Since 1994, Decipher has been releasing sets of cards called Customizable Card Games, or CCG’s. These cards are used to play two-player games, such as Magic the Gathering. The cards are also marketed to collectors with some sets having foil inserts and promo cards. Because they are primarily a game, they are produced in a lot larger quantities then many trading card series these days. Each set stands alone with its own theme, but for gaming purposes can be blended with other sets. Carol Wisely, Decipher’s VP Marketing, offers this about making their product appeal to both collectors and gamers; “We try very hard in our development process to cater for both players and collectors. Of course, these two groups are not entirely separate – most of our players are also collectors and vice versa. Over the evolution of the Star Trek CCG we have had many features that appealed to collectors: promotional cards, preview cards, ultra-rare cards and sets such as The Fajo Collection which came in a presentation binder with a lot of material that appealed to the collector (such as the special collector’s poster). We try very hard to ensure availability of cards so that players can try out all the different strategies and features of gameplay, but at the same time have cards that appeal to collectors and really enhance their collection when they get them.”
Here are some statistics to give collectors an example of the print run in comparison to some trading card sets. For the BB Premiere Edition: there are 30,000 boxes of starter decks and 45,000 boxes of expansion packs.
The breakdown of all the series is fairly similar. A set consists of rare cards, uncommon cards and common cards. Occasionally, one card is inserted as an ultra-rare. The product is sold mainly in booster packs that have one rare each pack,. Some sets will also offer starter decks which are small boxes with about 60 cards. Two are rare cards, the rest are either commons, uncommons or in some cases cards found in the Starter Deck only.
First Edition Card Sets
Limited and Unlimited Premiere Edition Cards-Released in 1994 and 1995, this set of cards consisted of 363 cards in a limited Black Border version, a limited White Border version and an unlimited White Border version.
Second Edition Sets