The grand finale of the first season of Allied Crossplay for the Transformers TCG is coming up soon, with multiple avenues of coverage leading up to the kick-off on March 28th. If you missed yesterday’s primer on the Omega Invitational, make sure to get caught up.
Sixteen players will be duking it out to see who comes out on top at the end. Below, you will find the first set of player profiles (in no special order, aside from chronological order in which answers were returned).
Hawkhammer
Location: **classified**
What brought you into the Transformers TCG?
It was honestly my nostalgia kicking in. Basically what happened was I saw it at Target out of the corner of my eye, was reminded of the old TF 3-D Battle Card Game, got a few packs for the TFTCG a few months later, and quickly bought even more into the game soon after.
What was your favorite character or character line-up from the Wizards of the Coast era?
Ransack. He holds a special place in my heart mainly because he was the first character I pulled, but I also tend to play the game very recklessly, and he was the only character that was enabled by that, so I latched onto using him fairly quickly, to the point where he was in my first tournament deck alongside OPBL and W1 Arcee.
Which moments in competitive Transformers TCG were your favorites?
One comes to mind in particular: Encounter 5 Top 8, myself vs. Brettasaurus, who was the 1 seed in the top 8 for that event. I was running Devastator with the support TROP Phase 1 gave him, Brett was running a fairly standard Orange/Black spam deck, with some modifications to account for the event banlist. I had lost to him in round 4, and he was heavily favored in this matchup. However, I made a key change in how I played Devastator in Round 5, the final round before top cut, and with that change, I was able to take down Brett 2-0. Still my biggest win to this day.
What drew you to play with cards made by Team Bayformers and affiliated Allied Crossplay groups?
I honestly thought they were making cards based on the Bay movies, found out they weren’t, but chose to test some of their cards anyways cause I wanted more cards, and I eventually stuck around with them and the Allied Crossplay scene after I realized they were truly putting the game and the player base at large first in their efforts to keep it alive.
What is your favorite community-created card?
General Ghyrik without question. His abilities seem so innocuous, but throwing him on the table once shatters that notion in an instant. Plus it’s lead to a major meme in the Allied Crossplay community, and that’s always fun
How do you feel about being chosen to participate in the Omega Invitational?
To be honest, I have no idea how to feel. Being among the game’s elite for this is something I’m trying to wrap my head around, especially given my history of failing to read cards and remember effects consistently. I do have a feeling I’ll be able to make some noise at the very least, primarily because of that Encounter 5 match I was talking about before.
What are you looking forward to the most in the future of the Transformers TCG?
It seems like the community, for the most part, is reunifying after being split up after cancellation, and with that, it’ll be so much easier for new players to join in, or returning players will have a much easier time navigating the post-cancellation environment, and the prospect of both new and returning players coming in once again has me excited and hopeful for the future of the game.
Check out more from Hawkhammer at his main channel and his livestream/replay channel.
Tankhunter48
Location: Indiana, United States
What brought you into the Transformers TCG?
What brought me to the Transformers TCG was simply that I already enjoyed Transformers. I grew up on Armada, then saw the live action movies before hooking myself onto the G1 show. I love the giant, well-created robots that ooze character and charm. I was actually pretty hesitant to get into the game fully, but after going to a local event and getting absolutely smacked playing Triggerstorm, I kind of hooked myself. The characters and abilities were so well thought-out and combined that characters never felt like they weren’t themselves in terms of abilities and stats. It’s an incredible level of synergy.
What was your favorite character or character line-up from the Wizards of the Coast era?
I think my favorite character from the WotC era has to be Wave 3 Triggerhappy. He’s a little lacking in modern stats, but has a strong ability that can very easily swing games. Plus, it’s always nice to have a weird character in a deck!
Which moments in competitive Transformers TCG were your favorites?
I think my favorite moment was after my match with Brian in encounter 1 while playing my first version of Kiddie Pool. He told me that he didn’t want to fight me again after our game because I’d actually put up a challenge. It was the first true moment that I felt I had begun to improve as a player. I then got rolled by Daring Escape. RIP the dream.
What drew you to play with cards made by Team Bayformers and affiliated Allied Crossplay groups?
Bayformers was actually what drew me in to Allied Crossplay. They were doing factions and characters that the other groups just weren’t at the time. Being a diehard Transformers fan and seeing Quintessons available to play gave Bayformers a leg up.
What is your favorite community-created card?
Picking a favorite community card is a really daunting task. I love BFA Nacelle for bringing vanilla Decepticons back in a meaningful fashion.I also really adore Monster Menagerie Banzaitron for making a new supporting character who doesn’t want to be your focus. In terms of battlecards and stratagems, I’ve found tons of incredble strategies and enhancements for new and old decks that I can’t possibly make a decision.
How do you feel about being chosen to participate in the Omega Invitational?
There’s two sides to being chosen to participate in the Omega Invitational. Part of me is ecstatic that I get the high honor of being fifth seed in the first, real, post-season event of the game after cancellation. The other is that I am SO NERVOUS. Being fifth seed puts a lot of weight on my shoulders to perform and go as far as I can. I’m still trying to decide if I’m in it to win it or just in it to show I got this far and enjoy myself.
What are you looking forward to the most in the future of the Transformers TCG?
The thing I’m really looking forward to is the resurgence of blue decks. I know there’s a reason WotC went so hard on the anti-blue train in wave 5, but it still feels like we’re not there yet. I can’t wait for a true renaissance of blue decks! I’m also looking forward to how creators as a whole tackle some of the infrequent traits like Boats, Helicopters, and especially Trains. There’s so much uncovered space with the Transformers roster of characters.
Check out more Tankhunter on his Twitch stream.
KingNaga
Location: New Zealand
What brought you into the Transformers TCG?
Love transformers. Been a fan of the toys and some people might not like this, but enjoyed watching the Bayverse movies. It’s what really opened my world to Transformers. So, when I found out they made a TCG from a random Wreck ‘n Rule video, I watched all of their coverage on the game and got to buying the cards!
What was your favorite character or character line-up from the Wizards of the Coast era?
OPBL, Flamewar w1, Nightracer. This line up was so nice to just have default Tough 2 most of the time and being able to adapt so much with OPBL with recurring actions and playing double actions on his flips.
Which moments in competitive Transformers TCG were your favorites?
There too many moments to think of, but honestly, all the intense plays or games that can happen and how, excluding Wave 5, lots of decks could swing in different ways verse others.
What drew you to play with cards made by Team Bayformers and affiliated Allied Crossplay groups?
Brett told me a bout a group making cards that was free entry so I gave it a try. From there its led me to be in the 16 for the OI.
What is your favorite community-created card?
Aronik. I like the little dude. He stops Pierce most of the time and has a very nice final punch for his bot mode.
How do you feel about being chosen to participate in the Omega Invitational?
Its an honor to be apart of the OI. I wasn’t able to make it to the EI because of where I live so this is the first very big big tournament I have ever been in for a TCG, so I’m super excited.
What are you looking forward to the most in the future of the Transformers TCG?
The future holds so many exciting things. OI is going to be great because we have two groups of cards added in with WotC and then more joining as we move forward!
Technomagus
Location: Maryland, United States
What brought you into the Transformers TCG?
Wave 2 being Combiner focused was what brought me into the game in the first place, but I’ve had my eye on it since seeing the original SDCC packet (which I barely missed out on because Hasbro’s website at the time was crap), and picking up the Metroplex and 2p Starter decks.
What was your favorite character or character line-up from the Wizards of the Coast era?
I think my “Secret Sentinels” list of W3 Prime, Sentinel Prowl, and Sentinel Ironhide has to be my favorite because of the ability to transition to a combiner deck on a whim.
It’s not the only one, however, as I really enjoyed the much reviled “Three-Headed Quake” of Fangry, Horri-Bull, and Quake with the Health heads, just because I enjoyed the puzzle of setting up “Quakebombs” where Quake just goes on a tear and wipes out most of the table.
Which moments in competitive Transformers TCG were your favorites?
Going to the Energon Invitational was quite a bit of fun for me, at least, before I got hit with severe con funk in round 4. Thankfully, it cleared up towards the end and I still went 5-4 overall.
What drew you to play with cards made by Team Bayformers and affiliated Allied Crossplay groups?
Team Bayformers had a good grasp on quirky and oddball cards, while Ark was good at making designs that were powerful and unique in subtle ways. Some were a little more overtly powerful than others, but the willingness to acknowledge mistakes in design and then correct them in an increasingly digital landscape is preferred to “well, nothing to be done now” and washing their hands of it.
What is your favorite community-created card?
The one that hasn’t come out yet. Wait, I can’t choose that? How about… oh, wait, I made that one. Hmm.. I think Angolmois Surge from Team Bayformers. This was probably the start of the whole crossplay initiative. There’s still a few hurdles to get through, but it’s getting there.
How do you feel about being chosen to participate in the Omega Invitational?
I’m a little surprised I made it, actually, since I’m not as active as I’d like to be and figure I basically just squeaked in.
What are you looking forward to the most in the future of the Transformers TCG?
I’m always excited to see new ideas and mechanics, and trying to fit them together into interesting strategies. I love the puzzle of deckbuilding.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a look at four more competitors! In the meantime, scope out the Team Bayformers webpage for more info on their sets, Allied Crossplay sets, and links to their social media accounts.
Wreck 'N Rule 