Star Wars Customizable Card Game
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG) is a collectible card game based on the Original trilogy (including Shadows of the Empire) as well as The Phantom Menace.
It was created by Decipher, Inc., which also produces the Star Trek Customizable Card Game and The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game.
Contents |
History
The game was first released in December 1995. Over the years, Decipher added eleven full expansions to the original card base, as well as numerous smaller expansions, special purpose sets, and promotional releases. The last set was released by Decipher in the fall of 2001.
At the end of 2001, Lucasfilm Ltd. chose not to renew Decipher's license to use the Star Wars intellectual property despite the company offering more than George Lucas spent to make the original Star Wars movie, six times the amount of Decipher's Episode I license. Decipher can no longer legally create new expansions to SWCCG, so many cards that were in development cannot be released to the public.[source?]
Instead of having two companies to keep a head over, Lucasfilm, under direct decision of Lucas, granted the license to Wizards of the Coast, owned by Hasbro, which used it to create their own games: Star Wars Roleplaying Game, Star Wars Miniatures and Star Wars Trading Card Game. In 2005 the Star Wars Trading Card Game was put on indefinite hold (meaning it will no longer be produced).
As of 2007, SWCCG still has an active playing community. The game is now administered by a Players Committee, which interprets rules, organizes tournaments, and releases "virtual expansions" which give alternate game text for existing cards. The new "virtual cards" function as entirely new cards and keep the game changing. The "virtual card" overlays are available for free on the Players' Committee website, though you must have the original card to use its "virtual" version. Numerous "virtual sets" have been released, which are not official or canonical.
Management
Two groups so far have run and managed the SW:CCG:
- Decipher, Inc.: managed the game from its inception in 1995 until 2001.
- Players' Committee: managed the game from 2001 until the present (2007).
Gameplay
Each game requires one player to play the Light Side while the other plays the Dark Side. In friendly play, a player can specialize in one side or the other. In tournament play, players need two decks, one for playing Dark and the other for playing Light.
The objective of the game is to deplete the other player's deck.
Star Wars CCG had more basic card types than most CCGs; the game began with 8 card types, most of which contained several subtypes. Later expansions added new basic card types.
The original card types were:
- Character
- Starship
- Vehicle
- Device
- Weapon
- Interrupt
- Effect
- Location
Card types introduced later:
- Epic Event
- Creature
- Jedi Test
- Objective
- Admiral's Order
- Podracer
- Defensive Shield
Some card types have different subtypes indicated on their card:
- Location
- Site (played horizontally) - Sector (played vertically) - System (played vertically)
- Character
- Alien (Jawa eyes symbol) - Rebel (Rebel symbol; always a light side card) - Imperial (Imperial symbol; almost always a dark side card) - Droid (C-3PO eye piece symbol) - Republic - Jedi Master (light side force icon symbol) - Dark Jedi Master (dark side force icon symbol)
- Interrupt
- Used - Lost - Used or Lost - Used or Starting - Lost or Starting - Out of Play (introduced by the Star Wars CCG Players Committee)
- Effect
- Effect - Mobile - Immediate - Utinni - Starting
Complete List of Card Types
- Character
- Rebel
- Imperial
- Alien
- Droid
- Republic
- Jedi Master
- Dark Jedi Master
- Alien / Imperial
- Alien / Rebel
- Darth Maul
- Location
- Site
- Underground
- Underwater
- Cave
- Exterior
- Interior
- Vehicle
- Creature
- Sector
- Cloud
- Asteroid
- System
- Space
- Site
- Effect
- Mobile
- Utinni
- Immediate
- Starting
- Political
- Admirals Order
- Podracer
- Devices
- Weapons
- Character Weapons
- Vehicle Weapons
- Starship Weapons
- Interrupt
- Used Interrupt
- Lost Interrupt
- Starting Interrupt
- Out of Play Interrupt
- Used or Lost Interrupt
- Used or Starting Interrupt
- Lost or Starting Interrupt
- Epic Event
- Jedi Test
- Objective
- Creature
- Vehicle
- Transport
- Enclosed
- Open
- Battle
- Creature
- Transport
- Starship
- Starfighter
- Capital
- Defensive Shields
- Other KEY Characteristics:
- Grabber
- Senators
- Spies
- Scouts
- Imperial Council Members
- Heroic
Distinguishing features
Compared to other trading card games, SWCCG is complex and has a steep learning curve. It has more rules than other TCGs, with some of these rules being obscure and seldom-needed. Some of the basic concepts (such as the distinction between "battle damage" and "attrition" in battle) can be counter-intuitive.
On the other hand the basic mechanics are innovative and flexible, giving SWCCG a game depth that appeals to serious gamers.
One other feature distinguished SWCCG from many other TCGs: while Decipher oversaw the game, no card was ever banned from tournament play. Instead, when a card or strategy was deemed abusive or too powerful, Decipher chose to release "magic bullets," new cards which were specifically designed to counter the offending strategy. In some cases, Decipher also used errata, modifications to game text of a card that supersede the actual printed version. The use of errata also contributes to a steep learning curve, since players need to be aware of errata in order to use the affected cards properly. This feature has been continued by the Star Wars CCG Players Committee. While other formats have been created, using a limited card pool, the original open format still has no card banned from play.
Expansions
The game has released numerous (over a total of twenty) expansions and small boutique products. Expansions are the way in which new cards are released to add to the game.
Expansions produced by Decipher
- Premiere Limited
- Premiere Unlimited
- Premiere Two-Player Introductory Set
- A New Hope Limited
- Jedi Pack
- Rebel Leader Cards
- Hoth Limited
- Empire Strikes Back Introductory Two-Player Game
- Dagobah Limited
- First Anthology
- Cloud City Limited
- Jabba's Palace Limited
- Official Tournament Sealed Deck
- Second Anthology
- A New Hope Revised Unlimited
- Hoth Revised Unlimited
- Special Edition Limited
- Enhanced Premiere
- Endor Limited
- Enhanced Cloud City
- Dagobah Revised Unlimited
- Enhanced Jabba's Palace
- Reflections: A Collector's Bounty
- Third Anthology
- Death Star II Limited
- Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck
- Reflections II: Expanding the Galaxy
- Tatooine Limited
- Coruscant Limited
- Reflections III
- Theed Palace Limited
Other Star Wars CCG Items Not Included In Sets
- Star Wars CCG Tournament Foils - not an expansion set
- Star Wars CCG - Miscellaneous - not an expansion set, includes oversized cards etc.
Related games
Decipher produced two other TCGs based on the Star Wars universe: Young Jedi, based on the Prequel trilogy, and Jedi Knights. Neither of these games matched the popularity of SWCCG. Both were discontinued when Decipher lost the Star Wars license.
In April 2004, Decipher announced that it was creating a new game, Wars TCG, based on the game mechanics of SWCCG. The new game is set in a proprietary science fiction universe created specially for the game and owned by Decipher. As of 2005, the game was announced to be placed on HOLD, awaiting future development by Decipher.
