Star Wars Customizable Card Game

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This article is about Star Wars Customizable Card Game (SWCCG). You may be looking for the other card game, Star Wars Trading Card Game.
The SW:CCG logo.

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 Star Trek Customizable Card Game and The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game.

History[edit | edit source]

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 chose not to renew Decipher's license to use the Star Wars intellectual property despite the company offered more than George Lucas spent to make the original Star Wars movie, six times the amount of Episode I Decipher's license. Decipher can no longer legally create new expansions to SWCCG, so many cards that were in development can not be released to the public.

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 (see below).

In 2005 the Players Committee introduced a few sub-groups, to help promote and market the game, the two main groups are: the Writing Team and the Video Team.

An interesting article about the history of SW:CCG has been written by Brandon Ruck and posted over at DeckTech.net, the article can be found here: http://www.decktech.net/starwarsccg/articles/articles.php?id=6364&view=2

Management[edit | edit source]

Two groups so far have run and managed the SW:CCG:

Gameplay[edit | edit source]

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's eye)
- 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[edit | edit source]

  • 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
  • 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
  • Starship
    • Starfighter
    • Capital
  • Defensive Shields


  • Other KEY Characteristics:
    • Grabber
    • Senators
    • Spies
    • Scouts
    • Imperial Council Members
    • Heroic

Distinguishing features[edit | edit source]

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.

Virtual Cards[edit | edit source]

Now a new and distinctive part of the game, Virtual Cards are often employed more than the previous cards. The Virtual Cards are now a distinquishing feature of this game, as they have added a whole new level of complexity to the game (due to persona rules, one per table, which Bad Feeling Have I to play, etc.).

Expansions[edit | edit source]

The game has released numerous (over a total of twenty) expansions and small botique products. Expansions are the way in which new cards are released to add to the game.

Expansions produced by Decipher[edit | edit source]

Other Star Wars CCG Items Not Included In Sets

Virtual Cards: Players Committee Expansions[edit | edit source]

Virtual Cards are the new form of cards for the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. They are printable pieces of paper that can be cut and then inserted into card sleeves that give past cards new game-text. Virtual Sets include:

  • Virtual Set 1
  • Virtual Set 2
  • Virtual Set 3
  • Virtual Set 4
  • Virtual Set 5
  • Virtual Set 6
  • Virtual Set 7
  • Virtual Set 8
  • Virtual Set 9
  • Virtual Set 10 Preview
  • Virtual Set 10
  • Virtual Set 11 (Gold Edition)
  • Premium Set 1 (Defensive Shields)
  • Virtual Redux
  • Virtual Set 12


After the Re-Edit[edit | edit source]


NOTE: Only the Virtual Sets listed here, after the Re-Edit are viable for tournaments, showing up with past virtual sets will result in incorrect gameplay and will be grounds for you to be disqualified from the tournament.

The reason the previous virtual card sets are still listed here is for historical purposes.

Reconstruction[edit | edit source]

April 18th (April 18th 4.18.06) 2006 the PC has announced that they will be doing a large-scale reconstruction of the 11 Virtual Sets, re-working meta problems, and issuing erratas and the such. More information about this will be released shortly.

The Virtual Set based around this reconstruction will be known as "Redux" (or Virtual Set Redux) and will deal with numerous erratas to "problem" cards that have hindered the enjoyment of players. The re-issued expansion was released in June 2006, and is now available.

Re-Edit[edit | edit source]

On December 4th, 2006 the Players Committee released the Re-Edit, which completely overhauled all 430 Virtual Cards and made them easier to read, tailor made them to the Decipher templates, and gave them set icons as Decipher had done with their sets. Also small changes were made to numerous cards due to card length, likewise two errata's were issued.

The cards were ran through a proofing team to fix all rules, size, and other word issues.

Afterwards the cards were ran through a development team to ensure correct gameplay.

Finally, when the cards were built for PDF they were ran through the graphics team to make sure they best resembled the Decipher template.

In addition to the re-edit, each Virtual Card set, has now been given a name (as you will see in the Virtual Cards section of this page), likewise each set now also comes with it a new and unique Set Icon so as to distinguish the cards better (just like Decipher did prior), and finally, each set now includes a special new 'wrapper' logo, just as if you were to get the cards from a Decipher booster pack.

Tournament formats[edit | edit source]

There are two major constructed formats for tournament play, Open and Classic, which differ only in deck construction rules.

In the Open format, every card is legal. The only deck restrictions are that each deck must contain 60 cards from the same side of the Force and no more than 1 Objective card.

Classic format is intended to recreate the environment of the game before the Episode I sets (Tatooine, Theed Palace, Coruscant, and Reflections III), which many players viewed to have unbalanced game mechanics and broken continuity. The Classic format has the same deck construction rules as the Open format, but includes the following list of banned cards:

  1. Any card with the Episode I icon
  2. Any card with a Maintenance Cost

There has been (and still are) various other tournament formats, such as Sealed Deck, Secret Squirrel, Bespin and Beyond, or EPP Overdrive, V-6, etc.

The World Championships and most events in the World Tournament Circuit are played in the Open format.

Types of Events[edit | edit source]

The types of events are:

  • Locals
  • States
  • Opens
  • Regionals
  • Nationals
  • Continentals
  • Match Play Championship (new in 2007)
  • Worlds

Events[edit | edit source]

Large Events[edit | edit source]

  • Origins
  • GenCon
  • Worlds (Chicago 2006)

Other Con Events[edit | edit source]

  • Mystic Visions
  • DragonCon
  • ComiCon
  • GenCon SoCal
  • CanCon
  • GenCon Europe

Nationals[edit | edit source]

  • 2007: Nationals is broken up into East and West US Nationals. East Nationals is held at Origins and West Nationals is being held in Las Vegas.

Past World Champions[edit | edit source]

Year Champion Nationality Runner-up Nationality
2006 Nate Meeker USA Brian Hunter USA
2005 Drew Scott USA James Booker USA
2004 Brandon Schele USA Reid Smith USA
2003 Jonathan Chu USA Greg Shaw USA
2002 Angelo Consoli Germany Greg Shaw USA
2001 Bastian Winkelhaus Germany Martin Akesson Sweden
2000 Matt Sokol USA Yannick Lapointe Canada
1999 Gary Carman United Kingdom Steven Lewis USA
1998 Matt Potter USA Michael Riboulet United Kingdom
1997 Philipp Jacobs Germany Michael Riboulet United Kingdom
1996 Raphael Asselin Canada Bjørn Sørgjerd Norway

Worlds[edit | edit source]

Worlds is broken down into three days. Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

Day 1[edit | edit source]

Day 1 is open for all participants, whoever shows up, pays the admission fee, and has the proper decklists and decks, is allowed to participate. The Top 8 of Day 1 qualify for Day 2.

Day 2[edit | edit source]

Day 2 is open to only those who have qualified. That means the Top 8 who qualified from the Day 1 tournament, as well as any person who qualified from a Regional, State, Open, National, or Continental tournament. The Top 8 of Day 2 make it on to Day 3.

Day 3[edit | edit source]

Day 3 is the finals for Star Wars Customizable Card Game championships. The winner of Day 3 is the World Champion.

Day 3 is match-play, meaning, it is set up like such:

  • 8 vs. 1
  • 7 vs. 2
  • 6 vs. 3
  • 5 vs. 4

Then it would follow like such:

  • Winner of 8-v-1 vs. winner of 5-v-4 (A)
  • Winner of 7-v-2 vs. winner of 6-v-3 (B)

Then:

  • Winner of (A) vs. Winner of (B)

The winner of this game is the World Champion!

Location[edit | edit source]

In past years, Worlds has been held at Gen Con, and before that at DecipherCon (which no longer exists). In 2006, the Players Committee started hosting Worlds in Chicago at a store called PasTimes.

Players Committee[edit | edit source]

The Players Committee was created when Decipher lost the license to Wizards of the Coast in 2001. The Players Committee (PC) run tournaments, control various formats, enforce the rules, clarifications and errata's, and they also create the virtual cards. The PC has several key dignitaries, including Scott Lingrell, Michael Erisman, Jim Colson, Doug Taylor, Charles Sonnenburg,Henry Dunn and Evan Fitzgerald. Through the Players Committee, the game has stayed alive through 2007 (and will far beyond this), when most games that lose their license die shortly there-after.

For more information on the branches of the Players Committee please check out the Players Committee article. (The article goes on to explain the Design Team, Writing Team, Marketing Team, and Rules Committee.)

Player Advocates[edit | edit source]

Player Advocates are the lead group of volunteers behind the scenes who help run the Players Committee. These contain those who help to maintain tournaments, rules, marketing, design, etc.

The lead design team members are Doug Taylor and Scott Lingrell. The lead rules Advocate is Charles Sonnenberg with help from the Rules Committee. Henry Dunn handles the Tournament scene with help from Jim Colson who handles the prize support shipments (as well as being the Collecting Guru). Additionally, Evan Fitzgerald handles technology for the PC. Michael Erisman is the Communications Advocate.


Justin Stratton was the player relations representative until his 6 month term ended in July of 2007.

Related games[edit | edit source]

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. Although in Decipher's archives, there are still old PDF EBooks written by Chuck Kallenbach and Michael Stackpole.

Software[edit | edit source]

There are numerous software that can be obtained by downloading the programs online. Many of these programs allow a player to maintain their database of cards, others also assist in deck-building. There are also numerous programs that allow for online SW:CCG to be played.

Card Organizers and Deck Builders[edit | edit source]

  • Card Game Organizer
  • DeckMaker
  • HoloDeck
  • SW-IP

Online Play[edit | edit source]

  • HoloTable
  • CardTable
  • CCG Workshop
  • gEngine

For more information on how to obtain these programs, check the various links below, or wait for this section to be updated with direct links. (Coming Soon).

External links[edit | edit source]

Forums[edit | edit source]

Fansites[edit | edit source]

There are numerous fansites devoted to SW:CCG, many of which have come up actually since Decipher lost the license to WotC.

Some fansites are:

Wiki[edit | edit source]

SW:CCG Players Committee Wiki[edit | edit source]

The Players Committee has started their own Wiki. It will be used as a database for SW:CCG, YJ:TCG, and even possibly JK:TCG.

A link can be found at:

Contact[edit | edit source]

You can always contact a Players Advocate for more information on the state of SW:CCG, or the Players Committee. The easiest way to contact them would be to go to the SW:CCG-PC Forums, which can be found here: http://swccgpc.com/forums/

The Players Advocates, as well as other members of the Players Committee have their e-mail addresses, as well as various online instant messaging names available for you to contact them.

If you would like to help the Players Committee you can check out the Players Committee article here on the Wookieepedia for more information and links to help out.

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