Since they launched alongside The Brothers’ War early last month, Magic: The Gathering’s Transformers cards have been confusing the community. Usual quibbling about Universes Beyond and whether Optimus Prime should be in a booster pack alongside a Phyrexian aside, the big question is often “why don’t they transform?”.
Thanks to Magic’s head designer Mark Rosewater, previous theories have now been confirmed: despite the name, Hasbro doesn’t want Transformers to transform. They merely convert, which, in terms of in-game rules for MTG, is being treated as exactly the same thing.
When the double-sided Transformers cards were announced at Hasbro Pulsecon in September, Wizards of the Coast immediately pointed out that the cards use a new mechanic called ‘convert’ to swap between their Robot and Vehicle forms, instead of the usual ‘transform’ given to double-sided cards like them. At the time, though, all Wizards said was that they are due to “legal and trademarking issues”, giving no further explanation as to why Transformers can’t do the one thing they’re named after.
A month after their launch, Rosewater explained in his mailbag column for The Brothers’ War why this is. Instead of mentioning any of the legal issues alluded to at Pulsecon, Rosewater simply explained that “Transformers don’t transform, they convert”.
This is consistent with the wider Transformers series, which hasn’t described its main characters are ‘transforming’ in many years, often using words like ‘reconfigure’ or, as they do here, ‘convert’. While not outright confirmed by Rosewater, many believe the reason for this is to prevent the Transformers brand being diluted by also using it as a verb.
However, this limitation required some clever rules-writing to ensure convert worked as intended. In the same answer, Rosewater also explains that the rules have already been changed to accommodate convert. In the rules update that came alongside The Brothers’ War, an update to the comprehensive rules – a massive document most players don’t regularly refer to that sets out the thousands of rules in strong legalese – it is states that convert and transform are the same mechanic in all but name. Any cards that refer to transforming, such as Cult of the Waxing Moon, also apply to convert, and vice-versa.