Preview Set (Expansion)

Preview Set is an unofficial name of the initial Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game prerelease of the Premier Edition expansion set by Precedence Entertainment.

Set history
Preview Set premiered as a limited release which was sent out to official Precedence representatives (Prec-Reps) for the game, known as Rangers, who playtested it and ran demonstrations before Premier Edition hit shelves in 1997.

200 cards (4 starter decks of 50 cards each) from Preview Set were put on sale on eBay on March 9, 2001 (lot number 1121270289). The seller of the cards, presumably a former Prec-Rep, made scans of 33 cards and revealed their origin in a description of the auction.

Size and rarities
The entire set consists of 200 cards:
 * 200 fixed cards

Starter decks
Four starter decks contained 50 fixed cards for each race Centauri, Human, Minbari and Narn.

Mechanics
Being a prerelease Preview Set presumably featured similar mechanics of Premier Edition with some known original terms (Distinct) and card types (Immediate Event, Starting Ambassador).

Notable Cards

 * Affirmation of Peace
 * Aid Station Security
 * Back Room Dealing
 * Book of G'Quan
 * Border Raid
 * Cement Alliance
 * Centauri Agent
 * Centauri Prime
 * Contact with Vorlons
 * Declaration of War
 * Delenn
 * Destined to Be
 * Drigo
 * Euphrates Treaty
 * Finish the War
 * G'Kar
 * Homeworld Fleet
 * Jeffrey Sinclair
 * Kalain
 * Ko'Dath
 * Lady Ladira
 * Level the Playing Field
 * Londo Mollari
 * Lyta Alexander
 * N'Grath
 * Narn Captain
 * Picket Fleet
 * Psi Corps Intelligence
 * Stop Hostilities
 * Susan Ivanova
 * Vorlon Alliance
 * Wide Ranging Support
 * You Are Not Ready

Card Types

 * Immediate Event
 * Cards of this card type were later changed for Event card type.
 * Immediate Event card type background (showing a White Star) is identical to Contingency card type which was first time introduced in The Great War expansion set in 1998.
 * Mechanics of Immediate Event card type is presumably similar to Contingency card type without requirement of putting it face down under a valid target but rather playing it from hand as an instant or upon trigger.


 * GKar (Preview Set).jpg, a Narn Starting Ambassador from the Preview Set]]Starting Ambassador
 * This card type is used for each of four Starting Ambassadors with respective race listed as part of their card type.
 * Cards of this type were later changed for Character card type with Starting Ambassador title given in bold type.
 * Mechanics of Starting Ambassador card type is presumably the same as of Character card type with Starting Ambassador title given in bold type.

Card Design

 * Four colored square shapes with numbers represent Abilities:
 * Diplomacy is Green (top)
 * Intrigue is Blue (upper middle)
 * Psi is Orange (lower middle)
 * Leadership and  Military are Red (bottom)
 * Lady Ladira (Preview Set).jpg, a Centauri Character from the Preview Set]]Simple square shape with a number represents Influence Cost.
 * Strife Mark design is different from the one used in the following expansion sets.
 * Black border around card is omitted.
 * Copyright information is missing on a card face.

Effects
There are few original terms used:
 * "Distinct" (instead of Multiple)
 * "[Vorlon]" (instead of Vorlon Mark)
 * "[Destiny]" (instead of Destiny Mark)
 * "Boost ability"