War for Cybertron Trilogy (toyline)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "War for Cybertron" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see War for Cybertron (disambiguation). |
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The War for Cybertron Trilogy (aka Transformers Generations War for Cybertron) is Hasbro's designation for a segment of the Transformers: Generations line that launched in the holiday season of 2018. The line aims to serve as a back-to-basics approach to Transformers, with a focus on media accuracy, interchangeable weaponry, articulation, and a (mostly) consistent robot mode scale.
The Trilogy follows the Autobots and Decepticons across the galaxy, starting with the launching of the Ark in Siege, journeying through the stars in Earthrise, and finally battling alongside their Maximal and Predacon descendants in Kingdom. On top of that, there are many War for Cybertron Trilogy toys that do not belong to any one of these sub-lines, being branded as simply part of the overall Trilogy.
| War for Cybertron Trilogy: | |||||||||||
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| War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon) (2020–2021) |
War for Cybertron Trilogy (toyline) (2019–present) | ||||||||||
| Siege (2019–2020) |
Earthrise (2020-2021) |
Kingdom (2021–2022) | |||||||||
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Toys
Siege (2018-2019)
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Set in the days before the launch of the Ark in its escape from Cybertron, Siege would set the stage for the entire Trilogy, establishing play patterns that would (mostly) carry forward into the following lines. The primary theme is figures that transform into "Cybertronian" vehicles (ostensibly, at least, many look a LOT like normal Earth vehicles), with extensive use of 5 mm posts/holes to heavily kit them out with weapons, dubbed the "C.O.M.B.A.T. System". These weapons come not just in the form or normal accessories, but smaller Battle Masters who turn into weapons, Micromasters who also have secondary weapon modes and can combine into larger weapons, and the larger "Weaponizer" bots who transform from vehicle to robot and disassemble into multiple weapons and gear. 3 mm pegs are also used on the ends of blaster barrels and scattered on the sculpts of Deluxe and larger toys to accommodate "Fire Blast" parts; clear-plastic add-ons made to look like blaster fire, impacts, flames and more, mostly coming with the Battle Masters, but some larger toys came with larger effects.
Notably, robot mode scale plays a much larger role in this series than in the past, with characters sticking fairly close to their relative heights in the original cartoon. Most toys in the line also have "battle damage" paint on them somewhere, though the amount of fake-scuffing varies from figure to figure: Mirage is near-pristine, while Soundwave and Starscream have tons of it.
Siege fell on the franchise's 35th anniversary, with a short subline to accompany the occasion. There are also numerous Selects toys under the Siege branding as well.
Earthrise (2020-2021)
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Though it kept virtually all of the play patterns and price points of Siege, the follow-up series Earthrise is somewhat less consistent in its theme, as it mixes characters with "modern" Earth alt-modes with those who maintained Cybertronian alt-modes (notably characters introduced in and after The Transformers: The Movie), and the battle damage decoes being far rarer. It is set during the journey to Earth, with many other planets on the way pointed out in the clip-and-save pieces of the "Transformers Universe Map" printed on the interior of every package, which can combine into one great big map.
While the features of the "C.O.M.B.A.T. System" are still around, it's been joined by the "A.I.R. Lock System", in which the new Battle Masters transform into shields/ramps/roads with interlocking connector points. These connector points attach to the "Modulator" Transformers who turn into Micromaster stations, who have (mostly) taken the place of the Weaponizers, though they maintain the "disassemble into lots of parts to attach to other figures" angle. Even larger toys with tertiary base modes have A.I.R. Lock connections as well, letting you build "cities" how you like.
Earthrise also adds two "new" factions to the conflict, with the vicious Mercenaries and the Quintessons now joining the fray, including the first-ever toy of the five-faced Generation 1 Quintesson Judge!
Earthrise carries over the Selects exclusives to a wider scale, but also features the Cybertronian Villains and Galactic Odyssey Collection sublines.
Kingdom (2021-2022)
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Kingdom adds two more factions to the war, this time bringing in the Maximals and Predacons from Beast Wars, for its 25th anniversary. The new beast-bot toys primarily draw from the cast of the Beast Wars cartoon, their toys based heavily on their in-show appearances from the first season, transforming into organic animals. The Weaponizers and Modulators have been replaced with the "Fossilizers", skeletal beasts with robotic connective structures who break apart into weapons and armor for other toys using "F.O.S.S.I.L. Technology" (effectively the same thing as the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, just bonier).
The Battle Masters and Micromasters did not continue into Kingdom, being replaced with "Core Class" characters... effectively the sub-Deluxe "Legends" found in previous Generations lines. The "Fire Blast" effects similarly have been removed from the line, but most figures are still compatible with them, keeping the pegs at the ends of blaster barrels, and non-beast bots having a few effects pegs on their bodies.
At this point, the inter-character scale kind of breaks down a bit. The Beast Wars characters maintain rough scale to each other as they were depicted in the cartoon, and even though few attempts are made, they're obviously out of scale next to the largely-to-scale-with-each-other Generation 1 bots, who generally should tower over most of the Maximals and Predacons. It's a concession for coolness, so it's forgivable. Adding to the oddity are Core Class versions of bots like Optimus Prime, which.... yyyyyyeah.
In keeping with the Beast Wars cartoon-based theme, all Kingdom figures from Deluxe Class upwards include "Golden Disk" cards with a peelable foil sheet, revealing one of three different variants, each revealing a different destiny for the character.
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (2020-2022)
Launching in conjunction with the War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon on Netflix, this confusingly-named subline imprint was unveiled by Hasbro at New York Toy Fair 2020. The toys are often listed as "War for Cybertron Series-Inspired", though this label is not present on the packaging. With the cartoon featuring character models based directly on Hasbro's toy molds, the toyline, in turn, features animation-accurate weathering and extensive deco... in theory. The toys feature battle damage and grim coloring far more than the character models used on the show. Even an original deco for the show, Decepticon Mirage, isn't colored accurately to the on-screen model.
With the exception of the Wave 1 and 2 Spoiler Packs and three exclusives unrelated to the Netflix cartoon, the line was exclusive to Walmart in Canada and the US. Wave 2 and 3's Battle 3-Pack and Wave 3's Spoiler Pack toys were also available on Hasbro Pulse. In New Zealand, the Voyagers and Deluxes were sold exclusively at Kmart, while the Spoiler Packs were sold exclusively at Toyworld and Mighty Ape.
While only the overarching War for Cybertron Trilogy logo is used on the line, the Deluxe and Voyager Class packaging featured edited versions of each series' box mural: Siege for wave 1, Earthrise for wave 2, and Kingdom for wave 3.
The third wave and the transition to 2021 saw a few packaging changes: the plastic insert tray was replaced with a cardboard one, much like the concurrent Kingdom toyline, and the Netflix logo was moved to the other side of the box, with the "A Netflix Original Series" subtitle dropped.
Deluxe Class
The ten 2020 Deluxe Class figures (comprising waves 1 and 2) each include a unique printed cardboard piece – the full set can be slotted together to form a 3D backdrop of Teletraan-1.
| Wave 1 | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |  |
Battle 3-Packs
Also labelled as "Battlefield Voyager" on some official listings, and priced at US$10 more than a regular Voyager Class toy, this assortment typically featured a Voyager figure packaged with a pair of Battle Masters. Two exceptions were made to the format: Soundwave, who instead included a Micromaster duo, and Optimus Primal, who was packaged with a single Core Class figure (and was accordingly not labelled a "3-Pack").
Wave 1
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Wave 2 | Wave 3 |  |
Leader Class Spoiler Packs
Also labelled as "Leader Unboxing" on some official listings, these figures are presented in a windowless box to hide the identity of the figures inside. The "spoilers" which lend the assortment its name can be found in the form of dialogue excerpts from the Netflix cartoons, printed in the Ancient Autobot cypher inside the packaging.
Priced at nearly US$10 more than mass-retail War for Cybertron Trilogy Leader Class releases, the first two releases included a Leader toy plus a Battle Master, while the third instead featured a Voyager and a Deluxe – despite still being labelled as Leader Class in official listings. Each pack also includes a small tub of Play-Doh-type "compound", with additional accessories buried inside.
Unlike the other series-inspired assortments, these packs were shared exclusives between Walmart and online 'fan channel' retailers. The Wave 1 Spoiler Pack was also subsequently available in various discount retailers in the US.
Wave 1
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Wave 2
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Wave 3
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War for Cybertron Trilogy (TakaraTomy)
TakaraTomy released War for Cybertron Trilogy (トランスフォーマー ウォーフォーサイバトロン Toransufōmā Wō fō Saibatoron) toys at general retail beginning in September 2020, with no notable changes from the Hasbro releases. However, Teletraan I backdrop cardboard is no longer included in Deluxe toys, and the Leader Class toys use traditional window boxes.
Wave 1 (September 26, 2020)
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Wave 2 (October 23, 2020) | Wave 3 (November 30, 2020) | Wave 4 (December 19, 2020)
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| Wave 5 (January 20, 2021) | Wave 6 (February 20, 2021)
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Wave 7 (March 27, 2021)
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Wave 8 (September 25, 2021)
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Wave 9 (October 30, 2021)
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Wave 10 (December 29, 2021)
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Wave 11 (January 29, 2022)
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Wave 12 (February 26, 2022)
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Exclusives
Announced by Hasbro Pulse on July 15, 2019, Unicron is the largest and most expensive Transformers toy ever produced, and the first to be released as a crowdfunded project from HasLab. By the closing of the funding period on October 6, the project had officially accrued over 12,000 backers, each of whom received their own Unicron on its release in 2021.
Hasbro Pulse released more conventional exclusives as well. Originally planned to debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2020, the Quintesson Pit of Judgement was eventually made available on Pulse for Hasbro PulseCon 2020 after the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other Pulse exclusives are characterised more as sort of "premium Deluxes", consisting of a figure with a plethora of accessories; the Deluxe Centurion Drone Weaponizer pack and the Tricranius Beast Power Fire Blasts Collection pack were released in unique Generations Selects-style boxes, solicited as part of the War for Cybertron Trilogy but with ID numbers that earmark them as part of contemporaneous sublines (Earthrise and Kingdom respectively).
2021 saw the cross-Generations subline Buzzworthy Bumblebee appear at Target. Among its releases are two new-mold toys of Bumblebee, both of which are co-branded with the War for Cybertron Trilogy logo. The Core Class Bumblebee and Spike Witwicky two-pack has card art featuring a prehistoric, volcanic setting, implying that this is a Kingdom release in all but name – unsurprising when one considers the Core Class price point debuted in Kingdom.
| HasLab | Hasbro Pulse | Buzzworthy Bumblebee (Target)
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Generations Selects
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Hasbro announced the Generations Selects branding in late 2018 to run alongside the War for Cybertron Trilogy. Hasbro Pulse debuts Generations Selects figures for the U.S., Canadian, and later United Kingdom markets while fans in Hasbro's other markets must resort to various physical or online retailers. Selects toys released concurrently with Earthrise and Kingdom are only labeled War for Cybertron Trilogy (even though the Spy Patrol set was shown as part of Earthrise during the Toy Fair 2020 presentation). Hot House is the only toy to feature Earthrise branding in their instructions.
As per brand unification, Hasbro Selects figures are sometimes, though not consistently, made available for Japanese fans via TakaraTomy Mall.
Shared exclusives
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Premium Finish
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Wave 1 (October 30, 2021)
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Wave 2 (November 27, 2021)
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Wave 3 (December 29, 2021)
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Wave 4 (January 29, 2022)
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Related releases
Studio Series '86 (2020–)
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While not quite explicitly branded as part of the War for Cybertron Trilogy lineup, the The Transformers: The Movie themed portion of the co-running Studio Series line introduced in 2020 (colloquially referred to as Studio Series "86") is transparently intended to complement its sister line:
- Character assortments such as the Autobot Cars, Galvatron's retinue, and even Hot Rod's individual character models are spread across the two lines.
- The figures include Fire Blast effects and 5 mm ports that can support the War for Cybertron Trilogy's Weaponizer and Fossilizer play patterns.
- Cross-compatibility with the cassette-style Micromaster system developed in Siege is retained.
- On occasion entire molds have even been known to interchange between the two.
As such, we have collated all toys branded The Transformers: The Movie product below in a manner analagous to other Studio Series tie-ins.
Wave 1
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Wave 2
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Wave 3
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Wave 4
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| Wave 5 | Wave 6
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Wave 7 | Wave 8
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| Wave 9 | Wave 10
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Wave 11
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Wave 12
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Wave 13
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Wave 14
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Wave 15 | Wave 16 | ||||
A-Level
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Exclusives
Buzzworthy Bumblebee (Target)
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Target (subtitle-less)
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TakaraTomy
TakaraTomy eschewed the "86" numbering gimmick with their The Transformers: The Movie offerings, opting instead to insert the toys directly into the numbering system used for the primary live-action film series based releases that are the Studio Series line's bread and butter.
Wave 20 (Apr 20, 2021)
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Wave 21 (May 29, 2021)
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Wave 25 (Nov 27, 2021)
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Wave 27 (Apr 30, 2022)
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Wave 29 (June 25, 2022)
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Wave 30 (August 27, 2022)
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Wave 31 (October 29, 2022)
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Wave 33 (February 25, 2023)
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Wave 34 (March 25, 2023)
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Wave 35 (April, 2023)
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Wave 39 (September, 2023)
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Wave 41 (November, 2023)
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Wave 43 (January, 2024)
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Wave 44 (February, 2024)
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Wave 46 (April, 2024)
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Wave 49 (September, 2024) | ||||
Wave 50 (October, 2024)
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Wave 52 (December, 2024)
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Wave 53 (February, 2025)
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Post-War for Cybertron Trilogy releases
Legacy (2022–)
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Despite being marketed as a three-part trilogy, the 2022 Transformers: Legacy toyline largely follows on from the same aesthetic as the War for Cybertron Trilogy; several figures from the prior toyline were either rebranded with Legacy packaging or given Generations Selects-styled redecoes.
Of note, Legacy Red Cog, and his truckload of accessories, are based directly on the Netflix cartoon.
Notes
Foreign names
- Cantonese: Cybertron zi1 zin3 (斯比頓之戰 Si1bei2deon6 zi1 Zin3, "War of Cybertron")
- Mandarin: Cybertron zhī Zhàn (賽伯坦之戰 Sàibótǎn zhī Zhàn, "War of Cybertron")
