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Cerebros Tactics

Bits and Bolts - Exploring TF:TCG Synergy

2020.06.10

Welcome to Bits and Bolts, a series intended to help Transformers the Trading Card Game newcomers discover some of the valuable interactions between different cards.

I hope you all get a chance to play with Wave 5's Fortress Maximus (Great War Veteran). Fortress Maximus is a lot of fun, but its his head Cerebros (City Commander) who is the true star of the deck. His battle effect to play an Upgrade from the scrap is huge. Let's discuss some situations that demonstrate why it's so huge.

Cerebros bot-mode Card Image
It is crucial that Cerebros flips White/Orange/Blue/Black in battle.

When Cerebros battles (i.e. attacks OR defends) and flips White/Orange/Black/Blue battle icons, you can play an Upgrade from the scrap. Cerebros is Ranged, so one of the first Upgrades to think about playing is Armed Hovercraft. Doing one damage to each of your opponents is always nice, and there's always the chance that it will KO the character attacking Cerebros, which cancels the attack.

Armed Hovercraft Card Image
Armed Hovercraft's "do 1 damage to enemies" is invaluable in both attack and defence.

Another nice card to play with Cerebros, especially when defending, is Enforcement Batons. If your opponent has a Bold weapon it will have already applied its effect, but if your opponent has a weapon providing an attack bonus, that number won't be counted until after Cerebros has attached an Upgrade. Cerebros can be its own Sabotage Armaments! That's not the only way to do that, you could also put on one of Wave 1's Scrapper Gauntlets, giving you +1 defence and scrapping an enemy weapon. Of course the inverse is true when Cerebros attacks. You might also want to play a Bashing Shield or a Drill Arms to remove an enemy armor.

Enforcement Batons Card Image Scrapper Gauntlets Card Image
Use Enforcement Batons, or Scrapper Gauntlets, to remove your opponent's weapons before they get to calculate their damage
Bashing Shield Card Image Drill Arms Card Image
Use Bashing Shield,m or Drill Arms, to remove your opponent's shields while you're attacking

Not convinced? Let's talk about repairing. You could play one of Wave 5's Emergency Repair Patches to provide a defence and repair 1, however the true Cerebros tactic is to put on a Medic's Protective Field. This will repair Cerebros for 1 and then, if down to zero damage, give him Safeguard 3. On your next turn, play Reprocess to remove the field and repair Cerebros for 2, then add another Medic's Protective Field on the next defence to repair Cerebros back down to 0 damage, and get Safeguard 3 again.

Reprocess Card Image Medic's Protective Field Card Image
Medic's Protective Field and Reprocess can erase your opponent's attacks

Lastly, let's not forget the humble Force Field. If Cerebros is taking a hit that will wipe him out, pluck a Force Field from your scrap and reduce that damage down to 4. Or, if the numbers are with you, an Emergency Defense Field to reduce that damage to a wonderfully non-damaging 0. (EDF struck out as the latest Roundup indicates it can't be used in this way)

Emergency Defense Field Card Image Force Field Card Image
Force Field and Emergency Defense Field are both good ways to dodge a big attack

I hope this has whetted your appetite for playing Cerebros as a part of a Fortress Maximus deck. Getting Cerebros' effect to reliably happen takes careful deck building, but once it does Cerebros is a giant amongst mechanoids. Thank you for reading, and I wish you much enjoyment deciding which Head goes best with Cerebros.