Not So Essential

 In no way am I becoming a fan of the Panini Chronicles baseball cards, but I am at least begrudgingly accepting that there is some interest in them. I could see liking some of the insert designs and looking to collect them as sets since most are managable in size.

The Essence cards - nah, they don't do it for me. The Crusade design is pretty nice though. The parallels and needing 10 or so for each is excessive, but that's par for the course these days.

We keep heavy on the rookie cards of course, but nothing Toronto has come up yet in this blaster which is a shame. I did look at a few YouTube videos of blaster box breaks to get a sense of what is out there is a given box, and we seem pretty par for the course so far. Still a bit surprised that we don't have any real base cards yet.

A bit disappointing on how little stat backs there are on any of the sets. At least we have something on the Spectra card, but it is the oddball from the set for it. Torres has had a subpar 2024 compared to his prior years, but that's true of a number of players this year (Toronto - I'm looking at pretty much most of the roster on that one unfortunately).

Get Your Ticket

Today we have another pack of 2022 Panini Chronicles baseball cards, and spoiler - still no base cards.

Design wise, again, it feels like a number of different sets pushed into a single product, but I do like the Season Ticket design. Not sure I would be drawn to collecting a full set of it, but when the ticket information is different on each card and means something- that's cool.

Joe Ryan continues to pitch for Minnesota,  Mazeika wasn't able to stay at the MLB level given a batting average of .190 over parts of seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Rodolfo is another player who struggled to stay at the MLB level with a low average - under .220, while Ryan Vilade lasted 7 games.

Just feels like Panini is pushing out all these sets in one release of "maybe" Rookies- like Bowman on steroids.

Still - at least these are all "inserts" for keeps.

Torturous

 I generally do not like Panini sets and today, we get to start to explore why that is. Don't get me wrong, I know there are many out there that like them, and that's great - glad you do, and enjoy it. It's just not my cup of tea and let's see why.

This was a Dave & Adam's pick up back when I last went there (and when they screwed me on pricing a blaster box which they ran through as a hobby box - a $40USD difference that they did not make up for.....yes, a bit bitter be me). I picked it up for under $10 USD which seems to be a decent price compared to what they go for now - up to a whopping $13-$15USD in most cases.

First, tis is a 50 card base set, but as there are a few parallel and insert sets, the base set feels more like an insert set. Just to put it in perspective, there are 400 insert sets listed on TCDB and 10 parallels. Again, this is a 50 card base set - will be interesting to see how many I get given it's 4 cards a pack.

I pulled one pack aside for the collection, and now have to figure out how to score these cards because the pack odds are nowhere to be seen. I think any "base" insert and the groove cards per the box will be like a base card, double for any non-SN parallel of an insert, and I'll have to figure out something for the SN cards.

Yes, there are 5 packs in the box, and not all created equal. I can tell you right off the bat, one is a fatty and he is going to be coming up last. Better not be a decoy!

So, this is what I mean. If you like variety - great because these look like four different cards from four completely different products. It just gives me a headache. I mean, I love getting a pack of 10 cards, 8 or 9 are base and make a nice looking set, and one or two are special and different.

If every single card is special and different, you lose what makes anything special and different. I guess these are all inserts of one kind or another, so are "keepers" - but as for scoring how good these are....*sigh*

Oh - and on the Titan card, the "line" across at shoulder height - I have seen a few times on cards. I gather it is a printing issue with the effect as it acts like a "dead" zone with no effect through that line. Would you consider this an error card with the foiling?

Okay - so Joe Ryan looks to be "building blocks"...Alonso looks like a standard Clearly Donruss card...Revolution Groove for Hunter....and....Ruby Wave Crusade card of Gil.

The backs are all very different - but the same as well since we have no stat lines on any of them. Well, the Crusade card is serial numbered to 199 which is cool though, so nice there.

Whether I like the product or not, I have a feeling it is going to score well as, even if there is no Jays content, these are all inserts and hard to not have a SN card without some points on odds - so say every 12 packs is reasonable. I have a feeling this box is going to do well and though I won't like to admit it - I'm going to like a bunch of the cards (but still don't like the lack of a "set").

If You Like 1987 Topps Baseball...

 You are going to really love the look of this product...

The box may be a bit beat up, but this was a pick up for under $10 from Pastime Sports in British Columbia. Part of the "hey, they have a lot of wrestling cards that I haven't been able to find and the prices are pretty decent" purchase I made a while ago. The package stars kind of cover it with Cena, who even in 2017 was on his way out schedule wise, Goldberg who was in the midst of a small run back with the company, and Bayley who is awesome and has has been for her entire wrestling career....besides, I think she is still a hugger.

Always like to include the odds for those interested, and for myself for seeing how we do scoring wise.

We start with the base set which is very much 1987 Topps baseball. Not necessarily a bad thing as I like the design here. The base cards here put me up to 37 of 100. I have a blaster box (or maybe two - I can't remember) which should help on the base set front as well.

Pretty good star power, I mean, getting Cena, Becky, Austin, Macho and Foley...heck even Backlund...nice!

These packs, like most wrestling packs, have a few different inserts/parallels which take up a good section of the cards, so we have...

Sweet - that blue parallel Carmella is nice. The blue parallels fall every 16 boxes, so nice one there. The bronze parallels just look like a darker wood grain - but okay.

Other inserts include bizarre matches, all-stars and thirty years of Summer Slam being documented. All good topics, I just so happened to have collected a fair number of these inserts through trades on TCDB and some purchases from baseballcardstore.ca. Not sure I would really call Typhoon or Kofi an All-Star for SummerSlam, but not going to nitpick that too heavily.

We end with a bunch of 30 years of SummerSlam inserts which cover some nice memories. I will say that the Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude feud was pretty solid, though my fave Rude feud will always be him and Jake The Snake Roberts.

As for this box - the Carmella card saved it a bit because I did have a number of the inserts already...

Not too shabby. I am finding:

- Anything below a 2 is not great, which makes sense as there must be lots of dupes or unneeded cards

- Anything between a 2 - 3 is decent - likely alright coverage of the base set, maybe a decent insert or two

- Anything above a 3 means great base card coverage or fantastic inserts, and the higher number, the better

Hockey Cube Packs

 We opened the cube yesterday, and today, let's look at the three packs which I am not keeping unopened - the three 2022-23 Upper Deck MVP hockey packs. Six cards per pack, hopefully we get something solid as the unopened packs are great, but the included cards didn't hit too much.

A solid first pack with the Ice Battles insert which are about every 1.25 packs - so nothing too wow there. We do get a one in four packs short printed base card with the Leaf rookie Kalligren, a nice pull to get a Leaf card.

Sweet that we keep the Leaf goodies going with a Tavares base pick up. Another Ice Battles insert too, so a solid little pack.

Wow - that is a nice pack to end for a Toronto fan. The gold script parallel cards are every 17.5 packs, and getting a Leaf to boot is amazing. Factor in the Ice Battles is also a Leaf card, is also actually the exact same card, and this is a Kerfoot hot pack indeed!

The packs did a great job of making up for the underwhelming 50 card singles and brings the opening to being one of the best so far this year. No complaints there at all - and only two base dupes here as well, so nice little build ahead of whenever I open the box I have for this set.

Walmart Power Hockey Cube

 Here we go with something I actually picked up within the last few months at Walmart.

Gone are the days when you could get a box of 14-16 assorted packs from a given sport for 20 dollars - man, I miss those products, especially wrestling, but here we have the closest thing for these days. I believe the box was $25 or $30 for the cards as mentioned, and I would expect the 50 cards to be nothing special, but let's see.

Part of the "get" from these, are a few packs for my unopened pack collection since I am missing a bunch of the newer stuff. Here we have a keeper with, well, one of each. I needed all of them, so just have a few 2022-23 MVP packs to open, which works as it's a set I will work on.

As for the singles...

Okay, not a super surprise that we get MVP set cards, but I will say, at least they are from the factory set, so not something I would get otherwise.

I do actually like the design front and back of the cards as well, so good marks there, a shame it is the factory set, so not looking to build out this one.

Stars and Leaf content does really well for making this box worthwhile too!

I doubt the three packs I open tomorrow will add greatly to the value of this box, but I will say, the packs and cards - not too shabby all considering, so I will take this outcome so far happily.

This Likely Won't Go Well

 Last of the single packs in my Pastime Sports purchase from a few months back, and this pack is for a set I am NOT collecting, so this may be hard to come away well from.

At least it's a nice looking package, shiny and green.

Also a reminder of how basic the backs of packs use to be - no insertion ratios or odds taking up half the real estate, and yet no mail in offers taking up a large part either.

Inside, oh yes, there were cards...

There is a star performer insert card in each pack, so no "special" value to it, though it is one I do need, and I mean, it's Neon Deion! I wasn't a huge fan, but could appreciate his accomplishments across sports. Him playing for Atlanta didn't help put him in my good books either.

For the rest of the pack - no Jays, no Expos, and no write ups on the backs of the cards instead going for the fuller picture and minimal stat look. I don't mind the larger logo for the team, but the licensing ones don't need to be so massive.

Definitely the worst of the bunch so far with nothing of much value to my collecting, coming out of the pack. It happens, and still like opening a variety of products, but maybe the next opening will be a bit better.

One Off With The Club

 Another random pack pick up from that same Pastime Sports order that the pack yesterday was from, and hopefully this is just as good a pack.

1992 Stadium CLub baseball was a massive and great set. At 900 cards, that 100 9 pocket pages - a big binder, for a complete set. It came out in three series, each of 300 cards, and as you can see, this is from the middle release.

As it just so happened to work out, this may be a set I am slowly collecting, but I ended up having a bunch of the cards from this pack, but at lease Kirby is a new addition for me.

The other new for me addition to the set is Griffey at the end. I mean, no Jays, and a bunch of dupes but at least the two keepers are big stars.

The photography is great as always, and although the stats on the back don't give year by year stats, they are unique enough that I like them!

Too many dupes leaves this opening at the bottom of the pile thus far in 2024.

1992 Fleer Baseball

 Up for today - a one off pack pickup from one of my Pastime Sports orders. I pickup up a few random packs as they were cheap, and we like to open packs - don't really need more of a reason than that.

1992 Fleer is one of the sets I am slowly building and have a long way to go, so for about a buck, 17 cards isn't bad, and who knows, maybe it'll work out well.

Part of liking picking up the old packs, is remembering the wrappers and in most cases, the offers on them. I don't recall ever sending in for any offers, but still like looking back at them.

On to the cards!

Dang - this is a solid pack right from the start as we get two Toronto cards in the pack which makes this a nice winner right off the bat. As for stars - McGwire makes for a great pull for the time!

Out of 17 cards, 10 new set additions and two Blue Jays, makes this a really good pack - which shows below -but I am a little surprised that we get dupes in the same pack. I remember this happening at times with Upper Deck products at the time, but I don't remember Fleer having this issue that I ever saw. Now, doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but still a reminder of how collation was in the product in general back in the early 90s.

Yup - a one off winner for sure in the track of opening products this year, and I am not upset by that at all. Great pack!

Magic on the Horizon

 Time again for a 401games Magic The Gathering update of cards. Modern Horizon III came out last month, so I picked up my unopened packs foe my collection...

These are in the "middle" pricing as they are not top end prices but above a normal expansion - so I throws my money and take me packs...argh!

I picked up a few singles from recent sets that were cheaply priced. Sometimes it is a lack of availability at first when the set was released, and a few are drops in price from initial release, but if I needs my preciousness, I takes my preciouses.

My preciousness shouldn't try to runs like that...no...

If you go back and look at some of the past singles pick up postings, you will see a number of cards repeat from set to set. Magic does tend to do this with some cards. Partly because cards cycles out of different methods of play, so it keeps them available in those play formats by reprinting them.

I have no idea which card I have represented in the most sets, but I might have to look one day, as it's an interesting question.

Still love the artwork, and with reprinted cards, I wish they would change up the artwork regularly though.

Not Great But Complete

 We don't get a ton of kids around for Halloween (yes, it's July and I am talking about Halloween). I believe it was last year - though that these are 2022 cards, maybe it was the year before - we bought 100 packs of Pokémon Trick or Trade for handing out. I picked them up at Costco and with 100 packs, figured my kids would like the leftovers, and I didn't know exactly what would be in them.

As it turned out, it's a 30 card set, and with 3 cards a pack, even after handing packs out, both kids opened packs to make a set each, and I was left with 32 packs. 

Do I need this Pokémon set? No. Do I care about it? No. Am I going to pen the packs and hopefully complete a set? Yes!

That's what they look like, and I will tell you - I did complete a set, and with 96 cards for a 30 card set, I sure would hope so. However, I only completed one, and gave the extras to my kids....but let's look at the set.

I know Pikachu has to be in a set like this because everyone knows Pikachu!

The Jack-o-lantern symbol is how you know the cards are from the set, and a bunch of the base cards are holo'd out which adds a nice touch especially to kids who will think them extra cool.

I am a bit surprised there isn't a little more balance to the different types of Pokemon, but I guess for a set that is really just to get cards to kids, it's a fine little set. I know the few kids that came by did like getting cards instead of candy, so that was cool.

As an "opening", this somewhat tanked which makes sense - no chase cards of any kinds, and way too many dupes given the small set, but at least it is a complete set!