Transformers Trading Card Game: Rise of the Combiners

Expansion for Transformers Trading Card Game

Transformers Trading Card Game: Rise of the Combiners Rulebook

Table of Contents

Rise of the Combiners FAQ

Introduction, or… "What's an FAQ?"

FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions." It's a collection of questions players might have about Rise of the Combiners characters and battle cards. While this document covers a lot of ground, it doesn't cover everything. Not all Rise of the Combiners cards are listed here.

Combiners

It would be hard to have a set called Rise of the Combiners without… the Combiners!

Combiners are teams of characters that join in a third mode called Combiner mode. Most teams have a corresponding battle card called an Enigma that combines the team under the right circumstances. One Combiner in this set (Dreadwing - Sky Destroyer) has a different way of combining.

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.

The Enigmas

Q: If I use an Enigma to combine my characters into the Combiner, can I then use the card's first ability to get its effect? A: No. You always follow the instructions on the card in order. If you don't already have the specified Combiner on the battlefield, the first ability won't do anything.

Triple Changers

Triple Changers are characters with three modes: bot mode and two alt modes (labeled 1 and 2). They start in alt mode 1. When a Triple Changer flips, it can flip to either of the two other modes.

Q: If a card specifically says to flip a Triple Changer to alt mode, what happens? A: If it's in bot mode, you can flip it to alt mode 1 or alt mode 2. If it's in one of its alt modes, you can either not flip it or flip it to the other alt mode.

Green Battle Icon

This set introduces a new battle icon: green! Here's how it works. After a battle in which you flipped at least one card with a green battle icon, you may swap a card in your hand with one of the cards you flipped with a green battle icon. The card you swap from your hand will be scrapped at the end of the turn, along with all the other cards you played or flipped during the turn.

Q: I flipped 2 cards with green battle icons. Can I return both of them to my hand by swapping two cards? A: No. Only one card with a green battle icon per battle.

Q: If both players flip a card with a green battle icon, who decides first? A: The player whose turn it is goes first, then the other player.

Brave

Brave is a new keyword ability that helps some characters protect the rest of their team. When choosing which enemy to attack, you must choose one with brave if possible.

Q: My opponent has two characters with brave that I could attack. What happens? A: You choose one of them to attack.

Q: My opponent has one tapped character and one untapped character with brave. Do I have to attack the one with brave? A: No, and in fact you can't even if you want to. Brave doesn't override the rules for attacking tapped/untapped characters. If your opponent has any tapped characters you must attack one of them. If a tapped character had brave, you would have to attack that one if you could.

Stealth

Stealth is a new keyword ability that lets some characters strike from the shadows without fear of reprisal. When choosing which enemy to attack, you must attack a character without stealth if able.

Q: If my opponent has one tapped character with stealth, and the rest of their creatures are untapped, which character can I attack? A: Stealth doesn't override the rules for attacking tapped/untapped characters. Since the tapped character is the only one that can be attacked, that's where your attack is headed.

Q: What happens if a character has brave and stealth? A: Brave and stealth essentially cancel each other out. You must attack that character if able, and you must attack other characters if able. This basically means you must attack a character you can attack, the same as if those abilities weren't there.

Plan

Plan is a new keyword that helps set up devastating battles. When instructed to plan, you may put up to the specified number of cards from your hand back on top of your deck. If you put more than one card on top of your deck this way, you can put them there in any order.

Character Cards

Air Raid - Fearless flyer (bot mode)

Q: If Air Raid has an Upgrade that does damage to an enemy, will Air Raid's ability trigger and let me scrap an Upgrade from that enemy? A: No, unless the Upgrade specifically says that the upgraded character does the damage. Air Raid must do the damage for the ability to trigger.

Alpha Bravo - Airborne Special Ops

Q: What happens if the 1 damage is enough to KO the attacking Plane? A: Well, it doesn't sound like it was a great attack for your opponent. No battle cards will be flipped, and the attack will end.

Blackwing - Aerial Attacker (bot mode)

Dreadwind - Air Defense (bot mode)

Q: If both of these characters are in my KO area, will their abilities let me combine them into Dreadwing, Sky Destroyer? A: No. Even though each one has an ability that will find the other in the KO area, the abilities work only from the battlefield.

Blurr - Fastest Bot in the Galaxy (bot mode)

Q: If my opponent has multiple untapped characters when I use Blurr's ability, which one does it attack? A: You choose, just as you would for any battle.

Q: Can I play any cards in before it attacks the untapped character? A: No. The second attack starts right after the first one finishes.

Q: Do I have to attack a second time, or can I just leave Blurr untapped? A: You do. Note that if there isn't an untapped enemy, the ability doesn't trigger and Blurr won't untap.

Decepticon Venin - Insecticon Tyrant (alt mode)

Q: What happens if this is KO'd and my opponent has fewer than 2 cards in hand? A: If they have 1 card in hand, that card is scrapped. If they have an empty hand, nothing happens.

Q: What happens if Venin and another of my Insecticons are KO'd at the same time? A: In that case, Venin's ability will trigger twice. Your opponent will scrap 4 cards from their hand.

Dinobot Slug - Battering Ram (alt mode)

Q: If Slug attacks or defends more than once in a turn, will his ability work in each battle? A: Yes. The first white battle icon you flip for each battle will result in 3 extra cards rather than 2.

Dinobot Swoop - Bombardier (bot mode)

Q: If the card I return to my hand also has orange battle icons, will those count toward Swoop's attack? A: Yes. You don't use Swoop's ability until after the battle is finished.

Q: If I flip more than one card with a green battle icon, can I return one to my hand using Swoop's ability and another using the normal rules for green battle icons? A: Yes. You'll need to swap a card from your hand for the other card, as normal.

Dirge - Doombringer (alt mode)

Q: After Dirge's ability resolves, does the bonus change if the number of characters in my opponent's KO area changes later in the turn? A: No. you count the number of characters in your opponent's KO area when the ability resolves. After that, even if you KO another character, the attack bonus won't change.

Dirge - Doombringer (bot mode)

Q: What happens if I play Steamroll and choose Dirge? A: If you attack with Dirge and it does more than enough attack damage to KO the defender, Steamroll's ability will work, but Dirge's ability won't trigger. If Dirge does exactly enough damage to KO the defender, Steamroll won't do anything.

Divebomb - Aerial Assault (bot mode)

Q: If the card isn't an Action, does it stay revealed? A: No, although you are allowed to look at it and read it. Once you've done so, the card goes back to your opponent's hand hidden.

Grapple - Autobot Architect

Q: Does it matter how many cards I discard this way? A: No. There just needs to be exactly four different colors among the battle icons on those cards.

Grimlock - Powerful Commander

Q: Does this mean I get a card from my collection? Do I have to own the card? A: Yes, you get a character that's not in the current game and add it to your KO area.

Q: Can I choose a Dinobot that has the same name as one of my characters? A: Yes. Twinsies!

Menasor - Menacing Colossus (combiner mode)

Q: If I play an Action that lets me play another Action, such as Confidence, does that Action count as the extra one that Menasor lets me play? A: No. If another card lets you play an Action, that won't count for Menasor. You can play that Action and then another one for Menasor.

Motormaster - Stunticon Leader (alt mode)

Q: What happens if my opponent's card tries to move damage counters onto one of my other characters? A: Motormaster's ability won't affect any card that tries to move damage counters from one character to another. That doesn't count as dealing damage. (The damage was already dealt. It's just moving.)

Q: Does Motormaster's ability have any effect on my own cards? A: No. Your cards can still do damage to your other characters. (Although they hope you have a good reason for doing that.)

Motormaster - Stunticon Leader (bot mode)

Q: Can I choose an untapped Stunticon to defend, even if I have other tapped Stunticons? A: Yes. You can choose any Stunticon to defend, ignoring abilities like brave and stealth, and ignoring which characters are tapped and untapped.

Offroad - All-Terrain Soldier

Q: What happens if the 1 damage is enough to KO the attacking Car? A: Well, it doesn't sound like it was a great attack for your opponent. No battle cards will be flipped, and the attack will end.

Optimus Maximus - Ultimate Defender (combiner mode)

Q: Does the triggered ability happen before battle cards are flipped? A: Yes. You'll get to plan and set up your flip. The ability happens just after Optimus Maximus is chosen as the attacker or as the defender.

Optimus Prime - Gleaming Commander (alt mode)

Q: Does this mean I get characters from my collection? Do I have to own the card? A: Yes, you get up to 3 Sentinels that aren't in the current game and add them to your KO area.

Q: Can I choose Sentinels that have the same name as one of my characters? A: The 3 Sentinels you bring into the game must all be different, but they can be the same as characters that were on your starting team.

Predacon Rampage - Savage Hunter (bot mode)

Q: What happens if Rampage and an enemy are KO'd at the same time? A: In that case, Rampage's ability will trigger and 1 damage will be repaired from each of your Predacons. Note that Rampage will be in the KO area at this time and won't have any damage repaired.

Razorclaw - Predacon Leader (bot mode)

Q: When I flip Razorclaw to bot mode, can he still attack tapped characters? A: Yes.

Q: Can Razorclaw attack an untapped character that has stealth if there are other characters he could attack? A: Yes. Abilities like stealth and brave still function. You just treat untapped characters as though they were tapped when determining what Razorclaw can attack.

Silverbolt - Aerialbot Leader (alt mode)

Q: If Silverbolt attacks while in alt mode, how is attack damage calculated? A: Silverbolt's ability will trigger after you've flipped battle cards (assuming you flip the required battle icons). He'll be in bot mode when it's time to calculate attack damage, so you'll use his base 3 attack. Note that if he flips to bot mode, and his bot mode ability KO's the defender, Silverbolt won't do attack damage.

Skywarp - Teleporting Seeker (bot mode)

Q: If I play a battle card with no battle icons, and then later in the turn I flip a battle card that has no battle icons, will Skywarp's ability trigger again? A: No. The "once per turn" applies to playing and flipping, not each individually.

Q: If I attack with another character and flip a battle card with no battle icons, will Skywarp's ability trigger? A: Yes. This could matter if Skywarp gets to attack later in the turn.

Starscream - Decepticon King (bot mode)

Q: What happens if I flip more than one Decepticon Crown in the same battle? A: Starscream—sorry—King Starscream—'s ability will trigger once for each Decepticon Crown you flip. Hit 2 of them and get +6 to your attack and defense for the turn.

Thrust - Supersonic Interceptor (alt mode)

Q: Can I use Thrust's ability if he's tapped when I attack with one of my other characters? A: No. You can't tap Thrust if he's already tapped.

Torox - Fueler (alt mode)

Q: Can damage counters still be moved from enemy characters? A: Yes. If an effect moves a damage counter without saying the damage is repaired, that effect will still work.

Volcanicus - Fiery Champion (combiner mode)

Q: What happens if the damage done by Volcanicus's ability KO's the defender? A: In that case, the attack ends, although any other abilities that trigger when Volcanicus attacks will happen. Volcanicus won't do attack damage and won't untap.

Warpath - Confident Sharpshooter (alt mode)

Q: If my opponent has more than 1 card in their scrap pile with two blue battle icons, can they choose to do 1 damage to each of two of their characters, or is all the damage done to the same character? A: They can choose individually for each card.

Battle Cards

Aerialbot Formation

Q: If the upgraded character is tapped, does it give itself a +1 attack bonus? A: No. The upgraded character doesn't count, only your other tapped Aerialbots.

Ancient Wisdom

Q: What happens if I scrap two Actions or two Upgrades? A: In that case, you can return one card to your hand. The other card remains scrapped.

Q: What happens if I play this card with 2 cards left in my deck? A: Whenever a card tells you to scrap (or reveal) cards from the top of your deck and then do something else with those cards, those cards aren't included in the reshuffle. So you'll scrap the top two cards, shuffle all other cards in your scrap pile into your deck, then return one or both scrapped cards to your hand, depending on what they are.

Q: What happens if I play this card with 1 card left in my deck? A: In that case, you'll scrap the one card and shuffle all other cards in your scrap pile into your deck. Then scrap the new top card of your deck, meaning you've scrapped a total of two cards. Then return one or both scrapped cards to your hand, depending on what they are.

Q: What happens to a scrapped card that I don't return to my hand? A: It stays in the scrap pile.

Q: If I scrap Unleash Potential and return it to my hand, can I then play it? A: Yes. You follow the instructions of Ancient Wisdom in the order written.

Attack Drone

Q: If I have a character upgraded with more than one Attack Drone and I play another Weapon, what happens? A: All the Attack Drones in the character's weapon slot are scrapped.

Bumpers

Q: What happens if a card tries to move damage counters to the upgraded character? A: That effect is ignored. The damage counters stay where they are. They aren't repaired. If the card trying to move the damage counters has other instructions, those are still followed if possible.

Combat Commands

Q: If I have a Sentinel in my KO area that's in alt mode, can I flip it to bot mode? A: No. Combat Commands works only on Sentinels in your KO area in alt mode.

Confidence

Q: Does the Action I play have to be one of the cards I drew? A: No. You can play any Action in your hand after you scrap 2 cards from it.

Q: What happens if I have no other cards in my hand when I play Confidence? A: You'll draw 2 cards and them immediately scrap them. You won't be able to play an Action because your hand will be empty.

Cooling Vents

Q: Can I put this on an undamaged Ranged character or a character that isn't Ranged? A: Yes. You'll ignore the repair ability though.

Defensive Driving

Q: What happens if two effects are trying to modify the damage a character takes? A: In cases like that, the player whose character it is can choose which effect to apply. Then see if the other effect(s) still apply. Keep applying these effects until none apply. Each effect can apply to the same damage only once.

Electrified Spikes

Q: If I flip four orange battle icons, does it deal 2 damage? A: No. The ability does a maximum of 1 damage, no matter how many orange battle icons you flip.

Q: What happens if the 1 damage KO's the attacker? A: In that case, no damage is done to the defender.

Enemy Combat Analysis

Q: If a character is in a mode that has no stars printed on it, does it have 0 stars? A: No. A character has the same number of stars no matter what mode it's in.

Energized Field

Q: If I flip two orange battle icons, does it deal 2 damage? A: No. The ability does a maximum of 1 damage, no matter how many orange battle icons you flip.

Erratic Lightning

Q: Can I put this on an enemy character to lower its defense? A: No. You can put Upgrades on your characters only.

Q: If I play this on a character with 0 defense, and then later something gives it +1 defense, what will its total defense be? A: 0. Erratic Lightning won't drop your character's defense below 0, but the -1 applies again once your character's defense is raised.

Field Communicator

Q: What happens if I put this on a Specialist when there's only 1 card left in my deck? A: In that case, you'll scrap that card. Then you'll shuffle all the other cards in your scrap pile into your deck. Then you may play the card you scrapped. If you don't, it will stay in your scrap pile.

Focus Fire

Q: Do I count the Focus Fire I'm playing? A: Yes. The first one gives one of your characters bold 1.

Q: If I play a second Focus Fire, can I give the same character bold 1 twice? A: Yes. You can give one character bold 1 twice (which is just like giving it bold 2), or you can give two separate characters bold 1.

Fog of War

Q: Who scraps cards from their hand first? A: Actually, you each scrap cards at the same time. Each player should choose the cards they're going to scrap and set them aside without revealing them. Once both players are ready, they turn them face up and put them in their scrap pile.

Inferno Breath

Q: Can I play this if I have no untapped characters with 5 stars or more? A: No. If you can't follow the instructions on the left side of the arrow on an Action, you can't play the Action.

Intelligence Mission

Q: Can I play this if I have no untapped Specialists with 5 stars or more? A: No. If you can't follow the instructions on the left side of the arrow on an Action, you can't play the Action.

Leap of Faith

Q: What happens if I play Leap of Faith with only 1 card left in my deck? A: First, you'll scrap that card. Then you'll shuffle all the other cards in your scrap pile into your deck. Then you may play the card you scrapped. If you don't, it will stay in your scrap pile. Then scrap the new top card of your deck and you may play it.

Mounted Missiles

Q: Can I put Mounted Missiles into a Weapon slot? A: Yes. It can go into an Armor or Utility slot, but it doesn't have to.

Q: If I play Mounted Missiles on a character, do I have to choose which slot it's going in? A: Yes. If you want it in the Armor slot, put it to the right of the character, where an Armor would normally go. If you want it in the Utility slot, put it below the character, where a Utility would normally go. Once Mounted Missiles is in a slot, it can't move to another slot. This means that if you put it into a character's Armor slot, you'd have to scrap Mounted Missiles if later you wanted to play an Armor on it.

Press the Advantage

Q: Can I play this if I don't have any Autobots or my opponent doesn't have any Decepticons just to get one of the effects? A: Yes.

Q: Let's say I play this and choose my opponent's Decepticon with 1 defense. Later in the turn, it gets +2 defense. What will its total defense be? A: 1. Press the Advantage won't drop the Decepticon's defense below 0, but the -2 applies again once the Decepticon's defense is raised.

Recon System

Q: Let's say I flip 3 battle cards (the normal 2 + 1 for Recon System) and there's a white battle icon there. Do I scrap one for Recon System's effect immediately or do I flip the 2 extra cards? A: Flip the extra cards first, then choose one of the cards you flipped and scrap it.

Q: If I put Recon System on Optimus Prime, Battlefield Legend (bot mode), can I scrap an Action that I flipped and then play it? A: No. By the time you use Prime's ability to play one of the Action cards, it will be in the scrap pile and not among the cards you flipped.

Scrounge

Q: If I play Scrounge with only 1 card left in my deck and it's an Upgrade, can I play it? A: Yes. You'll shuffle all the other cards in your scrap pile and then you may play the Upgrade.

Spare Parts

Q: What happens if an opponent's card tries to scrap a Weapon and an Armor from the upgraded character at the same time? Can Spare Parts save both of them? A: No, Spare Parts can save only one other Upgrade. You choose whether it saves the Weapon or the Armor. Spare Parts and the other Upgrade will be scrapped.

Steamroll

Q: Can you give me an example of how this card works? A: Sure. Let's say your opponent has a character with 12 health and 9 damage counters on it. You attack with the chosen character and would do 6 damage to it. That's 3 more than you need to KO the defender, so your opponent chooses one of their other characters and puts 3 damage counters on it.

Q: What if your opponent puts those 3 damage counters on a character with 10 health and 9 damage counters already on it? Do the extra damage counters on go to a third character? A: No. The "Steamroll damage" only carries over to one other character. That 10-health character would end up in the KO area with 10 damage counters on it. The extra 2 damage counters are lost.

Q: Does the damage counters my opponent puts on another character count as attack damage? A: Yes. The damage counters represent attack damage done by the chosen character.

Swindled

Q: Does the Upgrade I play have to be one of the cards I drew? A: No. You can play any Upgrade in your hand after you scrap 2 cards from it.

Q: What happens if I have no other cards in my hand when I play Confidence? A: You'll draw 2 cards and them immediately scrap them. You won't be able to play an Upgrade because your hand will be empty.

Tackle

Q: Can I play this if I have no untapped Melee characters? A: No. If you can't follow the instructions on the left side of the arrow on an Action, you can't play the Action.

Tech Research

Q: Tech Research… doesn't do anything? A: Not by itself, but you'll need to play it to play some Upgrades in the set.

Tooth and Claw

Q: If I want to play a Weapon on the upgraded character, do I choose which slot it goes in? A: Yes. If you want the Weapon in its Armor slot, put it to the right of Megatron, where an Armor would normally go. Once the Weapon is in a slot, it can't move to another slot. This means that if you put a Weapon into its Armor slot, you'd have to scrap that Weapon if later you wanted to play an Armor on it.

Q: If I have a Weapon in the upgraded character's Armor slot and Tooth and Claw is removed from the character, what happens to the Weapon? A: It stays where it is. Once an Upgrade is legally put into a slot, removing what made it legal to put it there doesn't matter.

Unleash Potential

Q: Does this mean I get a card from my collection? Do I have to own the card? A: Yes, you get a card that's not in the current game and add it to your hand. For the rest of the game, you'll have one more battle card.

Q: Can I get a card if I'm already playing with 3 of that card in my deck? A: Yes. The 3-card and 25-star limits apply only to your starting deck and team. You can bring in a fourth card, even if it would put you over the 25-star limit.

Vandalize

Q: If I choose Weapons and my opponent has characters with Weapons in either Utility or Armor slots, are those Weapons scrapped? A: Yes. It only matters what kind of Upgrade it is, not what slot it's in.