So I gotta ask, with so many of them out there, and many for specific franchises, anyone a little bit sorry Transformers never got a Trading Card Game based on it? I mean it certainly seems to have the characters to support it, as well as a unit with which to summon them or equipment. I think it might have done well to follow the way Vampire: The Eternal Struggle worked it's way about.
I'd like Transformers trading cards. I was hella addicted to Pokemon when I got into it in 2007 and I was hell into the cards, so yeah sure give me them but they better be based on the G1 characters.
I've been kicking around the idea for a tftcg for a few years. In fact the "Kaiju Assault" tcg is based on on an older version of the system I used. Game begins: both players draw an opening hand of 10. If all modes of a character (each mode is a different card) are assembled then the completed character is placed on the field. If no matches are made the hand is shuffled back into the deck, and another hand drawn. (This continues until each player has at least 1 character in play) Each character has their own hp, set of attack (based on what mode its in) special abilities. Attacks and abilities each have energon costs attributed to them The object of the game is to destroy all characters your opponent has in play by reducing their hp to 0. Turn structure: Draw-draw 1 card from the top of your deck. Roll Out- place any completed characters in your hand onto the field. Equip upgrades, or change the battleground Mine-roll a 6 sided die for each character you have in play. Then add that to your energon pool Combat-each character gets a "turn" to either attack, transform, acviate abilities, or standby. When each character has taken its "turn" your turn ends. these are just basics rules, there's other stuff like melee/ranged attacks, grounded/in-flight mechanics, how combiners work, how Headmasters work, and so on.
Not just G1/G2, do it like the Battle Tactics game and use characters from Beast Wars/Machines, Unicron Trilogy, Movieverse and Aligned.
Sounds pretty decent, though I think having to have all modes of a single character for them to be playable might be a bit of a turn-off from a playing and collecting standpoint. It was already a pain assembling Exodia, I'd have nightmares trying to get Sixshot or Quickswitch. : Besides, the transformations should be intrinsic to the cards. Maybe like a sneak/intercept thing. The character can attack as normal and be blocked, but if you burn some energon he does it while transformed and can't be clocked unless an opposing bot does the same. Of course it would start out G1, but I'd love to see other eras added in via expansion packs, particularly if said expansion developed a theme for its set. I could see Animated very much being set up on effects for the characters, Beast Wars pulling off combos well, Beast Machines featuring a heavy swarm mechanic, etc.
For what it's worth, you could probably use the old Overpower card game with the new TR tech specs. You'd just have to introduce new special ability cards.
The Tradeoff on Sixchangers would be more powerful attacks with lower Energon costs. or possibly abilities that can activate from the hand to gather modes more quickly. as for the mode mechanics itself, different attacks would be accessible in different modes. more energon efficient attacks available to Jazz' car mode vs more powerful attacks available to his robot mode. or in Magmatron's case, upon splitting into his 3 dinosaur forms, each one being capable of launching its own attacks. also, single mode characters such as Transmutate and Autobot X can be played without gathering extra modes, as they only have the 1. my plan for release would be a "Starter Deck" based on the first three episodes of the G1 Cartoon. more characters added later through themed expansions. such as Combiners, Headmasters, Maximals and Predacons (who would have lower stats but be more energon efficient and reliant on special abilities)
Would have been cool if they came out with a Transformers card game much like they did with My Little Pony. Not sure what model CCG/TCG they could go with (I'm only familiar with the Yu-Gi-Oh card game), but either way... it would have really been cool.
I think at one point they did have a card model game like Pirates of the Cursed Seas, but I could never find it. Besides, that's more a tabletop than card game.
I can think of at least two Transformers TCG examples: Eaglemoss Transformers Prime cards (the complete collection has 269 cards, there's a default game + at least one more in each of 65 magazines) and Topps AOE cards (176 cards and only one set of rules). Some other card games like Prime and RID by Shuffle have a strategic element, but not the trading one.
There's the Top Trumps card game. It's pretty lame, though. I guess the fun thing about it is that you can compete against others who have different themed decks. So, you can have Doctor Who vs Transformers, if you like. The main problem is the lack of strategy...it's basically over-glorified "war".