Hi Flockiewicz,
If you don't want to invest in an Atmel-ICE programmer, it might be worth checking to see if you have a local hackspace in your area. There might be someone there who'd be able to help, in order to recover you boards.
It's a shame that Atmel (now Microchip) has more than doubled the price of their ICE programmer. The Basic version cost only 40€ a couple of years ago.