What is (or was) Wyvern?

Technically, Wyverns are cool two legged dragons from European mythology, but that’s not what I am here to write about. Instead, I want to discuss Wyvern the collectible card game, which enjoyed a brief existence from 1994 to 1997, so if you missed it and have no idea what I’m talking about, read on and learn about this little known relic of the 1990s trading card (TCG) boom.

Wyvern was published by U.S. Games Systems (USGS) out of Stamford, Connecticut in 1994. The company has been around for over 50 years and makes everything from tarot cards to motivational cards. This was just a year after Magic: The Gathering hit the market and interest in collectible card games was on the rise. Mike Fitzgerald, who later became known for his work with Wizards of the Coast, designed Wyvern and all the artwork was done by international fantasy artist Peter Pracownik.

The game was (or maybe still is?) played with two decks: one holds dragon and terrain cards and the other treasure and action cards. Billed as “The Game of Dragons, Dragon Slayers, and Treasure,” it could be played quickly by two people within a half hour. Like other popular TCG games of the era, Wyvern was heavy on strategy and fantasy; one interesting aspect of this game is all characters and terrains were based on actual elements from ancient mythology.

Unfortunately, the downside of coming into a market saturated with competition is not every game is going to make it, and Wyvern is an example of this. Magic: The Gathering and later Pokémon took the world by storm and after three short years Wyvern was pulled from production. Between 1995 and 1997, USGS put out only five editions: Premiere Limited, Limited, Phoenix, Chameleon, and Kingdom. Due to their narrow run, Wyvern trading cards are difficult to find today.

Believe it or not, some of the rarest Wyvern cards are errors; a misprint at the factory caused a few card backs to print with fronts from Magic: The Gathering – We actually sold one of these error cards at Bruneau and Co in February of 2022 for $800! However, for the most part Wyvern’s collectible value is what most would consider low – But hey, that’s great news for anyone interested in playing the game or beginning a collection!

If I’ve sparked your interest, make sure to check out our March 11^th TCG auction, we’ve got three Wyvern booster packs looking for new homes!