One of my favorite alt-mode teams in Transformers TCG, Wave 1 is the Dinobots. They can dish out and soak up a ton of damage. Most of the team has Bold (or access to Bold battle cards), which lets you add additional damage points to your attack. If you have Sludge on your team, you can use him as a damage sponge, soaking up hits from his teammates whenever he transforms.

The hardest part about using them is figuring out which ones to keep on your team. Grimlock is a 10-star card and the rest of the Dinobots add up to 30 stars!

Dinobots Rule!

I’m thrilled to see my favorite prehistoric metal-munchers are back with new versions in Transformers TCG, Wave 2. Even better? They now combine to form Volcanicus, their combiner from the “Power of the Primes” toy line.

The official Transformers TCG Twitter account dropped the reveal on Monday and the community has been buzzing ever since. What’s impressive about the new Dinobots isn’t only that they’re unstoppable powerhouses, it’s that they remain unstoppable powerhouses, even though they have a combined form.

It’s like Sophie’s Choice, but with mechanized, transforming, dinosaurs. (Image: Hasbro)

The great thing about playing Wave 1 Dinobots is that they have deep pools of hit points, making them even more difficult to take off the playing field. Wave 2 Dinobots retain that deep pool, and have the requisite star costs as a result (unlike the 5-star per character Predacons).

So, if you can only fit, at most, three Dinobots on your team, how can you ever form Volcanicus?

Me Grimlock Undead King…Wait, What?

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE (Image: Hasbro)

That’s where Grimlock’s new ability comes in. When he attacks in bot mode, you can grab a Dinobot from outside of the game and put it, fully damaged, in your KO pile.

Fully damaged? Where’s the incentive to play Volcanicus at all then if he starts with at least 20 points of damage when combined? The answer is his massive health pool.

Me, Grimlock, chest plate! (Image: Hasbro)

Whereas Predaking has a respectable 37 hit points, Volcanicus has an ungodly 56. Five. Six. If he wasn’t effectively nerfed when he came into play, there’s not a lot of chance of taking him down before he completely destroys your team. Even with the handicap, and especially if he has a chance to heal, you’re going to need to dig deep into the new Wave 2 characters to find methods to take him down.

Something for Everyone

Of course, for those of you who aren’t interested in fielding combiner teams, there are additional characters that bring new twists to your existing strategies.

I’m hoping he’s a little more crimson and black in person. (Image: Hasbro)

My favorite conehead, Thrust, is one of the additional new reveals, adding his damage to another character’s attack on their turn.

*opening notes of ‘Lowrider’ plays* (Image: Hasbro)

For all of you that have been wishing you could create a car/truck combo deck, Novastar is going to be your new favorite card. She comes with a seriously hefty 12-star cost, but she’s a car and a truck. Where’s my El Camino deck?

SeriouslythebestcardI’llfightanyonewhosaysotherwise (Image: Hasbro)

ForeveryonewhowantedacarthatcouldattackmorethanonceinaroundBlurrshouldbethe
firstWave2cardyouaddtoyournewdeck.

If you have a mixed faction fave team, you might want to reconsider… (Image: Hasbro)

There have also been a rash of new battle cards revealed as well. Many of them allow you to manage your hand and deck, either drawing cards and scrapping from your hand to compensate, or taking cards from your hand and placing them on top of your deck (so that you know what pips will be drawn when you attack). You’ll notice that several of them have Decepticon or Autobot conditions on them, meaning you can only use them or you get a bonus affect if you start the game with only one faction type.

My favorite of the new cards is Vandalize, a one-star battle card that lets you trash all upgrades for the opposing team. To say it’s devastating is an understatement. Watch out tank decks!

Waiting is the Hardest Part

As interesting as the reveals have been in terms of how Wizards of the Coast is evolving gameplay, I’m almost more excited to see the amazing artwork. I can’t be the only one considering a Dinobot team just based on how freakin’ awesome they look. And I can’t wait to see what team gets revealed next.

For those of you counting, there are four more combiner reveals to go! My best guesses are: Devastator (a developer fave), Abominus (the best toy of “Power of the Primes”), and Optimus Maximus (they could reuse Wave 1 characters and I’d finally get Sunstreaker). The final combiner is a toss-up. If WotC is keeping the faction numbers even, it has to be an Autobot, which leaves Superion, Computron, or Defensor. All three had “Combiner Wars” toys, so really it’s anyone’s guess.

If you’re a fan of the Transfomers TCG, you’ve got a lot to get excited about! The Transformers Trading Card Game, Wave 2, “Rise of the Combiners” hits stores in early March. You can preorder a booster box now on Amazon.