Cracking Some Nicer Keepers

Today, just a few cards to share - there will be more tomorrow, as always.

I pulled the few memorabilia cards which were in the cards Jeff Scott bestowed upon me and frankly, I am a sucker for anything MEM or AU or SN or any of those snazzy combinations thereto, so these are in a nice new happy home.

I don't care if it is all white, or a mini, this is still awesome. Good job on the retro look for the C55 design, and about the only thing I wish they would do a bit better with the minis is maybe design up the plastic surrounding instead of just a blanket colour like this grey.

Although I dislike generally the Playoff Contenders sets for their design, this is an on card auto, and a very beautiful signature at that. Wish I could mark my "x" that nicely. Also wish tey would at least use a different picture for the back, but alas.

Zenith is done generally better by Panini. If you are going to get a single colour swatch, a nice bright orange is a great way to ho, stands out well, and accompanies the design nicely.

I think this may be my very first card from any The Cup series. On that alone, I would want to keep it as these do not cross by me, so gotta catch 'em all....well, at least the one here.

We finish today with a Pinnacle Threads Mason. Again, may just be a white swatch, but serial numbered to 499, and again Panini using the same picture on the back as the front...okay, was done on The Cup card too I guess.

I don't have many memorabilia or auto cards, but do enjoy them - pretty much any player, any team, just at the NHL level though - so a big thank you to Jeff for passing these my way.

Tomorrow I'll share some more of the serial numbered cards. Not too many, but very nice nonetheless.

Before I finish - now to the cracking part. Julie invited me to pick some pockets on her blog. so I obliged and that package arrived with a bit of everything.



I picked up a couple cards which are making a temporary stop at my place before moving on to another baseball card home - which is just down the road a bit to the other side of Toronto.



A handful of inserts including a sleepy looking Kirby, my first Topps rediscovered card, and a beautiful A&G insert.

Oh, and any snazzy crackling diamond card will find a home here.



Of course, I picked out anything Blue Jays for the collection as well, just so happened to include some Chrome highlights to the bunch.



Though he scanned a bit crooked, the only Jay in this Leaf Power Brokers insert set, and finally...



This card scanned really nicely showing the Army Camo border. Looks nice in hand, but even better here. My first such bordered card, and a great Fickey.

Many thanks for the picks Julie, much appreciated!

Colour Coded

Last pack from the 2017-18 Upper Deck box, so let's get to it!

First up, some dupes...



Can't complain about getting a dupe of Draisaitl after the last season he had!

The keepers...



And lastly, the keeper insert, and subject of the title line...



Now, I am never going to be a Montreal fan - just not gonna happen. Now that said, I can appreciate how awesome a look this card has. Between the red parallel meshing so nicely with the red of the uniform - very snazzy card in hand. I can also appreciate that Max may be not one of the worst players...yeah, that's about as nicely as I can speak about any Montreal player...sorry...Toronto bias through and through.

A good way to end the box though as far as odds go as these are one every 72 packs.

10 Packs, 78 Cards, 430 Points.

1)	2019-20 Upper Deck Tim Hortons Packs	336.5648
2)	2019 Topps Chrome Value Pack	332.3750
3)	2018 Diamond Kings Baseball	6.0400
4)	2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Blaster	5.6825
5)	2017-18 Upper Deck CDN Exclusive Series 1 Box	5.5128
6)	2013 Triple Play Baseball Box	3.2588
7)	2017 Topps Series 1 Baseball Jumbo Packs	3.2222
8)	2017 Panini Chronicles Baseball Blaster	3.0000
9)	NHL Championship Collection	2.8818
10)	2009-10 UD National Hockey Card Day Packs	2.5789

A good showing overall, which had a couple nice Leafs and a couple other solid inserts, and a whole bunch of nice new base cards with great photography. What more can you ask for?

In completely different card news for me, and here at the end of a post as I am not sure how many really care too much when it comes to Magic cards - there was a set released for which I missed getting a booster pack - Mystery Booster. I did it somewhat on purpose, thinking I could pick one up when the next couple sets come out, and knock a few off at once. Well, the packs seem to be selling well and became harder to find. I don't know if more print runs are in process or what, with the current situation, so with busy season in full swing...which means my thinking may not always be...I went online and bought this...



Yeah - so instead of a single booster, I picked up 24, which cost about $230 Canadian...but I got my booster!

For the time being, I am not going to bother opening it. I'll wait and see what prices do because I really just want 1 pack, so if prices go such that I can open and sell some of the loose packs, will do that and keep whatever is left after getting my money back. Ah well, probably gonna be a couple years sitting on it, if not longer...

Anyone interested in Magic at a glance, this is a set to check out as it is reprinting of cards from 40 different sets and about 1,700 different cards (a normal base set is usually around 300). With 15 cards a pack and 24 packs, at best you will see about 20% of the set.

Sometimes it isn't smoke...

As luck would have it, not just smoke that can make a good card photo like yesterday, sometimes just a little ice...



Almost looks like an effect you would have to put in graphically on the card after the fact.



The rest of the base, all new as well and then we wend with...



After a few years with Carolina, he ended up with Florida most recently - one of the young guns to make it as a regular NHLer in fairly quick order.

Solid pack...one more to go!

9 Packs, 70 Cards, 342 Points.

Do you want the smoke?

A few packs left of the 2017-18 Upper Deck box, and we continue to get some great photography, nothing different here.



Sure, there aren't any inserts or a Young Gun or anything of the like, but can still appreciate some great photography.

Sure, you get some nice close ups with Kucherov and Wheeler, and some standard action shots with Backes and Sedlak. You also get a great Soderberg.

There have been a couple cards with that "through the smoke" look, and I think they would make a pretty neat collection. Hmmm...something to ponder...but I don't need another collecting goal right now....but this photo is why, just looks great. Anyway, a collection like that may end up with a lot of wrestlers (not a bad thing) given the pyros used for entrances....looking specifically at Goldberg for that one, but many others too.

8 Packs, 62 Cards, 317 Points.

I was recently able to trade away a final card for a collection to TCDB hockeydude (The Collector) which went against my nature because it was a Leaf card, however, since he wrote about needing the card, on his blog a while ago, and had been looking for the card for many years, I couldn't NOT send it to him (with the mail as it is, hopefully he should get it in the next week or two). He quickly offered up a nice bunch of cards for it, which is what I want to focus on because there was some nice cards that came across...

We have a few set builder cards...



Some assorted Blue Jays I needed...



A few Leafs...



With a couple really nice one-off Leaf team "sets" for...



2017 Sports Illustrated for Kids and...



A nice die cut Team Logo insert from 2016-17 O Pee Chee Platinum.

The best part of the trade was being able to provide someone with a last card to a set they had been trying to complete for quite a while...that'll be the best part, regardless of the nice cards that came my way.

Patchy Patch!

May not be much a surprise on where this pack is going, but can we start with the new base cards first?



A king hot pack and....is that Johnny Gargano? Garrison does have a bit of a resemblance to Johnny Wrestling, or maybe I am just a bit crazy...or both.

The more I see of the set, the more I like the unusual shots used on cards. Be it Provorov stretching in the hall or Lewis signing away, not just your usual suspects when it comes to photos where every card is the player skating with the variations are left foot first or right.

So...last card...



Being a good decade long career with San Jose is a pretty darn good tenure - heck, or even career. Logan is still going strong and hopefully has a bit more to his career.

Edit - as Billy points out in the comment below - not a patch, but a jersey card obviously. Man....the simple things seem to be slipping this year with the extended busy season for taxes due to COVID-19.

Definitely continuing the trend of this being a solid box!

7 Packs, 54 Cards, 293 Points.

A Shining Pack

Definitely beat the odds on this one as the Left Wing Shining Stars cards are every 24 packs. It is a good example though of why I don't really feel the need to pick up a lot of new cards as I already actually have one. Trading through TCDB has been a great way to pick up a lot of cards from sets I don't every really buy new from.

Don't get me wrong, still excited to pull a nice card, and a good Leaf at that, but just amazing how great the community is to be able to get cards through trade - getting what you want, without the extra stuffs you don't.

The rest of the pack, all keepers and...



Seguin and Sekera provide a couple more awesome views of arenas with shots from their feet on up.Does well to make players seem larger than life, and as I appreciate, show more of the arenas as well.

6 Packs, 48 Cards, 254 Points.

Bill Ny!

Although the scientist Bill Nye is a great, well known guy, I am talking about this one...



Even on card, it makes a big difference in seeing an outside game pictured. The touque is a nice touch as well. Nice to at least see a Leaf show up in the box, hopefully not the last one either.



Another perfect pack of additions including a Dale Weise card that I'd love to see more cards like.

That angle up from the ice, giving a great view of the arena and here, the banners in the rafters, is just amazing.

Last up...



A second Canvas card, and appreciating it's a subject that remains with his only NHL team thus far.

5 Packs, 40 Cards, 133 Points.