Shuffler

Shuffler is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

The mp3-era counterpart to Rewind and Eject.

Shuffler (シャフラー Shafurā) is sometimes one of the Autobot Master Warriors, the group of diminutive young robots training on the planet Master to become fully-fledged Headmasters. He may be slow as dirt even when hooked up to a Transtector, but he's pachyn (ha ha) a lot of power and he never forgets how best to use it against the Decepticons.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

TV Magazine Super-God Masterforce prologue

After the Decepticons had been forced off Earth and a larger war began based around use of advanced technology from Planet Master, Chromedome and the other Headmasters took it upon themselves to train Shuffler and the other Master Warriors in the use of their powers. The Headmasters Now!!

Ask Vector Prime

Shuffler was somehow related to the development of Brainmaster technology. When the Decepticons learned of the technique, he, Trizer, and Kirk destroyed the laboratory rather than let them get their hands on it. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/23

Legends comic

Shuffler, Lione, and Toraizer were deployed to the planet Beast to help the Beastformers in their war against the Laser Beasts, only to be forcibly bonded to the bodies of three Laser Beast warriors who used the power of the Three Wise Ones on them. LG51 Doublecross Prologue Shuffler was merged with Skullgrotes who used his head mode to control Grotusque's stolen body until Seaspray splashed him with water from the Well of Transformation, allowing Shuffler's consciousness to fight back and separate them. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

Titans Return marketing material

An ancient Titan Master, Shuffler may have been slow physically but was also a master battle strategist. As such, his unique power was to grant any robot with whom he joined encyclopedic knowledge of every Cybertronian battle ever fought. Titans Return Autobot Shuffler online bio

Toys

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

Autobabar

• Shuffler (Cybertron Master Warrior, 1987)

• Known designers: Takashi Matsuda (TakaraTomy)

Sold only in the third year of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline (in a teeny individual box), Shuffler transforms from a dark-purple and off-gray robotic elephant into a humanoid head. In this mode, he can connect to any of the larger Headmaster toys' bodies, activating their built-in Tech Specs meter. Shuffler grants his host body a Speed rating of 4, Strength of 10, and Intelligence of 8.

Shuffler and his fellow Autobot Master Warriors go for ludicrous sums of money on the secondary market. Reportedly, Shuffler is the rarest of the set. Naturally, this has led to some convincing knockoffs being made. The set with the widest distribution has a number of small differences from the originals, but one big obvious tell: these knockoffs lack the "© Takara '87" copyright stamping. Be wary when buying!

• Shuffler (Cybertron Master Warrior, 1987)

What go for even more ludicrous sums of money are the entirely-white versions of the Master Warriors, easily selling for over $1000 US a pop (and yes, there are knockoffs of these versions too, so be SUPER-wary).

These are stupid-rare pieces, as they were only available as free giveaways with the purchase of other Transformers product, and prizes like these are usually run in very small numbers. These are the first known such promotional giveaways in the Transformers franchise.

One of these promotions was the "Throttlebot Promotional Sales Campaign", where a random bagged all-white Headmaster was given away with the purchase of any Throttlebot at select Japanese retailers (sadly, we do not know which retailers these were). Reportedly, they were also available at Lawsons stores with the purchase of any Transformers product, both individually and as a big bagged set of six. Sadly, more concrete information on these campaigns is going to be... hard to come across.

Titans Return

"Every Day I'm Shufflin'."

• Autobot Shuffler (Titan Master, 2017)

• Accessories: Elephant/tank/launcher vehicle
• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro)

Part of the fourth wave of Titans Return Titan Master class toys, "Autobot Shuffler" transforms from robot to a head compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return figure.

He comes with a robotic elephant "vehicle" (based on his original toy) which can transform into a tank or a multi-rocket launching system which can be held by larger figures. Shuffler himself (or any other Titan Master figure) fits inside the elephant and launcher modes, and "pilots" the tank form in his robot mode.

Like his wavemate Repugnus, Shuffler never saw wide release in Malaysia, due to shelfwarming in the first and second waves.

Notes

I been done seen about ever'thing when I see an elephant that looks like this.

• Unlike his fellow Master Warriors, neither Shuffler nor any robots resembling him appeared in The Headmasters cartoon during the efforts to free planet Master from Decepticon influence.
• The original catalog photos of pre-final Shuffler show him with a much broader trunk and lower-set head than the final product, as well as a robo-soul-patch on his head mode's chin.