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The National Set of the Exterminator cards was announced in a press release from GE Fabbri Ltd. on the 7th of June 2006 after a successful run with the Exterminator Test Set cards. The launch date for these cards was confirmed within this press release to be the 12th of September 2006, some two months after the ending of the Test Set. GE FABBRI did announce within the Test Set Issue 7 that should parents wish for a refund from buying the Test Set magazine rather than paying again for the national release they could do so by way of an attached form.
The Exterminator National Set was almost identical in how they were sold. There was an initial Issue 1 with two packs, and like the Test Set included a guarunteed Psychic Paper card which allowed users to read six cards with hidden information by way of a red transparent window. This Isssue 1 was followed by fortnightly magazines each including a pack of Exterminator Cards with Issues 1 through to 12, and Isssues 12 to 25 containing duel packs each containing six re-printed Exterminator cards. Unlike the Test Set, there were individual packs now available for purchase from newsagents for the price of £1.50.
As expressed on the Test Set page, there were some variances between the Test Set and the National Release which are detailed on this page and the Test Set Exterminator Pages. In summary however, these were a different warning symbol on bonus cards, the addition of a rarity symbol in the bottom left, the cards being out of 275 rather than 85, and the introduction of the battles in time website on the rear of the card.
The Exterminator series consisted of 275 cards, numbered from 001-275, featuring characters from TV: Rose-Doomsday. They were split into the following categories:
231 (C) Common cards (8 in every pack)
28 (R) Rare cards (1 in every pack)
10 (SR) Super-Rare cards (1 in every 6 packs)
6 (UR) Ultra-Rare cards (1 in every 24 packs)
1 Golden Ticket card (1 in every 1000 packs)
There was also a difference in the packs for the Test Set and the National Set. The Test Set packs were more of a matte foil finish though still keeping the same design. On the rear of the Test Set pack the information contains the break down of cards of the Test Set being out of 85, but has "NOT TO BE SOLD SEPERATELY" on ALL Test Set packs and has the website listed as "www.doctorwhocards.com" whereas the National Set shows the cards being out of 275, having a shinier foil finish and the website on the back is "www.battlesintime.com".
Below are scans from informational pages that accompanied the first issues of the main set. Showing an in depth view of the set and the cards themselves.
My Render of what the packs for this set looked like, as it is incredibly hard to scan the packs themselves due to the foil packaging. Please do not re-use without permission as alot of work went into re-mastering these. Thank you.
The Cards Themselves
The Test Set Exterminator Set introduced the types of cards which would be the baseline for the cards released over the next three years. As shown in this "Issue 1" accompanying leaflet, there were "Character Cards" and "Bonus Cards" shown featuring the then new National Release designs. Looking closely you can see that the cards themselves have a rarity symbol, and the bonus cards feature revamped circle warning circle rather than the yellow warning triangle seen on the Test Set cards.
This leaflet also showed the rarities of the cards, detailing the "Common", "Rare", "Super Rare" and "Ultra Rare" cards. What was great to see within these magazines is the artwork unhindered by either foil or the lenticular plastic. Sadly, these artworks are lost or gatekept and therefore will only be visible through the magazines.
The second page of the leaflet goes into further detail regarding the cards themselves. As seen there are details regarding the Card Numbers, Power Icons, Card Description, Set Name, Set Number, Deck Icons, Double Ratings and Skill categories.
National Set Notable Differences and Features
Main Differences Front
As shown in the image above, the main differences between Test Set and Main Release Cards are the addition of a Rarity Symbol on the Main Set Release, the numbers being out of 275 rather than 85, and the updated bonus box having a circular power symbol.
Main Differences Rear
The only notable difference on the rear of the Main Set cards is the addition of the battles in time website, showing as www.battlesintime.com.
The hidden message feature, was discontinued part way through the print run of the Exterminator series. And it was never continued in later sets. However, only two were reprinted in the latter runs, with the remainder, such as Unlimited Credit and Satellite 5, keeping their hidden bonus'.
Exterminator Ticklist!
Scanned Cards:
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