Greetings!

Based on observations we’ve made this year as organized play has taken root and we’ve been able to see how Transformers TCG performs in some larger events, we are instituting some changes to the existing floor rules.

The full, updated floor rules document is linked below (changes from the last version are in green).

But we also wanted to call out the significant changes here, so they are below, with some commentary included.

New Rules Text:

2.5 End of Match Procedure

If the match time limit is reached before a winner is determined, the player whose turn it is finishes their turn (including untapping all characters at the end of the turn if all characters are tapped at this point). Play then continues as normal until a player wins the game or all characters are tapped at the end of a turn.

If the game is incomplete at the end of the additional time, resolve Tiebreak procedures.

If a judge assigned a time extension (because of a long ruling, deck check, or other reason), the end-of-match procedure does not begin until the end of the time extension.

2.5.1 Tiebreaker Procedure

In the Transformers TCG, matches cannot end in an unintentional draw. At the end of the additional time, if the players have won an equal number of games, each player counts the amount of health remaining on their characters on the battlefield. The player with the higher remaining health wins the match. If the remaining health is tied, each player counts the total number of stars of their characters on the battlefield. The player with the higher total stars wins the match. If the total stars are tied, each player flips the top two cards of their deck. The player who flips the most white battle icons wins. If still tied, players repeat flipping two cards from the top of their deck until the tie is broken. If a player’s deck needs to be shuffled, that player shuffles cards from their scrap pile and any cards flipped during the tiebreaker procedure. If the tiebreaker procedure can’t break the tie (for example, if all cards in all decks have exactly one white battle icon), flip a coin to determine the winner.

If a player wins a game in extra time, bringing the match score to a tie, players present their teams and their decks (without sideboarding) as though they were about to start another game, and then resolve the tiebreaker procedure.

Notes From Scott Van Essen:

We are making several changes to the Transformers TCG floor rules based on our observations of player experiences during the Energon Qualifier season.

We are changing the number of turns played after time is called. Previously, there was one extra turn of play after turn 0 (the turn during which time was called). In our new rules, after turn 0 is complete (including untaps if appropriate), play continues until all characters are tapped. This change gives equal impact to wide teams compared to tall teams by alleviating the imbalance that can occur when the time cutoff arbitrarily falls across our turn progression. In our new procedure, every team is able to utilize its full capacity.



We are eliminating unintentional draws. You can still intentionally draw with your opponent, but because our game has a single primary axis that it fights along, we are able to more objectively judge which player was ahead when time was called.



We have changed the tiebreaker procedure to better evaluate which player is ahead on board. The first tiebreaker is now remaining health on the battlefield. This both better represents which player is closer to having their team knocked out and avoids some oddities that damage counting created with cards like Battlemasters and some combiners. The second tiebreaker is stars remaining on the battlefield. The thinking is that if your health is equal, the stronger character is more likely to win. The third tiebreaker is now flipping for white battle icons instead of orange. We had initially chosen orange to reward aggression over defense, but we feel that white battle icons are more universally represented in decks, they lead to healthier and more exciting play patterns, and this ensures that players are more likely to feel like they have a chance in the unlikely event that the game needs to get to this level of tiebreaker.

6.4 Cards from Outside the Game

When a card refers to “a Character card from outside the game”, those cards from outside the game must be in the possession of the player at the beginning of the match.

When a card refers to “a Battle card from outside the game”, those cards from outside the game must be in player’s sideboard at the time of using the effect.

Character cards from outside of the game do not count as part of players’ teams, decks, and sideboards, but must be referenced by other cards that are part of a player’s team, deck, or sideboard

At the end of each game, any Character cards from outside the game that were introduced during play must be removed from players’ teams, decks, and sideboards. At the end of each game any Battle cards from outside the game that were introduced during play are returned to players’ sideboards.

Character cards from outside the game must be legal within the event format.

Battle cards from outside the game come from the sideboard and adhere to all sideboard rules (see section 6.3).

As promised, here is a link to the full, updated rules document.

Thanks for reading!

The Transformers TCG Team