For ages I’ve been thinking how ‘Transfomers’ would make an excellent RTS game, all the ingredients are there: different functions, alt-modes, sizes, abilities. Something like Total Annihilation but with Transformers would be amazing. While I’ve been waiting for someone to make it, though, I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a very simple set of rules to have a Transformers table top war game, using the published Tech Specs that came with the toys. A very quick google found that there are already a few people that have had a go at something similar. This spurred me on to have a go myself.
I wanted to be guided by the Tech Specs and information found on the packaging, to add as little as possible – I didn’t want to be bogged down by having endless tables and charts to consult. I wanted the play to feel right and intuitive. I think I’m almost on the right track.
After a long time spent collecting Tech Specs and trying to get a few basic rules together I was ready to have a try out. I used to get White Dwarf magazine and loved the battle reports they featured in there, so I felt like writing something similar. Hopefully there’ll be enough info in the following to get a feel for my rules. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
The idea is to use actual Transformer toys on a table top setting – representing Earth; however, my TF collection is pretty poor after getting rid of most of them years and years ago, and the table top setting wasn’t too pretty either. So I’ve mocked up a few diagrams to give you an idea of the map, troop movements and actions. At the time both players made a few notes, I’ve written them up and tried to expand too. Hope you enjoy it!
Pre-match
Before the start of the game, both players picked their forces. Unit cost was based on the sum of all the values of the Tech Specs for that character (eg values for Strength + Speed + Endurance etc) with extra added on for any special abilities (eg null ray, hologram, teleportation, cerebro shells, combination, etc). A limit of 1000 points for this match was agreed.
I haven’t been able to go through every Transformer, so I limited myself just to any Transformer that had a pre-Transformer toy. With a little artistic license e.g Blitzwing has a pre-Transformer toy, but Astrotrain and Octane don’t. But I’ve included them in the list anyway. Blaster’s there, but not his cassettes. The Scamble-city combiners weren’t used either, as while their toys were planned as pre-Transformers, I don’t think they were ever released as pre-Transformers.
Also, I think it’s widely assumed in the fandom that Starscream’s, Skywarp’s and Thundercracker’s tech specs got mixed up, so I used the corrected versions. All tech specs I used are from www.ntfa.net
The game would last for 4 turns. At the end of which troop points would be added up for both sides, along with 100 points for each Objective. The winner would be the one with the most points.
The map was generated randomly before either side had picked their forces, or decided on what side of it they would deploy on. It roughly measured 70cm x 50cm. (Perhaps too small – I should have set the size before, it just ‘happened’) Five Objectives (representing ‘strategically important’ areas of the battle field) were placed on the map too. Objectives would give a player extra energon if they held it at the end of a turn. Energon is used to power special abilities. The Objectives would be classed as Hard Cover. Other Hard Cover (buildings) and Soft Cover (woodlands) were added, which would affect ranged combat and Line of Sight, but more on that later.

 

Army selection

Autobot Player

There were two definite choices straight away: Optimus Prime as my Army General and the Dinobots. Prime is available as two options: with or without his trailer. The trailer adds a turret and a repair bay when deployed, but at the risk of Prime being stunned for an entire turn if destroyed. The trailer was taken, which bumped Prime’s cost up to 96 points – one of the most expensive units – but I was confident he would be worth every point. The Dinobots cost 325 points as a unit. Together they are slow moving, but with impressive endurance and strength; I was sure they’d be able to shrug off any ranged attacks before closing in for some hand-to-hand combat.
That left me with bulking up the rest of my force. All Transformers, for the sake of these rules, had their functions simplified to either: Commander, Warrior, Scientist, Tactician, Defense, Rogue, Support, Communications or Engineer. Functions given on the Tech Specs are pretty varied, but putting each Transformer into one of the simplified functions for these rules was fairly straightforward and probably needs no further explanation. However, the Rogue function encompasses scouts, hunters, spies, special operations, etc. Generally the ‘sneaky’ functions, that usually have some sort of special ability, e.g hologram, stealth abilities, stun attacks. As would be expected, each function comes with certain bonuses for squad members.
When selecting Transformers the rules state that if they are Rank 7 or below they have to be part of a squad of at least two units. Transformers of Rank 8 and above can be deployed on their own, or as part of a unit. I decided to create two squads to join my army along with Optimus and the Dinobots.
Squad 1 was made up of Prowl (a tactician, giving the squad bonuses for ranged attacks against targets in cover), Bluestreak (a warrior. All warriors are designated as Anti-Vehicle, Anti-Air or Anti-Robot, according to the nature of their weapons as mentioned on their Tech Specs. Bluestreak has a ‘bomb-launcher’ but no mention of any surface to air capabilities. Therefore he is Anti-Vehicle and will gain bonuses in ranged attacks against Transformers in ground vehicle mode), Sunstreaker (another warrior, but designated as Anti-Air. He is also able to resist artillery, which would protect him from any Anti-Vehicle attacks made against him), Red Alert (Defense. This function would give the squad bonuses when in Sentry mode; Sentry mode means a squad can’t move, but can fire during the opposing team’s movement phase) and lastly Grapple (an Engineer. Grapple would be able to repair any casualties in the squad).
Squad 2 was made up of Roadbuster (a Commander, Roadbuster would boost the courage of the squad), Ironhide (Defense), Skids (Tactician), Mirage (Rogue, which would boost the squad’s speed. Mirage’s holo-emitter would mean he had the chance of avoiding any successful ranged attacks made against him) and Jazz (another Rogue, there would be no further speed bonuses for having two Rogues, but he did have a stun attack, which would be very useful. Rogues also have the ability to target whoever they like in an enemy squad, rather than the closest unit. Having two rogues in this unit would allow me to surgically cripple an enemy squad by taking out their best units first).
I lost the toss of a coin and had to deploy at the ‘bottom’ of the map. We both sketched the map and planned our deployment in secret, so we’d have no unfair advantage. I started to formulate my plan. I’d place the Dinobots on the left closest to Objective 1, which would be their target; Prowl’s team south of Objective 3, which would be their target. Optimus Prime and Roadbuster’s team south of the bridge over the river, they would cross that and take Objective 5 first and then Objective 4. I was ready to start.

Decepticon Player

I just knew that Optimus Prime would be picked for the Autobot General, so I obviously went for Megatron for mine. I knew that this match was just to play through the rules to see what works and what doesn’t, but I really really wanted to win. The Autobots mainly have car modes and I had a sneaky feeling that the Autobot Player wouldn’t waste lots of points on someone like Omega Supreme or Skylinx; so I needed fast and maneuverable to pick apart his Units while in vehicle mode. Clearly that meant Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp. Fast jet modes, good firepower (with a mixture of AA, AV and AR capabilities between them) and some decent specials (Null ray! Thundercracker’s sonic attack!! Skywarp’s teleportation!!!). These three could seriously harass the Autobots before they even got going.
The classic Insecticons were next on my list. A range of functions (Warrior, Rogue and Scientist – yes Bombshell’s psychological warfare function has earned him the Scientist title, which will boost that squad’s Skill) meant that these guys could be very flexible and hopefully adapt to different situations.
At this point I was starting to doubt whether my assumption that Omega Supreme wouldn’t be there was correct. I needed something a bit special of my own, just in case. The Constructicons went straight on my list. As a squad they are a mix of Warrior, Engineer and Support classes, perfect for holding Objectives. But also, combined as Devastator meant they could be able to handle anything.
I still had points left over, so I went for Soundwave and some cassettes: Rumble, Ravage and Lazerbeak. This brought my total up to 1049 points, but the Autobot Player was fine with that (Autobot total was 1019).
Soundwave and the cassettes were bought merely to bulk up my force, but it began to give me some ideas of a plan. I won the coin toss and decided to deploy on the North of the map. I drew a rough sketch of the map and planned my deployment. Starscream and the Seekers would be over on the left, directly in line with Objective 1. The very small alt-mode of Soundwave, Rumble and Lazerbeak meant they had the special ability to get transported by another Decepticon with a vehicle or aircraft mode, even if they aren’t even designated as having a transport ability. This would be a bit like in the Marvel comics when you’d see the Seekers ferrying the other ‘cons about all the time.
The Seekers would drop Soundwave, Rumble and Lazerbeak off at Objective 1, before crossing the map to take out any Autobots advancing up the middle.
The Constructicons would start in the centre, with Mixmaster transporting Megatron in his human-sized gun mode. They would advance to Objective 2 or maybe just down the centre of the map. I’m pretty certain Optimus Prime would be played down the centre too, so I’d use Megatron and possibly Devastator to take him out early on. That left the Insecticons on the right, near Objective 4. Ravage’s stealth mode meant he could stay hidden in a squad, in Jaguar mode, indefinitely. When engaged in hand to hand, Ravage can do a ‘backstab’ type of attack. Hopefully any Autobots on that side of the map won’t be expecting anything like that. With the two buildings just south of Objective 4 all Line-Of-Sight (LOS) from the south would be blocked, meaning I‘d be able to get close enough for some hand to hand (H2H) fighting.
I was happy with my plan and felt that it could be adapted quickly depending on the Autobot set up.

 

Turn 1

Both players placed their armies on the map and rolled a five sided die (1D5) to see how much energon their side would start with. Decepticons got 3 cubes and the Autobots only 1.

Initiative. Each player uses the Intelligence of the highest ranked unit and the result of a 10 sided die (1D10) throw to determine initiative. Optimus and Megatron both have an Intelligence of 10, but the 1D10 rolls decided it, with the Autobots winning but letting the Decepticons go first.

Decepticon Movement

I was correct about there being no Omega Supreme, but Optimus Prime is away from the centre, which could be a problem. The Dinobots will be a problem too, but they’ll be slow and I might be able to pick them off at a distance. I’ll progress with my plan for now and see what happens in the Autobot movement before I change.
I move the Seekers up to Objective 1, the Constructicons to Objective 2 and Insecticons to Objective 4. So far, so OK.

Autobot Movement

First of all, the Decepticon force looks very small. I can see the Decepticon Player hiding something behind a folder where he had his units, so I’m guessing cassettes or Reflector and probably Megatron are having a ride along. Somewhere. They won’t be with the Insecticons, so that just leaves the Constructicons and Seekers to worry about.
The Dinobots are very slow and don’t even get into the soft cover. I just hope their armour holds out against any ranged attacks. The Seekers will have LOS above the soft cover as they’re flying, but the Dinobots should be ok.
Prowl’s team easily reach Objective 3, even with Grapple slowing them down. The Constructicons in the centre are a worry. I’ll keep Prowl’s team here; hopefully they’ll be able to fight off any attack.
Optimus Prime reaches Objective 5, but Roadbuster’s team is slowed down by Ironhide and don’t quite reach cover.
Squad movement is based on the Speed value of the slowest unit in the squad. This is multiplied by five and converted into centimeters. The whole squad can move up to that distance as a maximum, as long as all units in the squad stay 5cm to another squad member to maintain squad cohesion. Alt-mode affects movement, for example a ground based vehicle or beast mode gives +2 to speed, whereas an aircraft / airborne beast mode gives +5.
It gets a little more complicated for aircraft though; they have to move in a movement turn at least half their total movement allowance (unless specified as having some form of Vertical Take Off and Landing). Also, they can’t execute any sharp turns. They can make one 45o turn somewhere during their movement and another at the end of their movement. Even though aircraft have the longest movement, this is an attempt to simulate how an aircraft suddenly can’t flip and change direction on the spot.

The Seekers had made a 45o turn at the end of their movement, which would start bringing them out into the middle of the map; something Prowl’s team should be able to cope with. I hope.


Decepticon Transformation Phase

Megatron, Soundwave, Lazerbeak and Rumble all disembark from their respective transports, transforming to robot mode and occupying Objectives 1 and 2. The rest of my army stays in their alt-modes.

Autobot Transformation Phase

Prowl’s team transform at Objective 3 and Optimus Prime at Objective 5, with his trailer deployed just outside.
To take control of an Objective, a squad has to be in robot mode (or beast mode), still be functional without enemy units in hand to hand combat range by the end of the turn. I had two Objectives, compared to three for the Decepticons. Things would be close!
The Dinobots and Roadbuster’s team didn’t transform.

Decepticon Action Phase

Right, this is where it will start getting a bit more interesting, can I draw first blood (first oil?)?
The Dinobots are in range of my Seekers (they have LOS over the top of the soft cover. They’re in range of Megatron too, but he doesn’t have LOS and so can’t fire). Grimlock and Slag are the closest, so I’ll target these.
Starscream starts off with a ranged attack on Grimlock. I briefly consider using the Null Ray, but I want to save my energon.
The Dinobots aren’t in cover, but are in beast mode which will affect the roll to hit slightly. I roll a 1D10 and have to get under Starscream’s skill to be able to hit Grimlock in the first place. The skill is adjusted by -2 because beast modes are more agile. I role a 3, Starscream easily hits Grimlock.
Starscream has a Firepower of 9, so I roll 9D10 to see if I can damage Grimlock. Each die has to equal or beat Grimlock’s Endurance to wound him. I roll the dice, a little excited about taking out the Dinobot leader. Unfortunately Starscream is unlucky, none of his attacks can overcome Grimlock’s armour.
Skywarp’s turn now and he targets Grimlock too. I roll 1D10 against Thundercracker’s Skill with no penalty to his Skill this time because Skywarp is an ‘Anti-Vehicle’ classed warrior. He hits easily, but again on the rolls to wound, I’m unlucky and Grimlock is unhurt.
Finally I get to Thundercracker. I target Slag this time, even with the -2 to Skill for attacking a target in beast mode, Thundercracker easily hits. I roll 7D10 to see if I wound … and a single die comes up as a 10! Slag is deactivated!! A little bit of luck at last at the end of my Action Phase, leaves me grinning from ear to ear.

Autobot Action Phase

Arrrghh! That was annoying to lose Slag so quickly. Payback time.
Swoop is airborne and the only Dinobot with a ranged attack in beast mode. Starscream is the closest Seeker. My attack hits, Swoop is AA so there is no effect to Swoops Skill – it doesn’t make Starscream harder to hit.
Swoop has a Firepower of 7, I roll 7D10 and three dice beat Starscream’s Endurance of 7. Starscream is deactivated, quickly wiping the smile off the Decepticon Player’s face. Haha!
As Starscream was the highest ranked unit in that squad, he was automatically designated as squad leader. If a squad leader is deactivated, the rest of the squad has to make a Courage check, or flee from the Battlefield. The lowest courage value is used, in this case a value of 8. On 1D10 this value or below has to be rolled, however, it is easily made. Unfortunately.
I put Prowl’s team and Optimus Prime into Sentry mode (They will be unable to move or take further action, but will be able to make ranged attacks during the opposing player’s movement or Transformation phase if in range. An attack made during a transformation phase is more likely to hit and cause damage. Going into Sentry mode represents a unit or squad ‘digging-in’ and taking defensive positions).
Roadbuster’s team is in range of Thundercracker, but as their vehicle ground modes don’t have ranged weapons, they can’t attack. Turn over.

End Phase

At the end of the turn, The Decepticons have three Objectives and receive an additional 3 Energon, the Autobots have two Objectives and therefore only get two.

 

Turn 2

Turn 2

The Decepticons start with 6 energon and the Autobots with 3.
The Autobots win initiative by 1 and elect to go first.

Autobot Movement Phase

At last the Dinobots reach Objective 1. They’re placed next to Soundwave, Rumble and Lazerbeak which ‘pins’ the Decepticons. This means that they are unable to move and will have to engage the Dinobots in hand to hand combat next turn. Swoop is classed as having a ‘fearsome’ alt-mode. In game play terms, when he ‘pins’ an opponent, that squad has to make a Courage check.
Lazerbeak has a Courage of 2, but amazingly the Decepticon Player rolls a 2 and passes! Not to worry, even without Slag, Soundwave and his cassettes won’t be a match for the Dinobots.
Elsewhere, Roadbuster’s team reach the Hard Cover just south of Objective 4. They could have moved straight up to the Insecticons, but as they are in cover I can’t use a ‘ram’ attack by driving into them in vehicle mode. I also can’t ‘pin’ them while in vehicle mode either, so Roadbuster’s team would have to transform in front of them during the Transformation phase. This would mean I wouldn’t be able to attack first in hand to hand, but the Insecticons would.
Ideally, a squad already needs to be in robot mode first, before moving into hand to hand range, or using a ‘ram’ attack in vehicle mode. If successful, that allows your squad to transform and still have the first attack; essentially the opposing squad is knocked over and has to get back on their feet, ready to defend.
Roadbuster’s team will have to stay in the Hard cover and use ranged attacks on the Insecticons instead.
Optimus Prime and Prowl’s team stay where they are in Sentry mode. Movement over.

Decepticon Movement Phase

I’ve now got a serious problem, the Dinobots are going to surely overwhelm Soundwave and his cassettes and take Objective 1. My only counter is the Constructicons, but if I move them to Objective 1, they’ll come in range of Prowl’s team. The Autobot Player had already declared they were on Sentry duty. I can’t afford to lose even one Constructicon; I need Devastator to finish off the Dinobots.
I decide to take a gamble and start by moving Thundercracker and Skywarp. They’ll draw Prowl’s team’s fire but hopefully their aircraft movement bonus will be enough of a protection to stop them being hit. Also, it will bring them in range of Roadbuster’s team, to allow me to back up the Insecticons.
I move the Seekers and as expected, Prowl’s team start shooting. With a -5 to Skill, Prowl misses Thundercracker (the closest seeker) even though the whole squad gets a +1 to skill when in Sentry mode thanks to Red Alert’s Defense function. However, Bluestreak is a warrior and gains an additional +1 to his Skill when in Sentry mode, along with Red Alert’s squad wide Sentry bonus. With the -5 Skill adjustment for targeting an aircraft, he is left needing to roll a 4 or below … which he does! Bluestreak has a Firepower of 9 and needs to get a 7 or higher to beat Thundercracker’s Endurance. Which he does. Three times!
With Thundercracker deactivated, that unit has suffered 50% losses and must make a Courage check, but luckily Skywarp rolls under his Courage and passes. However, losing Thundercracker so quickly is starting to make me think this gamble wasn’t worth it.
With Skywarp now the closest unit, he is now targeted by Grapple, but the engineer misses. So too does Red Alert. I start breathing a sigh of relief, only one more Autobot to go. Unfortunately it’s Sunstreaker.
Sunstreaker has a Skill of 6, but is AA, which means there is no -5 adjustment to his Skill. He’s a warrior and therefore gets +1, along with the extra +1 from Red Alert while on Sentry duty; this gives him an adjusted Skill of 8. He rolls the die and my luck has gone, he hits easily. I play Skywarp’s teleportation ability. Used as an interrupt after being hit, if I can roll equal to or below Skywarp’s Skill I can teleport to avoid any damage. I pay my 1 energon cost and roll the die, but get an 8! I’ve seriously lost all my luck, Skywarp doesn’t teleport in time. Sunstreaker wounds twice and Skywarp is deactivated. Damn.
My gamble really hasn’t worked out too well, but at least their sacrifice lets me move the Constructicons behind the Dinobots without attracting any fire. But as I move my hand from the Constructicons, the Autobot Player announces that Optimus Prime was on Sentry duty. I happily inform him that it’s too late, I’d finished my move (I’d forgotten about Prime too). Unhappily, he agrees with me. Maybe my luck hasn’t abandoned me after all.

Autobot Transformation Phase

This next Action Phase is really going to decide things; I only need to Transform Roadbuster’s team, ready for their attack on the Insecticons.

Decepticon Transformation Phase

The Constructicons combine to form Devastator!!! It costs one energon to do so, but as the Dinobots are already engaged with Soundwave and the two cassettes, Devastator won’t have to worry about being attacked by the Dinobots in the Autobot action phase. However, Devastator will be able to attack them.

Autobot Action Phase

I kick off the Action Phase with the first Hand to Hand (H2H) combat of the match between Grimlock and Soundwave. They both have a Skill of 10, but Grimlock has a +1 Skill bonus for H2H in beast mode, bringing his up to 11. Soundwave rolls a 3 on 1D10 and adds his Skill giving him a total of 13. Grimlock rolls a 7 on 1D10, giving a total of 18! Grimlock has got the upper hand, Soundwave hasn’t been able to fight him off. Now to see what damage he’s caused. Grimlock has a Strength of 10 and this is added to a 1D10 roll of 4, giving a total of 14. Soundwave has an Endurance of 6; Grimlock has easily scored higher, his attack has caused enough damage and Soundwave is deactivated!
Soundwave was the highest ranked unit of that squad and designated the leader. With him deactivated, the others must make a Courage check against the unit with the lowest Courage value. That’s Lazerbeak with a Courage of 2, but amazingly he passes!
Next up is Sludge vs Rumble. They both have a Skill of 5, but Sludge gets a +1 Skill bonus for H2H in beast mode, but the two are still very closely matched. We both roll 1D10 and add Skill values to it; with Rumble unable to stop Sludge’s attack. Sludge causes 18 points of damage (Strength 9 + a roll of 9), easily surpassing Rumble’s Endurance of 8. Rumble is deactivated.
Finally Swoop vs Lazerbeak. I start feeling a bit nervous about this one, why didn’t I move Snarl next to Lazerbeak? Swoop has a Skill of 7 but with a +1 H2H beast mode bonus to it, but Lazerbeak has a Skill of 9. Luckily the die roll goes in Swoop’s favour and his attack lands. Swoop only has a Strength of 6 and his 1D10 roll of 1 is worrying, but Lazerbeak only has an Endurance of 5, leaving the Decepticon deactivated.
Feeling a little better (although somehow the Dinobots have to stand up against Devastator) Roadbuster’s team open up on the Insecticons. My two rogues (Jazz and Mirage) will target the squad leader (which is oddly Kickback, who has the highest Rank). However, the best said about this the better. Every one of them misses! In my defense, the Insecticons are in Hard Cover sat on Objective 4, altering Skill by -2 for ranged attacks. I also had appalling dice rolls too!
Feeling annoyed about forgetting about Optimus Prime when the Constructicons moved, I decide to take him out of Sentry duty. I measure and he’s in range of Megatron! He’s in Hard Cover, but I’ve got LOS and I just think ‘what the hell…’
Optimus has a Skill of 10, but is adjusted by -2 because Megatron is in Hard Cover. I roll a 5 on 1D10, easily getting under my Skill – the shot hits! With a Firepower of 8, I roll 8D10 and three beat Megatron’s Endurance of 8. I deactivate Megatron, woo hoo!!
I’ve been unlucky with Roadbuster’s team, but things have gone ok overall.

Decepticon Action Phase

Losing Megatron was horrific, why did I just leave him at the Objective? Soundwave, Lazerbeak and Rumble too – what a waste! They’d done precisely nothing, apart from earn some energon. At least they were defeated by some worthy opponents. Anyway, now to hit back.
First up, Devastator. As he’s classed as a Giant, he is able to attack an entire squad. The only problem with Devastator is his low Skill of 4, but as he’s a Giant he gains +5 to Strength, Endurance and Firepower against other none Giant units.
I attack Grimlock first. We both roll 1D10 and add our Skill. Grimlock has a Skill of 10 and receives +1 to H2H Skill rolls because of his beast mode. He rolls a 2, but I get a 7; but overall Grimlock gets the highest total and is easily able to defend against my attack, so no damage.
It’s a similar story with Sludge and Swoop; they don’t have high Skills like Grimlock, but have lucky die rolls.
I finally get to Snarl, who has a Skill of 4 too, so it all comes down to the die rolls in the end. I roll a 4, he only manages a 2. With his +1 Skill for H2H due to his beast mode, I still get the highest value, my attack hits, at last. Now to look at damage. I roll a 9 and add Devastator’s adjusted Strength of 15, giving a total of 24. This easily beats Snarl’s Endurance of 9; Snarl is deactivated!
I’m disappointed not to have taken out more of the Dinobots, but I’ve still got two more turns to deal with them.
Now to make Roadbuster’s team pay for having completely missed my Insecticons.
I consider starting with Shrapnel’s stun attack (his piercing battle cry), but if successful it would only stop Roadbuster’s team performing an action this turn, but seeing as they already have, there’s no point in spending the energon on this.
Instead I start with Kickback. His function as a rogue means I can target any member of a squad, not just the nearest. I target Roadbuster. Kickback has a Skill of 8, but Roadbuster is in hard cover, so there is a -2 adjustment. I roll 2 on 1D10, so Kickback makes the shot easily. With a Firepower of 5 I roll 5D10 and 2 dice come up with 10s, beating Roadbuster’s Endurance of 9, deactivating him.
As Roadbuster was the squad leader, the others need to make a Courage check. The lowest Courage is 5, due to Mirage. The Autobot Player is unable to roll under it and the entire squad has to flee! When routed like this, squad cohesion is forgotten and it’s every bot for himself. Even in robot mode they move pretty quickly, Mirage, Jazz and Skids get over the bridge, while slowcoach Ironhide makes it level with Objective 5. If they fail to rally next turn, then most of that squad will be leaving the map and the game. Nice job Kickback.

End Phase

Total energon used: Decepticons 2, Autobots 0.
Decepticons now only hold Objective 4, whereas the Autobots hold Objectives 5 and 3

 

Turn 3

Turn 3

Both sides have 5 energon each. With Megatron deactivated, the next highest ranked Decepticons are Ravage and Kickback – both with a rank of 7. Kickback is nominated next Decepticon leader, with an Intelligence of 9, versus Optimus Prime’s Intelligence of 10. Both sides roll 1D10 and the Decepticons win the initiative and decide to move first.
Roadbuster’s team make another Courage check, Ironhide is in range of Optimus Prime, which gives a +2 to Courage, but they still fail. They will continue to flee in the movement phase.

Decepticon Movement

I’m rapidly running out of troops now, I need to make some more gambles and just hope they pay off.
The surviving Dinobots had successfully defended against Devastator and would be free to move away. Therefore I use Devastator’s movement to ‘pin’ them again. If I can finish off the Dinobots this turn I’ll win the Objective, then next turn they’ll uncombined and I’ll use the Engineers to revive some of the deactivated troops littered around (Starscream, Soundwave, Rumble and Lazerbeak to chose from). That will be the last turn of the game and those reactivated troops will add to my points total. This could be a game winner here.
My second movement is even more of a gamble. I move my Insecticons (who have been brilliant so far – routed Roadbuster’s team and won the initiative this round) off Objective 4, along through the Soft Cover on the very right hand side of the map (beast mode meaning no penalty to movement) to avoid LOS with Prowl’s team, to then ‘pin’ Optimus Prime on Objective 5. I’ve got Ravage hidden in the Insecticons’ squad, not to mention the Insecticons’ regular nasty tricks to use. If I can take out Prime, the Autobots lose an Objective, but also a very costly unit. Again, this could be another game winner here.

Autobot Movement

The Decepticons’ movement is a little worrying, but I’m confident I can handle it. My best troops are involved and if you can’t trust the Dinobots or Optimus Prime himself, who can you trust? Besides I’ve got Prowl’s team roughly in the middle of both to sort out any problems in Turn 4, so I’ll leave them there. Anyway, they’re in robot mode and wouldn’t be able to reach either attack without transforming, they also can’t fire into a melee either, which means there’s no point in moving them.
The only movement left is my fleeing Autobots. Jazz, Mirage and Skids leave the battlefield, and the game. I’m only left with Ironhide by the lake on the right of the map.

Decepticon and Autobot Transformation

No transformations made

Decepticon Action Phase

Devastator attacks the Dinobots, but thanks to his ridiculously low Skill and very unlucky dice rolls, all three Dinobots are easily able to defend against his attacks. Oh well, he’d better come good next turn.
Now for the Battle of Objective 5. Bombshell starts the attacks. I spend an Energon to use a cerebro-shell, which is only useable in H2H. We both roll 1D10 and add Skill values as normal (Bombshell has a Skill of 9 +1 thanks to Bombshell being a Scientist), I get lucky and I hit. Now, instead of rolling for damage, the cerebro-shell causes the target to make an Intelligence test (with a -2 penalty) or come under my control! Annoyingly, Optimus Prime passes, only needing to get under an 8.
Shrapnel next, I decide not to use his stun attack and just press on with a H2H attack. With the +1 bonus to Skill thanks to having a Scientist, both Skills are evenly matched. I roll a 4, but Optimus rolls a 10, therefore defending against the attack.
Kickback is next, he has a Skill of 8, but receives the +1 Skill bonus from having a Scientist in the group, and another +1 from H2H in beast mode (his piledriver type kick), bringing him onto level pegging with Prime too. However, I roll a 1 and Prime gets a 9! He defends against this too. I can’t believe my bad luck.
Finally, I bring Ravage out of hiding and attack. He receives +2 to his Skill for this first attack (thanks to his ‘backstab’) which pushes his Skill up to 13 (including the +1 from my Scientist). I roll a 5, but Optimus only manages a 1. I hit him at last! I roll another 1D10 and add Ravage’s Strength of 5 but only get a total of 7, not enough to beat Optimus’s Endurance of 10.
All my attacks have failed; I start to feel like victory is slipping away.

Autobot Action Phase

Phew, I only got through that thanks to some amazing luck on the dice. Now for my fight back.
I start with the Dinobots who attack Devastator. Grimlock goes first, thanks to his Skill of 10, a +1 to his Skill in H2H due to his beast mode and a high roll of 8, Devastator is unable to defend. I roll another 8 on my damage die and add Grimlock’s Strength of 10. This easily beats Devastator’s Endurance of 14, deactivating him. My Dinobots finally take the Objective stood on a mountain of Decepticon bodies.
Optimus Prime targets Bombshell, I don’t want any more cerebro-shell scares. With evenly matched Skills it again comes down to the die rolls and I win by 1. The damage roll is just a formality; Optimus has a Strength of 10 which on its own beats Bombshell’s Endurance. I roll a 6, Bombshell is deactivated.

End phase

The Decepticons are left with no Objectives under their control, but have used 1 energon. The Autobots have two Objectives under their control and have used no energon.

 

Turn 4

Turn 4 – The Final TurnDecepticons start with 4 energon and the

Autobots with 7
Kickback is still Decepticon leader, but the Autobots win the Initiative and decide to go first.
Ironhide is the only member of his team left and with a Courage of 10, easily rallies.

Movement Phase

Optimus Prime ‘pins’ Kickback, stopping the Insecticons from moving.
Ironhide is too far away from Optimus Prime to reach him before the Action Phase, so will stay where he is. The Dinobots and Prowl’s team hold their Objectives; these are all going to count towards my points total, even if I lose Optimus, I should have enough points from these to win.
No other movement.

Transformation Phase

No Transformations

Autobot Action Phase

Optimus Prime attacks Kickback, without the Insecticons’ Scientist kickback isn’t quite as deadly as before, but has still got a decent Skill of 8+1 (beast mode H2H Skill bonus). I roll a 9, but Kickback gets a 10. The scores are equal, which means that Kickback has defended. Unfortunately.

Decepticon Action Phase

I’ve lost, one way or the other. I make the attack against Prime anyway, but all three of my surviving troops (Kickback, Shrapnel and Ravage) are able to land a blow, thanks to really awful dice rolls. That’s it then.

End Phase

Each side works out the points cost of the units still functional at the end of the game, along with 100 points for each captured Objective. Autobots total is 840, while the Decepticons only manage 188; a clear Autobot victory!

 

Conclusions...

A Decepticon Lament

What an absolute disaster that was! I was cursed with some really unlucky dice rolls and a really poor strategy.
My bad luck stayed with me for most of the game: Skywarp not teleporting to safety, Devastator not managing to hit the Dinobots, Megatron getting taken out and my Insecticons failing to take down Optimus Prime were the most notable examples. However, I did have a little good luck; Optimus Prime forgetting to shoot while on Sentry duty allowed my Constructicons to get in position.
But I can’t blame the dice for everything; my strategy was poor, now I look at it again. Soundwave, Rumble, Lazerbeak and Megatron did exactly nothing; I used the Seekers as glorified taxis, made one attack and pretty much sacrificed them to allow the Constructicons to get by. I should have dropped Soundwave and co off right on Prowl’s head or something: these aren’t holding units, they’re designed to attack.
My squad of the match has got to be the Insecticons; lovely high Skill values, with some decent abilities make them a great attacking squad too. I wasted them having sat on their Objective for so long. Really I should have used these against the Dinobots; a stun attack from Shrapnel, cerebro-shell on Sludge, Kickback to sort out Grimlock, I might have got a much better result. Grimlock was a pain; it felt like he was almost unstoppable. I should have brought Megatron along to help sort him out, or even have the Seekers fly past them, transform and then hit them with ranged attacks before they even reached Objective 1.
Devastator was not the unstoppable force I was expecting and initially I was really annoyed about how easy it was for the Dinobots to deactivate him. But really, I’d just deployed him wrong. Instead of heading for the Dinobots, I should have gone straight for Prowl’s team instead. Or even left them at Objective 2; with engineers and support functions, the Constructicons could repair any of their own deactivated, while earning me extra energon. If any Autobots got close, I’d just use Devastator to defend.
I can only blame myself, I let myself think of the Decepticons as I’ve seen them in the comics and cartoons and didn’t think enough about their stats or abilities when planning on what to do. They split nicely into small squads and if used like that, the Decepticons are really a fast, attacking force. I’ll have to remember that next time.

Autobot Victory

Yes! A great win and nearly everything went according to plan too. The major fly in the ointment was losing Roadbuster and then seeing most of his team flee. I blame Mirage, these aristocrats have no backbone.
Prowl’s team did everything I wanted of them, they held their Objective, made some Sentry attacks and that was it! I perhaps didn’t need to have five bots sat there for most of the game doing nothing, but they were ready just in case.
Similarly Optimus Prime did what I needed too, but then you wouldn’t expect anything less. He held his Objective, took out Megatron with a brilliant shot and held his own against the Insecticons and Ravage. I didn’t really use his trailer at all, a bit of an oversight on my part, but next time I need to remember to use it.
Finally, my stars, the Dinobots! They were magnificent, everything you’d expect them to be. They took a couple of casualties, but took out Starscream, Soundwave, Rumble, Lazerbeak and Devastator too! They deserved to get Objective 1.
With hind sight, I’m not sure if I’d have done anything different. Perhaps moved Optimus up to support Roadbuster’s Team against the Insecticons. If Roadbuster had made it and his Teateam hadn’t fled, I think this would have been a complete whitewash.

That’s it…

Well, match over and I really enjoyed designing and playing this. To start with it felt really wrong that some Transformers were deactivated so quickly; Starscream and Slag were the first to go and that felt wrong, even Megatron being taken out with one shot. I’d thought about having every unit have a health rating, but keeping track of everyone’s health would be too much paperwork and after four turns, you might have only one or two casualties. To have a relatively short game like this (it lasted about an hour-ish) only having ‘one health point’ for everyone felt about right in the end.
Four turns felt like it might have been too short a game, but it felt about right. It also meant there had to be attacks and movement as both sides scrambled about for victory.
Changes. I’ve thought of a few from this playthrough: fewer Objectives – Prowl’s team sat around without a care in the world; larger map – weapons seem to have quite a decent range on them; ranged attacks – at the moment I roll versus Skill to see if I’ve hit, then roll 1D10 for each rating of Firepower the character has. Quite a few of the non-warrior functions have high Skills, but low Firepowers; even rolling 4D10, there’s a good chance you could get an 8 or above on one of them and you end up with someone like Ratchet taking out Shockwave. It seems ‘wrong’. I think I’ll change it to rolling 1D10 and adding Firepower to it, to try and get above the target’s Endurance.
Also thinking of including Criticals and Misfires: a 10 on a damage roll could mean double damage, but a 1 might mean the unit can’t attack next turn while they sort out their weapon.
Thank you for reading this far. If you’ve got any comments on anything else you think I could change, please let me know.

 

That was really interesting. An enjoyable read! Although it felt like the Autobots had more team members...

 

Thanks for the comment! Yes I think the Autobots had more units, but the Decepticons were more powerful. I think I still need to play about with my rules to get the balance right

 

Battle 2

Game Note

It’s been a while since my previous battle report and admittedly things have taken a bit of a back seat with the game, but I have made a few tweaks and what follows is a battle report using my Version 2 rules.
What stuck out from last time is how the tech specs are not enough by themselves for a battle. For example, scientists and engineers tend to have a high skill, but warriors don’t. So when using the skill value to resolve hand to hand (H2H) or ranged weapon (RW) combat, the warriors don’t tend to be as good as you would expect.
Therefore, I’ve added two extra stats to the tech specs for H2H and RW skills and tried to standardise them for function, so a Warrior would have higher stats for H2H and RW than a Rogue, while an Engineer or Scientist would be lower still.
Also, the Firepower stat isn’t that good at representing the weapons a Transformer has. Therefore, I’ve gone through the tech specs of my sample Transformers (those that had a pre-Transformers toy) and tried to spot patterns in their weapon descriptions.
There are the common artillery types: missiles, cannons, grenade launchers and rockets; all with various ammunition type.
The hand held weapons vary a lot, so for ease I’ve grouped them into different classes: standard kinetic (e.g. a machine gun), thermal (e.g. a plasma cannon or flamethrower), EM Spec (lasers), liquid chemical (acid, liquid nitrogen, etc), ionised particles (ion blaster, fusion cannon), scrambler (electro scrambler, null ray), electrical (speaks for itself) and pressure wave (sonic cannons, etc).
Each of the handhelds were further split into sizes: small, standard and large, and in some cases heavy (e.g. if used by a gestalt).
All weapons were given a range and strength value (along with a penalty to the RW skill for more complicated and heavier weaponry).
Different classes of weapon were given different effects, such as firing in a burst or a charged shot. One of my original aims was to avoid having charts to refer to, but it felt unavoidable to have something like that here.
Likewise, the inclusion of tables to determine the effects of special abilities, was something I wanted to avoid originally, but I needed to include them here.
A big change was the play style / order too. Players still work out initiative at the start of each turn, with the winner going first. However, they move / attack with one of their squads, then play moves to the opposing player who then moves / attacks with one of their squads.
Play moves back and forth like this (like moving pieces on a chess board) until all squads and units have been moved / attacked.
One last point, with many modifiers flying about there was the danger of units being left unable to pass skill checks or hit a target, while others would have instant hits. To keep play fluid this needed to be avoided, therefore for die rolls when checking skills, attacking, making armour saving throws, etc, a roll of 10 is always a miss and a roll of 1 is always a hit, no matter the modifier.
Hopefully, any small changes might be noticeable in the battle report that follows. If reading this you have any comments or feedback, I’d love to hear them.

 

Map
The battle took place on a 3 metre by 1.5 metre area (pretty big!) and was designed before players picked their squads.
It consisted of three objectives (holding them providing that player with bonus energon) and various hard and soft cover areas.
During the battle, sketches and notes were made and then afterwards I’ve tried to type it up and expand on points too. I’ve used Battle Chronicler to help illustrate the battle. Very useful and quick to pick up, if you’ve not used it before.

 

Before the battle, it was determined that the game would last for 6 turns and the winner would be the one with the most points at the end. (The base values of surviving units, 100 pts for each held objective and 10 points for any unspent energon)
Table edges were randomly assigned: Autobots at the ‘top’ of the images I’ll use, and Decepticons at the ‘bottom’.

Autobot Player – Force Selection and Plan
Last time I played with the old rules I had a force split into five bot squads, which allowed some flexibility in attacking and holding objectives, so with this in mind, I decided to have a force split into three squads, with an objective a focus for each.
We had a 1000 points limit again and the requirement to not use any units involved in the last battle published.
I started with my General, who had to have a Command function. With so many used last time, I was stuck with Ultra Magnus or Sky Lynx. I went with Ultra Magnus as the cheaper option and decided to build my first squad around him. His squad would my tasked with taking Objective 3, the crashed satellite close to the Decepticon table edge.
Therefore, I needed to make the squad fast and be able to take out any resistance it might come across. First up I needed a Tactician, who would give +1 bonus to the squad’s H2H and RWS when attacking. I went for Tailbreaker, who could also be a useful ‘point-bot’ to soak up any enemy attacks with his high endurance and forcefield.
Next I added Hound; a Rogue and fairly cheap too (Unit value is the sum of all the stats on the Tech Specs, with extra for special abilities). Rogues give squads speed bonuses and can target anyone in an opposing squad, not just the closest as other units do.
After Hound, I added Blaster. Being a Communications Specialist gave him the Sensor Blackout ability; if successful the squad could be deployed anywhere on my half of the table in the first turn, rather than at the start. While he’s a slow Autobot, his mass displaced alt-mode could be carried by another unit and therefore the squad shouldn’t be slowed down too much.
Finally I completed my Assault Squad with Bumblebee, another Rogue. Essentially he’s the Autobot version of Ravage. He can be hidden within a squad allowing him to use Backstab if they engage the enemy in H2H.
Next I considered the Hold Squad, they would be placed on Objective 1 and be expected to hold it and fight off any Decepticons. I started with the leader for the squad, Jetfire, a Defence specialist (An ‘Air Guardian’ on his Tech Specs, strange considering that he has a Rank of 10) which would give Endurance bonuses to his squad mates.
As the Hold Squad would be sat on Objective 1 for possibly a long time, I needed a Support Specialist. These are TFs that have the Fueler or transport function normally; they’re like a worker class and have the ability of increasing the energon obtained from an objective. The Autobots only have one unit like this: Gears.
I could expect heavy attacks here, so I added two Warriors: Tracks and Sideswipe, who should be able to deal with any difficult situations. Finally I added an Engineer, in case the Squad suffered any casualties. I went for Hoist as he’s fairly cheap.
That left me with what I would do for Objective 2. I knew I’d get Objective 1 straight away and I was sure Objective 3 would be defended; but could I get to Objective 2 first? What functions should the Squad have? What should I expect to find there?
I didn’t know, but I needed something that could deal with anything. There was only one bot for the job – Omega Supreme!!!
Army cost = 938 Points.

Decepticon Player – Force Selection and Plan
The selection requirements for the battle took away a lot of choice for my force. There just aren’t that many Decepticons in this ‘Pure-G1’ list. The force would boil down to Shockwave as my General, the other Seekers, Reflector, Triple Changers and the Deluxe Insecticons. All for a total of 980 points, well inside the budget.
My plan; I had a very good feeling from last time that the Autobot Player would likely split his force up to try and control all three Objectives, that meant I’d have a Squad of Autobots marching down to Objective 3 right from the start as he tried to claim all three Objectives.
First, I needed to have some of my force to hold and defend Objective 3.The Triple Changers were the logical choice, both Astrotrain and Octane are Support specialists and could churn out lots of Energon for me. Blitzwing would act as the bodyguard for them (strangely, even though he has a rank of 7, he’s still classed as a Commander and would therefore have high H2H and RWS because of it).
However, not knowing just what might get through to Objective 3, Blitzwing might not be enough on his own. Therefore I added Shockwave to the Squad; another Commander with high H2H and RWS, plus he Transforms into a flying Heavy EM Spec gun. He should be able to stop Unicron himself, haha.
I clumped the rest into one Attack Squad, ready to meet the Autobots I just knew would be coming straight down to meet me. They’ll start off in vehicle mode, with Reflector in their combined camera mode and carried by Thrust (temporarily giving him Rogue abilities too).
The Insecticons would be in their ‘Transformer- size’ insect mode. Their mass displaced insect mode makes them harder to hit, but it means they can’t shoot or attack in H2H. I needed their combat options.

 

Deployment
Both players sketched their deployment, before placing units onto the table.
Blaster failed the Sensor Blackout skill roll, forcing his squad have to deploy as normal.
Rogues have the Redeploy skill, allowing them redeploy on their table edge (after successfully passing a skill check) once the opposing player has set up, but both players decided not to do this.
Starting energon (1D5) was rolled: Autobots start with 2 and Decepticons with 3.
Game Note: Some units have an ‘unspecified’ weapon. Usually it’s not mentioned at all on the Tech Specs, even though the unit would clearly have a weapon.
To compensate, both players roll on the Unspecified Weapon table to determine what units like this would be carrying. Autobots get Electrical weapons and Decepticons get Ionised Particle Weapons.
The Decepticons also win Initiative for the first turn.
Decepticons in Purple at the bottom, S = Support Squad, A = Attack Squad.

 

Turn 1

Turn 1
1.1 Decepticons
The first movement of the match is mine and I leave Shockwave and the Triple Changers (the Support Squad) on the crashed satellite of Objective 3.
Game Note: Each turn a unit can ‘act’ twice: movement types are things like physically moving, Transforming and disembarking transport, whereas an action type would be things like shooting a gun or repairing a fallen unit.
Shockwave Transforms to his space gun mode and hovers at ground level, while Blitzwing Transforms to tank mode. I put them both on Sentry Mode; this will allow them to fire in the Autobots’ movement phase if any of them are stupid enough to come close.
However, Astrotrain and Octane, my two Support Specialists perform the ‘Energon Mine’ action, which could generate extra Energon for me, but it means they can’t do anything else.

1.2 Autobots
Jetfire’s Hold Squad is already on Objective 1, the top of a hill, and I’ll leave them there. Gears starts to ‘Energon Mine’ while the rest of the Squad go on Sentry mode.

1.3 Decepticons
The Seekers in my Attack Squad started the match in jet mode, ready to wipe out any Autobot on that side of the table. However, the trees are going to prove to be difficult; they have a game height of 40cm which will prevent any Line Of Sight (LOS) to units within the trees, from above.
There is another problem I hadn’t thought enough about: if I decided to fly above the trees and then Transform to robot mode to drop down into H2H with the Autobots, my troops could be injured falling through the trees. Far too risky.
I was going to have to do this the hard way. The Seekers and Reflector Transform to robot mode and the whole squad is forced to move into the woods on foot.
I move them about half their movement value, even though the Autobots wouldn’t be able to shoot them, I didn’t want to have left them within charging distance (and H2H combat).

1.4 Autobots.
Omega Supreme moves forward and takes Objective two.

1.5 Autobots
Blaster is rated as Very Slow, limiting the Squad’s movement to 60cm. I start to realise that the huge Decepticon force is going to be a huge problem; I definitely want to avoid H2H with them.
Therefore, I move them out of the woods completely and put them on Sentry mode, ready to catch the Decepticons when they come out of the trees.

 

Turn 2

Turn 2
Energon:
Autobots have two Objectives which adds two energon to their total. With Gears mining at Objective 1, a roll on the Extra Energon table results in one additional energon, giving a total of 5.
Decepticons only have one Objective, but with Astrotrain and Octane both mining it, they produce a total of 4 extra energon, bringing the Decepticon total up to 7.
Initiative:
Even with a Tactician (Trailbreaker) giving +1 to the die roll for the Autobots and a Communicator (Blaster) taking -1 from the die roll for the Decepticons, Ultra Magnus is no match for the cold hard logic of Shockwave. The Decepticons win initiative again.

2.1 Decepticons
Damn, my main force is trapped in the woods, not sure what to do with them yet, so my first move is my Support Squad on Objective 3. No other force near them to worry about just yet, so I will keep Octane and Astrotrain on mining duties, with Blitzwing and Shockwave on Sentry duty. I just hope Ultra Magnus’s team moves out of my way!

2.2 Autobots
Ha ha ha. Only the second turn and I’m controlling the battlefield already. I want to see what the Decepticon Player will do.
I activate my Hold Squad. No movement again, but I’ll give Gears the Energon Mining action and for Hoist I’ll get him to make something.
Looking through the list, I decide to go for a Defence Machine Gun Turret. I pay 1 energon and roll on the Construction table. Hoist has a great Skill of 9, so I get to subtract 1 from the die roll and get an Amazing Success! Hoist finishes the Turret sooner than expected and is able to deploy it this turn, ready for use immediately. A fantastic result, ordinarily I’d have to wait until next turn to deploy it, which would count as a movement type.
Everyone else is put on Sentry Duty (including the turret).

2.3 Decepticons
I’ve got to do something with my main force, they can’t just sit in the woods for the whole game.
They can’t Transform to jet modes while in cover and as soon as I bring them out of the trees and into line of sight (LOS) of the Autobot Assault Squad, they’ll open fire as I move thanks to being on Sentry duty.
I don’t think I have much of a choice, I’m going to take some losses, but I need to bring them out and take the Autobots in H2H.
I can live without Relector, so I put Spyglass, Spectro and Viewfinder at the front (Hound won’t be able to use his Rogue’s ability to target anyone he fancies while on Sentry Duty, only the closest target). Next will come the Seekers, who have good Endurance and should be able to soak up any hits if / when Reflector buys it. The Insecticons will come last, I need these guys ready for the H2H attacks, in Transformer-sized Beast Mode they’ll get bonuses to their H2H and Strength values for their attack.
With fingers crossed I announce my action and start bringing them out of the safety of the trees. As soon as they’ve cleared the tree line, the Autobots open fire; it’s bad. Viewfinder, Spectro, Spyglass and Thrust are all hit and fail their armour saving die rolls (Thrust is very unlucky with his roll)
Luckily, I suppose, it’s not quite 50% of my Squad, so I don’t have to make a Courage check for heavy losses.
Finally I close for H2H: Barrage and Ransack take on Ultra Magnus, Venom and Chopshop take Trailbreaker, Ramjet tackles Blaster and Dirge is left with Hound.
Hound and Blaster are swiftly dealt with, Ultra Magnus is able to withstand one of Ransack’s attacks, before his armour gives way. Trailbreaker withstands the punishment from Venom, but Chopshop’s attacks both hit home.
With the four Autobots deactivated, Bumblebee is at last revealed. With over 50 % losses he is forced to make a courage check. And passes!

2.4 Autobots
What was I saying about ‘controlling the table’?? That hurt, but at least I took as many of the Decepticons with me.
With Ultra Magnus down, Jetfire receives a battlefield promotion and is my replacement General (He’s the highest ranked unit. Strangely he’s got a rank of 10, odd considering his original function as an ‘Air Guardian’)
I do what I can only do and get Bumblebee the heck out of there! Luckily he’s fast enough to get to Objective 2. And Omega Supreme.

2.5 Autobots
The ruined building of Objective 2 was determined, before the match, to be of height 40cm. This makes it too high for Omega Supreme to see over. Also, the wall next to him blocks his LOS to any of the Decepticons in their Attack Squad.
Therefore, I’ll put him on Sentry Duty and finish the Decepticons when they come for me next turn.

 

Turn 3

Turn 3
Each side still holds the same number of objectives, but with mining activites on both sides, the Autobots start the turn with 7 energon and the Decepticons with 10 energon.

Even with Jetfire as the new Autobot General, and an Intelligence of 10, the Decepticons still win the initiative.

Decepticons 3.1
I’ve taken out Ultra Magnus’s Squad but I’ve lost a good chunk of my force AND I’ve still got to face Omega Supreme too. I need extra troops, but luckily the Insecticons are just the guys for a situation like this.
I keep the Attack Squad where it is, assign Dirge and Ramjet to Sentry Duty and using the bodies of the deactivated Autobots as raw material (along with 4 energon), the Insecticons set to work creating clones.
For each Insecticon I roll on the clone creation table to determine the success (with the roll modified for the higher skilled Insecticons). I’m clearly very lucky, as in total I manage to make six clones.
Barrage has an Astonishing Success and creates 2 clones (Clone 1 and 2 are both Salvo types), Ransack is just as lucky (Clones 3 and 4 are both Salvo types too), Venom’s Clone 5 is a Shot Hole and Chopshop makes a Zaptrap type (Clone 6).
Game Note: I went with the Shot Hole, Zaptrap and Salvo tech specs for this, as they represent a weaker unit than the ‘parent’. I didn’t want to create new Tech Specs for clones of the Deluxe Insecticons, so when ANY Insecticon creates a clone, there is an equal chance it could be any of the three types (along with chances of not making one, or even making two)

Autobots 3.2
Right, now it’s time to smash the Decepticon centre and take back control of this game; Omega Supreme time!!
He’s got some serious weaponry, as well as excellent H2H capabilities. He’s armed with a Super Heavy Thermal Cannon and a Super Heavy EMSpec Cannon too. The thermal is a fairly short ranged weapon, but with a large template, while the EMSpec operates like a rail gun; if the first target is destroyed, the beam carries on through, automatically hitting anything else in a straight line beyond it. Omega Supreme will really carve these Decepticons up!
However, he’s got to get in range first, this means leaving the Objective in Bumblebee’s capable hands, and taking a step towards the Decepticons. Luckily, his high endurance should soak up any Sentry Duty fire.
Ramjet and Dirge both have two weapons in robot mode and fire them all at Omega Supreme. Dirge misses with one of his attacks, a missile launcher. Because it is a template weapon, the shot scatters. A roll on the Scatter table sees the missile explode harmlessly away from all the combatants.
The rest of the attacks hit.
As Omega Supreme is so large, three rolls are made on the Hit Location Table to determine where the shots land: Omega Supreme is hit in the head, torso and right leg.
With the locations determined, Omega Supreme can now make his armour saving throws. He has a natural Endurance of 10, but because he is a gestalt of three entities (tank, base and rocket) another 3 points is added on to this (a total of 13).
Game Note: this is the second highest in the game after Devastator with a total of 16, that’s because he is a gestalt of six entities.
The head and leg shots are easily stopped by his armour, only the torso attack is lucky enough to get through.
Now to see what damage has been caused, using the Torso Damage table, the Decepticon Player rolls and scores a 1! Resulting in Catastrophic Damage! I can’t believe it…
Omega Supreme’s fuel cell is breached and he erupts in a fierce explosion, destroying him. With a heavy heart I place the 60 cm explosion template on the table, centred on Omega Supreme. Ramjet, Dirge, Clone 2 and, unfortunately, Bumblebee are caught underneath the template and all take an automatic Strength 7 hit. It proves too much for all of them and are deactivated.
Far from retaking the centre, I’ve completely lost it and pretty much handed Objective two to the Decepticons, could this get any worse?
Decepticons 3.3
Hahahahahahaha!! I was very lucky, but this game is pretty much mine now, just a few Autobots left on their own. In fact, if our forces stay where they are, I’ll have won.
I keep my Support Squad on Objective 3, just as before, with Shockwave and Blitzwing on Sentry Duty, while Astrotrain and Octane continue to mine the energon.

Autobots 3.4
I’m still in shock! Can’t believe Omega Supreme went so easily! In the meantime I’ll keep my Hold Squad where they are with Gears on mining duties, think I’ll need all the energon I can get.
Objective 1 could very easily be the site of my last stand, so I get Hoist to construct a solid energy barrier. Paying my cost of 1 energon, I roll on the Construction table and luckily Hoist has Amazing Success and finishes the barrier and deploys it straight away. The barrier effectively gives my Hold Squad soft cover bonuses; I’m going to need them.

 

Turn 4

Turn 4
An unexpected down turn in the mining abilities on both sides, Gears fails to provide any extra, while for the Decepticons only Astrotrain can manage to provide a single extra energon cube.
Autobots and Decepticons both start Turn 4 with 7 Energon each.

After three rerolls due to draws, the Decepticons finally win Initiative.

Decepticons 4.1
I move my Attack Squad, now completely all Insecticons, onto Objective 2 and immediately put them all onto Sentry Duty. Effectively all I have to do is sit tight and wait out the Autobots.

Autobots 4.2
Well, it looks like the attack isn’t going to come, two turns left and all the Decepticons have to do is wait me out
I’m not up for quitting, so I’m going to have to do something. I’ve got two targets, Objective 2 or Objective 3.
Now, Objective 3 only has four Decepticons on it, but to get there, I’ll have to Transform and drive there if I’ve got any hope of reaching it before the end of the match. The only problem is the Squad will be left in vehicle mode within range of Objective 2 and I’ve already seen what those Insecticons can do in H2H.
So that only leaves me with Objective 2 as a target. I want to avoid H2H with them if at all possible, which means I need to move and then go into Sentry Duty or shoot. This means I’m going to have to walk there to be able to perform an Action.
It also means I’m going to have to leave Hoist’s turret and energy barrier behind (to store them counts as a movement type, so then after the walk towards Objective 2, Hoist won’t be able to perform an Action.) I need all ‘bots ready, so I move them away from the relative safety of Objective 1.
Crossing the bridge, they come within LOS of Venom in the tower of Objective 2, and Clones 1 and 4, just outside the building. Luckily the clones don’t have any ranged weapons in insect mode, but Venom does. Sideswipe is within range and Venom takes the shot, but because Sideswipe has just moved and Venom has a ‘complex’ weapon, he’s left with a fifty: fifty chance of making it. He misses!

Decepticons 4.3
As soon as I take my turn, the Autobot Player starts yelling that he forgot to put his Hold Squad on Sentry Duty. Tough luck! Venom’s shot at Sideswipe must have distracted him, haha.
Just a small movement for my Support Squad; Shockwave and Blitzwing come around slightly so that they’re facing the Autobot advance, then are put back onto Sentry Duty. Astrotrain and Octane continue to mine.

 

Turn 5

Turn 5
With no Objectives, the Autobots stick with 7 energon, while with the extra from mining, the Decepticons’ total goes up to 12.
The Decepticons also win the initiative.

Decepticons 5.1
Right, time to end this! With the Autobot Player having forgotten to put his Squad on Sentry Duty, I have nothing to fear from being shot down.
I have my Insecticons perform a double movement (gaining and losing altitude) to gain the Engagement bonus of +2 H2H skill and +2 Strength. Coupled with the Insecticons’ natural beast mode bonuses each of them will have a total of +4 H2H skill, +3 strength and 2 attacks. This is going to be easier than Ultra Magnus’s Squad.
Game Note: This is the only time units can ‘act’ three times: a double movement and a H2H attack only if the double movement was performed to enter H2H.
Attacks arranged as:
Ransack and Clone 4 vs Sideswipe; Barrage and Clone 3 vs Jetfire; Venom and Clone 1 vs Tracks; Chopshop and Clone 5 vs Hoist; Clone 6 vs Gears.
However, the Autobot Player plays an Interrupt, Sideswipe has a backpack and Jetfire has access to his alt-mode jet engines. This means that both could Evade H2H.
The Autobot Player pays 1 energon for each of them and rolls on the Evade H2H Table. They both succeed and perform a small ‘jump’ 20 cm away, out of H2H!
The rest of the Autobots aren’t so lucky; the attacks hit them (even though Tracks’ fast rating inflicts a penalty to Venom’s attack, it just isn’t enough.) and Hoist, Tracks and Gears are all deactivated. With over 50% losses in one turn, the Autobots make a Courage check, Jetfire’s is the lowest with 9, and easily passes.
Game note: With H2H attacks that successfully hit (a H2H skill check minus a value related to the speed of the target) the target performs an armour saving throw by making an endurance test minus half the strength of the attacker (fractions rounded down) before they take damage. Without doing this, most H2H attacks would always cause damage if hit, making an armour saving throw pointless.
From the tech specs a lot of Strength values are around 7ish and similarly most Endurance values are too. So if a unit was hit by a Strength 7 attack, but had an Endurance of 7, they’ve got no chance of making a save. In terms of gameplay, I want there to be a better chance of a unit’s armour saving them. Halving the strength of the attacker to a 3 (rounded down in this example) would mean the target would make a successful save if they rolled a 4 (Endurance of 7 – the strength of 3) or less on a D10. A 40% chance versus nothing, a little better for the target, but the attacker still has a 60% chance of causing damage, so H2H attacks are still worth engaging with.

Autobots 5.2
That was disastrous! Two bots versus thirteen, I’m not going to win but I can lessen the amount the Decepticons win by, there’s no point getting them both to safety.
The Evade jump is classed as a free movement for Sideswipe and Jetfire, so I keep them exactly where they are and perform the Aim movement type, essentially instead of physically moving, Sideswipe and Jetfire carefully aim their weapons on the Insecticon swarm in front of them, giving them both +2 to their RW skill.
Ransack is slightly closer and Sideswipe starts first. He’s armed with a shoulder mounted flare launcher, but his G1 toy bio doesn’t identify his hand held weapon. At the start of the game I rolled on the Unspecified Weapons table, which identified that for this battle Sideswipe is carrying a standard Electrical rifle.
Sideswipe fires, hits Ransack who fails the armour saving throw and is deactivated, along with his clones. Sideswipe also gains an extra attack.
Game note: By generating stats for all the weapon types, I found that the Firepower rating on the tech specs was redundant. However, I wanted to use it.
In my opinion, the Firepower (FP) rating represents how heavy, damaging or complicated the entire weaponry is that the Transformer carries.
Also, it’s a measure of how likely it is they could fire their weapon systems more than once in one game turn. A high FP usually indicates heavy weapons that cause lots of damage, but are unlikely to be fired more than once in a turn. But a low FP usually indicates a small pistol that doesn’t do much damage, but is light enough to get off a few shots in one turn.
This is used in game by comparing a unit’s RW hit roll (the value on the die) to their FP. First of all, the shot needs to have hit (a successful RW skill check has been made) and if the value on the die is higher than their FP, they get another shot with that weapon at the same target. If the target is destroyed, then the extra shot is wasted.
Another RW skill check has to be made for the extra shot as normal, it is not an automatic hit. However, if successfully hit and the die value is above the FP, there isn’t a third shot.
For Warriors it is slightly different; extra shots can be used against other targets, in range, if the first target is destroyed. Warriors can also have a third shot, if they beat their FP again on a successful RW skill check / hit roll.

Back to the game: Sideswipe turns his gun on Barrage with his free attack, hits (but doesn’t beat his FP, so no further attack). Barrage makes his armour save, but electrical weapons have secondary effects that come into force only when successful armour saves have been made.
I roll on the effects table and score a ten, the electrical attack has seriously interfered with Barrage’s cerebro circuitry. For the rest of the game Barrage must pass an Intelligence check (at -3 to his Intelligence) before making any type of movement or action.
Sideswipe still has his flare launcher to go. Non-warriors can’t target other units with their unused weapons if the initial target is destroyed, but Sideswipe has no such problem. Along with two extra shots, Sideswipe lights up Barrage, Clone 1 and Venom with flares. For the rest of this game turn I’ll gain +2 RW skill with any attacks made against those three.
Jetfire takes advantage of the flare lighting up Barrage and shoots him with his four barrelled heavy ionised particle weapon. Three out of four shots hit and Barrage is unable to save against any and is deactivated, taking his clone, Clone 1, with him. With his primary target destroyed, Jetfire is unable to use his missile launcher against any of the other Insecticons.
I’m pleased with the damage my two ‘bots have caused and with over 50% losses, the Decepticon Player has to make a Courage check, my mind starts racing at what it might mean if the Insecticons turn tail and flee, but unluckily they make it.
I’m still hanging in there, let’s see what else the Decepticon Player has to throw at me.

Decepticons 5.3
This is getting serious, I can’t afford to lose now, if the Autobots start firing on my Insecticons again, they could wipe them out. Our last match posted on TFW2005 ended in an Autobot victory, I don’t want to lose again.
My Support Squad need to get in on the action, I’ve only got one more turn left. The slowest unit is rated as Fast, but is in robot mode, which limits the whole Squad to 80 cm movement. I’ve no choice but to do a double movement to get them into the town level with the Autobots. Even if the Autobots win the initiative next turn, I’ve got them surrounded; this is only going to end my way.
Just to prove that, Astrotrain is able to scramble into the ruins of Objective 2. With no Autobot within 20 cm, I take control of the Objective.

 

Turn 6

Turn 6
With only one held Objective and no mining, there isn’t much to add to the scores, but the Autobots start the last turn with 5 energon and the Decepticons with thirteen.
For the first time in the match, the Autobots win initiative.

Autobots 6.1
Okay, so I’m surrounded, which is pretty bad. Retreat is not an option, I need to take some Decepticons down with me.
As I see it, I’ve got two options:
1. RW attacks against the Insecticons. I had great success last time, but in order to stand a chance of wiping them out, I need to target Venom and Chopshop, which would automatically wipe out their clones too. But, to be able to do that, I need to move to get them both as the closest units of that squad. Unfortunately with only 80 cm to play with, it’s not really going to be possible. That leaves me with:

2. H2H versus the Support Squad. Not as insane as it seems, honest! The Decepticon Player has been forced to leave Shockwave and Blitzwing in their alt-modes. I’ll get bonuses for attacking them like that, and then once the two most powerful units are gone, I might just stand a chance of not losing by a huge margin.

Sideswipe takes on Blitzwing, but as Blitzwing is classed as Very Fast, I lose the bonuses for attacking a unit in its alt-mode. However, Sideswipe’s piledrivers still give him a +1 H2H skill. He hits, Blitzwing fails the save and is deactivated.
Jetfire takes on ol’ one eye, who is Fast, but not fast enough. Jetfire hits him and Shockwave fails the armour save and is deactivated too!!!!
With over 50% losses, the Support Squad has to make a Courage check. Octane has the lowest value, 3.5, and predictably fails. Astrotrain and Octane then flee towards the closest table edge at a distance equal to the single movement allowance of the slowest unit +8D10.
The Decepticon Player shakes the dice and then has to move the Hold Squad 49 + 80 = 129 cm, which takes them off the table! Fantastic, that was a much better result than I was expecting. It’s also stopped the Decepticon Player’s annoying grin since the end of last turn.

Decepticons 6.2
That was gutting! My Support Squad hasn’t fired a single shot and has been lost, what a complete waste.
With only my Insecticons left, I really can’t lose now, but to make up for that, I need to wipe the Autobots out completely.
But just how will I destroy them? The Insecticons are in Beast mode and the clones don’t have any ranged weaponry, which means they need to transform. However, not all of them are in LOS, which will mean they need to move. If I do that, that’s two movement types so I won’t get an action. That quickly rules out a RW attack.
I’ll just have to hope they’re unlucky and can’t escape, so I move my Insecticons in for some H2H. Venom and Clone 5 vs Sideswipe, and Chopshop and Clone 6 vs Jetfire.
Frustratingly the Autobot Player announces they’re both going to use their jets and attempt to escape. He pays the energon and rolls on the table twice; they both get clean away. To add further insult to injury, Sideswipe jumps into Objective 2 and secures it for the Autobots.

 

End of the Match
A bit of a scrappy ending, but both players tot up the points values for their surviving units, along with 100 for each held objective at the end and 10 for each energon remaining.
Decepticons = 209 Troops 0 Held objectives 130 remaining energon = 339 points
Autobots = 148 Troops 0 Held objectives 30 remaining energon = 178 points
Never in doubt, the Decepticons win, but not by as huge a majority as they could have.

Autobot Reflection
Well, it ended closer than I thought it would at around Turn 4, and I’m very pleased with how effective Sideswipe and Jetfire were at the end, they have to be my ‘Bots of the Match.
In hindsight, I should have brought the Hold squad down sooner to support the middle and smash the large Decepticon Attack Squad - their main fighting force.
Omega Supreme was very unlucky. He would have obliterated the Attack Squad if it hadn’t been for that one lucky shot!
Ultra Magnus's squad was very unlucky too, trapping the Decepticons in the woods at the start was good, but in the end they didn't have the right support to tackle a force that big. I had them stuck on Sentry Duty for far too long, they were capable of a lot more.
On the whole, I should have kept my Squads a lot closer together, to support one another. I was too fixated on holding the Objectives. And of course there were a few unlucky die rolls too that I can blame…
Decepticon Reflection
The Insecticons were very good, especially the cloning ability. It boosted the size of the Squad and made up for losing Reflector and the Seekers so early on.
However, the journey through the woods at the start was costly. It wasn’t too bad for the Insecticons as they can fight in beast mode, but you can’t have Seekers stuck on the ground. I needed them in the air to control the battle from up there.
The troop types in the Attack Squad were too mixed to be useful. I should have kept the Insecticons as a separate unit to the Seekers and Reflector. I could then have sent the Seekers across the battlefield first, with the Insecticons close behind to mop up any survivors and to create clones.
Shockwave shouldn't have been with the triple changers either. A powerful unit like that should have been in the thick of it, he didn't even get to fire. Octane and Astortrain were very useful at mining extra energon, just a shame I didn't get to put them in battle.
A victory’s a victory, but looking back, I think I was lucky to have got it.
Game Reflection
My updated rules seem to have gone well; it felt like strategy was key to winning here, rather than having a handful of overpowered units that did everything. While the game didn’t get to demonstrate a giant unit’s abilities, it did show that they aren’t invulnerable (how many times have we seen a single unit in the fiction take on a gestalt and win? Megatron vs Predaking in Marvel and Prime vs Devastator in Dreamwave spring to mind very quickly. It’s possible that they can win, just unlikely).
However, I think there are improvements I need to make straight away:
1. Escape from H2H- this was far too easy for Sideswipe and Jetfire to do, this needs to be reflected in their points cost AND the rules need to be modified when faced with multiple attackers.
2. Sentry mode – the field of fire needs to be specified. In normal movement and firing a unit can rotate on the spot for free. This shouldn’t be the case for Sentry Duty, the unit is watching a particular direction, finger on trigger looking for movement. They can’t possibly be looking through 360 degrees.
3. Commanders – I want to allow them to issue orders eg extra transform or bonus movement, but with an energon cost. Each order might cost extra energon to use. Might help in tricky spots.
4. Multiple hit points for Large TFs. The Commanders seem to fall too quickly, when they should be able to stand up to more punishment than their smaller comrades.
5. Objectives – I might do away with them; the size of the forces used just doesn’t really allow a player to leave some in defence, while attack with others, with further units held in support. Or maybe I just need to increase the size of the forces used.

Thanks for reading and if you have any advice please let me know. I want to be able to create my own game where I can have skirmishes between Autobots and Decepticons that doesn’t get too bogged down in the individualisms of each unit – which is getting a bit harder to do!