Star Wars CCG, also known as the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, has been out of print for 20 years. Despite this though, the game is currently thriving, on the cusp of releasing their 16th virtual set. Not bad for a supposedly “dead” game that has been out of print for 20 years, huh? It’s been kept alive by the Player’s Committee, who has a deal with Disney and has been coming out with virtual sets since the game went out of print. They’ve expanded on the game tremendously, adding new shields, cards (known as V/Virtual cards), and balancing out a game that previously had some severe balancing issues towards the end of its run. The Player’s Committee has even altered V cards that they’ve released or have gotten rid of them altogether, further showing their commitment to balancing the game. Although we feel that there may be too many shields, they’ve done a stellar job at keeping the game alive and up-to-date. Players can play on GEMP, which enforces all the rules with its easy-to-use interface. Players can build decks by searching through the cards as well as filtering them by character, location, light side, dark side, etc. It’s a marvelous accomplishment, especially considering how many cards there are in Star Wars CCG when not even taking the V cards into account. You don’t even need to own the cards IRL; you can put together your dream deck on GEMP, which is pretty incredible.
The resurgence of Star Wars CCG is due to a few things. First of all, we cannot talk about the game’s resurgence without talking about COVID-19. Collectibles have been going up in price exponentially, and Star Wars CCG is no exception. One of the rarest and best card in the game now goes for $300 on eBay, easy, and that’s not even the foil version. Booster boxes for various sets go for at least $500 and in upwards of $2000 in some cases. Card prices have been on a steady rise, and according to one Star Wars CCG store owner I spoke with, prices aren’t coming down anytime soon. Last year, you could find most cards on eBay as well as booster boxes for most of the sets. Now you can’t. Many collectors are buying up the supply and keeping them sealed, and in the case of singles, online stores simply don’t have the means to re-supply, though some manage to, somehow, like swccgstore.com. They have a massive collection. Individual sellers I know also have massive collections they are more than willing to sell and somehow manage to restock, which is beyond me. eBay is no longer viable, but online stores and individual sellers seem to be the way to go now if you are in need of cards.
The game itself isn’t the most accessible, but that hasn’t stopped it from exploding in popularity over the last year and a half. The game is very complex and very different from games like Magic the Gathering. There are six phases in your turn: activate, control, deploy, battle, move, and draw. There are no limit on how many cards can be in your hand, though you start with eight cards in your hand. There are sevearl types of cards: Characters, Devices/Weapons, Interrupts (used and lost), Effects, Objectives (which were introduced later on and changed the game completely), etc. There’s something magical about it though, despite its complexity. The learning curve is steep, but once you get it, you get it. There’s nothing like having lightsaber battles or duels with your favorite Star Wars characters, using multiple combos with interrupts to eviscerate your opponent. To get into the specifics of the rules would take an entirely new article, but its rise in popularity partially due to the pandemic has helped rekindle game, despite the fact that there is no way Decipher will ever start printing it again.
Prices have soared, building decks IRL has become quite expensive (but don’t tell me that!), but the game is still as magical as ever. Buying sealed packs and boxes is still so much fun. The Player’s Committee has done a fantastic job at keeping this game alive and does not get enough credit. It’s hard to balance a game that has been out of print for 20 years, but they’re constantly making adjustments. Kudos to them for staying true to the game! I never knew how to play correctly when I was in middle school, but over 20 years later I finally know how to play. I wouldn’t say I’m a great player, but the strides I’ve made in just a year are astounding. Starting October 8 through the weekend, the Player’s Committee is hosting an all-weekend event with Worlds 2021, one of their yearly tournaments. This year there is a twist though: there will be a retro event which yours truly will compete in, which is very exciting! The last three virtual sets have been lost on me, due to life, so I haven’t learned those yet entirely. The next virtual set looks like it won’t disappoint though.
Virtual Set 16 is about the come out in less than a month, and if the above banner is anything to go by, it will finally cover the prequels. Perhaps a Revenge of the Sith Anakin and Vader? ROTS Yoda? An Anakin versus Obi-Wan objective? Building the Death Star Objective? Anything is possible at this point, but if the Player’s Committee’s track record is anything to go by, this next set may be one of their best yet in a long line of virtual sets. With the game more popular than ever, a Prequel-centric virtual set may just be what the doctor ordered.