This year, the holidays bring the final episode of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. That means another card set, as well. This was released the same day as the movie. As with other recent movie releases, the first series has many characters and some scenes, but it’s light on anything really resembling a spoiler.
This release is similar to other recent movies. You get a small base set, parallels, and a number of insert sets including stickers, illustrated character, and ships and vehicles. One unusual thing that stands out, however, is the base set. It’s 99 cards, rather than something round. I guess that’s not really good or bad, just surprising. It’s not clear why that change. Could it be so the set will fit in pages nicely?
A box advertises 24 packs with 8 cards per pack. This includes two hits per box, one of which is guaranteed to be an autograph or sketch card.
This is a new release for me, despite it being around for the past few years. I was aware it existed, but it never really interested me. I’m not sure how much was because I just wasn’t aware of what it was, and how much was because of the after season timing. Once I saw the cards this year, I knew I wanted to explore them a little more.
The base cards for the set feature the regular flagship design, but the borders include a clear holiday theme. It’s much more than just a snowflake variation now. It’s a fun diversion, and fills a cheaper price point, similar to Opening Day. These were released as a Walmart exclusive, which is including in much of the set numbering.
There’s not much new to say about the Topps Update release. It provides a nice end to the year of collecting during the playoffs. I know Topps releases products year round, but starting with series one of the flagship all the way through update provides a nice bookend for the season.
Maybe I just haven’t paid as close attention before, but the set does feel much more rookie heavy than I remember. That’s not a bad thing, but it seems a lot of them have barely been in the league. The base set contains 300 cards with the usual assortment of SPs, SSPs, and parallels. There are also a number of inserts sets, many of which are along the same line as those from previous releases. Unfortunately, the numbers start over again.
With all the changes in the WWE releases this year, it’s nice to have a familiar release come out. It has a fairly well known pattern with the base set consisting of 60 roster cards, along with 40 card for specific events. Of course, there are multiple layers of parallels. These cards feature wrestlers from all the different brands, including NXT UK.
There are a few insert sets, but not as many as a lot of the other releases these days have. One feature I’m not a fan of, is that some of these insert sets are retail exclusives. A hobby box may get you close to a base set, but you will be completely shut out of some of the inserts. I wish that wasn’t the case, as I’m not interested in chasing these at multiple stores.
Stadium Club is known for many things, primarily high quality cards with even higher quality photography. This year is no exception. You’ll find some of the most interesting photos available on cards. The formula is pretty straight forward. There are still parallels and insert sets, but even many of the insert sets are the same as previous years.
That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that. It’s a great set featuring a combination of veterans, rookies, and all time greats. The cards really speak for themselves, as it’s a set that doesn’t really on gimmicks to get attention. You’re not chasing a ton of Short Prints to complete the base set, but there are alternative image variations available.
A hobby box contains 16 packs with 8 cards per pack. Two on card autographs are advertised per box.
