Decepticons are a fearless faction that want total domination and conquer the whole Universe, they are brutal and have the best warriors; Megatron/Galvatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave, Shockwave, Constructicons, Combacticons, Predacons, Stunticons, Terrorcons, Seacons, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Cyclonus, Scourge with his Armada, the Insecticons, Runabout, Runamuck, Pounce, Wingspan, The Headmasters, Targetmasters, Scorponok, Triypticon. They have a huge stockpile of Energon and Megatron keeps saying he is going to build the ultimate weapon and conquer the universe. With so many resources and lethal troops, why couldn't he achieve his goal? If for example a general has full of resources and an elite army under him and knowing the enemy is lacking resources, it's an easy win.
It's simple: while there are more Decepticons, most of them are both less powerful and much dumber than the average Autobot. Not that they're weak and stupid, it's just that the Autobots are better. I mean, even the most powerful Decepticon, Trypticon, is nearly always beaten into submission by Metroplex, easily. And if you think Unicron is a Decepticon, well, all you've gotta do is pop the Matrix and that guy is DEAD.
I think anyone not in the Decepticon High Command are either dumbasses who thought joining the Decpeticons was a good idea then literal freedom fighters, Frankenstein experiments gone wrong, or too drunk on their power levels to actually put in the effort. At least in G1 and even Bumblebee it was like this. IDW1 had an neat idea with this; most of Megatron's men were gladiators, and some were thinned out through trial by combat or sent on the other side of the galaxy under new leadership. New leadership means differing levels of competency due to how their commanders operate.
I thought there were more Autobots. At least based on the posters showing all the toys each season...
Even if you take away their superior(average)firepower, they can all fly. Realistically it's the most ridiculous mismatch ever. The Deceptions would easily defeat the Autobots whose only advantages are numbers and teamwork. Autobots may have been portrayed as the unbeatable heroes, but the Deceptions would defeat them soundly. Combat jets versus sports cars, no contest. It's the otherway around. The Deceptions are greatly outnumbered from the jump. Makes sense as they were specialized military troops. The Autobots(Prime withstanding)were never built for war. I won't argue that on average they aren't as smart as the Autobots, but their combat altmodes and firepower more than make up the deficit.
In G1, there are six basic types of Decepticons: 1) Leaders with grandiose plans (Megatron, Marvel Shockwave, Marvel Scorponok, Marvel Ratbat) 2) the efficient quiet types (Onslaught, Blast Off, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Scrapper, Hook, what cartoon Shockwave was probably intended to be) 3) brutal thugs (Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Motormaster, Drag Strip, Bonecrusher, 5/6 of the Seekers in the cartoon and comics, Rumble and Frenzy, Brawl, most combiners) 4) maniacs (Wildrider, cartoon Insecticons, Mixmaster, Vortex) 5) traitors trying to overthrow the current leader (Marvel Shockwave when not in command, Starscream, Blitzwing and Astrotrain in "Triple Takeover") 6) poor schmucks you just feel sorry for (Long Haul, Dead End, Breakdown, Scavenger) Of these, only the efficient quiet types are even remotely successful in what they set out to do the majority of the time. An army primarily composed of traitors, thugs, maniacs, losers, and overconfident leaders is not a recipe for success, even if they're better armed. Furthermore, Decepticons don't generally trust or like one another, and their infighting and tendency to backstab one another further lowers their chances of success. In short, their personalities defeat them.
Ah, true. Then... how do the Decepticons always lose? It never really seems to fail that they'll get their butts kicked.
What continuity are you referring to? In the G1 toon, Decepticons don't have the strongest warriors. They don't have the equivalent of the Dinobots, Devastator isn't as strong as Omega Supreme, Predaking is often bested by Skylynx, the scramble city combiners are evenly matched, Megatron is on par or slightly weaker than Optimus Prime. Sometimes they temporarily gain the upper hand, sometimes they are in disarray, but they aren't consistently shown as an overwhelmingly powerful compared to the Autobots.
OK when talking numbers the Autobots have the Decepticons gossly outnumbered, in the toy isle. To "fix" this they animators, got creative.
I like to think of the Decepticons as Cybertron’s military and the Autobots as its civilians. Now imagine the 300+ million civilians in the US compared to a million or less enlisted military. This is what I imagine the numbers on each side would be on Cybertron. The Decepticons may be able to rule through fear, but if the civilians rose up against the military, the military would be hilariously outnumbered. This is how I imagine the eventual Autobot victory- the general population overthrows a military dictatorship.
