Aerial Extermination Mini-Con Team

This article is about the Unicron-allied Mini-Cons. For the turned-to-evil version of the Star Saber Mini-Cons, see Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada).

They'll "Jetstream Attack" your ass.

The Aerial Extermination Mini-Con Team are servants of the chaos-bringer Unicron, who can combine to form the Vorpal Saber, a twisted, evil, but less powerful copy of the legendary Star Saber sword. They obey Nemesis Prime, accompanying him on his planet-destroying missions. They're more than capable on their own, however, and are known for their precise bombings on their targets.

The Aerial Extermination Mini-Con Team is composed of...

• Jackknife the Boeing Sonic Cruiser jet and sword-tip.
• Maverick the concept-shuttle and sword-hilt.
• Skull Buster the Concorde jet and middle of the sword-blade.

Fiction

Linkage

Nemesis Prime wielded the Vorpal Sword as he travelled planets to get energy for the Doomstone. Linkage Part 11

Armada cartoon

The Vorpal Saber sword was held by Nemesis Prime as he battled Transformers on a mysterious planet. Puppet

Toys

Legends of the Microns

• Air Assault Micron (Mini-Con Team, 2003)

• ID number: MM-17
• Release date: August 14, 2003

Released in the sixth wave of Legend of the Microns product, the Takara Air Assault Team (Jack, Mad, and Shade) is almost identical to the Hasbro versions of the team of the same name, being a redeco of the Air Defense Team. However, this set uses clear plastic with just a hint of purple to it in place of the Hasbro versions' opaque off-white.

The three aircraft of the team combine to form the Dark Saber sword, which can be held by any figure that uses 5 mm post-holes for accessories. As they use clear-plastic as their main color, this lets the sword work with the light-up fists of Super Base Optimus Prime and Takara's release of Hot Shot.

These molds were later retooled to make the Energon Saber Mini-Con Team, Blizzard Intervention Mini-Con Team, and the Sky Terror Mini-Con Team.

• Rampage & Air Assault Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)

• ID number: MS-08
• Release date: August 14, 2003

This team was also available in a multi-pack with Wheeljack and Wind Sheer.

All of the toys in the set are identical to their original releases.

Notes

• The packaging of Hasbro's Air Assault team depicted the Mini-Cons as having clear parts like the Aerial Extermination team, as opposed to the opaque grey parts they actually had.
• The Aerial Extermination Mini-Cons began life as the Takara release of the Air Assault Mini-Con Team. However, whereas American fiction like the Armada comic presented the Air Assault Mini-Cons as the same individuals as the Air Defense Team, the Armada cartoon featured the team's combined sword form as the personal weapon of Nemesis Prime, distinct from the Air Defense Team, further backed up by the bio details on the Takara release of the toy. Years later, in order to cleanly draw a line between the two interpretations of the team, the Transformers Collectors' Club used its series of online Mini-Con profiles to retroactively give new identities to the Mini-Cons who made up Nemesis Prime's sword, thus truly establishing the Aerial Extermination Mini-Cons as their own characters distinct from the Air Defense/Assault Team.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Air Assault Micron (エアアサルトマイクロン Ea Asaruto Maikuron)