History of Star Wars CCG

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History of Star Wars CCG is a timeline of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG), from Decipher's first release in 1995 through the volunteer Players Committee era.

Decipher era (1995–2001)

Decipher, Inc. of Norfolk, Virginia, published SWCCG under a Lucasfilm license. Premiere Limited shipped in December 1995 and Theed Palace (12 December 2001) was the last Decipher expansion.[1][2] In 1998 Lucasfilm renewed the license to cover The Phantom Menace.[1] Decipher also published Young Jedi, a separate Phantom Menace card game, from May 1999 to September 2001.[3] From November 2001 it also published The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game (2001–2007).[4]

Decipher also published the Jedi Knights Trading Card Game (2001).[5]

Design

Work on the game began soon after Decipher's Star Trek CCG launch. Tom Braunlich and Rollie Tesh first worked out the overall design at the Florida home of game designer Richard Borg. Braunlich's main contribution was using the draw deck as the player's Force.[6][7] According to former Decipher volunteer Jim Colson, Premiere, A New Hope and Hoth were developed at the same time.[8] Jerry Darcy devised the Objective card type for Special Edition (1998), to turn film storylines into viable deck strategies.[9] See Creators of SWCCG.

Expansions

Date[2] Expansion
December 1995 Premiere Limited
February 1996 Premiere Two-Player Introductory Game
April 1996 Premiere Unlimited, Jedi Pack, Rebel Leader Packs
July 1996 A New Hope Limited
November 1996 Hoth Limited
March 1997 The Empire Strikes Back Introductory Two-Player Game
April 1997 Dagobah Limited
May 1997 First Anthology
November 1997 Cloud City Limited
April 1998 Jabba's Palace Limited
May 1998 Official Tournament Sealed Deck
July 1998 Second Anthology
November 1998 Special Edition, Enhanced Premiere
30 June 1999 Endor
8 December 1999 Enhanced Cloud City
January 2000 Reflections, Enhanced Jabba's Palace (12 January)
14 June 2000 Third Anthology
19 July 2000 Death Star II, Death Star II Starter Decks
25 October 2000 Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck
10 January 2001 Reflections II: Expanding the Galaxy
11 May 2001 Tatooine
8 August 2001 Coruscant
31 October 2001 Reflections III: A Collector's Bounty
12 December 2001 Theed Palace

Revised printings and later sets are on Sets. Sets Decipher announced but never published are on Cancelled Expansions.

World Championships

Year Event Champion
1996 1996 Decipher World Championship Raphael Asselin
1997 1997 Decipher World Championship Philipp Jacobs
1998 1998 Decipher World Championship Matt Potter
1999 1999 Decipher World Championship Gary Carman
2000 2000 Decipher World Championship Matt Sokol
2001 2001 Decipher World Championship Bastian Winkelhaus

[10] The 2001 title was played at FreedomCon, a charity convention run by the deck site DeckTech after Decipher cancelled DecipherCon 2001.[11][12] On Radio Free Decipher on 5 October 2001, Holland said the cancellation followed the September 11 attacks and was purely about the safety of players, staff and volunteers. He said the license and finances played no part.[13] The first World Championship was held in Vail, Colorado.[14] Overview: Championships.

Loss of the license (2001)

See also: Decipher and the Star Wars CCG Lucasfilm license and Decipher after the Star Wars license

In July 2000 Decipher presented marketing, digital and second-edition proposals to Lucasfilm executives.[15] Lucasfilm did not extend the license. Decipher announced the end on 28 December 2001, and the trading-card rights went to Wizards of the Coast.[16][17][18] Wizards published its own, incompatible Star Wars Trading Card Game (2002–2005).[18] In a special Radio Free Decipher broadcast the same day, Warren Holland said Decipher's sell-off period ran through 30 April 2002.[19] He said the license gave Lucasfilm a contractual right to license Decipher's game mechanics by paying royalties. Lucasfilm chose not to use it, so any new Star Wars card game would be incompatible.[20] Lucasfilm had also turned down the virtual-card design of Decipher's planned last product, Reflections Gold.[21] In the same broadcast Holland outlined a non-profit committee of volunteer players and playtesters, supported by Decipher. At the end of April 2002 it would take over prize support, the web pages, rules and the World Championship.[22] Before its game was released, Wizards of the Coast flew six SWCCG players to Seattle to see it.[23] Full account: Decipher and the Star Wars CCG Lucasfilm license. Decipher's later years: Decipher after the license.

Third-party repacks of Decipher packs sold after the license ended are on Unofficial repackaged products. The secondary market for Decipher-era singles and sealed product is covered in Aftermarket and collecting.

Players Committee formation (2002)

On 25 January 2002 Warren Holland announced the first Star Wars Player Advocates, a volunteer Players' Committee to carry on tournaments, rulings and player support.[24] The committee works with the cooperation of Decipher and Lucasfilm and distributes Virtual cards electronically only.[25] DeckTech held a second FreedomCon in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, in October 2002.[26] See History of the Players Committee, Players Committee-Lucasfilm agreement and Players Committee advocates.

Virtual Original (2002–2009)

The first Virtual Card Set was announced on 12 February 2002 and became tournament-legal on 9 March 2002: twelve printable (V) slips sleeved over Premiere cards.[27][28] Numbered Virtual Sets followed, from Virtual Set 1: Legacy to Virtual Set 17: The Force Unleashed. The PC ran Worlds from 2002 on. See Virtual Sets (2002-2009), Cancelled Virtual Sets and List of SWCCG tournaments.

Virtual Legacy blocks (2009–2014)

In 2009 the PC regrouped the previous 18 Virtual Sets into six thematic Virtual Blocks.[29] Blocks 7–9 followed, and Virtual Block 9.1 shipped on 10 January 2014.[30] See 2009 Virtual Block Reorganization, Virtual Legacy, Virtual Block 1 to Virtual Block 9 and Virtual Shields.

Reset to the present (2014–)

On 25 July 2014 the Advocate Council announced a reset of the Standard format to a small base set of Virtual cards. All pre-Reset Virtual cards moved to a new Legacy format.[31] Virtual Set 0 and the Virtual Set 1 preview were posted on 25 September 2014 and were legal immediately.[32] See 2014 Virtual Card Pool Reset.

Current Virtual sets have continued since, from Virtual Set 1 to Virtual Set 27.[33] Online play runs on GEMP. Yearly Worlds hubs run from 2014 World Championship onward; see Championships and List of SWCCG tournaments.

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars Customizable Card Game, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 SWCCG Collecting Encyclopedia 3.2, starwarsccg.org. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  3. ↑ Young Jedi Card Lists, Decipher. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  4. ↑ Decipher, LOTR-TCG Wiki. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  5. ↑ Lee Bates, Jedi Knights Trading Card Game (review), Science Fiction Weekly, SciFi.com (2001). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  6. ↑ THE BOOSTER PACK #28 — The making of the STAR WARS CCG with Tom Braunlich || Decipher || TCG SWCCG, The Booster Pack Network, YouTube (uploaded 24 August 2022), at 02:50. Transcript: The Booster Pack/Episode 28 transcript.
  7. ↑ THE BOOSTER PACK #28 — The making of the STAR WARS CCG with Tom Braunlich || Decipher || TCG SWCCG, The Booster Pack Network, YouTube (uploaded 24 August 2022), at 04:05. Transcript: The Booster Pack/Episode 28 transcript.
  8. ↑ Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 33:15. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  9. ↑ Star Wars CCG - 11/11/20 Holotheatre - with Dan & Kendall - Interview: Jerry Darcy, Star Wars CCG, YouTube (uploaded 12 November 2020), at 29:50. Transcript: Holotheatre/11 November 2020 transcript.
  10. ↑ Awards and Hall of Fame, starwarsccg.org. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  11. ↑ FreedomCon home page, decktech.net. Preserved copy: Internet Archive, 1 December 2001
  12. ↑ Special message from Decipher CEO Warren Holland, TheForce.Net (3 October 2001). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  13. ↑ Broadcast 99 - Radio Free Decipher (05 October, 2001): Warren Holland on DecipherCon and 9/11, Player's Council, YouTube (uploaded 13 May 2022), at 01:46. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Episode 99 transcript.
  14. ↑ THE BOOSTER PACK #28 — The making of the STAR WARS CCG with Tom Braunlich || Decipher || TCG SWCCG, The Booster Pack Network, YouTube (uploaded 24 August 2022), at 28:25. Transcript: The Booster Pack/Episode 28 transcript.
  15. ↑ Excerpts from Decipher's July 2000 Presentation to Lucasfilm, decipher.com (Internet Archive, 2 June 2002)
  16. ↑ The Star Wars Announcement, decipher.com (Internet Archive, 1 June 2002)
  17. ↑ Lucasfilm terminates Decipher's Star Wars License, TheForce.Net (28 December 2001). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Wizards of the Coast Gets Star Wars CCG, ICv2 (1 January 2002). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  19. ↑ Radio Free Decipher Special Broadcast (28 December, 2001): Warren Holland and the Players Committee, Player's Council, YouTube (uploaded 18 February 2022), at 00:27. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Special Broadcast (28 December 2001) transcript.
  20. ↑ Radio Free Decipher Special Broadcast (28 December, 2001): Warren Holland and the Players Committee, Player's Council, YouTube (uploaded 18 February 2022), at 17:33. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Special Broadcast (28 December 2001) transcript.
  21. ↑ Radio Free Decipher Special Broadcast (28 December, 2001): Warren Holland and the Players Committee, Player's Council, YouTube (uploaded 18 February 2022), at 19:23. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Special Broadcast (28 December 2001) transcript.
  22. ↑ Radio Free Decipher Special Broadcast (28 December, 2001): Warren Holland and the Players Committee, Player's Council, YouTube (uploaded 18 February 2022), at 22:12. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Special Broadcast (28 December 2001) transcript.
  23. ↑ Worlds 2007 P Johnson Interview, Star Wars CCG, YouTube (uploaded 7 April 2026), at 19:40. Transcript: 2007 World Championship interviews (transcript).
  24. ↑ The Star Wars Players' Committee, decipher.com (Internet Archive, 11 June 2002)
  25. ↑ About Us, starwarsccg.org. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  26. ↑ FreedomCon Philadelphia 2002 home page, decktech.net. Preserved copy: Internet Archive, 12 January 2003
  27. ↑ Player's Committee Announces the First Virtual Card Set, TheForce.Net (12 February 2002). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  28. ↑ Virtual Card Set #1 is Away!, decipher.com (Internet Archive)
  29. ↑ VirtualBlock1.pdf ("Official text as of 7 December 2009"), res.starwarsccg.org. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  30. ↑ V-Set 9.1 is Live, starwarsccg.org (Internet Archive, 15 January 2014)
  31. ↑ Reset of Standard Format, starwarsccg.org (25 July 2014; Internet Archive)
  32. ↑ PDF of Reset List Posted – Virtual Set 0 and Virtual Set 1 Preview, starwarsccg.org (25 September 2014; Internet Archive)
  33. ↑ Virtual Slips, starwarsccg.org. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
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