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SWCCG 2nd Edition

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For the Star Trek CCG reboot, see Star Trek CCG.
•Skywalker Ranch, promotional card made to show Lucasfilm.[1][2]

SWCCG 2nd Edition was Decipher's planned 2001 reboot of Star Wars CCG. In July 2000 Decipher pitched Lucasfilm a backward-compatible second edition with yearly story-arc environments.[3] Lucasfilm approved none of the program.[3] The license ended on 31 December 2001, so the product was never created.[4]

July 2000 pitch

Decipher described 2nd Edition as a product designed to take the best of the present game and expand into new territory.[3] It would bridge to the existing 2,000-card 1st Edition universe.[3] New players would enter without buying 2,000 cards.[3] New players and collectors would be "unencumbered by complexity yet are linked to the successful brand."[3]

One game engine would support a broad series of expansions.[3] Each story arc would play in its own self-contained universe.[3] A story arc would be one primary release and two smaller expansion sets in that year.[3] The plan ran for six years of new entry points.[3]

Veteran cards would stay "backward compatible with every Star Wars card ever made."[3] Veterans could add the new cards to existing collections and also play a new story-driven environment.[3] Launch was set for the start of the 2001 convention season.[3] The launch would keep the existing tournament structure and add a new league.[3]

The same July 2000 presentation also asked for marketing programs and a digital Star Wars CCG. Lucasfilm approved none of it. See Decipher and the Star Wars CCG Lucasfilm license.[3]

If the license had continued

Asked what would have happened if the license had continued, Colson said "there would have been a second edition."[5] He said Decipher did not want one, then would have reached a point where it had to have one.[5] Later printed Decipher games are the record of that direction after the license ended.

One card back

Printed SWCCG uses two card backs. Light Side cards carry the Rebel symbol. Dark Side cards carry the Imperial symbol.[6] Each constructed deck is 60 cards from one side of the Force.[6]

Colson said Young Jedi also used two backs.[7] He said Republic and Expanded Universe factions would not fit an Imperial or Rebel back.[8] "There were all these pieces in play and motion coming out that were really going to take us down the road to a common back."[8] He said a later reboot would have required one back: "one back, reboot 2.0... It's going to have a single back."[9]

  • Light Side card back.
    Light Side card back.
  • Dark Side card back.
    Dark Side card back.
  • WARS TCG common card back.
    WARS TCG common card back.
  • LOTR TCG card back.
    LOTR TCG card back.

Mixed Light and Dark

The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game (2001) put Free Peoples and Shadow cards in the same draw deck.[10] The draw deck must have at least 60 cards and an equal number of Shadow and Free Peoples cards, shuffled together.[10] Alignment is marked on the face. Free Peoples cards use a light circular field. Shadow cards use a dark diamond.[10] There is one card back for both alignments.[11] Cultures sit as an icon on the face, not on the back.[10]

  • LOTR TCG card back.
    LOTR TCG card back.
  • Aragorn, Ranger of the North (2001).
    Aragorn, Ranger of the North (2001).
  • Goblin Runner (2001).
    Goblin Runner (2001).

Chuck Kallenbach later said Decipher had lived through Star Wars games with "good guy decks and bad guy decks."[12] For .hack//ENEMY they used the LOTR system of "good and bad cards in the same deck."[12]

Multiple factions

WARS TCG (2004) kept the SWCCG turn, Force piles, location control and battle structure.[13] It used one common card back for every faction.[14][15] The five factions are Earther, Gongen, Maverick, Shi and Quay, plus Independent cards that work for any faction.[13] Color, texture and support icons mark affiliation.[13] Support icons are a requirement, not a spend.[13]

A constructed deck may include no more than four copies of a single card, except unlimited cards.[13] Starters were 60 cards, as in SWCCG constructed.[13] Colson pointed to WARS as the model for a later Star Wars second edition.[15] He counted three major factions, maybe five in total, and one back.[15]

Story-arc environments

The 2000 pitch already described yearly self-contained story arcs, so a new player would not need the full 2,000-card pool.[3] Colson said Decipher had also looked at Episode I-only events and formats as a way to move toward blocks.[16]

Star Trek Second Edition

Decipher did ship a second edition of Star Trek CCG, first released in 2002.[17] Colson said that reboot lost first-edition players.[18] He said collectors were about 80% of Trek sales, so the company weathered the drop.[18] He called Trek Second Edition more streamlined than First Edition.[18] He said Decipher would have used lessons from Star Trek and The Lord of the Rings in a Star Wars second edition.[18] "They didn't get the opportunity."[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ SWCCG Collecting Encyclopedia 3.2, Players Committee (4 May 2026), p. 3. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  2. ↑ Bill Bisco, personal communication, 21 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Excerpts from Decipher's July 2000 Presentation to Lucasfilm, decipher.com (Wayback, 2 June 2002)
  4. ↑ The Star Wars Announcement, decipher.com (Wayback, 1 June 2002)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:08:25. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars Customizable Card Game Rulebook, Version 2.0, Decipher (November 1998). Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Wiki transcription: Star Wars Customizable Card Game RULEBOOK 2.0
  7. ↑ Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:08:15. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:09:52. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  9. ↑ Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:10:22. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Comprehensive Rules 4.2, LOTR-TCG Wiki, Draw Deck and kinds of cards. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  11. ↑ The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game cardback, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 snshunter, Interview with Chuck Kallenbach, Dothack Network (posted 11 January 2023; interview June 2021). Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 WARS TCG Incursion Rulebook, Decipher, 2004. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  14. ↑ WARS trading card game back, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:08:38. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  16. ↑ Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:07:00. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
  17. ↑ Star Trek Customizable Card Game, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Star Wars CCG INSIDER Stories, History & Collector Tips from the legend Jim Colson, BoardMatt, YouTube (uploaded 24 April 2022), at 1:11:50. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Star Wars CCG Insider Stories with Jim Colson (transcript).
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