“Are the particle illusion particles the same as the ones built into Discreet Combustion”
Combustion has the PI 2.0 render engine in it.
I’m away from my editing computer right now, but with card dance you can control how an image comes apart using a gradient layer and then adjust the x,y, and z movement individually. I think you can even adjust rotation of the pieces as well. The trailer was probably made with a true 3d application, but I think you could get really close with AE.