Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game
| Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game | |
|---|---|
| |
| Platform | Tabletop |
| Engine | LANE-TO-LANE Combat System |
| Release Date | August 15, 1995 |
| Language | English |
| Retail Price | $7.95 (booster), $2.65 (starter) |
The Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game is a collectible card game developed by Mag Force 7 and released in 1995.
Description
Breakdown
The base set consists of 312 regular cards divided into two factions. Each faction has 156 cards further divided into 45 commons, 50 uncommons, 50 commons and 11 nav points each. Ten of the eleven nav points are functionally identical but are printed on both card backs to ensure proper distribution.
Starters were sold from boxes of twelve each, six Terran and six Kilrathi. Each starter includes 65 cards: 41 commons, 16 uncommons, 3 rares and 5 nav points. The reverse side of each starter pack duplicates that faction's carrier nav point card because it is required for play.
Boosters were sold from boxes of 36 packs of 15 cards each. Each booster pack includes 4 commons, 2 uncommons and 1 rare from each faction as well as one nav point (with a 50% chance of having a Terran or Kilrathi card back).
Card Backs
Product Information
| Product | Internal | ISBN | UPC | EAN | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Pack | MAG7102 | 0-929373-29-4 | 9 780929 373294 | 59540 | $2.65 |
| Booster Box | MAG7102P | 0929373-31--6 | 9 780929 373317 | 59540 | $90 |
| Starter (Terran) | MAG7101 | 0929373-27--8 | 9 780929 737270 | 50795 | $7.95 |
| Starter (Kilrathi) | MAG7101 | 0929373-28--6 | 9 780929 373287 | 50795 | $7.95 |
| Starter (Box) | MAG7101P | 0929373-30--8 | 9 780929 373300 | 59540 | $90 |
Card Types
- Battle Damage
- Carrier
- Crew
- Fighter
- Luck
- Maneuver
- Modifier
- Nav Point
- Pilot
- Pilot Award
- Secret Orders
- Weapon System
Packaging
Booster Pack
Front
Back
Booster Box
Front
Right
Left
Back
Top
Flap
Bottom
In Situ
Credits
Advertising
Press Release
Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game Press Release
Print Advertising
Scrye (Issue 9, September-October 1995)
InQuest (Issue 13, May 1996)
Promotional Poster
Artist William Hodgson painted a promotional poster for the game which was shown at trade shows in 1995. Only a fragment has been preserved:
This is just a sliver of the promo poster for the Wing Commander III CCG. I really enjoyed the project, in which I got to work with a great group of people at Mag Force 7 (Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, and co.). I'll upload a full image when I can find one!
Press
Behind the Scenes
Scrye (Issue 10, November 1995)
Card Lists
Scrye (Issue 9, September-October 1995)
News
InQuest (Issue 2, June 1995)
Scrye (Issue 8, July-August 1995)
Duelist (Issue 9, February 1996)
Prices
InQuest
Issue 13 (May 1996)
Issue 14 (June 1996)
Issue 15 (July 1996)
Development
Team Shirt
Cancelled Developments
Proposed Expansion
When the game launched, the developers at Mag Force 7 had rough plans to release an 'Unlimited' set and/or additional expansions with new content in the same manner as contemporary collectible trading card games. Little beyond the initial idea was locked down, although there was talk about the first expansion including grey 'Border Worlds' cards inspired by Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom which could be played by either side as well as a Kilrathi corvette modifier card.
Gift Box
In 1996, Mag Force 7 and the rights to the Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game were sold to Thunder Castle Games. Thunder Castle Games planned to release an updated version of the game in the form of a two-player gift set. These sets, popular at the time, included everything two players would need to enjoy a collectible trading card game together. The company promoted the box set on their website but never completed development or published anything; they have since become defunct. Artist Brad Kelly designed the proposed packaging for the set. His description of the experience:
I mocked up a number of gift set box designs for TCG including this one for Wing Commander. To my knowledge it never got published. TCG mostly imploded in 1996, hemorrhaging employees, including myself. I don't recall details of any plans, beyond the obvious expectation of releasing a two-player gift box. I knew at the time that relations soured between TCG and MF7, but didn't know details. TCG had/has a reputation for burning bridges, so it was not unexpected. I spoke to Margaret Weis years later at a conference, mentioned who I was, and that I had worked on this a bit. Asked in general terms what had happened and she just said that it was a bad experience.
Thunder Castle Games gift box mockup
Documentation
Manual
Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game Manual
Frequently Asked Questions
Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game FAQ - Version 1.00 (September 25, 1995)
Official Card List
Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game Card List (August 1995)
Usenet Posts
Wing Commander Collectible Trading Card Game Usenet Posts
Card Scans
- Jetlag Card Scans (.zip, 119M)
- WCCIC Card Scans (.zip, 2GB)
- WCCIC Card Scans, Raw (.zip, 2GB)
Card List
Terran
Common
Uncommon
Rare
| Card Type | Card |
|---|---|
| Carrier | TCS Victory |
| Nav Point | Alpha |
| Nav Point | Beta |
| Nav Point | Gamma |
| Nav Point | Delta |
| Nav Point | Epsilon |
| Nav Point | Zeta |
| Nav Point | Eta |
| Nav Point | Theta |
| Nav Point | Iota |
| Nav Point | Kappa |
Kilrathi
Common
Uncommon
Rare
| Card Type | Card |
|---|---|
| Carrier | Sivar's Glory |
| Nav Point | Alpha |
| Nav Point | Beta |
| Nav Point | Gamma |
| Nav Point | Delta |
| Nav Point | Epsilon |
| Nav Point | Zeta |
| Nav Point | Eta |
| Nav Point | Theta |
| Nav Point | Iota |
| Nav Point | Kappa |
Promotional Cards
Two unique promotional cards were released for the game. 10,000 copies were printed of each card. The first promo card released was Wing Commander Heart of the Tiger which was given away at the Mag Force 7 booth at GenCon. Mark Hamill appeared at the booth on August 12, 1995 to sign copies of the card. The second promo card, Admiral Tolwyn, was included in the earliest copies of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom when it was released on February 12, 1996.
| Card Type | Card |
|---|---|
| Wing Commander Heart of the Tiger | Colonel Christopher Blair |
| Admiral Tolwyn | Admiral Geoff Tolwyn |
Original Art
As was common with trading card games at the time, artists were allowed to keep the copyright for their work. This has resulted the private sale of many of the original paintings and also has allowed high resolution, uncut versions of some to become available to the public.
Bob Eggleton
"Drinking with Aliens", 6"x15" acrylic.
Alan Gutierrez
Commissioned by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman 1996, for the card came "Wing Commander" I did about 10 small illustrations for the card game, with various celestial effects, that might affect the outcome of the game. This was the only one I ever scanned from the original art. It's been many years, but my understanding is that a collapsed star-burnt out and becoming more dense, emits electromagnetic radiation (the blue streaks) and, spins very fast, with the light (the eruption in orange) "pulsing" as it spins. There may be other more accurate depictions, but this was done just for fun, so I'm not interested in the specifics. Just the wonder of outer space... Gouache on masonite, 7" x 10"
From the Wing Commander card game, commissioned and published by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, 1995 This is the combination of 2 traditionally painted works, "Minefield", and "Skillful Use Of Missile Decoys" from the game. Since I had the original scan from "Minefield", I digitally added the ship (unscanned and had to be digitally restored from the printed card) to present this new variation. Top half gouache on Masonite.
Composite with Skillful Use of Missile Decoys
Alpha: From the card came Wing Commander, commissioned and published by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1995. One of the most striking cards of the 12 I did, it is one of the last astronomicals left in my archives. I had to recreate the art, as the scan brought up the printed pixels too much (very small image), so it is a digital version of the original trad. version. Part of a series that includes Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon. Beta: From the card game Wing Commander, commissioned and published by Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis, 1995. Part of a last offering of astronomical works in the archive, a simple rendering for mood in the game... Gouache on Masonite, photoshop finishing. Gamma: From the card game Wing Commander, commissioned and published by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1995. Part of the 12 illustrated works, and one of two more I mustered up for the last astronomicals in my archive, for mood... Gouache on Masonite w/photoshop finishing.
From the card game "Wing Commander", commissioned and published by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1995 This Kilrathi is none too happy at being captured, and is one of 4 "Luck" cards I did, showing 2 of each adversary. Gouache on masonite.
From the card game "Wing Commander" commissioned and published by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1995 One of 4 "Luck" cards of "recovery" and "capture" pilots of adversaries in the game. Gouache on Masonite.
From the card game "Wing Commander" commissioned and published by Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis, 1995 A "Luck" card, it was the launching of the "Arrow" fighter, and used again for "X Wing Fighter Scramble" Edit: This may have came before the "X Wing" art (presumably). But since I'm not sure when that commission happened, It could be Magnum Launch as the original...
X Wing Fighter Scramble
William Hodgson
16 x 20, mixed media on hardboard. Illustration for the Wing Commander III collectible card game, a great game created by an awesome group of people -- but arriving on the CCG scene at the wrong time to be as successful as it could have been. tHE lOVE aNIMALS were a "technotronic, retro-folk band of the 28th century," serving as a morale-booster in the game, when they toured the space fleet, cheering on the pilots and crews. I figured that some futuristic instruments could be offset by granny glasses and bell bottoms to get the effect.
Barclay Shaw
I’ve attached a zip file of what I have; the files were recovered from a hard drive crash in the early 2000s and two of them are very low resolution. The artwork was a combination of painting, digital painting and primitive 3D renderings – one of my early forays into the digital art realm, pretty rough by today’s standards (scanner lines are apparent in the backgrounds) but it opened up a whole new world for me.
Fan Projects
LackeyCCG Implementation
An implementation of Wing Commander for LackeyCCG is available here (30M).
Vassal Implementation
An implementation of Wing Commander for Vassal is available here (150M).
Tabletop Simulator Implementation
An implementation of Wing Commander for Tabletop Simulator is available here on Steam Workshop.
