Analysis and Description of New Battle Features in Rise of the Combiners Cards for TFTCG

ZeroWolf wrote:Unless the actual scramble city teams are different, I'd imagine it's tribal. Although depending on how they play this we could get alternate members.

#Sideways# wrote:It's the most wonderful time of year -- in other words, it's time for more spoilers for the next Transformers Set! Of course, with a new set means new stuff, and in this case, we have new characters, rule changes, new keywords and an official statement on the use for the green pips!

__________Rule Changes__________


So, normally, the rules read that once a character is KO'd, you can't use them for anything. Generally, when they're KO'd, you can't transform them, attack with them or use any ability. Before, you had to use "I STILL FUNCTION!" to bring someone back to life, then transform them, and let them die at the end of the turn.

Now, though, when you transform for the turn, you can transform a KO'd character. This is phenomenal news. Cliffjumper requires Cars to be in the KO Pile, where -- and chiefly of these -- combiners require all members to be in their robot modes in order to combine in the first place. This means that, once a character is KO'd in their vehicle mode (for instance, a character with Brave like Headstrong), then you can transform them in the KO pile to finally get that combination off.

It's actually fantastic.

No longer do you have to spam "I STILL FUNCTION!" to get your characters how you want them, now you can just transform whenever, wherever you want!

__________Green Pips__________



Everyone's going green these days.

Okay, so, if you didn't read my edited post the other day, you would not have seen what green pips do. So, very recently, WTF@TFW did an hour-long interview with the developers, who revealed some very interesting information, including a new character (which we'll get to later). One of these things was a clarification on the green pips.

Green pips activate when you flip them, and when you do, you may choose to scrap a card from your hand. If you do, you may put that green pipped card into your hand.

This is fantastic news because it makes the game more consistent and way less reliant on draw to get some specific cards, like Combination Enigmas which are confirmed to be all at least in part green pips.

Have you ever had a moment where you accidentally mill the card you've been digging for all game? This is the effect that seeks to curb that. Sometimes, it was horrible where you could discard two out of three Cargo Trailers and suddenly your deck falls apart. It gets worrying when you discard your important cards.

When you need it and you need it now, green pips are your answer.

__________Characters__________



Bringing flip-flopping to a whole new level.


Bluestreak was one of two cards that Wossy Plays, a fellow YouTuber, got an exclusive on. If you'd like to hear his impeccably British opinion on the matter, check out his video HERE!

But you're here for my opinion, and who am I to withhold that?

Well, sorry to say, I'm just not impressed by Bluestreak here. He has a cool gimmick. If you flip one of each, you get to flip to your alternate mode, swapping your zero defense for a whopping four defense in your alternate mode. This defense is probably the best part about him, I'm not gonna lie. His attack is middling, his ability is daunting at times and his eight-star cost makes him a hard sell in comparison to other Cars.

Maybe it's just me, but when I have a car on my team, it has to hit hard and draw harder. Bluestreak does neither of those. That being said, he has access to all the Car support which is honestly the best support in the game, at least at this time of writing. But Bluestreak does have potential.

If you whiff with him, he's dead, but something fascinating about him is the ability to play him in a Cliffjumper deck. There are several effects that can rig your topdeck, and even if you do whiff, then Bluestreak will end up fueling Cliffjumper's high attack stat.

Of course, there are probably better cars to play, but Bluestreak isn't the worst one. In other words? He's no Deadlock!



"I don't like that word, 'insane'. I prefer the term 'visionary'."

For the second exclusive that Wossy got, he got access to the second common Megatron card! Again, you can see his thoughts on it HERE.

So, as for my opinions, what do I think of this new common? Well, I think this card is probably the best Megatron second only to Living Weapon. He's lightyears better than Decepticon Leader, despite Decepticon Leader's innate Upgrade scrapping ability and ability to gain high levels of Pierce. But here's the thing. This Megatron is insane -- pun intended.

First off, in his robot form, you have a draw ability that is always good in Transformers, and even better in the Tank archetype. Megs here can attack, pitch an Armor and then draw two new cards, potentially one of those pesky Hunker Down you've been digging for the entire game. But the scrapping of Armor is always good in Tanks thanks to that Hunker Down, and it's even better with this Megatron.

Megatron can use his alternate mode ability to play an extra card, probably a weapon or a Crushing Treads to make your offensive capabilities skyrocket. But the best part is, you can use that with Hunker Down. You can use it to attach that armor you scrapped (and probably the other Armor that you flipped), then flip Megatron to play a second Upgrade onto one of your characters and then finally attach a third Upgrade, fully upgrading someone potentially, with one card play.

Tanks got a massive buff with this Megatron alone, and I cannot wait to see what else that gets brought to the table for them in the future. After all, they are one of my favorite archetypes at the moment.

Acid Storm -- Toxic Terror

Alternate Mode:

Plane - Ranged
3 Attack / 10 HP / 0 Defense

"When you flip to this mode --> Heal one damage from Acid Storm for every Double Orange card in your opponent's Scrap Pile."

6 stars

>>>>>>>>>FLIP>>>>>>>>>

Acid Storm -- Toxic Terror

Robot Mode:

Ranged
2 Attack / 10 HP / 0 Defense

"Your opponent cannot use Bold."


Whoa, that's toxic!


Acid Storm was one of my first G1-themed toys back in the day. It was the Universe mold for Starscream, and he remains one of my favorite Transformers toys. He was well-painted, and I had a thing for camo back in the day so he got all the sweeter. So, when I heard that there was going to be a Transformers TCG, I got my hopes up for my favorite toy to finally make it into the lime-light. Wave 1 was a tease, but wave 2, thanks to the WTF@TFW podcast, has made my dream come true.

Unfortunately, we don't have a single picture for Acid Storm, but the developers revealed his stats and text in the interview and I've transcribed them here.

Acid Storm is the killer of Dinobots. Dinobots use a massive amount of Bold to deal a massive amount of damage, but Acid Storm's corrosive weaponry stops that from happening. No amount of Bold will keep you down -- this 6-Star splash-in is going to ruin Grimlock's day. Planes got a huge buff with this guy, as Skywarp was depressingly average in the deck. But Acid Storm takes the normally bad matchup of Dinobots and has the potential to make it a fantastic matchup. Really and truly, I am excited to see what Acid Storm can do when put to the test.

Sure, his stats aren't too much to write home about, and his plane-mode's ability is mediocre given his awful defensive capabilities, but his robot mode is invaluable. I recommend placing Heroism on someone else, like Starscream, to keep Acid Storm alive during the game, lest you want to give Grimlock his Bold powers again.

But it's not just Dinos that hate him, it's Bugs. Insecticons make use of high bold as well, dealing usually low damage until their Bold racks up. If you end up facing off against an Insecticon swarm, make the switch to Acid Storm and watch as they start to flounder in their hopelessness.

I can also see using Acid Storm in a Nemesis Prime or Cosmos deck, where the big strategy revolves around a singular entity to pull out wins. All in all, I think this guy is the best card I've seen in Wave 2 as of the time of writing. He's just so good.

__________Battle Cards__________





Thunderbolt and lightning! Very very frightening!


Bolt of Lightning is an interesting addition, and I love it. Bolt of Lightning deals 3 damage straight with nary a downside. You normally only see that on One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall, which deals 3 damage back to you in recoil.

See, I misspoke about the "nary a downside" thing because it does have a "downside": Taking up a Star value. You see, Bolt of Lightning is one of several new cards we're getting that actually cost points to put in your list. Normally, you would have a team that maxed at 25 stars, but your characters could only reach 22 stars. This remedies that lost value in spades, filling out points and filling out your deck with more powerful cards.

As for Bolt of Lightning, I can definitely see it getting played. We don't know how many cards have these star costs, and it would only be logical to assume that there are more than two in this set, and this is one of the better ones I've seen. Sadly, it has no pip so I am a little reluctant to play it, but the rewards of dealing three indirect damage to something without taking any yourself is going to be a hard sell not to play in lists that can spare the point values.



Mounted Missiles is the second battle card revealed by Wossy Plays (revealed HERE!) and might I say that this card is one of the nuttiest Battle Cards I've ever seen. Remember when I said that it would be a hard sell not to play Bolt of Lightning in your list when you have spare points? This is what I meant.

See, unlike Bolt of Lightning, Mounted Missiles is a third -- count them, third card that has double orange pips. This is absolutely absurd. Being able to play a third card that has a double pip like this is one of the craziest things I've seen. Aggressive decks that can spare the points are going to be doing so much damage now that they have access to another double orange.

What's that? I haven't even spoken about the card's bonkers effect? Oh, sure. See, this card can be in your Utility, Armor and your Weapon slots, which means (if I'm not mistaken) you can stack three of them on the same character and reap their rewards. Best part is, it has a static +2 damage effect, so it's never a dead card in your hand because you're not losing that double orange effect.

Mounted Missiles is absolutely bananas. Unfortunately, not every deck can play it to its fullest potential. In fact, most lists can't play it at all. But the ones that will rise up and make the space will love every moment of this card, and all that sweet, sweet damage they're about to deal.

__________Conclusion__________


Rise of the Combiners is looking to shake up the meta, and I can think of no better way to do that than Acid Storm and the point costing Battle Cards. There are so many potential uses for these cards that it's insane. Imagine, playing three of each and simply dropping a character from your list.

These reveals change everything, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that.

But that's not all. There's one more reveal from the WTF@TFW interview that is monstrous -- it's that there will be one combiner that won't be 25 stars in total, and others that won't be five or six-man rosters. Meaning, you are going to be able to play either these new Battle Cards or another character in your list and make out to be the easiest combiner to pull off. The only question is, who is it? Sky-Lynx comes to mind, but there are other options on the table.

What are you hoping to see in this set? Let me know in the comments below!

PerfectVision wrote:-"the insecticons has good bold"
Okay,folks,when he talk about them,he talk about Kickback only,beware.One day,you'll realize that something is wrong with this card and some others

-Bluestreak is not stronger than Jazz,Redalert and Bee6,he's also inferior to Cliffjumper,Splitstream and Bombshell

-Acidstorm can be put instead of R.A with Cosmo but i except someone beetween him and Mega2

Magicians are the venimous style,VE-NI-MOUS and they are all anti MELEE,quadrios are sensible to seekers

-mounted missilles doesn't look like a joke but we don't know their owners yet.

#Sideways# wrote:

PerfectVision wrote:-"the insecticons has good bold"
Okay,folks,when he talk about them,he talk about Kickback only,beware.One day,you'll realize that something is wrong with this card and some others

-Bluestreak is not stronger than Jazz,Redalert and Bee6,he's also inferior to Cliffjumper,Splitstream and Bombshell

-Acidstorm can be put instead of R.A with Cosmo but i except someone beetween him and Mega2

Magicians are the venimous style,VE-NI-MOUS and they are all anti MELEE,quadrios are sensible to seekers

-mounted missilles doesn't look like a joke but we don't know their owners yet.

No, actually, Kickback does not have Bold at all. By speaking to Insecticons and their usage of Bold, I was talking about their playing of Flamethrower, Supercharge and Barrage to supplement their damage. Kickback plays very little into this. The developers were very careful not to use the word "Bold" on him and Demolisher because they knew that they would eventually nerf it with characters like Acid Storm, making their damage output literally zero. I get that you might think that he's too good, but he's the definition of a glass cannon. He's great, sure, but he's just as fragile. I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by "something wrong with this card and some others" -- he's fine in my opinion.

As for Bluestreak, I mean, I agree, Bluestreak isn't that great, but he does have potential with proper support. Your comparisons to the six star cars is completely incomparable because of their point values -- Bluestreak has 8, not 6, and is such far less splashable than the three of them. As to your other points, I agree that he is worse than Cliffjumper in terms of cars, but after that... I have nary an idea why you've brought up Slipstream and Bombshell. I mean, Bombshell has 4 Defense -- but that's the only redeeming quality about him and the only relation between he and Bluestreak. Bluestreak is actually playable in a car list because he takes advantage of the rest of the car tribal cards -- Bombshell cannot make use of any of them, thus he should not be played at all in any car list.

If by R.A. you mean Rare Arcee, then I would agree with you to some extent that Acid Storm can take her spot in Cosmos builds. Unfortunately, with the way the meta is forming, Cosmos can't really take too many tournaments due to its autoloss matchup against Nemesis/Optimus decks. Cosmos can't pop Battlefield Legend Prime, after all, and unfortunately, Acid Storm helps little with that problem. But it does make your Dinobots and Insecticons matchup easier.

I definitely agree that using him in a Rare Megatron deck is a good idea. I actually think that he finds most use in decks like that, where he's slowing down your opponent's damage output to prevent damage to your more valuable characters, like Megatron. I can even see using him in a Battlefield Legend deck, as well, or maybe even a Nemesis deck. I think he's perfect for lists like that.

I literally have no idea what you're talking about after that. Could you perhaps rephrase what you mean so that I -- and the other readers -- may better understand what you mean?

PerfectVision wrote:Mega2 is the new one,R.A is Redalert,Cosmo is not the only magicians,of course he's not for high rank target,Bluestreak and Bombshell do the same thing,the second has better stat,6rank dudes are still better than him,Splitstream has the same activation scheme and is better too.

Insecticons need defense and pierce(backup and rollout everywhere),like the "cars".
Salvage X 1
Piercing blaster
Force field
Data bank
Grenade(not far from M.M)
Blast
Bug bomb
TBTA
inspirational
Swarm
New design
Battle ready

Kickback is the only reason to go full orange,OP12 and Demolisher need the cybertronium.

#Sideways# wrote:

PerfectVision wrote:Mega2 is the new one,R.A is Redalert,Cosmo is not the only magicians,of course he's not for high rank target,Bluestreak and Bombshell do the same thing,the second has better stat,6rank dudes are still better than him,Splitstream has the same activation scheme and is better too.

Insecticons need defense and pierce(backup and rollout everywhere),like the "cars".
Salvage X 1
Piercing blaster
Force field
Data bank
Grenade(not far from M.M)
Blast
Bug bomb
TBTA
inspirational
Swarm
New design
Battle ready

Kickback is the only reason to go full orange,OP12 and Demolisher need the cybertronium.

I still do not understand what you mean by "magicians". Is it autocorrected from something, perhaps? Or do you mean ability-based cards? This is my main source of confusion.

Insecticons should only be played wide with all Orange with few exceptions. I for one love Heroism in Insecticons and it's Blue, but the most prolific build is entirely Orange for a reason. Pierce and defense sounds cool on paper, but Tanks and Trucks are the only things that can pull that off well. Insecticons have such a miniscule health pool that they're just going to be one-hit regardless of a pool of blue cards.

If by Op12 you mean the Common Optimus who has 12 Stars, then I couldn't disagree more on the notion that he and Demolisher require Cybertonium Bow. Cybertonium Bow and Shock Absorbers are both universally reviled in the community due to their extremely difficult to use effect. It is very difficult to have equal numbers of orange and blue pips whenever you flip, especially with Demolisher who flips potentially eight cards if you flip a white pip. It's just far better to attach something -- anything -- else.

As I said above, Bombshell and Bluestreak are mostly incomperable. They belong in their own lists. Bombshell cannot be played in a car list, while Bluestreak can take advantage of everything Cars have to offer.

I also said in my previous post that the six star cars are also incomperable because their far smaller point values fill a separate role than Bluestreak who would be filling a larger spot in your deck.

Slipstream is a plane with a completely different set of abilities. Regardless of what her activation to her completely different ability is, she is also radically different to Bluestreak. Your logic here is a stretch, don't you think? It's like saying Common Megatron from Wave 1 is better than Arcee because he has more consistent Pierce output than her.

Finally, I don't understand why you would play Red Alert in a Cosmos list. He is Vanilla, and there are so many better cards to play in his stead, like Jazz or Arcee.

PerfectVision wrote:-magicians are Shockwave and Cosmo,who are spaceships also

-adjust your cards 1O/1B,rollout help after white,

-pierce fit them,also,Barrage has more HP than he should,Skrapnel must stay in full defense.How's that one hit?

-like Ramjet,Redalert will mostly have blue flip,his humanoid is usable with the reinforced plating,he and Jazz should be a bit more powerful anyway.Trucks need buff also

#Sideways# wrote:

PerfectVision wrote:-magicians are Shockwave and Cosmo,who are spaceships also

-adjust your cards 1O/1B,rollout help after white,

-pierce fit them,also,Barrage has more HP than he should,Skrapnel must stay in full defense.How's that one hit?

-like Ramjet,Redalert will mostly have blue flip,his humanoid is usable with the reinforced plating,he and Jazz should be a bit more powerful anyway.Trucks need buff also

I see. Then I disagree completely with your previous statements about "magicians". Honestly, Cosmos is a victim of the meta and now he's victim of the rest of the game. Rare Prime, Living Weapon, Metroplex and now Combiners utterly dumpster the poor guy.

Shockwave also needs a lot of love, in my humble opinion. Players just don't scrap enough cards from their hand to justify taking Shockwave over someone -- or some people -- who are better. I realize that Security Checkpoint, Disruptive Entrance and a few other cards discard a couple of cards, but the amount you're discarding isn't going to be enough to justify his existence in a list.

I realize that playing Roll Out and Matrix of Leadership add to that, but they don't really add anything when you think about it. For instance, they add one of each, but that has no bearing on what you flip afterward which could serve to offset the rest of your flips. It's bound to happen more than it doesn't. That inconsistency makes it far better to play cards that give more damage presently, like Grenade Launcher, Energon Axe or Flamethrower.

I don't know what you mean by "Pierce fit them". But I can glean from the rest of your statement that you're wondering how they one-hit you. That answer is simple. Turn one, Optimus Prime flips a Leap Into Battle and swings at an Insect-Mode Skrapnel for 11. Turn one. No one has played a card yet. After that, they can play a Grenade Launcher and a Leap Into Battle from their hand and flip a The Bigger They Are off the top of their deck. That's 17 Damage. Bombshell dies to that in one hit, even with three blues off the top of your deck. If you're defending with Skrapnel, they will be content with two-hitting him after they play a Plasma Burst for free. Heavens, they can even play two Plasma Burst in one turn thanks to Brainstorm or Prime's effect. It's a bad matchup, and it's a third of the meta.

Okay, then, how about Insecticons? Grenade Launcher a Barrage after using Zap on Bombshell. Barrage has Bold 2, with a base of 9 damage after the Grenade Launcher. They flip an average flip, with two white pips. They flip one of their Improvised Shields and a Peace Through Tyranny as well. The rest are single Orange, as per the deck list. So, in total, 5 more damage. A total of 16. You might live with one HP or so, but you know that's a war you cannot win because you're not one-hitting them back. A bad matchup, another third of the metagame.

How about Dinobots, then? Grimlock swings at you with Bold 9 with a Flamethrower, Jaws of Steel and a Dino-Chomp! in his robot mode. He flips six of those Bold as orange cards, with two being double orange. It's fairly average. His other four cards were two oranges and two more white. Slightly less than optimal flips. Bad luck for Dinobots, but then again it happens to everyone every now and again. But either way, that's 6 damage base, with 10 added on. 16 in total. You're not doing enough damage to threaten them while they set up. Another bad matchup, another third of the metagame.

See what I'm getting at? Your health pools are way too small to be played in a defensive list. The damage numbers for the rest of the meta are just too high. Yes, Skrapnel's effect is very good at keeping him alive, but the metagame has plenty of workarounds for him, too, with a lot of lists playing indirect damage, like Insecticons, Dinobots and Double Prime.

Ramjet is actually a low-key favorite of mine. That instant 7 Damage is really neat, despite his zero defense. Speaking of zero defense, Red Alert rarely survives anything in his robot form. Again, my same arguments against the high defense Insecticons apply to him even more given his zero defense. Jazz is actually kinda niche in mostly white decks, but I definitely agree that he should be way better. Same with Trucks.

Trucks are kind of very hard to balance. Too much support and they get freaking insane. They already have a pipped healing card and Cargo Trailers, too much tweaking and they might take over the meta.

PerfectVision wrote:-Jazz+Prowl bold make the pierce granted,cliffjumper and Arcee,there's no place for Bluestreak

-stop forgetting armors

-OP13 is way too strong,potentially banissable,to remove his stupid defense and first turn action should be enough,he must begin as a truck flipping during other offense.If you can abuse blank and win,that mean your characters are too strong.

-MANY card scrap MANY card like the dino chomp itself,the backup,the system reboot and computer sabotage

-my ideas for trucks are good

-low attack require pierce,insect has quantity which can compensate one hit KO on them

-Offense is too good overall,feel more like MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK where only a handful of card is necessary,both in preparation and action(optimal deck variance is low),the presumed plurialism of FIRE EMBLEM and VALKYRIA CHRONICLE is also a scam.All of that in a POKEMON VIDEOGAME like.The rarity system is disturbing obviously.I feel like i have wasted my time.Have fun.

#Sideways# wrote:
__________CHARACTERS__________




"Like... A turd! In the wind."


Veno-- I mean, Venin was revealed by VectorSigma.info, a Transformers Trading Card Game competitive article website. Wizards of the Coast has really been fostering the community with these reveals, going to Kotaku, Wossy Plays, now even Wreck N' Rule and others. Hey, Wizards! I have a YouTube channel, too! Let me reveal some, too!!

Anyway, Venin is an odd bird when it comes to Insecticons. Insecticons deal a lot of damage very quickly, but can't take any punishment whatsoever -- at least, that's how things used to work. Venin looks to change that. He has a very disruptive playstyle with his bug mode -- something that is quite unlike other Insecticons. In fact, I would argue that he belongs in a defensive list with Bombshell (despite his vanilla nature) and Ransack with some spare room for Star Cards, but I haven't done any playtesting in that regard so I wouldn't be able to tell you one way or another.

His bug mode has a very interesting ability that adds to his defensive control playstyle that combos really well with Bug Bomb, a Utility that has most of the same effects as Venin. You would be able to play an I STILL FUNCTION!, return Ransack from being, well, sacked and attach a Bug Bomb to him. He would then attack for seven, then die again, discarding three cards from your opponent's hand. That's kind of really nutty. Keeping them there is going to be more difficult, but it pays off when you see Venin's robot mode.

His robot form allows you to give all of your characters Pierce 4 as long as your opponent has no cards in hand, which allows you to deal a considerable amount of damage to Tall decks like Combiners and Titans. He's a very interesting deck concept that really makes this whole "Defensive Insecticons" thing that seems to be just on the horizon.

He's a niche character -- and I don't think he'll find a place in the mainstream Insecticon Swarm decks -- but I don't think he's all that bad for control decks.

__________BATTLE CARDS__________




"Where was the kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!"


Mounted Missiles is another so-called "Star Card" that we're getting in this next wave, revealed by Wossy Plays on YouTube! I gotta say, love this card. Being a third card that could be a double orange pip makes me very happy, and the fact that it can be attached to keep that +2 Damage is very exciting. The fact that you can attach it in your Utility slot makes it even better.

You won't ever be able to play three of these in decks like Insecticons or Dinobots, but having a seventh double orange card in the deck is never a bad thing.



"A'ight, time's up, let's do this! LEEEEEROOYY! JENKIIINNNNS!"


This card is revealed by the Wreck N' Rule YouTube channel, and might I say that Reckless Charge is freaking insane. It's like a better version of One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall. I mean, I get it, OSSOSF does direct damage to your target, but Reckless Charge is an orange pip that deals technically more damage not counting defense. Of course, with defense things get a little math-y, but I'm not going to bore either of us with the details.

Reckless Charge is a very good card for a few decks. Insecticons love this card, Dinobots love this card -- pretty much any aggro deck love this card. But something that I find very interesting is that Optimus Prime -- Battlefield Legend loves this card more than anyone else. Before, OSSOSF wouldn't boost his damage if you flipped it off the top of your deck with his attack and played it. Now, not only do you do +4 damage, you also are getting an orange pip on the top of your deck so you're essentially doing +5 damage.

That damage is astronomical for Battlefield Legend. You deal an absurd 13 damage before counting any weapons. Sure, you deal 3 in recoil, but there are very few things that can survive Optimus' attack when you swing like that. Makes me sweat a little, I'm not going to lie.



What makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?


Wossy Plays gives us another card reveal, and this time, it's finally time to give your Specialists a Pip Boy! I mean, just look at it. I want to listen to Big Iron on it all day, although let's be fair here, I would just end up getting nothing but Johnny Guitar instead.

Jokes aside, this Pip Boy has a white pip, boy, making it the third card for Specialists that allow them to play free cards, the others being Multi-Tool and Multi-Mission Gear. This one, however, is definitely very strong, unlike Multi-Tool. Multi-Tool is redundant -- I mean, why play an extra upgrade by playing an upgrade when you could just... Play that Upgrade? -- but this allows you to essentially draw a card and play it while still giving you +1 damage in your Utility slot.

This is a very powerful effect. Nevermind what random card you might end up playing off the top of your deck -- you can rig that card with Planning effects. Cards that draw one and Plan 1 can look at the top and make sure you really want to play it before you get to play it for free. This is something I absolutely adore, and Field Communicator is definitely worth a spot in any deck that has a Specialist.



Now look upon the face of terror as another poor victim pulls his fifth copy of Sergeant Kup from his booster packs.


Courtesy of TableTopGaming.co.uk, we have a couple of reveals for the next wave, and first up is Enemy Combat Analysis. ECA is kind of an odd card, if you want my opinion. It is at least a very niche card in Combiner lists as it makes the mirror match far better. Having a card like this that gives you incredible advantages against the mirror match is cool, and in Pokemon I often find that people tech in one or two cards to make the mirror less of a coin-flip and more of an autowin.

It's interesting in Combiner lists because they're some of the only ones that can consistently pull off this effect, given that nearly everyone on the enemy Combiner team will have the same point cost as you. I mean, put it this way. You attach this to Headstrong, right? He has Brave and three defense. Now, with ECA, he defends against his counterparts with five defense. That's more damage than most all cards in the mirror can put out in the early game, and that's a very good thing.

Now, outside of Combiner lists, I can't see it getting played all that much unless you're afraid of the mirror, but in Combiners, I would definitely consider putting it in your list.



Focus Fire? Yeah, I play Overwatch Competitive -- it doesn't exist.


Focus Fire is another card coming out of TableTopGaming.co.uk, and this one is sort of an Action card version of Cargo Trailer. I have mixed feelings about it, but I do think that certain decks can make massive use of it. Naturally, decks that can make use of it the most are decks that have high bold, as its Green pipped nature allows you to dig through your deck and amass them.

Part of what I like the most about this is the fact that you're eventually going to build up the three of them in your hand, pretty much no matter what, and that makes me very excited because you will eventually build up to a fantastic Bold 9 turn. See, this card has the same stacking effect that Cargo Trailer has, where the more you play the more exponential your growth. It makes me very excited to see where this will go, as Insecticons, Metroplex and even Dinobots despite their constantly tiny hand.

The best part about this is that it's a green and orange pip. Most green pips are solo green, meaning you don't get any offensive or defensive boost when you flip them. But in this case, you get an offensive boost when you flip it and you still get to put it into your hand afterward. I very much enjoy this card, and in Bold-based decks, you might find that you want to play this card, too.

Of course, after the reveal of Acid Storm, I worry for the success of Bold-based decks like Dinobots and Metroplex. Simply killing him without your bold is harder than you might think, even with his zero defense, and when you have a lot of double orange in your discard pile, he might just be able to heal himself completely with some fancy footwork.

__________CONCLUSION__________


The TFTCG is shaping up to have a wonderful second expansion, with a good emphasis on helping past archetypes and giving tools to help make certain matchups better. Rise of the Combiners is going to be a very good expansion for the game, and if the support for Combiners and previous archetypes continue, I think it can only get better.

I just hope that power creep doesn't take yet another game from me, like it did Dragon Ball. I'm not worried, though -- Wizards seems to be doing a fine job with balance. In a recent interview, one of the chief designers of the game opened a document (that only he could see) filled with cards three sets in the future. If that doesn't tell you that they have a plan, then I don't know what else would.

Another thing I can definitely commend Wizards of the Coast for doing is that they are constantly trying to foster a community through letting certain content creators reveal certain cards, even article writing websites like Vector Sigma. Wizards is doing an excellent job so far -- and I can't wait to see what they do next.