making them relevant, even if the theme is well executed.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Cybertron Lunar Assault Team, with Universe Ransack

#11 Armada Emergency Team (36/50)
10 / 7 / 7 / 7 / 5
Another great G1 targetmaster homage, ruined by the second worst minicon ever made - Armada Prowl.
Best partner: Armada Red Alert
Versions: 10
Best version: Armada, with Armada Red Alert

#12 Classic Dinobot Team (35/50)
10 / 10 / 1 / 7 / 7
Great homage to G1 Dinobots and Beast Wars but very weak as minicons.
Best partner: none
Versions: Terrorsaur has 6, others have 5
Best version: Rise of the Fallen (G1 repaints)

#13 Cybertron Recon Team (34/50)
6 / 10 / 3 / 8 / 7
Almost a celebration of minicons by itself, with two great transformations - but not really made for powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: 8
Best version: Galaxy Force Micron Booster v3 repaints

#14 Classic Demolition Team (33/50)
7 / 10 / 6 / 3 / 7
Nice variety of alt modes, with some of the weakest engineering across any minicons.
Best partner: none
Versions: Broadside has 5, others have 6
Best version: G1 Micron Booster v4 with Universe Heavy Load

#15 Street Action Team (32/50)
10 / 10 / 1 / 6 / 5
Armada Perceptor is an iconic combiner and can hold Hotshot’s engine gun, but the individual robots suffer because of it - more than for most other minicon combiners. Very original and unique alt modes, points for audacity.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Micron Legend Magna Convoy DX Fembot version

#16 Cybertron Giant Planet Team (31/50)
1 / 5 / 7 / 10 / 8
Interesting little Transformers with great engineering, but not really great for powerlinking, and with a non-executed theme.
Best partner: none
Versions: the airplane has 3, others have 4
Best version: TFCC Timelines with Astrotrain

#17 Street Speed Team (27/50)
7 / 7 / 1 / 6 / 6
Easily the worst Armada minicon team, it betrays the core concept with tiny cars which make no sense whatsoever in the context of powerlinking, with an “articulation” gimmick which adds very little value, and a boring, uninteresting colour scheme.
Best partner: none
Versions: 8
Best version: Armada Beast Wars Transmetal repaints

#18 Classic Clear Skies Team (25/50)
10 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 6
They all fly, with some original transformations, but once again failing at powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: Nightscream has 5, the others have 6
Best version: G1 Minicon Team (Japanese exclusives Sling, Glide and Dragoyell)

#19 Classic Predator Attack Team (25/50)
10 / 1 / 1 / 5 / 4
They are all predators, and they all suck in terms of engineering or powerlinking.
Best partner: none
Versions: Dreadwing has 4, others have 5
Best version: BotCon 2008 Shattered Glass Predacons

#20 Classic Dirt Digger Team (21/50)
1 / 7 / 1 / 6 / 6
Armada showed us that original, diverse transformations were possible even at minicon scale. The Dirt Digger team, combining simple transformations with misassembly and breakage, was made to remind us that times had changed.
Best partner: none
Versions: Grindor has 3, others have 4
Best version: Classic, if you must

#21 Energon Perceptor (Energon Street Action Team) (20/50)
1 / 6 / 1 / 6 / 6
Energon didn’t give us many minicons, but it gave us was memorable: the Energon Saber, a great remold of the Air Defense Team, and Energon Perceptor, one of the most abysmal concepts ever devised in almost 40 years of Transformers. 20 years later, I still can’t imagine how this concept got approved. Energon Perceptor is so bad it’s not even funny.
Best partner: none
Versions: 6
Best version: Japanese exclusive Stealth City Team

This wraps up our minicon team ranking. We hope you enjoyed this article more than I enjoyed Energon Perceptor.

The only reason I would give the military team the top spot is because of that neat transformation where the halves of the truck rotate lengthwise and pivot. Otherwise Makeshift the Osprey Gatling Gun is more than enough to elevate his team to top 5 at least.

Glad to see the Boat teams on there though. I say their best deco is the running change Blue and Silver. But I think you meant that as what deco pairs best with their intended Bulk

Flashwave wrote:The only reason I would give the military team the top spot is because of that neat transformation where the halves of the truck rotate lengthwise and pivot. Otherwise Makeshift the Osprey Gatling Gun is more than enough to elevate his team to top 5 at least.

Glad to see the Boat teams on there though. I say their best deco is the running change Blue and Silver. But I think you meant that as what deco pairs best with their intended Bulk

I am also a fan of the Unicron Battles Sea Team - indeed, the tepaints were picked based on how well their paired with a "bulk".

Bumblevivisector wrote:No bonus points to either Perceptor team for vehicle scaling issues?

Still, great attempt at analyzing the essence of what Mini-Cons were supposed to be and do. Your criteria reminded me of how Micromasters tech specs replaced two categories with Teamwork and Cooperation.

This may end up being your most contentious list to date, but at first glance, I thought it would also include RID 2015 Minicons; what a convoluted mess THAT would be...any chance you'll analyze them and make it a Top 5 Minicon trilogy?

fun coincidence: today I had my first exposure to RID 2015 minicons, through TA Overload.
Well, I don't think I'll be collecting them...

rikkomba wrote:

Bumblevivisector wrote:No bonus points to either Perceptor team for vehicle scaling issues?

Still, great attempt at analyzing the essence of what Mini-Cons were supposed to be and do. Your criteria reminded me of how Micromasters tech specs replaced two categories with Teamwork and Cooperation.

This may end up being your most contentious list to date, but at first glance, I thought it would also include RID 2015 Minicons; what a convoluted mess THAT would be...any chance you'll analyze them and make it a Top 5 Minicon trilogy?

fun coincidence: today I had my first exposure to RID 2015 minicons, through TA Overload.
Well, I don't think I'll be collecting them...

I have all molds for the RID 2015 Minicons so I could do that list.

To respond myself to the list above:
I am a bit saddened that the Destruction Team is ranked so low. Especially with the reason being that Dualor has a weak alt mode. I mean, it's not great but it heavily resembles the alt mode of a minicon from the Team that got the number 1 spot so it can't be that bad. And with the other two minicons in that team having really fun alt modes, that's always been my number 1 set. I also really like the action features.

Love seeing the water team as number 2, it's my number 2 as well.

This is a great list, well done Rikkomba! I find it hard to fault it, though I may have put the requiem cannon a bit higher, as that was my favourite of the weapon combos. For some reason my skyboom shield always bent funny.

Great post! My list is a bit different, though.

5. Space Team
4. Emergency Team
3. Air Military Team
2. Race Team
1. Air Defense Team / Air Assault Team

I don't own that many Minicons, but the Night Attack Team are definitely my favorites. They're a unique team of redecos that really nail their theme. Makeshift and Oval are my favorite individuals, though I'm not quite sure what made the Skyboom team so special. They don't really work for me.

I forgot to give honorable mention to Astro-Hook, Astro-Line and Astro-Sinker.

Super happy to see the Sea Team so high, I've got a lot of good childhood memories with their Unicron Trilogy colors.

I really don't remember much about the Armada mini coms. I tried to get all the ones that combined. I thought the Star Saber/ & Dark Saber repaint were cool. I also got the Skyboom Shield, Requiem Blaster, and "Preceptor". Not sure if they all had repaints though or not. I don't think I had them if they did.

william-james88 wrote:

rikkomba wrote:

Bumblevivisector wrote:No bonus points to either Perceptor team for vehicle scaling issues?

Still, great attempt at analyzing the essence of what Mini-Cons were supposed to be and do. Your criteria reminded me of how Micromasters tech specs replaced two categories with Teamwork and Cooperation.

This may end up being your most contentious list to date, but at first glance, I thought it would also include RID 2015 Minicons; what a convoluted mess THAT would be...any chance you'll analyze them and make it a Top 5 Minicon trilogy?

fun coincidence: today I had my first exposure to RID 2015 minicons, through TA Overload.
Well, I don't think I'll be collecting them...

I have all molds for the RID 2015 Minicons so I could do that list.

To respond myself to the list above:
I am a bit saddened that the Destruction Team is ranked so low. Especially with the reason being that Dualor has a weak alt mode. I mean, it's not great but it heavily resembles the alt mode of a minicon from the Team that got the number 1 spot so it can't be that bad. And with the other two minicons in that team having really fun alt modes, that's always been my number 1 set. I also really like the action features.

Love seeing the water team as number 2, it's my number 2 as well.

It would be great to see an overview for the RID minicons! And I guess somebody must have collected all Prime Arms Micron.

I found Dualor to be a bit redundant, especially because there was a dedicated team for tanks. But the other two members of the Destruction team are truly unique!

ZeroWolf wrote:This is a great list, well done Rikkomba! I find it hard to fault it, though I may have put the requiem cannon a bit higher, as that was my favourite of the weapon combos. For some reason my skyboom shield always bent funny.

thanks! There was quite a lot of competition for the top spots. The requiem blaster needs to be secured at three points - rocket connections to the other two, and shoulder connection for the satellite.

Ha! This is a great theme for a monthly ranking! Very well researched and love the scoring system too. It all feels very wholesome, showing some love to these little guys who probably slipped under most people's radar. Nice!

Tigerhawk7109 wrote:I don't own that many Minicons, but the Night Attack Team are definitely my favorites. They're a unique team of redecos that really nail their theme. Makeshift and Oval are my favorite individuals, though I'm not quite sure what made the Skyboom team so special. They don't really work for me.

I am glad we share the love for the Night Attack Team! If only they had made Demolishor in that color scheme...

Rodimus Prime wrote:I forgot to give honorable mention to Astro-Hook, Astro-Line and Astro-Sinker.

Great recolors, great with TFCV Astrotrain... and CostCo Magna Convoy!

You forgot to mention the best part of the Air Military Team - they're all bonafide triple changers.

Each of them turns into a weapon, a spinning shield/ninja star, a large claw and a rocket launcher. All pretty convincingly.

Easy Tiger wrote:You forgot to mention the best part of the Air Military Team - they're all bonafide triple changers.

Each of them turns into a weapon, a spinning shield/ninja star, a large claw and a rocket launcher. All pretty convincingly.

I agree, the Air Military Team is pretty cool!

"
Gimmick: 10, they handle triple-changing at minicon scale very well

"

One Minicon tem that I would like to see reimagined is the Air Defense Team, maybe a new shape to the sword mode the better accommodate the individual mini-cons.

Day 981 of waiting for Transformers Armada Masterpiece news.

I agree with this list.

o.supreme wrote:I really don't remember much about the Armada mini coms. I tried to get all the ones that combined. I thought the Star Saber/ & Dark Saber repaint were cool. I also got the Skyboom Shield, Requiem Blaster, and "Preceptor". Not sure if they all had repaints though or not. I don't think I had them if they did.

those were awesome. I got into repaints because of Remy's galleries, at tfkenkon.com, Ben Yee was also a fan

Nemesis Primal wrote:Super happy to see the Sea Team so high, I've got a lot of good childhood memories with their Unicron Trilogy colors.

I am glad to hear that, sometimes we forget there were children made even after 1980

Of the few teams I have, the ones who form the dark saber are my favorite. They look exceptionally nice with Armada Megatron. I think the Requiem Blaster is my 2nd favorite, and the skyboom shield team my 3rd. Mind you, I think those are the only 3-con teams I actually own outside of the T30 Centurion team, which I do think is my favorite over the others.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Of the few teams I have, the ones who form the dark saber are my favorite. They look exceptionally nice with Armada Megatron. I think the Requiem Blaster is my 2nd favorite, and the skyboom shield team my 3rd. Mind you, I think those are the only 3-con teams I actually own outside of the T30 Centurion team, which I do think is my favorite over the others.

That's quite a selection! Did you try matching the Dark Saber with Armada Galvatron?

rikkomba wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Of the few teams I have, the ones who form the dark saber are my favorite. They look exceptionally nice with Armada Megatron. I think the Requiem Blaster is my 2nd favorite, and the skyboom shield team my 3rd. Mind you, I think those are the only 3-con teams I actually own outside of the T30 Centurion team, which I do think is my favorite over the others.

That's quite a selection! Did you try matching the Dark Saber with Armada Galvatron?

I don't own Galvatron, only Megatron