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Transformers featured in Magic: The Gathering Brothers’ War set

Starscream and shout.

The upcoming Brothers’ War expansion set for Magic: The Gathering will feature cards themed around the Transformers animated show.

Included as part of The Brothers’ War expansion, the Transformer cards for Magic: The Gathering was revealed during the Hasbro Pulse Convention, which took place between September 30th and October 1st. The 15 double-sided cards included in the expansion will feature various characters from the beloved 1980s animated series, Transformers, with every card also releasing in both standard frame and “Shattered Glass” frame versions - which contains unique artwork.

The characters found in The Brothers’ War set include leader of the Autobots faction Optimus Prime – who is able to bolster a creature of his choice, granting them a plus one to their health and attack – Decepticon bot Starscream, as well as Soundwave, Slicer, Goldbug and Flamewar.

Each of the cards contained in the trading card game set are double-sided, with the back-side of each card depicting the bots’ More Than Meets the Eye abilities, which enable them to transform into the vehicles that they’re known for. For instance, the back-side of Optimus Prime’s card shows the character in his signature truck-form, whilst Flamewar transforms into a slick motorcycle.

As well as depicting different artwork, the back-sides of each Transformer card features a new description and abilities for players to utilise. For instance, in his truck-form, Optimus Prime can bolster two creatures – a more powerful version of the standard bolster – and grant them the trample ability, which allows them to deal more damage with their attacks.

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Whilst past IP crossover sets have been restricted to Secret Lair drops - which are limited edition sets of cards that players can only get their hands on for a brief period of time and often feature special alternative artwork unique to that set – in the Universes Beyond series, the Transformers cards will be released as part of the larger expansion The Brothers’ War Expansion. The Universes Beyond series contains various crossover IP sets released for Magic: The Gathering that don’t fit into the core Magic: The Gathering universe, with other examples being sets based on The Lord of the Rings franchise and Warhammer 40,000.

The Transformers cards will be scattered randomly through booster packs and bundles for The Brothers’ War expansion, which is set to be released on November 18, with a three-pack of booster packs available for £14 ($15).

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Alex Meehan avatar
Alex Meehan: After writing for Kotaku UK, Waypoint and Official Xbox Magazine, Alex became a member of the Dicebreaker editorial family. Having been producing news, features, previews and opinion pieces for Dicebreaker for the past three years, Alex has had plenty of opportunity to indulge in her love of meaty strategy board games and gothic RPGS. Besides writing, Alex appears in Dicebreaker’s D&D actual play series Storybreakers and haunts the occasional stream on the Dicebreaker YouTube channel.
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