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The Exterminator Test Set contains some of the absolute rarest cards in the entire Battles in Time franchise. Because it was only released in select regional markets for a very short window, finding these cards today is a massive achievement for any collector.
Overall, the Test Set ran for a limited 12-week trial in the South West and Grampian television areas of the United Kingdom, starting on the 19th of April 2006 and concluding on the 12th of July 2006.
While individual card packs were never sold separately on shop shelves, they could be acquired by purchasing the fortnightly test magazines. A total of 7 different Test Set issues were released. Many eager collectors opted to buy multiple copies of Issue 1, which retailed for just £1.50 and came packed with two bonus card packs. More information on the Test Set magazines can be found here.
Test Set Composition & Odds
The test run consisted of the first 85 cards of what would eventually become the national Exterminator release. The set focused entirely on Series 1 of the modern revival—featuring Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor—alongside characters from the 2005 Christmas Special introducing David Tennant.
The 85-card set was distributed with the following pack odds:
60 Commons (8 per pack)
14 Rares (1 per pack)
7 Super Rares (1 in every 6 packs)
4 Ultra Rares (1 in every 24 packs)
The Elusive "Test Set" Super Rose variant was seeded at 1 in every 1,000 packs. However, it is widely believed within the community that fewer than 50 copies were ever actually printed, making it significantly rarer than the odds suggest.
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.
How to Identify a Test Set Card
If you are sorting through an old collection, there are four key design variations that distinguish a Test Set card from the standard national release:
No Rarity Symbols: Test Set cards completely lack the circular rarity icons normally found in the bottom-left corner.
Set Count out of 85: The numbering on the bottom-right reads out of 85 (e.g., 01/85) rather than the national set count of 275. Another thing to note is that on the Test Set, they used two digits, such as 01/85, whereas, in the Main Set, they used single digits, such as 1/275.
Altered Warning Icons: The symbols printed on the bonus cards within the test set show a generic yellow warning symbol which was changed to the circular emblem in the national release.
No Website URL: The official Battles in Time website URL is completely missing from the back of the test cards.
Super Rare Wave Foil: Test set super rare cards contained the same wave foil as national releases however, the wave peaks were horizontally aligned rather than vertically.
Design Changes: Some cards in the National Release were edited slightly. Either the information on the bottom was changed, or in the case of Harriet Jones, the title was changed to accommodate a second card. Adding 'MP' on the later set. Captain Jack was the only card from the test set to receive a complete image change.
🔍 The Psychic Paper Exception: The only card from the entire test run that featured absolutely no design changes is the Psychic Paper card. Guaranteed face-up on the top pack of every Issue 1 magazine, it is completely indistinguishable from the version released nationwide later that year.
Test Set Exterminator Ticklist
With every Issue 1 of the Battles in Time Test Exterminator Set there were numerous leaflets explaining the cards, what to expect from future issues as well as this ticklist which purchasers of the then-new series could tick off the cards they collect. The only cards which are not present on this list is the Psychic Paper card and the Super Rose.
These Posters were incredibly large, usually being folded around 4 times in order to fit inside the magazines. It is incredibly difficult now to get these posters in prestine condition, not only due to original collectors using them to keep track of the cards, but also their sheer size usually meant they were easily damaged.
Announcement of National Release
With every Test Set issue 7, there was an additional insert which, in short, announced the national main release of Battles in Time. The initial paragraph detailed that they would begin their release in Autumn, and would begin again with Issue 1.
This also confirmed that what we now know as the Test Set magazines and cards would feature the same material but in a different order, as well as a larger set of cards with subtle differences. This confirmed that the original 85 cards would be unique and never issued in the same form again. While stocks lasted, you could buy Test Set Packs from the website.
If you did not want to continue, GE Fabbri offered a refund on all bought issues if you sent them back to the company. If you did want to continue they also offered the first issue completely free, which is why this leaflet had not been seen by myself untill now.
Scanned Cards:
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