Introduction, or… “What’s an FAQ?”
FAQ stands for “Frequently Asked Questions.” It’s a collection of questions players might have about War for Cybertron: Siege II characters and battle cards. While this document covers a lot of ground, it doesn’t cover everything. Not all War for Cybertron: Siege II cards are listed here.
Rules Roundup
As Siege II was about to debut, we asked for rules questions from the community. If someone submitted a question that we felt wasn’t adequately covered by this FAQ or the new Expanded Rules set, it’s been included in a section at the end of this article.
Bounty
Q: What are Bounty abilities?
A: There are two parts to a Bounty ability: a trigger condition that tells you to “use this card’s Bounty ability” and the Bounty ability itself that gives you a reward. In this set, all the conditions are the same: when the character does enough attack damage to KO an enemy. The rewards are different on each card.
Q: If a character does more than enough attack damage to KO an enemy, does that count?
A: Yes. The character can do more attack damage than is necessary to KO the enemy and you’ll still get the reward.
Safeguard
Q: What is Safeguard?
A: Safeguard is a new keyword ability that limits how much damage can be done to a character that’s undamaged.
Q: Does Safeguard apply to all damage or just attack damage?
A: All damage, including damage done by Actions or other abilities.
Q: Does Safeguard work if something tries to move a damage counter onto the character while it’s undamaged?
A: No. Moving damage counters doesn’t count as damaging the character, although after the damage counter is moved, the character will be damaged and Safeguard will no longer work. Sneaky!
Q: Can Safeguard apply to the same character more than once?
A: Yes. Safeguard works as long as the character is currently undamaged, even if it was previously damaged in the game. If you repair that damage, Safeguard can cushion another blow.
Revenge
Q: What are Revenge abilities?
A: A Revenge ability is a triggered ability that triggers when the character with the ability is KO’d. There aren’t that many of them. They’re a Decepticon thing. The Decepticons must be up to something.
Battle Masters & Weaponizers
Battle Masters and Weaponizers are characters that start in bot mode and can be played in their Upgrade mode after they are KO’d. They don’t have alt modes and can’t flip while they are on the battlefield.
In this set, there are two Weaponizers, each made up of two cards. They start assembled together in bot mode. When one of these Weaponizers is KO’d, it splits into two different Upgrades that you can then play. These Upgrades can be played on separate characters or onto the same character.
After a Battle Master or Weaponizer Upgrade would leave the battlefield, it’s put into your KO area instead.
For more information on Battle Masters and Weaponizers, please see the War for Cybertron: Siege I FAQ.
Battle Cards in the KO Area
Q: Several cards in this set cause battle cards to be put into the KO area. What does that mean?
A: Those cards are essentially out of the game, except if something specifically puts them somewhere else. They aren’t scrapped, so they won’t be reshuffled into your deck when your deck is empty.
Individual Battle Cards
4-Wheel Drive
Q: If I play this on a Truck, and later in the turn it flips so it’s no longer a Truck, what happens to its attack?
A: If the character stops being a Truck, 4-Wheel Drive stops applying, and its base attack will revert to whatever is printed on the card.
Q: How do other attack bonuses work with 4-Wheel Drive?
A: Changing a character’s base attack is just like changing the number that’s printed on the card. From there, all other bonuses apply as normal. For example, if you have a Truck with 3 attack upgraded with Indestructible Sword (that gives it +2 attack), its attack will be 9 (7 from 4-Wheel Drive +2 from the upgrade). If it stops being a Truck that turn, its attack will be 5 (base 3 attack +2 from the upgrade).
Backfire
Q: If the damage done by Backfire is enough to KO the attacker, does the attacker still do attack damage?
A: No. You reveal Backfire before battle cards are flipped. In fact, if Backfire KO’s the attacker, the attack will end and no one flips battle cards.
Multi-Missile Pod
Q: Let’s say I have three Multi-Missile Pods and I decide to FIRE ALL THE MISSILES! What happens?
A: Although you can totally FIRE ALL THE MISSILES, you still do it one at a time. So first you scrap one that will do 1 damage. Then you scrap the second to do 2 damage. Finally you scrap the last one to do 3 damage. 6 damage total.
Battlefield Incursion
Q: Can I play Battlefield Incursion if there are no characters under my Trypticon?
A: You can. It won’t have any effect itself, but other cards may have effects that depend on you playing Actions.
Blast Suit
Q: Let’s say I have a character with 10 health, 8 damage counters, and a Blast Suit. I also have Heroic Resolve face down. My opponent attacks, and my character would take 3 attack damage. What happens?
A: If there are multiple abilities trying to modify how much attack damage the upgraded character would take, the controller of that character decides what order to apply them in. In this example, you could choose either of the following:
- Reveal Heroic Resolve first. Instead of taking 3 attack damage, your character is now taking 1 attack damage (enough to drop it to 1 health). Now Blast Suit applies, and the 1 attack damage becomes 0 attack damage, which is half of 1 rounded down. Your character ends up taking no attack damage and Blast Suit is scrapped.
- Apply Blast Suit first. Instead of taking 3 attack damage, your character now is taking 1 attack damage, which is half of 3 rounded down. This isn’t enough attack damage to KO your character, so Heroic Resolve stays face down.
Composite Armor
Q: If I flip at least one black battle icon during the battle, when does Composite Armor do 1 damage to the attacker?
A: The damage is done after the battle, just after you scrap Composite Armor.
Q: If I didn’t flip a black battle icon during the battle, do I still have to scrap Composite Armor?
A: Yes.
Contract Contingency
Q: Can I choose a character that doesn’t have a Bounty ability just to get the attack bonus?
A: Yes. The last ability won’t do anything, but you’ll still get the +2 attack.
Coup
Q: If the character that was KO’d has was one of my characters with a Bounty ability, can I use that ability?
A: No. That character is no longer on the battlefield when Coup’s ability is uses.
Crowbar
Q: If Crowbar is put onto a character during a battle after it attacks, is it scrapped after the battle?
A: No. The ability triggers only if the character is holding the Crowbar as it attacks. If Crowbar appears after that point (say because of Metal Detector), it can stay for at least another attack.
Crude Club
Q: Does Crude Club count?
A: Yes. Even with no other Upgrades, the upgraded character will get +1 attack from just the Crude Club.
Daring Escape
Q: Are the cards revealed when they’re put into the KO area?
A: Yes. They will be face up in the KO area. Either player can look at them. (Don’t grab your opponent’s cards without permission though.)
Decipher
Q: If my opponent has Secret Actions in their hand, scrap pile, or even in their KO area (say because of Daring Escape), do those count?
A: No. Daring Escape counts only the Secret Actions in your opponent’s played area.
Defensive Configuration
Q: Say the upgraded character has 2 Armors and Defensive Configuration is scrapped. What happens?
A: In most cases, this means the character won’t have enough Armor slots to keep both Armors. If it’s your character, you choose which one the character keeps. The other one is scrapped.
Dual Wield
Q: At the end of the turn the character will lose the extra Weapon slot. Which Weapon does the character keep?
A: If it’s your character, you choose which one the character keeps. The other one is scrapped.
Energy Transfer
Q: How does Energy Transfer interact with cards like Toolbox?
A: Moving damage counters doesn’t count as repairing or damaging either character.
Q: Can I choose to move no damage counters?
A: Yes. You can even play Energy Transfer if you have only one character or if none of your characters have damage counters on them. It won’t have any effect itself, but other cards may have effects that depend on you playing Actions, and you’ll get the orange battle icon back in your deck.
Even the Score
Q: How does Even the Score interact with effects that modify how much attack damage a character takes, such as Blast Suit.
A: Even the Score doesn’t directly modify how much attack damage is being done to the character (note it doesn’t use “instead”), so it waits for effects like Blast Suit to apply, then sees if the character is taking more than enough attack damage to be KO’d.
Q: Is the damage done to the attacker attack damage?
A: No. Only damage done by the attacker counts as attack damage. Damage done by other cards, such as the damage done by Even the Score, isn’t attack damage.
Guarded Posture
Q: Say a character with base attack 0 has Guarded Posture, and then I put a Primary Laser (a Weapon that gives it +2 attack) on it. What is the character’s attack?
A: It will have 1 attack. Although a character’s attack can’t go below 0, the -1 applies again once your character’s attack is raised.
Head-On Collision
Q: If the chosen character attacks in alt mode but then somehow flips to a different mode in the middle of the attack, does it keep the +3 attack bonus?
A: No. The +3 attack bonus applies as long as the character is attacking and in alt mode. As soon as one of those isn’t true, the bonus stops applying. However, if the character returns to alt mode while it’s still attacking, the bonus would apply again.
Heroic Resolve
Q: How does Heroic Resolve with other effects that try to modify how much attack damage is done to a character?
A: If there are multiple abilities trying to modify how much attack damage the upgraded character would take, the controller of that character decides what order to apply them in. See the entry for Blast Suit for an example.
Hijack
Jack: Hi!
A: Hello.
Q: After I reveal Hijack, do I draw the card from my opponent’s deck they were going to draw?
A: No. You always draw from your deck. Nothing happens to the card your opponent was going to draw. It just stays on top of their deck.
Q: Let’s say my opponent plays Pep Talk, an Action that says “Draw 2 cards.” What happens?
A: Assuming they drew a card at the start of their turn, you would reveal Hijack. Then instead them drawing two cards, you’d draw two cards. Hijack’s effect lasts for the rest of the turn, so if they tried to draw more cards, you’d draw them again.
Increased Durability
Q: Let’s say the upgraded character normally has 10 health. It gets upgraded with Increased Durability, then gets 12 damage counters. If Increased Durability is scrapped, what happens?
A: Any time the game notices a character with a number of damage counters equal to or greater than its current health, the character is KO’d. So your character is KO’d. Sorry.
Indestructible Sword
Q: If Indestructible Sword is on a character that gets KO’d, do I return the Sword to my hand?
A: Yes. If a character is KO’d, all upgrades it had are scrapped at the same time. The game sees that the upgrade was scrapped from a character.
Involuntary Promotion
Q: What happens if the character I bring back from the KO area ends up with enough damage counters to KO it?
A: Both characters will end up KO’d, but the character that started in the KO area will be on the battlefield for a short time. For example, any ability that triggers when Upgrades are moved onto that character will still happen. If that character has any revenge abilities, those abilities will also happen.
Jam Signals
Q: Say my opponent has an ability that triggers when they play an Action. They play a blue action, but I reveal Jam Signals to scrap it with no effect. Does their other ability trigger?
A: Yes. Although the blue action itself will have no effect, your opponent still played an action, so the other ability will still work.
Kinetic Intensifier Whip
Q: Can this ability trigger more than once in the same turn?
A: Yes. If you’re showing off and have some way to flip the upgraded character multiple times in the same turn, the ability will add Bold 2 each time.
Lucky Vest
Q: How does Lucky Vest interact with other effects that modify the amount of attack damage a character can take?
A: Lucky Vest doesn’t directly modify how much attack damage is being done to the character (note it doesn’t use “instead”), so it waits for effects like Blast Suit to apply, then sees if the character is taking more than 4 attack damage. If it is, the character takes 4 attack damage.
Minor Medic Kit
Q: Let’s say the upgraded character normally has 10 health. It gets upgraded with Minor Medic Kit, then gets 10 damage counters. If Minor Medic Kit is scrapped, what happens?
A: Any time the game notices a character with a number of damage counters equal to or greater than its current health, the character is KO’d. So your character is KO’d. Really sorry.
Opportune Offensive / Opportune Repairs
Q: Does it matter if the Mercenary on my team got KO’d before I played Opportune Offensive or Opportune Repairs?
A: Nope. As long as it was on your starting team, you can play it.
Overheat
Q: If Overheat is revealed, do effects like Energized Field’s still work?
A: Yes. With Overheat, orange battle icons don’t add to the attack value, but they were still flipped, so any other effects that care about flipping orange battle icons will still work. The same is true for black battle icons.
Overwhelming Advantage
Q: Say I have 3 Decepticons on the battlefield when I play Overwhelming Advantage. Can I put just 2 cards from my hand on top of my deck?
A: Yes. Each Plan is optional, so you could anywhere from 0 to 3 cards from your hand on top of your deck.
Q: Do I have to choose one of my characters when I play Overwhelming Advantage?
A: Yes. Even if you have two characters with the right upgrades and you plan to attack with both of them during your turn, you choose which character will be affected when you play Overwhelming Advantage.
Q: If I meet all the conditions listed in the second ability (WOOHOO!), and the 15 damage is enough to KO the defender, will my opponent flip battle cards?
A: No. As soon as the defender is KO’d, the attack ends.
Pincer Movement
Q: Say I play Pincer Movement, but the first attack ends up KOing the defender. Do I still get to attack again?
A: No. If you can’t attack the same enemy with a different Decepticon, you don’t get the extra attack.
Relentless Invasion
Q: Can I still attack with another character that turn?
A: Yes. The characters put onto the battlefield will all attack that turn (one at a time), but you can attack with a character as normal. That could be Trypticon or a different character that was already on the battlefield.
Q: What happens if one of the characters I put onto the battlefield is somehow KO’d before the turn ends? Is it still put under Trypticon?
A: No. If the character gets KO’d, it will just stay in the KO area at end of turn.
Q: Can I play this card if only one or two of the characters are in the KO area?
A: Yes. You’ll put as many of the three characters onto the battlefield as you can. For example, let’s say you have Full-Tilt on the battlefield, Wipe-Out in the KO area, and Brunt under Trypticon. Playing Relentless Invasion will put Wipe-Out onto the battlefield. It will attack this turn and then be put back under Trypticon. Full-Tilt doesn’t have to attack, and at the end of the turn it will stay on the battlefield.
Reprocess
Q: Any character?
A: Yep. Yours or your opponent’s. Even if there’s no damage to repair.
Shoulder Holster
Q: Say the upgraded character has 2 Weapons and Shoulder Holster is scrapped. What happens?
A: In most cases, this means the character won’t have enough Weapon slots to keep both Weapons. If it’s your character, you choose which one the character keeps. The other one is scrapped.
Step Forward
Q: Once I reveal Step Forward and choose one of my Autobots to get Brave, can my opponent change which of their characters is attacking?
A: No. The choice of attacker is locked in before Step Forward is revealed.
Sturdy Javelin
Q: If Sturdy Javelin is on a ranged character, can I do 2 damage to any enemy, or must it be the defender?
A: Nope, you can throw the Javelin in any direction to hit any enemy.
Valuable Contract
Q: Do I have to show my opponent which card I’m putting into my hand?
A: Yes. Your opponent is allowed to see the card and verify it has exactly 1 star.
Q: Say I upgrade a character that already has a Bounty ability with Valuable Contract. If it does enough attack damage to an enemy to KO it, what happens?
A: In that case, you’ll get to use both Bounty abilities in either order. You can’t use the character’s Bounty ability twice or Valuable Contract’s Bounty ability twice though.
Combiners
Originally introduced in Rise of the Combiners, Combiners are teams of characters that join in a third mode called combiner mode. There are two teams of Combiners in this set: three cards that comprise Omega Supreme and two cards that comprise Raider Skytread. Unlike previous Combiners that used a separate battle card called an Enigma to combine, Omega Supreme (Tank), Omega Supreme (Spaceship), Skytread (Tank), Skytread (Plane) all have their own abilities that let their teams combine.
When a character is combined, it starts untapped and it gets all the damage counters from the characters that formed it. It can keep upgrades from those characters based on its upgrade slots. Unless the Combiner says differently, it will have 1 Weapon slot, 1 Utility slot, and 1 Armor slot like most characters. If there are too many Upgrades to fit into a slot, you can keep as many as you can fit and the rest are scrapped.
A character in combiner mode is a single character, even though it’s made up of multiple cards. When it attacks, the whole thing becomes tapped. If it’s KO’d (and somehow you haven’t lost the game), it stays in combiner mode in the KO area.
A character in combiner mode can’t flip. Ignore any instruction to flip it. Also, a character in combiner mode can’t “break apart” into its individual cards.
Omega Supreme (Spaceship) // Transport • City Defender (alt mode)
Omega Supreme (Tank) // Transport • City Defender (alt mode)
Q: I noticed that Omega Supreme (Base) doesn’t have an ability to combine into Captain Omega Supreme. What happens if both the Spaceship and Tank are KO’d before I get the chance to combine?
A: The combine abilities don’t work from the KO area, so in that case your Base would be left standing alone. Unless you have a way to bring the Spaceship or the Tank back onto the battlefield, you won’t be able to combine them into Captain Omega Supreme. Good luck!
Q: The Spaceship and the Tank have very similar abilities to combine into Captain Omega Supreme. What happens if my opponent reshuffles their deck and both abilities would apply?
A: Captain Omega Supreme can only be combined once. The redundant ability is ignored.
Skytread (Plane) // Special Ops • Soldier (alt mode)
Skytread (Tank) // Special Ops • Soldier (alt mode)
Q: What happens if my last two characters are those two and they’re both KO’d at the same time. Dpo their Revenge abilities work and keep me in the game?
A: Unfortunately, no. Once your last character is KO’d, you lose the game. Fortunately, having them both KO’d at the same time is pretty unusual.
Q: Both Revenge abilities put cards from my hand under Raider Skytread. What does this mean?
A: The cards under Raider Skytread are basically out of play for a while. They’re not considered on the battlefield, even if that’s where they are physically, so none of their abilities apply. If one of those cards is an Upgrade, that Upgrade isn’t on Raider Skytread, and so on. They’re also not in your scrap pile, so they won’t be shuffled into your deck when it’s empty. They can return to your hand using Raider Skytread’s last ability.
Other Character Cards (and Battle Master Upgrades)
Captain Astrotrain // Space Force • Transport (all modes)
Q: Each of Captain Astrotrain’s abilities triggers if he has a certain number of Upgrades. What happens if the ability triggers, but then his Upgrades are scrapped during the attack?
A: Once the ability triggers, it doesn’t matter how many Upgrades Captain Astrotrain has. He’ll keep the specified bonus until end of turn.
Captain Jetfire // Engineering • Air Guardian (alt mode)
Q: What happens if I have fewer than 5 cards in my deck when I flip Captain Jetfire to alt mode?
A: In that case you’ll reveal as many cards as you can from your deck, then—leaving those cards aside—shuffle your scrap pile to rebuild your deck. Then reveal more cards so a total of 5 are revealed. The revealed cards that aren’t Upgrades will be only cards in your scrap pile when you’re done.
Lockdown // Bounty Hunter (bot mode)
Q: Lockdown’s Bounty ability puts a card from the bottom of my deck under himself. What does it mean when a card is under Lockdown?
A: The cards under Lockdown are basically out of play for a while. They’re not considered on the battlefield, even if that’s where they are physically, so none of their abilities apply. If one of those cards is an Upgrade, that Upgrade isn’t on Lockdown, and so on. They’re also not in your scrap pile, so they won’t be shuffled into your deck when it’s empty. They’re just used to keep track of the bonuses from Lockdown’s other abilities.
Q: Can I look at the card as it’s put under Lockdown?
A: No. The card is face-down, so neither player can look at it while it’s under Lockdown.
Q: What happens to the cards under Lockdown if he is KO’d?
A: They’re put into your scrap pile.
Lord Megatron // Conqueror of Cybertron (alt mode)
Q: What happens if my opponent doesn’t have enough cards in their deck to scrap?
A: In that case, your opponent scraps all the cards in their deck. Then, setting those cards aside, they shuffle all the other cards in their scrap pile into their deck. Then they scrap enough cards from their reformed deck to scrap the total number of cards they were supposed to. In most cases, however many cards they were supposed to scrap will be the number of cards in their scrap pile after Megatron’s ability is finished. Sorry, after Lord Megatron’s ability is finished.
Lord Megatron // Conqueror of Cybertron (bot mode)
Q: What does “reshuffles their deck” mean?
A: Reshuffling your deck is when you shuffle your scrap pile into your deck because your deck is empty. If you shuffle your deck for another reason, that’s not “reshuffling your deck.” That’s just shuffling your deck.
Q: Although it’s unlikely, let’s say my opponent’s deck runs out of cards, but there are no cards in their scrap pile. What happens?
A: If there are no cards in their scrap pile, they can’t reshuffle their deck, so Megatron . . . sorry, Lord Megatron’s ability won’t trigger.
Sergeant Six-Gun // Artillery • Soldier
Q: If I have a Weapon in my hand that gives an attack bonus because of an ability in its text box, will that bonus count for Six-Gun’s ability?
A: No. You can scrap a Weapon only if it has a + number in the orange stats box.
MXT-S2A Guided Missile Launcher
Q: This Weapon can be in an Armor or Utility slot. When I play it, do I have to say which slot it’s in?
A: Yes. Usually, players indicate which slot an Upgrade is in by placing it on a particular side of the character: Weapons on the left, Armors on the right, and Utilities below. Once the Upgrade is in a slot, it can’t be moved to another slot to free up space.
Q: If MXT-S2A Guided Missile Launcher is put into an Armor slot, does it then count as an Armor?
A: No. It’s always a Weapon, no matter what slot it’s in.
Private Fixit // Rescue Patrol • Medic (bot mode)
Q: What happens if a player has fewer than 4 cards in hand and the tap ability is used?
A: Each player draw 4 cards, no matter how many cards they scrapped.
Private Hot Rod // Infantry • Soldier (alt mode)
Q: What does “reshuffle your deck” mean?
A: Reshuffling your deck is when you shuffle your scrap pile into your deck because your deck is empty. If you shuffle your deck for another reason, that’s not “reshuffling your deck.” That’s just shuffling your deck.
Q: Hot Rod’s ability puts a card from the bottom of my deck under himself. What does that mean?
A: The card under Hot Rod is basically out of play for a while. It’s not considered on the battlefield, even though that’s where it is physically, so none of its abilities apply. If it’s an Upgrade, that Upgrade isn’t on Hot Rod, and so on. It’s also not in your scrap pile, so it won’t be shuffled into your deck when it’s empty. The card is used by its bot mode ability.
Private Seawatch // Rescue Patrol • Search & Rescue (alt mode)
Q: If I flip at least two white battle icons while one of my Rescue Patrols is battling, and the 3 additional battle cards I flip have two more white battle icons, do I flip 3 more battle cards again?
A: No. Private Seawatch’s last ability can trigger only once each attack.
Private Sidetrack // Battle Patrol • Demolitions (bot mode)
Q: What happens if I use the tap ability and have fewer than 4 cards in my deck?
A: In that case, scrap all the cards in their deck. Then, setting those cards aside, shuffle all the other cards in your scrap pile into your deck. Then scrap enough cards from your reformed deck to scrap a total of 4 cards. The cards that aren’t Upgrades will be only cards in your scrap pile when you’re done.
Private Turbo Board // Air Command • Evac (bot mode)
Q: My opponent played a Secret Action. Does that count as one of the 2 cards they can play?
A: Yes. Note that if they end up revealing a Secret Action during their turn, that’s not playing a card.
Private Vanguard // Ground Command • Advance Guard (bot mode)
Q: How does Private Vanguard’s ability interact with effects that modify how much attack damage a character takes, such as Blast Suit.
A: That ability doesn’t directly modify how much attack damage is being done to the character (note it doesn’t use “instead”), so it waits for effects like Blast Suit to apply, then sees if the character is taking more than 5 attack damage. If it is, the character takes 5 attack damage.
Raider Caliburst // Air Force • Weapons (bot mode)
Q: Let’s say my opponent plays Pep Talk, an Action that says “Draw 2 cards.” What happens?
A: Assuming they drew a card at the start of their turn, Raider Caliburst’s ability would trigger twice. Your opponent could choose the same character for each one or they could choose a different character each time.
Sergeant Barricade // Infantry • Enforcer (bot mode)
Q: Sergeant Barricade’s ability puts a flipped card under himself instead of into your scrap pile. What does it mean when a card is under Sergeant Barricade?
A: The card under Sergeant Barricade is basically out of play for a bit (at least, until you play it using the alt ode ability). While the card is under Sergeant Barricade, it’s not considered on the battlefield, even if that’s where it is physically, so none of its abilities apply. If the card is an Upgrade, that Upgrade isn’t on Sergeant Barricade, and so on. It’s also not in your scrap pile, so it won’t be shuffled into your deck when it’s empty.
Sergeant Mirage // Special Ops • Spy (alt mode)
Q: Is the card I reveal the card (or the first card) I draw?
A: Yes. Whether it has a blue battle icon or not, it will the card you next draw.
Sergeant Mirage // Special Ops • Spy (bot mode)
Q: Several cards in this set put battle cards under characters on the battlefield. If my opponent does this, and one of those cards is a Secret Action, will Sergeant Mirage’s ability see it and give him Tough 2?
A: No. Sergeant Mirage’s ability looks only in the played area. Secret Actions that somehow end up in your opponent’s KO area, scrap pile, or under a character on the battlefield don’t count.
Sergeant Springer // Special Ops • Aerial Defense (bot mode)
Q: Let’s say I have exactly 7 cards in my hand when I flip Sergeant Springer to bot mode. Its ability triggers and I play an Action. Now I only have 6 cards in hand. Do I still get to play an Upgrade?
A: Yes. Once the ability triggers, you’ll do everything it says. The trigger condition doesn’t recheck in the middle.
Trypticon
In each display box of War for Cybertron: Siege II, you’ll find four additional characters:
- Trypticon // Assault Base
- Brunt // Artillery Drone
- Full-Tilt // Base Recon
- Wipeout // Devoted Minion
If you choose Trypticon as your starting team, put the other three character cards under him. Don’t worry—your team is still legal, as the stars of the other three characters don’t count. Trypticon acts just like any other character. It can attack and be attacked. Characters under Trypticon aren’t considered on the battlefield, so their abilities don’t work and they can’t attack.
The battle card Battlefield Incursion allows you to deploy characters from under Trypticon to the battlefield. These characters enter the battlefield untapped and in alt mode. They can attack the same turn they are deployed if you choose.
If Brunt, Full-Tilt, or Wipeout are KO’d, they go to the KO area and not back under Trypticon. However, there are ways to retrieve them from the KO area to continue the fight. If Trypticon is KO’d, but any of the characters you deployed are still on the battlefield, the game continues.
Brunt // Artillery Drone
Q: Does Brunt have a bot mode?
A: No. As a drone, Brunt has only alt mode. Brunt can’t be flipped, so ignore any instruction that tells you to.
Rules Roundup
Optimus Prime - Battlefield Legend flips completely for his attack & chooses Leap of Faith as his Action. The first card Leap of Faith reveals is Grenade Launcher. If I attach it to Optimus Prime Battlefield Legend, does he immediately get the +4 Attack boost?
Yes.
Optimus Prime - Battlefield Legend is equipped with Power Punch, flips completely for his attack, and chooses Leap of Faith as his Action. The first card Leap of Faith reveals is W-5 Gyro Blaster. If OPBL attaches this, do I keep all the flips revealed from Power Punch? If so, does that mean my opponent now cannot flip more than 2 cards for their defense now that W-5 Gyro Blaster has been attached?
No, W-5 Gyro Blaster’s ability only triggers if it’s attached when the character attacks or defends.
If I have a character with Bumpers attached, and I play Involuntary Promotion on a car in my KO area, does the returned character receive the Bumpers in time to prevent the damage counters from being moved?
The damage and upgrades are moved at the same time. Bumpers’ effect won’t stop the damage counters from being moved.
Regarding Pincer, will it allow the follow-up attack to bypass normal rule processes? For example, I attack with Razorclaw in Bot Mode against an untapped unit. Can my other Decepticon attack this untapped unit? What about bypassing Brave?
If you can’t legally choose another Decepticon as the attacker, and the same character as the defender, you don’t get the extra attack. In other words, you can’t just ignore Brave or other rules.
Can I KO a Battle Master with Involuntary Promotion if I have no bots in my KO area?
Yes. If you have no characters in KO or the characters in your KO area have too many stars, you can use Involuntary Promotion to KO one of your characters.
Regarding Involuntary Promotion trigger timings, when I shift the upgrade and damage counters to the returned character. Do I get to choose to shift the damage counters first followed by the upgrades since they are both my triggers?
No part of Involuntary Promotion is a triggered ability. The instructions are all followed in order and the damage counters and upgrades are moved at the same time.
If I equip Crash Landing on an Air Strike Patrol bot that is buffed by Tailwind's +2 Attack, does it trigger Crash Landing with the extra Attack?
Crash Landing will do damage based on whatever the plane’s attack was when it was last on the battlefield. Bonuses like Tailwind’s will still apply because the plane is KO’d during the battle.
Nightbird stealing cards from an opponent's scrap pile: Can I keep them after playing them?
No. Any action you play from your opponent’s scrap pile goes into your played area, and eventually back to their scrap pile. (Cards always go to their owner’s hand, deck, KO area, and scrap pile).
Revenge on Ratbat and Bounty on Deadlock both trigger upon Ratbat's KO, but which triggers first?
Bounty abilities and Revenge abilities will usually trigger at the same time. Bounty abilities are usually handled first because they belong to the active player.
Can Omega Supreme be used in a manner like the Sentinels where you can have a section of his base mode in your KO area at the start of the game?
No. Characters on your team always start on the battlefield unless specifically stated otherwise.
How does Pincer Movement work? If I have three untapped Decepticons and play Pincer Movement, do I get to attack the same enemy with each of my Decepticons in sequence, or do I only get one extra attack total. If I can get multiple attacks this way, and I untap one of the previously attacking Decepticons (such as via Anticipation Engine revealing Ready for Action), can that Decepticon attack again?
Pincer Movement gives you only one additional attack. After you play it, the next time one of your Decepticons attacks an enemy this turn, you’ll get the extra attack after the current attack.
So, let's say we have Omega Supreme (Base), (Spaceship), and (Tank) verses Kickback, Shrapnel, Barrage and Ransack. No side has any KO bots. All bots on Omega's team is tapped. Shrapnel and Barrage are tapped. It's the Insecticons turn with Kickback and Ransack untapped and ready to attack. They have 4 battlecards in their deck. They send Kickback to attack Omega Supreme (Tank). Kickback needs to flip at least 8 Battlecards, so 4 Battlecards are first flipped, causing their deck to be reshuffled. Captain Omega Supreme then formed. Kickback continues his same attack now onto Captain Omega Supreme, flipping at least 4 more battlecards. The player with Omega NOW gets to flip for defending. Since Captain Omega Supreme is now untapped, Ransack is no longer able to attack, thus ending the turn of the Insecticons.
My question is, is the sequence of events that I have listed correct, or did I miss something?
Well don’t just leave us hanging! What cards were flipped? Who won?
(Yes, everything you listed is correct).
A question on Calliburst? After the initial first draw, if my opponent draws three cards, do they take three damage all at once or do they take one, then one, then one again, for a total of three.
One then one then one again. Now say that five times fast.
When you use Sabotaged Armaments, and your opponent has a Power Punch on the attacker, do they get the Bold before Sabotaged Armaments activates?
No. This all happens before Battle Cards are flipped.
Speaking of which, what happens when a character upgraded with Anticipation Engine swings into a Sabotaged Armaments?
Anticipation Engine and Sabotaged Armaments will both trigger at the same time. The attacker will resolve Anticipation Engine first, then the defender will resolve Sabotaged Armaments.
Does Involuntary Promotion count as "repairing" the resurrected character? In other words, could Torox or Ratchet benefit from its play?
No. The character appears on the Battlefield fully repaired. It’s not repaired while on the Battlefield.
If I’m playing Metroplex and I get KO’d in round one, can I sideboard in Trypticon?
Your character sideboard is allowed 1 character with 19 stars or fewer. Trypticon is too big for this and is wondering why you’re not just running him on your team to begin with.
What happens when I want to Focus 2 but I have last card in my deck?
Utter calamity! Look at the top card, set it aside, reshuffle your scrap pile into your deck, look at the new top card, then decide what to do with the two cards you’ve looked at. Now, look at me. I am the captain now.
For Omega Supreme, it says once your opponent shuffles their deck you combine. If I swing with one of Omega's pieces, but mid-attack my opponent shuffles their deck, do I combine and stop my attack because the character who triggered the attack isn't and my opponent has another character untapped? Along the same lines, when someone attacks into an Omega Supreme piece and they shuffle their deck. When you go to combine, does the attack still go through to the now combined Omega Supreme? Or does the attack get canceled as the original target isn't on the field anymore?
If a character attacks or defends, and in the middle of the attack, combines into another character, the new combined character continues to attack or defend. Note that the combined character is untapped and will remain untapped for the duration of the attack.
If I play Dual Wield on a mercenary who has no weapons on him originally, do I have to discard that weapon at the end of turn, or because I still have an open weapon slot can I keep that weapon?
You do not! You can keep it in the original Weapon slot.
Does Daring Escape continually check the whole turn or does it only check when the card is played?
It only checks one time when the card is played, not the whole turn.
If I play Brainstorm into 2 Overwhelming Advantages and meet all the requirements, can I do 15 damage to 2 different enemies? Or must they target the same character?
Each Overwhelming Advantage is separate, so they can do damage to different characters.
If I have a Cassette in Bot Mode that is chosen as a defender but flip a Swerve does it fizzle the attack when the character flips to Cassette due to the Stealth on that side as long as another target is legal to attack? Or not, since it's already been chosen as the defender?
Once an attack is legally declared, the defender picking up Stealth won’t matter.
If I flip a character who lets me play a card for free such as Detritus - Arms Dealer who allows me to play a Black Pip card, can I play a Smoke Cloak this way to give Detritus Tough 1 for that battle, or does it apply after flips have ready happened?
Swerve happens before Battle Cards are flipped, so if you reveal Swerve to flip Detritus in this way and play Smoke Cloak, the Tough 1 would be in place before Battle Cards are flipped..
I play Brainstorm, then Ancient Wisdom and System Reboot. My new hand is Multi-Mission Gear, Brainstorm, and 2 Unleashed Potential. Can I play Mutli-Mission Gear, then Brainstorm, and then both Unleashed Potentials?
Let’s walk through this whole play. You play Brainstorm and your first action is Ancient Wisdom. Ancient Wisdom has you scrap the top two cards of your deck and put an Action and/or Upgrade from among the scrapped cards into your hand. At this point, you can play Unleash Potential, if it’s in your hand.
Let’s say you do. You get a card with 1 star from outside the game and put it into your hand. This may not be a great idea, because you then play the second action from Brainstorm, which is System Reboot. You scrap your hand (including that fancy star card you just snagged) and draw 4 cards.
But instead, let’s say you don’t play Unleash Potential. That brings you to the end of Ancient Wisdom and now you System Reboot just as above.
In either case, your new hand is Multi-Mission Gear, Brainstorm, and 2 Unleash Potentials. You’ve already played an Action this turn, so we’re guessing you’ll now play Multi-Mission Gear. This allows you to play an Action such as Brainstorm. Brainstorm will allow you to play 2 Unleash Potentials. You played Ancient Wisdom earlier in your turn, so you can get two 1-star cards from outside the game.