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2019 Topps Total Wave 8 Pack Break

The 8th wave of Topps Total sees another drop in print run. This time with 3455 packs released. This wave starts with Shohei Ohtani and continues with stars and rookies like Buster Posey, Paul Goldschmidt, and Ramon Laureano. There is the standard set of parallels, along with a few extra autographs mixed in once again.

There are no guarantees for anything in the packs, aside from ten cards per pack. Low numbered parallels are a little more available as the print run trends lower, however.

This pack contained:

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2018 Topps Stadium Club Hobby Box Break

I really like the Stadium Club releases.  It focuses on pictures from the game, without having to rely on gimmicks to sell the cards.  It has its share of inserts and parallels, but the picture quality is still king.

The set can be a little daunting to put together from packs, however.  A hobby box contains 16 packs with 8 cards in each pack, with the base set consisting of 300 cards.  It features mostly current players, with some legends in the mix as well.  Each box advertises 2 on-card autographs, as well.   The autograph checklist is fairly big, but there are still some big names like hot rookies Gleyber Torres and Ronald Acuna, as well as many other stars of the game.

This box contained:

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2018 Topps Star Wars Black & White Hobby Box

This release snuck up on me.  I didn’t know it was coming until just before it was being released.  I’m not really tied in to the non-movie related releases, so it’s possible I just didn’t know.  I ventured out largely without really knowing what I was getting in to, but thought it could be a fun release.

It’s a pretty bare bones release, with a 140 card base set, and a few insert sets, as well.  The black and white is an interesting imagery

gimmick.  The parallels end up being a slight tint to the cards.  The box’s size really stood out to me.  It’s a box of only seven packs of cards, containing eight cards each.  That’s going to make it a tough set to make from packs.  Each box contains either one autograph or sketch card, as well.  The cards feature great photography, and the base cards do not really waste any space on design, other than the Star Wars logo.  It makes for a different feeling with the cards, to be sure.

It seems a little pricey for what it is, but we’ll see how it holds up.

This box contained:

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2017 Topps Star Wars: The Last Jedi Hobby Box Break

Topps released their latest Star Wars set on the day The Last Jedi opened in theaters. It’s a pretty clean design, and seems a lot more straight forward than recent releases. As usual, the release was pretty hush hush before that day, to prevent any spoilers. This set doesn’t seem to have many spoilers as it doesn’t seem to cover the whole movie and really only shows unknown characters. I think it’s safe to assume most people collecting this cards have already seen the movie before they do, however.

The base set is 100 cards, and comes in a variety of parallels. Many of the insert sets also come in various parallel versions. The box advertises 24 packs of 8 cards, with two hits per box.

This box contained:

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2017 Topps Star Wars Journey to The Last Jedi Hobby Box Break

This early fall set leading up to the December Star Wars release has become an annual event.   It also ends up following a familiar format.  The release features cards of all the Stars Wars movies and cartoons, as well as a few preview pics from The Last Jedi.  Once again, the design from the original vintage Star Wars series is used.  It’s starting to feel a bit overused at this point.  It seems multiple years using the same design is going to start getting confusing as years go by.

You also see familiar parallels and insert sets included in this release.  Aside from a handful of cards, it doesn’t really feel that new.  A box advertises 24 packs with 8 cards per pack, including two hits per box.

This box contained:

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