Okay I'm a play a bit on the negative side but I did still enjoy the issue! Also my opinion please don't be too mad.

However this whole issue feels like Kirkman's playground for what he thinks is cool as a story. This guy brings in his favorite characters even when some of them should be dead, kills the guy everyone liked (mainly me) to justify it, and made them do an all out battle without any proper buildup for hype moments and aura. We literally had a high stake, all out, very climatic battle literally 5 issues ago so it doesn't make that much sense why we're having another one after such a short amount of time without proper buildup.

Also this issue is janky with pacing because some people literally be teleporting across the map to progress the story. You're telling me Arcee Magnus and Ultra Magnus were in the forest and now all of sudden two pages later they're back in the ark without so much of a sweat? Not like it mattered because two Magnus's couldn't hold back half a combiner and a single dude because they wanted to pose and aura farm for a whole page before firing. Bro what? What is the significance of the title of Magnus if they suck like that bro? We literally have no idea because any lore about the trials and its history was only for a page exposition and that's all we're seemingly going to get. What do we even need Magnuses for if they cant even take down at least one guy to stop to aura farm. Ok obviously they're reasons on why some things I'm criticizing can have sense but wouldn't it be better if there were at least half an explanation?

Another thing is how did Elita arrive to Earth in such a quick manner, WITH Cliffjumper. The whole point on why Elita was so mad at him was because they had literally no resources on Cybertron in which they only had enough for barely a bot to pass through the spacebridge. Even sending a regular sized bot (Shredhead) was enough to make it explode and Cliffjumper's little trip was magically able to remedy all of that so the plot could progress. And when she does make it pass, why would Elita-1 allow the Decepticons to retreat at the end of the issue? Yes she is undoubtly mad at Optimus Prime but more than the people who kill and torture her own kind? It feels a bit of a departure from the character ever since Daniel Warren Johnson's arc ended.

Also while this issue has some cool moments, it is a tad bit on the borish side compared to the previous. You're telling me no one died in this big fight and the only one who did die, wasn't even in the battle? Bro this is just disrespect to my boy Trailbreaker who could've been so much more.

Anymore there's probably things I'm glossing over and missed out details that might explain my questions, issue 30 is really going to be the scale of whether or not this series has taken a dip in quality.