Update 8/1: Revised drone deployment mechanics.

Way back in Wave 1 of Transformers TCG we got the massive Metroplex deck and have been waiting for a city bot to go toe-to-toe with the big guy since then. Sure, there was Omega Supreme in the Wave 2 promo, but he was really just an extremely large, defense-focused, but otherwise-normal character, mechanically speaking.

Announced just prior to Gen Con to kick off Transformers TCG Wave 4: “War for Cybertron, Siege II”, Trypticon is a proper base with three support characters and a fun new mechanic that has him munching his little friends to decimate the opposing team.

Trypticon is a beast, literally and mechanically. Included in every booster box, you’ll get a Trypticon pack consisting of an oversized Trypticon card and three normal-sized character cards: Full-Tilt, Brunt, and Wipe-Out.

Send in the Drones!

In the G1 and Titans Return figures, Brunt was an autonomous drone that broke down into component weapon parts for Trypticon’s base mode (he’s since gotten a bot mode in his own Siege of Cybertron figure…though he still breaks down into parts).

Everyone’s favorite purple tank drone (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

Full-Tilt is a car that also serves as Trypticon’s chest plate in dino mode.

There’s a card – can a toy be far behind? (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

Wipe-Out is a G1 Transformers comics creation, a Trypticon fanboy, if you will. He was so impressed by the big metal muncher, that he pledged loyalty to Trypticon. While it’s generally accepted that the Headmaster Necro that makes up the head of Full-Tilt in the Titans Return figure is actually Wipe-Out, he’s never gotten his own official toy.

Transform for full Revenge powah! (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

Though they can all lay out a decent amount of damage, the two new cars and tank are a little squishy. For Full-Tilt and Wipe-Out, you’ll want to make sure you keep them alive long enough to flip to bot mode so that you can take advantage of their best Revenge effect (more on that in a second).

Let Them Fight!

The less said about Trypticon’s lower entry port, the better. (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

Trypticon’s got a whopping 30 health. In base mode, he has an extra defense. Unlike Metroplex, he doesn’t flip to alt mode to deploy drones. Instead, you’ll need to use an action card. What’s nice is that, since it’s an action, he can do it in either mode. What sucks is that you can’t do it at will, because you really, really want to get your drones out on the field before you flip to bot mode.

Hello my little friends! Let me eat you! (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

When Trypticon flips to dino mode, he can KO one of his deployed drones. If he does this, he can apply an extra 3 damage to his attack or repair three damage. Even better, KO’ing a drone activates its Revenge ability which lets you do direct damage, draw cards, or scrap enemy upgrades.

Revenge is a super-versatile mechanic and whether you’re playing offensively or defensively, you’ll be able to use Trypticon’s KO ability to match any situation. Make sure you stack your deck with copies of “I Still Function” so that you’re not limited to using the ability just three times per game.

There’s No Such Thing as a Free Bot

Deliver unto Megatron that which is Megatron’s. (Image: Wizards of the Coast)

I love the idea of getting what was previously a boxed add-on deck for free. However, it also means eBay is going to be flooded with duplicate Trypticons soon after Wave 4 launches in November. Good for buyer, maybe not as great for completionists trying to find Super Rares.

Speaking of, I’ve noticed that Super Rares have become, well, super rare as of Wave 3. While Wizards did reach out after I opened a box of mostly Hounds and replaced it with a fresh booster box, I’ve also purchased two on my own.

In four boxes, I haven’t found a single Super Rare character. Compare that to Wave 1 where I found both Super Rares in two boxes and Wave 2 where I found all but one Super Rare in three boxes. I expected Super Rare character pull rates to decrease over time, but 0:120 seems excessive.

It’s true that Trypticon is a Super Rare, which obviously improves the ratio considerably for Wave 4. But I still worry that it’s already becoming prohibitively difficult to find those last few cards for your collection.

Quibbles with card rarity aside, Transformers TCG has been a dream to collect and play. The new mechanics Wizards introduces with every new wave keeps gameplay fresh and ensures the meta doesn’t grow stale, with only a few types of decks dominating. You can pick almost any characters you like and build an effective deck around them.

I can’t wait to see what else is in store for Wave 4!