Chase figure

Smallest Transforming Transformers Hot Rod, packed at one per each case of 24 figures. Shown here with the no-longer-blind packaging from an eventual non-"chase" re-release

A chase figure is a toy that is released in highly limited amounts relative to the rest of an assortment, often something like "one chase figure per every X number of cases of regular product". The name comes from the assumption that collectors, in their need to "collect them all" will put in more effort than usual to "chase" down said toys. Although they are fairly common in other collectors' series, especially with the rising popularity of blind-packed collectibles in the West, chase figures are relatively rare in the Transformers toylines, often themselves limited to assortments that utilize blindpacking to varying degrees.

Of course, these definitions are fuzzy, and in some circumstances the distinction between a chase figure and a "shortpacked" figure (generally considered a toy found in every case of the assortment but typically only one per case where others are 2 or more) is a blurred, particularly if the toyline itself makes a big deal out of specific toys' rarity.

Toylines with "chase" figures

Super Collection Figure

Super Collection Figure "Cybertron Mode" Convoy, packed at just one figure per ten cases.

Main article: Super Collection Figure

MyClone

Main article: MyClone

Smallest Transforming Transformers

Main article: Smallest Transforming Transformers

Micromaster

Main article: The Transformers: Micromaster

Micron Booster

Main article: Micron Booster

BotBots

Of these three packs, only the one on the right has a "Winner's Circle" BotBot in the blindpacked bubble: Goldie Terrortwirl, who does not appear in any other package in the entire Series. The other fourteen bots in these packages can also be found in other packs in the Series.

Main article: Transformers: BotBots

As BotBots is itself modeled after the trade-encouraging blind-packed mini-collectible figures that were very popular in the mid-2010s (Shopkins being the big one), this line plays up the figures' relative rarity to the point where many of its figures can be considered "chase" toys. While buying a full case of each assortment will guarantee one of every possible figure, in most cases that's not strictly necessary: most figures in any given Series will be in two to three (an on rare occasion four!) different packages, leading to a lot of redundancy, and a "recommended minimum buy" scheme has been worked out for each Series so you can skip buying a good number of the packs but still net you at least one of every BotBot, including all the ones who only appear in a single package.

For Series 1 through 3, the supposed "chase" figures were the Lost Bots, who could only be found in the blind-packed portions of the varying packages. However, most of these were found in multiple different packs, so they don't quite count. In Series 4, they were replaced with the Winner's Circle Bots, who truly were rarer, with only one of each golden trophy Bot found in only one blindpacked section across the entire Series, with many "common" redundant BotBots showing up in the blindpacked bubbles as well. These were followed by the multicolored Oil Slicks in Series 6.