Preview | Shock Factors
Hello everyone, it's Azyrine this time with a preview article for the Alpha Trion Protocols. ATP-2 is underway and it looks to provide players with many interesting new cards. I have recently won the October Alpha Trion Open Titan One format with a Jetfire and Jazz line-up, and we are currently in the midst of the November Alpha Trion Open.
As those who have gone up against Jetfire with his new ATP-1 stratagem, I Don't Believe In Destiny, you would know how annoying it is to not being able to scrap all Autobots' armor and utilities. Disarm has been seeing a return in play though apart from that there are limited answers to remove Jetfire's upgrades.
Our first preview is a battle card that answers the problem well enough, allowing you to Take (Jetfire) By Surprise.
On first glance, this card goes well with Sergeant Kup and the Wreckers. If Sergeant Kup is in alt mode, you can boost a Wrecker's damage and then put an enemy upgrade on the top of its owner's deck. You can then flip Sergeant Kup to body mode to scrap another upgrade (if you can pay the cost).
Now back to the Jetfire problem. Putting an enemy Upgrade on top of its owner's deck bypasses scrapping while allowing you to choose the pip of your opponent's first flip for potentially more damage done.
What if you don't want to take your opponent by surprise? What if you don't like having orange pips in your deck? Well, you can always opt to Catch (them) Off-Guard instead.
Here's the blue pip option for those seeking it. What's interesting about it is that it puts your enemy's upgrade on the bottom of the deck instead of the top of it, or the scrap pile. Are there more cards in ATP-2 that interact with having cards on the bottom of the deck?
Overall based on wotc cards alone, these 2 battle cards would be great against an opponent running Cosmos or Nemesis Prime as it stacks their deck just that little bit more, which may cause them to miss the crucial trigger.
What other combinations do you have in mind to use these for/against? Leave a comment below, and don't forget to follow Team PTSD on Facebook for more Transformers TCG content.
'Til All Are One, Azyrine out!