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We had quite the pleasant stream today, filled with reveals of toys we had not seen well yet. Below is a list of the reveals along with the stream itself and images. There are annotations when appropriate. Some items will be available on Pulse today while others will be available for preorder thursday.Also, while you are on Pulse, check to see if the deals on their current sale interest you.
Deluxe Mirage, the face will be painted to be more accurate in the finished product
Leader Optimus Primal, will have a darker colour scheme to match the film but sadly comes with open mouth to match the earlier design given to the team. We were given a lot of reasons why this was a leader class toy rather than voyager class toy and it goes as such:
- Added articulation not standard in other classes such as fingers and butterfly joints, to reenact the chest pounding
- Minimal hollowness
- Extra accessories including 2 halves of the Transwarp key, two blades which connect to a fully poseable and segmented chain, and the battle axe for Optimus Prime (which could not be included with Prime at the voyager price point)
Legacy
Core Class Snarl
Core Class playset with Optimus Prime, trailer, and Bumblebee (Pulse Exclusive)
Deluxe Bombshell
Deluxe Shadow Striker
Deluxe Strongarm, retool of Elita 1 and more toon accurate than other G1-ified characters from other "Universes"
Deluxe Detritus, which has the Earth Mode Hound body (Earth mode Hound was not mentionned)
Voyager Bludgeon, Tarn repaint with new head and Sword as we have known for a while due to the test shots
Voyager Trashmaster, also modular like the other Junkions and there is an intended combiner mode that is yet to be seen.
Leader Dreadwing
Generation Selects Antagony which also comes with TMII Scavenger head (for you to place on Inferno)
Buzzworthy SS86 Ironhide and Prowl, meant to show the exact moment they get shot, rather than the moment directly after that when they are dieing/dead
Buzzworthy Trooper pack, where even though the seeker still looks very blue in the stream, we are told he is more lavender.
There was a Hasbro Pulse livestream today with Evan and BMac showing us the entirety of Studio Series Wave 3. The preorders will be up later this month. They also revealed two 2 packs for Amazon's IDW subline which are available to preorder today.
Studio Series Wave 3
SS Core Class DOTM Bumblebee
SS Deluxe 86 Brawn, painted windows, can mimic G1 toy look
SS Deluxe GE Cliffjumper
SS Voyager GE Megatron
SS Voyager ROTB Rhinox
SS Voyager ROTB Optimus Prime, Buzzworthy Bumblebee exclusive, only the tires and windshield are identical to the previous SS BB figure
Amazon Capsule (exclusive thematic subline)
Miner Megatron and Senator Ratbat: Megatron colour scheme based on cafe scene with Impactor by Alex Milne
Orion Pax and Senator Shockwave: Orion is based on Siege Hound and Shockwave is based on the Tetra Jet
Boxes connect, like last year's Wreckers capsule. There are more items to come as Amazon exclusives.
The two boxsets are available as preorders today at 1 pm.
Pipeline reveals:
Core Class Snarl
Deluxe Bombshell
Deluxe RID Strongarm
Deluxe Detritus
Deluxe Shadowstriker
Voyager Bludgeon
Voyager Trashmaster (autobot junkion that becomes a garbage truck)
Leader Dreadwing
GenCon is coming up next week, and with it comes a whole new meta with not just the Siege cards but also the slew of promos we got over the San Diego Comic Con weekend! Sure, not everyone was able to get them, but many people were, and that means you're likely to see a whole bunch of people trying on Soundwave or the Omnibots on for size. Not only that, but with the advent of black pips making Pierce not just an easily reachable damage cap, but a powerful damage effect for defensive decks with low attack totals. With these new additions to the meta, how will the meta shift before GenCon begins and what should you play at the game fair? Let's dive in!
--
META PREDICTIONS
I think, as a whole, the entire format is going to slow down thanks to the black pip, Battle Masters and an increased reliance on Bold for more offensive decks to be countered easily by Acid Storm. But does that mean that the format has a bad case of the "blues"? Well, not exactly. Let me explain by going into the first deck that I'd like to cover, which is Aerialbots.
Aerialbots wrote:Silverbolt -- Aerialbot Leader (5*)
Skydive -- Air Warfare Specialist (5*)
Fireflight -- Sky High Recon (5*)
Air Raid -- Reckless Flyer (5*)
Alpha Bravo -- Airborne Special Ops (5*)
This is what, I think, an average Aerialbot list is going to look like. At least, this is what I would play if I were going to make the trip to GenCon. You might want to put a few more black pips in there to start with, such as Hiding Spot to effectively force your opponent to attack Skydive as much as possible, but generally speaking this is what an average list will look like in many cases with the only exception being a few cards in the sideboard.
Before we get into that, let's dive into the main list. Basically, you already play quite a few cards that give you Pierce in the first place. Playing a few black pips will help maximize the amount of Pierce you can do without bogging down your flips with potentially bad defensive flips. This is why Smoke Cloak and Steady Shot are both so powerful. Not only do they allow you to play fairly solid cards during your turn with Steady Shot being the major player in that regard, but you will never be sad to see them flip given the fact that they have both a black pip for offense and a blue for defense. They are both very solid cards, and if you're playing Blue/Black you should definitely be playing them.
So, all that aside, the rest of the list is fairly average. The exception is that I put a few interesting cards in the sideboard for your consideration, including Infiltrate for the aggro matchups as well as Omega Supreme for everything else.
Optimus will likely be the general side-in for most cases, having incredible utility and power and will often just out-value your opponent especially with cards like Marksmanship, Steady Shot, Inferno Breath and more in your deck to help increase his damage even further than you already will be with a Noble's Blaster. Plus, in a defensive list, he'll be incredibly hard to take down, especially with Fireflight using Brave to keep the major heat off him. Fireflight is so good, in fact, that I included a character in the sideboard for you to consider just because of his versatility.
You see, Omega Supreme really likes it when his partner is attacked instead of him. Omega's HP isn't as large as Metroplex, but if you only take two at a time and your partner defends the rest of it, well, you'll be lasting a long time to make the most of your powerful offensive potential. Since Fireflight has Brave, you can put Reinforced Plating on him (as well as Enemy Combat Analysis if you're facing the mirror) and you can force your opponent to attack him, dealing minimal damage thanks to Fireflight's defensive upgrades, which you can then move off to Omega to make the both of them last.
Omega is a lot like starting the game with Superion in play. Sure, sometimes that's not for the best and you'd be missing out on the time and value that your other parts give you, but sometimes the matchup just requires it, especially against Mirror. I think that Omega is super underrated in this metagame, and I think that the slower the format gets, the more viable he becomes. In fact, you can even use UFO to get even more value out of him, but even I think that might be a bit much, investment-wise.
--
Forgotten, but not lost.
Speaking of underrated cards, I'd like to point out possibly the most underrated card out of Wave 1: Aerial Recon. Aerial Recon has been an absolute boon in my playtesting thanks to not only its scry effect, but its defensive boost on a Utility. Sure, it's an orange pip and that makes me only a little sad, but when you consider the fact that you're going to be defending that much more damage on cards like Fireflight on a practically immovable Upgrade thanks to its Utility nature, Aerial Recon finds its value extremely quickly.
Plus, if you happen to swing for more Pierce than attack, it is always nice to flip one offensively to give yourself that extra oomph to get the job done. But that said, it is an orange pip which means that there's a pretty good chance that you'll flip it at the wrong time, potentially messing up your defense of a powerful attack. Think of it like playing a blank card in your deck, of which this plays none. You can use Aerial Recon to powerfully boost your defensive stats, and when you get to keep it, you get to put it on Superion to boost his stats even more than your Armor already is.
If you're playing Aerialbots, try this card out. You won't regret it.
--
The meta has certainly slowed thanks to the introduction of the black pip with Siege, but I'd like to point out that it hasn't slowed down to a crawl, at least not yet. With the introduction of Siege, the "old guard" of Insecticons and Cars can certainly look different in their updated forms. Will that updated form lead to wins against decks like Three Wide Primes and the new Shockwave deck that seems to be on the rise? Well, let's take a look at a list for each of them and see for ourselves:
2 Backup Plan (W)
2 Bashing Shield (O)(G)
3 Erratic Lightning (O)
2 Flamethrower (O)
3 Force Field (W)
3 Grenade Launcher (O)
3 I Still Function!
3 Improvised Shield (O)(O)
2 Mining Pick (O)
3 Peace Through Tyranny (O)
3 Power Punch (O)
3 Reckless Charge (O)
2 Static Laser of Ironhide (O)
3 Supercharge (O)
3 Swarm! (O)
Sideboard
Chop Shop - Sneaky Insecticon (6*)
3 Bad Attitude
3 Repair Bay (O)
2 Frag Toss (W)
2 Enforcement Batons (O)(G)
The Insecticon list hasn't changed much over the eons, but that's kind of the beauty of it. You see, when you have the massive amount of power that the Insecticons have, you don't really need to consider too much in terms of what to play outside of things that increase your damage. In fact, the mainboard for the Insecticons hasn't changed at all from my Origins list. That said, however, with the advent of Acid Storm and Dampening Field being popular sideboards to counter the Insecticon playstyle, you need to play a few things to ease the burden.
For example, if you happen to face off against an Acid Storm or a W-5 deck, you would end up dropping the Flamethrower and either Supercharge or Bashing Shield for Frag Toss as well as adding the spicy Enforcement Batons. You see, Frag Toss gets you a nice bit of Action damage that can not only function as extra Swarms in your deck, but also functioning as another way to activate Barrage's robot mode effect. You play this especially over One Shall Stands because it isn't a blank card. I've spoken at length about how I dislike blank cards and how they can mostly hurt you in the long run, but thanks to the fact that Frag Toss has a white pip, you can play it without worrying too much about your deck's pip consistency.
Enforcement Batons, however, are certainly an interesting add-in even by my standards. Let's dive into why I love this highly underutilized card:
--
"STOP RESISTING!"
The sticks of fury strike true! Yes, Enforcement Batons are actually a very, very good addition into sideboards going into GenCon. You see, as a whole, the metagame has slowed down thanks to better defensive cards. But in many cases, W-5 Blaster is honestly extremely powerful at not just stopping Bold effects, but also stopping Kickback from, well, existing. You see, when you have Kickback who flips cards to get his value, only flipping a certain amount of cards makes him ultimately worse. Plus, Battle Masters like Nightstick and Lionizer are frankly ridiculous at getting value, especially used in tandem with characters like Battlefield Legend or similarly strong characters.
That's why Enforcement Batons are so strong. You see, by using them as effectively a Bashing Shield for Battle Masters like Nightstick, you're going to get an immense amount of value out of it. Plus, when it has outlived its usefulness, you aren't exactly losing anything offensively with the orange pip and +1 Attack. Of course, it isn't like you're gaining anything offensively, either, but you're still getting rid of those pesky Nightsticks, Lionizer and even Ion Blaster of Optimus Prime.
Did I mention that it's a green pip so you can do this pretty much whenever you need to? Because it's a green pip that you can use pretty much whenever you need to.
Sadly, there isn't much in the way of removal for W-5 Blaster insofar as something as strong as Bashing Shield. With the advent of Personal Targeting Drone as well as Device Virus, one could make the case that simply using those would make an easy removal. That would be a lie, of course, simply because Personal Targeting Drone is awful. However, Crushing Size could be a savior in that regard. Getting to draw a card in the down-time of when your opponent is not playing a W-5 is quite a powerful effect, and being a white pip is certainly not a bad thing for consistency. But, that said, Crushing Size doesn't have a green pip, so you can be sure that you'll seldom have it when you want it.
Could Crushing Size be the savior Kickback has been waiting for?
Probably not. But it's a nice thought!
--
Cars wrote:Private Downshift -- Special Ops, Security Agent (8*)
Wheeljack -- Weapon Inventor (9*)
Prowl -- Military Strategist (6*)
23/25
2 Mounted Missiles (O)(O) (2*)
3 Confidence (O)
3 Supercharge (O)
3 Reckless Charge (O)
2 Press the Advantage (O)(G)
2 Start Your Engines (B)
2 Backup Plan (W)
3 Peace Through Tyranny (O)(O)
3 Grenade Launcher (O)
3 Erratic Lightning (O)
3 Power Punch (O)
3 Turbo Boosters (O)
3 Field Communicator (W)
2 Bashing Shield (O)(G)
Sideboard
Cliffjumper -- Renegade Warrior (8)
2 Heroic Team-Up (2*)
2 Enforcement Batons (O)(G)
1 Press the Advantage (O)(G)
3 Force Field (W)
2 Heat of Battle (W)
Cars is still a strong mid-range deck that features consistent damage output, though not quite as powerful as Insecticons in the raw damage department, that makes up for it with moderate defensive capabilities that translate into more attacks during the untap phase.
Sadly, the major cause for your defeats usually revolve around someone out DPS-ing you. In other words, you get one-hit on the first turn of the game by an Insecticon and you end up losing the aggression battle. It's why Cars has always had an awful matchup against Insecticons and other, similarly aggressive decks.
That's where Downshift comes in. The Omnibot may be part of the Comic Con booster pack, and without his two compatriots he may seem under-powered, but the simple fact that he can attach a free Weapon to himself on the first turn of the game, then give himself Bold 1 is frankly ridiculous value, especially on the first turn of the game.
Let's dive into that for a little bit:
--
Upshift, amiright?
On the first turn, you can attach a Grenade Launcher to Downshift, giving him 8 Attack with Bold 1 on the first turn of the game. Something is going to die, especially against things like Lionizer, Insecticons and Aerialbots where the average HP is usually low.
The thing you need to consider, though, is that with your newfound power, you also have a lower Star Count which you can increase your deck power with. Mounted Missiles not only help you increase your pip strength, but they also increase your Weapon count to make the turn one play that much easier. Even better, you increase your potential damage by attaching it to Downshift's Utility slot, opening up your weapon slot for an even more powerful weapon.
But that's not all! You see, Downshift also happens to be a Car that Upgrades itself, making Wheeljack incredibly happy in that you can use Downshift to Upgrade himself, draw a card and then potentially discard a Weapon to not only buff Downshift but also activate Wheeljack's Robot Mode ability at the same time.
If you managed to get a Comic Con pack, you need to try this combo. Sure, he doesn't do as much damage as Bumblebee in the mid-game, and he lacks the draw power of Bumblebee, but his early game potential has the ability to completely annihilate a character before your opponent even gets to use them.
I absolutely adore Downshift in Cars for that reason, and you should too. Sure, yes, it is part of the Comic Con Pack and that makes it exclusive, but the point is, there are way more uses for the Omnibots than just their own composition.
--
CONCLUSION
GenCon starts on the 1st of August, and with it comes a new metagame. With the powerful additions of black pips, Omnibots and even the Cassettes, the meta is growing steadily, but that's not all. The meta is also steadily refining itself. This is where rogue decks can finally make purchase.
With a large card pool and more refined field, rogue decks or rogue derivatives of meta decks can shift the matchups that their derivatives normally had. That combined with the sideboard can create a vastly more creative metagame, and one that I can barely contain my excitement for.
I cannot wait to see what comes out of GenCon. With the meta slowing down slightly, you can play different, less conventional lists. In fact, I'd be interested to see if Dreadwing or even Black Constructicons make a showing, but that's probably just wishful thinking.
Sadly, I decided not to attend GenCon this year. I already have my invite to the Energon Invitational, and aside from clout and maybe a bit of money if I do well enough, there isn't too much reason to "grinch" people out of their invite. You'll just have to manage without my ugly mug this time around!
What do you think will be at GenCon this year? What kind of decks will make the best showing? Are you considering other decks with single Omnibots or do you think that they can only be viable as the full squad? Let me know in the comments below, and I will see you next time!
We have seen the Hasbro SDCC 2017 display, had a revealing breakfast, assisted the panel and now it's time to see the official product images. These are 3D renders, so the exact colouring is not always the same as it will look in toy form. It is also not obvious what is painted, what is stickered and what is coloured plastic so just keep that in mind. These particular images are all for the Power of the Primes line and feature:
Starscream
Jazz
Rodimus Prime
Beachcomber
Dreadwing
Pime Master Liege Maximo
Let us know which of these toys you are looking most forward to!
Over at San Diego Comic Con 2017, brand team household names Ben Montano and John Warden were hosting the Hasbro Transformers panel, as Megatron keeps interjecting on screen with #StandWithMegatron messages as hacked by Soundwave. Presentation proper starts with Transformers: The Last Knight toys, followed by a presentation on Power of the Primes.
No full news was really revealed during the session, as most of what we learned was either already known or shown in the story from the breakfast event here. Follow the links below to join the relevant threads for discussion, and stay tuned for visual support soon!
Mega 1-step turbo changer Dragonstorm: showed the Cyberfire gimmick on Turbo Changer line
Leader
Wave 2 - Leader Dragonstorm shown
Wave 1 - Megatron: design concepts and art shown for jet and robot mode's face gimmick
Voyager
Wave 3 - Nitro: was shown
Deluxe
Wave 4 - Cogman: design based on the Aston Martin used in the movie, made into a transtector - inside of the car actually seats two Titan Masters (Ginrai namedropped)
Wave 3 - Bumblebee: 2017 Camaro, details and proportions are incredible, design on transformation is intricate, and Takara Tomy were praised for their work on the toy.
Movie Masterpiece line
Actually a partnership between Hasbro and Takara Tomy, for global release.
Final chapter of the Prime Wars trilogy. Combiner Wars, Titans Return - now going as big as they can get: Transformers Gods. Fan poll (Megatron skit interrupting again) was mentioned, as a candidate in the poll to Optimus Primal (some very cool art shown, including some from the Covenant of Primus). Each Prime has an ability and an artefact, but faded becoming legend - until now.
Mysterious characters called Prime Masters are spark bearers, connecting to others to bestow godlike powers.
Prime Masters
Skullgrin shown, as spark of Liege Maximo. Each comes with a collectable card, 12 in total. Cards are part of the story. Each Prime Master hides in a Decoy Suit (5$ price point), who turn into weapons.
Legends
Beachcomber shown, can hold Prime Masters in seat.
Deluxe
Dreadwind & Blackwing combine into superjet Dreadwing
Jazz
Voyager
Starscream - also has 'secret powers', as seen in previous gallery post.
Leader
Rodimus Prime - able to evolve from Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime, as G1/ 1986 accurate as possible, Matrix can worn inside the chest, can be interchanged with other Leader sparks.
(Megatronus, Amalgamous Prime from Aligned Continuity both mentioned)
Prime Masters are new across the line play system: ride Legends, worn on chest by Deluxes, worn on arms by Voyagers, Matrix by Leaders.
More will be shown at Hascon, but some packaging mock-ups of art shown leading into the Machinima series part of the panel.
Machinima Titans Return
125bln views for Combiner Wars
First new character seen and shown on show will be Trypticon. Nothing new to show yet, but they did reiterate a sizzle reel/teaser trailer from the new cast, as announced here, featuring Jason David Frank, Wil Wheaton, Michael Dorn, MatPat, Peter Cullen, Nolan North, Judd Nelson, Jason Marnocha, Frank Todaro and more!
Ten episodes confirmed, then interrupted by Megatron spoof commercial for Trypticon's Titan Master Crunch, with exclusive poster available during the convention.
Hall of Fame
Favourite TF Character finalists
-Blackarachnia
-Galvatron
-Cyclonus
Favourite TF Movie Character finalists
-Barricade
-Hound
-Optimus Prime
Toy of the Year 2017 finalists
-Titans Return Deluxe Triggerhappy
-Titans Return Titan Class Trypticon
-Titans Return Deluxe Topspin
Winners will be announced at Hascon.
SDCC 2017 Exclusives
Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime with Shreddicus Maximus
The Last Knight Voyager Optimus Prime, plus official Western Star tire shard from movies (Megatron interrupts, seems happy to own a piece of Optimus Prime at least)
Q&A
Where is Titans Return Arcee? Hold tight, something might happen in Power of the Primes.
Will Masterpiece Dinobot see US release? Stay tuned.
Are we ever going to get a Bludgeon figure, in Decoy Suit style? Stay tuned.
Which is your favourite toy (kid question)? John: Cogman and Trypticon, I feed him every day. Ben: Leader Megatron.
Any plans for Decepticons in Masterpiece Movie Line? Great things in store, good reception of the line.
No plans for movie line exclusive repaints, like SDCC 2016 Dinobot set.
Any plans for classic Combiners, like Predaking, or IDW characters? Stay tuned, we know they're popular. No more plans for Nautica right now, we're aware of stories and interest.
What is planned for that Power of the Primes Starscream mold? Many, many things in store.
Response to QA issues with Trypticon, and limited distribution of the Titans Return boxsets? May have been isolated incidents, but it has been reported and it is being looked into right now. Warden has been made to do the splits. Same is being done for latter, with possible reissues down the line, but nothing confirmed.
We have a gallery up with several images of all the new reveals from Hasbro's Breakfast Press Event, which featured the reveal of the Power of the Prime line. It seems to encompass several gimicks and evolving them.
The Power of the Primes gimmick features Prime Master mini-figures who embody power literally from the original 12 Primes - or 13, if you're a believer. The Skullgrin figure we saw in the Breakfast Press event sports the holofoil symbol of Liege Maximo, who recently returned in IDW's Transformers: Till All Are One, and include Decoy Suits, the new version of Pretender Shells, but in diminutive size (similar to the Titan Master vehicle drones).
Deluxes will also be able to house the Prime Masters, and Voyagers will be able to hold up to two each, with a 'special armour' of sorts that will fit on the figure, or the arms for the Voyager. The 13th Prime's spark is, as expected, the Matrix of Leadership - which each Leader class figure will have, each to their own style - giving a narrative support to Hot Rod becoming Rodimus Prime in the new fiction too and toyline too. And Optimus Primal, the winner of the fan poll, will have the same gimmick and transformation from Deluxe to Leader
Here is a list of what you will find in the gallery.
Prime Master Skullgrin where a small Prime Master can be hidden in a small transforming pretender shell (Decoy Suit).
Legends Beachcomber
Deluxe Dreadwing and Darkwind which can combine the same way they did in G1 (see image below) and Jazz
Voyager Starscream whose design is a combination of his G1 Pretender self and IDW's design by Sara Pitre Durocher
Leader Rodimus Prime with a removable Matrix of Leadership which has a Titan master port (so yes, you can now give you toys a Six of Twelve head). The trailer becomes a big suit for a deluxe Hot Rod to go inside and turn into Rodimus Prime.
Titans Return Overlord and Slugslinger were also present
The Seibertron.com news team has been working tirelessly to bring you the best of Toy Fair 2014 and we're not stopping yet! Hasbro's official images keep rolling in and this time? Kre-O! Yesterday, we presented our in depth and high quality gallery of the newest Kre-O sets, Kreons and combiners. Today, we present the official images from Hasbro to round out this portion of the Toy Fair reporting.
Seibertron is live at the SDCC 2013 preview night, and we now have additional images of Transformers Generations Voyager Class Whirl and Deluxe Class Dreadwing! As previously stated in the first look story, Voyager Class Whirl was shown in prototype form at the Hasbro panel during last month's BotCon. As you can see the figure sports a very G1 appearance. We also have images of Dreadwing, a remold/redeco of the soon to be released Deluxe IDW styled Stealth Bomber Megatron. Other Generations figures on display include the following, which were previously on display at BotCon.
Hasbro has put out several of the new Generations figures revealed during their BotCon panel from earlier this morning. Click here for the full gallery.
Here are the Transformers Generations Deluxe toys official product images that Hasbro were revealed at today's Transformers Brand product panel at BotCon 2013.
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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