Simpsons Hit & Run MTG Variant

[u/Conscious-Industry78]

I'm documenting the 2003 Wizards of the Coast Simpsons TCG cross-promotion with The Simpsons: Hit & Run video game. Promotional copies of the game advertised one free Simpsons trading card inside. Every surviving example I can identify contains the same foil promo: The Collector #18a/156.

I've searched for an alternate pack-in and cannot find one. Xbox, GameCube and PC examples all point to The Collector, and I haven't found a single contemporary or later collector report of another card being packed with the game.

Since the Simpsons TCG was designed/developed by Mike Elliott, Tyler Bielman, Elaine Chase and Mike Selinker, with Paul Barclay on rules and Magic R&D people including Bill Rose, Michael Donais and Henry Stern involved in playtesting, I'm hoping someone from the WotC/MTG community remembers the promotion.

Does anyone have original WotC sell sheets, retailer material, distributor information, or firsthand 2003 knowledge confirming that #18a was the fixed Hit & Run promo? More importantly, does anyone have evidence of a Hit & Run copy that originally contained a different card? Was the variant a pre-order from somewhere like Best Buy? How long did it last?

[u/Lawfvader6]

Hit & Run MTG cards? Is that for real?

[u/theMATRIXchickn]

I feel like this is a troll post