Mercenary Synergy
Bits and Bolts - Exploring TFTCG Synergy
2020.07.22
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. Let's discuss some synergies that plan the deck for your advantage.
Bit #1: Doubling Up Bounties
Wave 4 introduced us to Mercenaries. A new faction that will spring up across the Transformers franchise. In addition to 6 characters, 4 actions and a utility, we also got a Mercenary specific Secret Action. Coup allows, when a character is KO'd, one of your Mercenaries to use their Bounty action.
Coup may be revealed when any character is KO'd, and as long as your Mercenary is in bot-mode and they aren't the one who is KO'd, you get to use their effect. If your Mercenary was the one who KO'd the opponent, they get to use their effect twice. With Wave 5's Spymaster's Ruse allowing for persistent Secret Actions, there's even a silly world in which you can use their effect four times.
Let's run through the possible Bounty effects:
- Octone (13 Stars) can do 2 damage to an enemy
- Detritus (11 Stars) repairs himself of 3 damage
- Lockdown (10 Stars) takes the bottom card of your deck face down
- Deadlock (9 Stars) flips and draws 2 cards
- Mudflap (8 Stars) may play the top card of your deck
- Nightbird (7 Stars) may play an Action from your opponent's scrap pile
Of these, Deadlock's flip means that they don't get to repeat their bounties. When you try to resolve the second Bounty attempt, there is no Bounty effect on the card.
Fortunately, the most powerful of these options, Octone aside, are Nightbird and Mudflap's, the two cheaper characters in star cost. Playing extra actions can be powerful. In a world of Bodies and Heads, and especially in the world of Decepticon Quake, there are lots of KO's and being able to double your bounty could be a powerful piece of card synergy.
Bit #2: Opportune Titan Masters
One of the intriguing design decisions in Wave 5 was that having an Autobot Head on a Decepticon Body (Autocon), or a Decepticon Head on an Autobot Body (Deceptibot), made a character both an Autobot and a Decepticon. One strong synergy with a character who is both an Autobot and a Decepticon is the ability to use two of Wave 4's Mercenary Actions.
Building a team made of a Mercenary and two Autocons and/or Deceptibots opens up the Mercenary cards to your team. Chief of those are Opportune Repairs, repair 3 damage, and Opportune Offensive, attack for three-pierce-three. Of these the Autocons are the more powerful as their Decepticon Heads have more value for extra pierce damage, than the Autobot Heads have for repair.
Thank you for reading; I hope this was short, sweet, and informative.