This week, Hasbro and Upper Deck have revealed a licensing partnership which will see them collaborating on products featuring Transformers and several more iconic Hasbro franchises. Though the primary focus does seem to be trading cards, the joint press release does mention games too. Which is pretty exciting for us here at Card Gamer!
Especially as we’re big fans of Transformers, having remained lifelong fans of the franchise. We’ve covered Transformers before, and we’re very keen to see them make a return to the tabletop in game form. Though, being fans, we’re also excited to see the new trading cards, some of which are timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the animated classic, The Transformers: The Movie.
You can see examples of two of the cards from Upper Deck’s Transformers 40th Anniversary Special Edition set above. This will be exclusively available at Target stores in the US; we don’t yet have word on international availability. This set focuses on bringing legendary Autobots and Decepticons to life on cards inspired by cinematic posters. In the cards above, you can see both Optimus Prime and Megatron on a background which features the planet-eating Unicron looming behind them.
Every box includes the full base set of cards, alongside a Stellar Systerm insert series, which features characters against a galaxy backdrop. You can see an example of one of these cards with the above Bumblebee image.
The boxes also contain parallels and cards autographed by Peter Cullen, the unmistakable, iconic voice of Optimus Prime (who, unfortunately, has just passed away. RIP Peter).
In addition to this initial product, Transformers fans can also look forward to another 40th anniversary set from Upper Deck, to be released under their Fleer brand. This will be a more standard, 100 card set with players able to buy individual packs. This will include lenticular cards that flip characters between their robot and alt modes, as well as 3D, lenticular “Instruments of Destruction” cards that highlight the bad guys of the animated movie. “From Screen to Page” cards will showcase artwork from the classic IDW comic series, “More Than Meets the Eye”, and further autograph cards signed by voice actors will also be in the set.
Of course, this is only the beginning of Upper Deck’s newly announced collaboration with Hasbro. With future products featuring the likes of Power Rangers, GI Joe, MASK, Jem and the Holograms, we’re looking forward to seeing not just the trading cards, but also the new games that may be on the way thanks to this partnership!
Check out our look at the best deckbuilding games, which features several titles based on Hasbro franchises.
