Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game

Oh, now he's the one with the mace?

The Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game was a two-player card game released in conjunction with the Beast Wars toy line and television series. It featured 24 beast cards, 72 battle cards, and a three dimensional game board that is meant to resemble a mountain top.

Release Date: 1997

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Game play

Battle in all of Earth's deadliest terrains!!

Two types of cards are included in the game; Battle Cards and Character cards. Each player starts with three characters in their home row, in their BEAST modes. Battle cards are shuffled together, and are placed face-down in a pile separate from the board. Before the game starts, players decide on how many reserve characters will be included into the game, ranging from none to all of the remaining character cards.

Each turn, a player may either play a reserve card onto their first row, move one of his characters one space in any direction, or attack an enemy character in a space adjacent to one of the character of one's team. A character is "adjacent" to another character if those two cards are side-by-side or end-to-end.

If a player's first row is fully occupied by enemy characters, that player may play his new reinforcements anywhere on the board.

Each character has six of their tech specs listed on each of the card faces (six for their beast modes and six for their robot modes.) Each stat associated with a different color. Not all characters use the same six stats, and stats may be associated with different colors from character to character. These stats are also different between a character's two modes.

When a character attacks, both players draw a card from the Battle Card pile (the attacker drawing first, the attacked second.) Each battle card is illustrated with a "diamond" of a single color, which indicates which stat one's character will use in the current battle. Battle cards are removed from play after being used.

Basic Battle cards have no additional effects.

Energon cards add an additional point to a character's stat in the battle.

Secret Weapon cards add two additional points to a character's stat in the battle.

Mutate cards cause the characters to switch mode. A character remains in whichever mode it currently is until it switches mode through the use of a Mutate card.

Whichever character loses the battle is moved back one space, and the character who wins the confrontation moves up and occupies the space the character it defeated occupied before the battle. If a losing character cannot move back due to another card already occupying the space in which it is meant to move into, that character is captured and removed from play. If a character cannot move back due to being on the edge of the board, that character is knocked off the mountain top and removed from play. If a player controls no characters on the board at any point, that player loses the game.

In case of a draw between the two characters, both characters remain as they are. Either player may make both characters do battle again on the following turn if they are still adjacent to one another.

Strategy is involved in maneuvering one's characters into situations where they are capable of retreating backwards, and forcing opponents into situations where they cannot. A portion of game play is also influenced by luck, seeing as one cannot control when one's character might transform, and one may luck out by drawing either an Energon or Secret Weapon card against a tougher opponent.

Cards

Maximals

• Airazor
• Armordillo
• B'Boom
• Cheetor
• Dinobot
• Optimus Primal
• Polar Claw
• Rattrap
• Razorbeast
• Rhinox
• Tigatron
• Wolfang

Predacons

• Blackarachnia
• Buzz Saw
• Megatron
• Iguanus
• Inferno
• Insecticon
• Scorponok
• Snapper
• Tarantulas
• Terrorsaur
• Transquito
• Waspinator

Battle Cards

• (6) Basic Battle: red
• (6) Basic Battle: orange
• (6) Basic Battle: yellow
• (6) Basic Battle: green
• (6) Basic Battle: blue
• (6) Basic Battle: violet
• (2) Energon: red
• (2) Energon: orange
• (2) Energon: yellow
• (2) Energon: green
• (2) Energon: blue
• (2) Energon: violet
• (2) Secret Weapon: red
• (2) Secret Weapon: orange
• (2) Secret Weapon: yellow
• (2) Secret Weapon: green
• (2) Secret Weapon: blue
• (2) Secret Weapon: violet
• (2) Mutate: red
• (2) Mutate: orange
• (2) Mutate: yellow
• (2) Mutate: green
• (2) Mutate: blue
• (2) Mutate: violet

Notes

• The artwork used for the Beast Warriors' robot modes was the same as their packaging artwork. Their beast modes' artwork was new, however.
• The instructions booklet of this game declares that one may use their own Beast Wars action figures (sold separately) to battle on the mountain top for even more fun! It is somewhat inconceivable how this would involve additional game play.
• Though it makes sense why most of the beast warriors' stats are different from one mode to the other, some instances seem nonsensical, such as when a character's intelligence or rank changes.

External links

• Game listing at BoardGameGeek