Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game
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 dimension game board (meant to) resemble a mountain top.
Release Date: 1997
Game play
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 on of his characters one space in any direction, or attack an enemy character in an adjacent space 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 four of their tech specs listed on each of the card faces (four for their beast modes and four for their robot modes.) Each stat associated with a different color. Not all characters use the same four 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 attached 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 addition 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 where 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 at any point, that player loses the game.
In case of a draw between the two characters, nothing both characters remain as they are. A player may make both characters do battle again on the following turn if they are still adjacent to one another.
Strategy is involved into maneuvering one's characters into situations where the 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
Trivia
- The artwork used for the Beast Warriors' robot modes was the same as their packaging artwork. Their beast modes' artwork was new, rendered to match their robot mode.
- 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. It is somewhat inconceivable how this would involve additional game play.
