Over the past few days I've had the pleasure of chatting with another fanatical Battlecast collector and player.
While I have been 100% on board with Skylanders Battlecast since Day 1 of its release here in the US, Mr. Paul Briggs has a step up on me since he was able to get his hands on the game and cards when it first released in New Zealand earlier this year.
Thanks to our conversations I've learn a few interesting tidbits and I'd like to share a few of them with you.
Not All Battlecast Cards Are Created Equal
So you know how every time there's a new Battlecast promotion, Spitfire and/or Stealth Elf seem to be involved somehow?
The collector in me was a bit disappointed as I didn't need 12 copies of the same card.
However, in light of recent conversations, it turns out that's not quite the case.
As of this writing there are currently 4 different variations of Spitfire.
Image Credit: Paul Briggs
While there are additional discrepancies, there are two main items I want to bring your attention to…
Different Icons
First, take a look at the icon in the center of the bottom of each card. The early design for these cards used a triangular-shaped ruin while for the final design they settled on a crown-shaped ruin.
Even though the triangle was an early design they haven't stopped using it completely. For example, the McDonald's promo cards that are included with the Happy Meal toys use it and they come with a 2016 copyright date while the Starter Pack card (which also uses the triangle) has a 2015 copyright date.
It is also interesting to note that the triangle is present on the official Skylanders Battlecast site when explaining card rarity.
Different Borders
The second aspect of the card I want to draw your attention to is the border. There are two types of borders.
First is the border with the sawtooth edge. Cards with this type of border can only be scanned once. The sawtooth edging actually creates a unique code that the app can read and prevents the card from being scanned a second time.
Second is the border with the straight edge. These cards are typically promotional cards and can be scanned multiple times. However, I believe only Spitfire and Stealth Elf currently exist with straight edges.
With these two different icons and two different borders there is potential for four different cards and that's exactly what we have with Spitfire.
Other Differences
As I mentioned earlier there are also a few other differences between the cards.
Fine Print
The fine print at the bottom of the card differs.
On some cards there is no fine print. On some cards the copyright date differs. Then there are some cards that also include the name of the card's illustrator.
Card Back
Most of the cards have the standard Battlecast logo on the back of the card.
However, the McDonald's promo cards have information about what Battlecast is and where to download the app.
You can see these differences in the image above.
Card Text
It is also interesting to note that the early design of Spitfire contains different text.
His Nitro Blast ability originally read:
Deal 40 damage to the active enemy.
But on the final design it reads:
Blast the active enemy for 40 damage.
They both have the same effect, but they tried to get a little more creative with the wording for the final version.
Other Cards with Minor Variations
So we talked about Spitfire who currently has four variations:
- Starter Pack/Micro Comic Version
- Battlecast Packs Version
- Magazine Promo Version
- McDonald's Happy Meal Version
It turns out Stealth Elf also has four variations:
- Starter Pack/Micro Comic/TV Dinner Version
- Battlecast Packs Version
- Magazine Promo (UK) Version
- Magazine Promo (NZ) Version
Additionally, Burning Rubber (also pictured above) and Trickster's Trap each have two different versions.
- Micro Comic Version
- Battlecast Packs Version
Once again, a big thank you to Paul Briggs for bringing these differences to my attention and providing the images.
It looks like I have a few more cards to hunt down and I think it will be interesting to see how they handle future promotional Battlecast cards.
I actually returned my Micro Comic as all I got were, once again, Spit Fire and Stealth Elf. I took my other seven versions from the starter packs, slapped them on the TRU return counter and just said “special, my foot”. I wish I had known that there were actual other cards to get out of it, I might have just even exchanged it since I do like the comics quite a bit.
Yeah, those Micro Comic packs were a bit confusing, but there was some variation.
Have a friend who still needs a high volt mini poster and I have a few friends who need a sticker or two if yo ever open any of those. That sticker set was a nightmare to get, the collation was abysmal.
Nice little synposis there Matt. I started with New Zealand in February though, not Australia. Australia was just a little bit ahead but not a lot. Sweden and New Zealand were the main two countries ahead but New Zealand had one advantage Sweden did not, they had the cards too.
Nice little synopsis there Matt! If you want the pictures to Stealth Elf, I can oblige.
I won’t say no to more pictures. 🙂
i have 5 of the happy meal ones. idk why