All posts by dpatera

2017, Box Break, Hobby Box, Topps WWE, Wrestling

2017 Topps WWE Hobby Box Break

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The 2017 edition of Topps WWE follows the recent pattern, using the same design as the flagship baseball set. The set is grouped by teams, if you will, as the wrestlers are separated by Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and Legends. These are all available in various parallels, as well as a handful with alternative images.

There are a few inserts sets included, as well. The main inserts sets all seem to share a similar design, which I’m not particularly a fan of. It’s a shame, as the content of those sets is interesting, just not the layout.

Each box contains 24 packs of 7 cards, and advertises two hits. The hits once again include Mat relics, shirt relics, manufactured championship belts, and autographs. `

This box contained:
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2017, Baseball, Bowman, Jumbo Hobby Box

2017 Bowman Jumbo Hobby Box Break

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Bowman has always been highly focused on prospects. This seems to be taking it to an extreme, however. The base set now consists of only 100 cards, while the prospects “insert” set features 150 different players. I miss the days when the base set was not just an after thought. The vast majority of autographs and other inserts are prospect related, but there are also a few veterans sprinkled in.

 

I don’t remember Bowman really doing buybacks in the same way the Topps flagship release has in recent years, but to celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary, we get to see some this year. They’re using similar foil colors as the Topps release. I’ve only seen buybacks going back to 1990, as prior to that, the cards would be oversized compared to modern cards, and would not fit in packs.

This box contained:
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2017, Hobby Box, Star Wars, Topps

2017 Topps Star Wars Rogue One Series 2 Hobby Box Break

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The second release for the latest Star Wars installment, Rogue One, carries on with a similar feel to the first series, but once again is not merely a continuation. The only piece that is a clear sequel to the previous release is the Darth Vader set. The main set, and any returning insert subsets, start over with their numbering at 1. The base set has difference in the design, but it took me a while to realize it, just like from the The Force Awakens sets.

The box advertises 24 packs, with 8 cards per pack, and 2 hits per box. The hits once again vary from manufactured relics to Sketch cards to cast autographs.

This box contained:

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2017, Baseball, Hobby Box, Topps Opening Day

2017 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box Break

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The Opening Day set gives a nice alternative set with a much more modest price tag. It’s an attainable set, with a lot of fun inserts included. The 200 card base set features a handful of players from each team, including some who did not appear in series one, in their new uniforms. You see some old favorite inserts such as Superstar Celebrations, Opening Day Stars, and Mascot cards. There are also autographs and relics, but they are very rare, and not guaranteed in a box as with most other releases.

The box promises 36 packs of 7 cards each. Despite enough cards, there were a lot of duplicates in my box, so I’m pretty far from a set, still, which is unusual for this release.

This box contained:

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2017, Baseball, Donruss, Hobby Box

2017 Donruss Hobby Box Break

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It’s always nice to see an alternative to the monopoly on baseball cards from Topps. For the last few years, Panini has been releasing an alternative set, even if it is not MLB licensed. They’ve done a good job of downplaying the fact that team names can not be used.

The set features 195 cards, including 30 SP Diamond Kings and 15 SP Rated Rookies, along with a slew of parallels, and inserts with parallels. The set contains mainly current stars along side older former players. A few favorite insert sets return again this year, with The Elite Series, Dominators, The Rookies, The Prospects, and many more. We also see a retor variation set, paying tribute to players on the 1983 Donruss design.

The box gives you pretty good value, with low count parallels, while advertising three autograph or memorabilia cards per box on average. This box even came in slightly above average.

This box contained:

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