Just when you thought all of the Combiners were revealed for the upcoming Rise of the Combiners series of the Transformer Trading Card Game, we have been treated to one more... but not a traditional Combiner team of 5 or 6 members.
This one only has two Robots, but they are still labelled as having a combiner mode.



Dreadwing is a combiner jet, formed by two Decepticons who were Powermasters in the original Transformers toyline.
Dreadwind makes up the front half, with the function of Air Defense.
Blackwing (originally Darkwing in the original toyline), makes up the back half, with the function of Aerial Attacker.
When combined, they take on the function of Sky Destroyer, boosting its stats, but it still carries any existing damage from Blackwing and Dreadwind.
Plus, unlike the larger combiner teams, you don't need an enigma card to combine these two, you just need to have both of them in robot mode on the battlefield or in your KO area.





They are both Common cards in the second series, and utilize the "Triple Changer" style cards, that can fold in half to allow for three modes of play - Robot mode, Alt-mode, Combiner mode. As with most cards in the Trading Card Game, these two feature some amazing artwork of both characters, and of their combined mode.

Look out for these two when the Rise of the Combiners set of cards are released in March 2019, as they look like they will make a great addition to your deck.

A big thankyou to Wizards of the Coast for allowing Ozformers to be one of the Australian sites to have an exclusive reveal of some Series 2 cards.
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So I drop 3 cards. Lose my Pierce option, and lose a turn per round? I feel like they are better separate than Combined right? Dreadwind can cover for Blackwing with the higher defense and a brave. Am I missing an upside?

 

Yea, combining them really serves no purpose other than adding health to Blackwing. Otherwise, this seems like a step in the wrong direction.

I actually do like Blackwing on his own. 5 attack and 12 health is pretty good.

 

I was thinking about it a bit more. And a combined swing on a target does deal with half the defense of 2 separate swings on the same target. But that doesn't seem like a great trade for the actions you give up per round.

 

You'd still have a 9-star character out in addition to them. I'm sure who they pair with will be important. Great to see they're already considering non-traditional combiners though!

 

My go to is Slipstream. She helps keep Dreadwind and Blackwing alive while they flip as long as possible. Then when Dreadwind gets KO'd (hopefully through some smart play and maybe a Bravery or something) you combine and use him basically as a buff on Blackwing. Plus if you're running a splash of Green and white in your deck with double pips, her bot mode ability becomes much more likely.

 

Ya'll are thinking too small. Yeah you give up 3 cards and a swing each turn, but you gain a much stronger overall character that can have 6(!) upgrades. That is going to open the doors to a whole lot of shenanigans.

I'm thinking these 2, plus Thundercracker, with a heavy blue / tough / pierce deck. 3 Reinforced Plating, 3 Leap Into Battle, 3 Brainstorm (to power up TC's bot attack ability), 3 Hand Blasters, 3 Security Checkpoints, 3 Disruptive Entrance, 3 Force Fields, 3 Blast Shields, 3 Primary Lasers, 3 Piercing Blasters, 3 Bombing Runs, 3 Combat Training, 3 Strafing Run, and 1 Leap of Faith for the 25th star point... Maybe swap out a few of those for some Backup Plans and/or Inspiring Leadership.

Now Imagine a powered up Dreadwing with 2 Reinforced Plating on, 2 Combat Training, and 2 Primary Lasers... Launching off a Brainstorm & 2 Leaps Into Battle or 2 Bombing Runs...

I've been waiting for a good defensive Planes option and I'll be damned if this isn't it >:}

 

*Dreadwing with an attack of SEVENTEEN with TOUGH EIGHT and Bold 4 Napalms all doubters into oblivion*

 

I thought combiners only got to keep one of each type of upgrade once combined? I haven't actually seen rules anywhere though so I could be wrong.

 

Good point. The 2 upgrade slots each are nice. A Grenade Launcher and Energon Axe would be great. Also, I'm curious about his related battle card. I did notice he does have a designation "Dreadwing" with "plane" and "ranged"

Also, putting him with Acid Storm will be a good play, and maybe a few Star Battle Cards

It's his text special ability

 

Not just that. Currently it seems people are thinking of giving up a personality advantage by combining these two. You know there is nothing stopping one from combining them once one of them gets KO'd, and here is where you gain the advantage of a harder hitting plane with two upgrade slots each. And with Bombing Run + Slipstream, you'll actually be transferring a lot of damage onto the opponent's cards.


These two + Slipstream can possibly bring a whole new potential to plane decks.

That being said, and this does look like a good set of cards, I was really more looking forward towards the mini-con assault team as the last combiner reveal.

 

This is a fantastic addition to the game.

Love these characters too!

 

Man, I still need to get Blackwing.

 

This. Like the other combiners you never combine them while everyone is healthy. You give up too much. Instead you combine as a comeback mechanism when a large number of the team is dead.

Here the math is easy: combine once one is KO’d, not before. With other combiners the math is a bit harder as you likely would want to combine once you’re down to 1-2 characters, depending on the team and what you’re up against.

 

Why are there multiples of Dreadwing(s) in that art?

 

Yep. Wholeheartedly the boldfaced. One of this biggest problem this TCG faces is this fandom. Most are too caught up with the actual character and figures that they forget/ignore this is a card game where its mechanics and how to maximize using said mechanics to the best advantage is key to winning the game, even just fun matches.

In this particular case Dreadwing's name is also this groups' team association (akin to Constructicons, Dinobots, Insecticons, etc, etc, etc). If the game were to release, say for hypothetical example - an Enigma card for this team, it would be named Dreadwing Enigma and would show the Dreadwing icon. Are little combiner is moving up in the wurld!! *sheds a tear*

 

That's what I get for not reading. Thanks!

 

That's an age-old battle translating a nebulous source material into something with rules. We want to re-live the play patterns/stories in game form. Pure gamers willing to ignore "flavor" will almost always find a way to beat the pre-set path. Even with just the first set you're better off not playing the 3 Insecticons everyone knows as a team - you want to pull in some Deluxes that never got any love in the fiction.

 

Upgrades get scrapped when someone is KO'd, right? So you'd have to re-add a second upgrade in a slot if you wait for one component to be KO'd?

 

Correct. Which is why my gameplan will be to upgrade & combine them sooner than later, and use Thundercracker as a buffer to shield from multiple attacks. I think with a heavy blue deck it's feasible, along with those bombing runs