The 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter release follows the same pattern that we’ve come to expect.  It features old time players, current players, and an assortment of pop culture figures, things, and places.  I’ve heard some rumbling about how some of the relics available in the release are not actually real (like one from the Kraken!), but they seem popular none the less.

The set is the same format once again, containing 300 Base cards and an additional 50 SPs (301-350).  Unlike a lot of other releases, while these SPs are shorter, they’re still attainable falling one in every two packs.  You’ll also find a random assortment of insert sets featuring the likes of the World’s Hottest Peppers, the World’s Greatest Beaches, and Baseball Equipment of the Ages.

Allen & Ginter seems to really polarize collectors.  It’s definitely a niche set, but there isn’t much middle ground.  People seem to either love the variety, or hate it for the silliness.   That seems fine to me.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, try a box sometimes.  Just don’t go in expecting too serious a product.  There are plenty of those already throughout the year.

A Hobby Box advertises 24 packs with 8 cards per pack, although packs with thicker hits will have fewer cards.  There are also three hits per box.

This box contained:

125 Base (41.7% of 300 card set)
12 Base SP (24% of 50 base SPs)
10 Base Mini
5 Base Mini Allen & Ginter Back
2 Base Mini Black Border
1 Base Mini No Number
1 Home Run Derby Challenge card
4 Baseball Equipment of the Ages
6 Fantasy Goldmine
4 Magnificent Moons
4 World’s Greatest Beaches
6 World Talent
2 Flags of Lost Nations
1 Baseball Superstitions
1 Indigenous Heroes
1 MS Dennis The Rash
1 The World’s Hottest Peppers
1 Full Sized Relics B David Price
1 Mini Framed Relics Adam Jones
1 Mini Framed Autographs Dillon Peters