COMBATICONS (Essence 20 Transformers)

COMBATICONS

The Decepticon Spec Ops

In a previous posting regarding the Decepticon Army, and its various branches, I mentioned how the various combiner teams were each a special forces division within Megatron’s army. This is especially true of the team known as the Combaticons. These are the elite of the elite… the team that the ‘Cons send in to make sure a job gets DONE! They have a proven track record of success, and when the Autobots hear they have stepped onto the field, they should be quaking in their boots!

Which is a darn shame, considering how they get depicted in the cartoon. In the original animated series, the Combaticons only got a few episodes to highlight their abilities in season two. And following the 1986 movie, they only appeared sparingly in season 3 episodes. And in the show, they were basically treated like little more than brutes.

Personally, the only TF franchise that I feel has represented the Combaticons fairly and accurately has been the War of Cybertron / Fall of Cybertron video game series. In this game, you got to play as the Combaticons and see their true potential as a special forces unit.

So how can we bring that same feeling to the tabletop game? How do we capture that energy in a way most others will understand?

For that, I draw inspiration from one of the first movies I ever watched that featured a special forces unit doing their thing: the 1987 science fiction film Predator! In this movie, the first act is all about an American special forces unit going into Central America and taking out a potential terrorist cell under the guise of them going in to rescue hostages. It’s a CIA operation that brings about a bunch of drama the team is not happy with! Unlike how the spec ops team was treated in Predator, the Decepticons KNOW the value of the Combaticons. They are never treated as “expendable assets” by the Decepticon Intelligence (aka Soundwave). But that’s not important to what we’re talking about.

What we want to draw attention to is using the cast of the film Predator to represent the personalities and roles of the Combaticons within their team.

ONSLAUGHT - Combaticon Leader, Tactician

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Dutch”

Decepticon Rainmaker Field Commander (Strategist) 10

Alt-Mode: Anti-Aircraft Missile Trailer

Strength 8, Speed 3

Smarts 8, Social 7

Health 7

To start, we have Onslaught. He is the team leader and a remarkable tactician. His plans are always well-thought and take numerous contingencies in mind. 

Obviously, for this role, we cast Arnold Schwarzenegger's “Dutch.” He is strong, competent, and does things his way in the field. He is respected by the top brass – in this case, Megatron – for his skills and success record.

Following in alphabetical order…

BLAST-OFF - Forward Observer, Sniper

Cast: Sonny Landham as “Billy”

Decepticon Seeker Gunner (Sharpshooter) 10

Alt-Mode: F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft

Strength 3, Speed 10

Smarts 8, Social 5

Health 3

Next is Blast-Off, the Combaticon’s forward observer. He scouts out the area ahead of the team for best means of entry and exit to and from their target. He otherwise supports the team in combat from above as an aerial sniper.

Blast-Off is aloof and aristocratic. With this sort of “above-it-all” attitude, I lean towards Billy Sole, as portrayed by Sonny Landham.

BRAWL - Heavy Weapons Specialist

Cast: Jesse Ventura as “Blain”

Decepticon Rainmaker Gunner (Cannonade) 8

Alt-Mode: Leopard-1 tank

Strength 8, Speed 4

Smarts 2, Social 5

Health 9

Brawl is big and noisy, using heavy weapons to make an impact. He brings the shock and awe. He is terribly effective at the destruction he causes.

Obviously, I think of Jesse Ventura as “Blaine” with his big minigun (‘Ol’ Painless”). While Onslaught, Blast-Off, and Vortex are making strategic hits with their weapons, Brawl (backed up by Swindle) just blasts the field with his area-effect weapons.

SWINDLE - Munitions Expert

Cast: John Fleck as “Milov” / Richard Chaves as “Poncho”

Decepticon Rainmaker Raider (Acquisitions Expert) 10

Alt-Mode: FMC XR311 combat support vehicle

Strength 5, Speed 5

Smarts 9, Social 6

Health 6

While Swindle is an excellent combatant; usually providing support to Brawl in the field, it is not his best use of skills. Swindle is a dealer. He looks to find and acquire weapons, armor, and other military assets through illegal means, While the other Combaticons are doing their post-battle sweep to look for survivors, Swindle is busy stripping the fallen enemies and their base of its weapons! He sells these on the black market to acquire additional resources for him and his team

In terms of casting, I am of two minds. Combat-wise, Swindle fills the roll of “Poncho” (Richard Chaves). However, in terms of his personality, Swindle is more like Milov (played by John Fleck) from the 1992 film “Comrades of Summer.” 

VORTEX - Aerial Combat Support / Interrogator

Cast: Shane Black as “Hawkins”

Decepticon Support Analyst (Inquisitor) 10

Alt-Mode: Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite

Strength 4, Speed 6

Smarts 9, Social 6

Health 5

Vortex styles themselves as the “face” of the team. He likes to talk… a LOT! And he likes to say really off-putting things and tell foul jokes just to see other people’s reactions. Mostly he just wants to mess with the heads of others…. Especially the aloof Blast-Off… Vortex NEEDS to make that guy crack his shell and laugh!

Vortex works for Decepticon Intelligence (Soundwave) and everybody knows it. So it keeps them a bit on-edge when he’s around. No one likes to talk freely when the government spy is sure to tell their boss what he’s heard in the barracks.

Combat-wise, Vortex supports the ground team from above, making strafing runs with his laser cannons and missile strikes. He relies on Blast-Off from his high-altitude position to tell him where the team needs support at any moment.

So yeah, I went with Shane Black as “Hawkins”... always telling his stupid “p - - sy jokes”.

Alternatively, you can go with Carl Weather's as his role of "Dillon" (you SOB!) who was the CIA operative. But Vortex is not really like that. While, yes, he does work for Decepticon Intelligence, he always puts his team -- the other Combaticons -- first. It's a must-have frame of mind to keep when out in the field. If his team can't trust Vortex, they won't support him, and vice-versa.

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As for their combiner form of Bruticus, I will be able to do more when I have the official rules in the upcoming Enigma of Combination source book.

And yes, I wish there was a sixth Combaticon, so I could fill in a role for Bill Duke (aka "Mac").