Legends Now and Then

 When it comes to AEW and stars with the company, MJF is likely the biggest home grown star they have. It would be interesting to see if he would have his legs cut out from under him if he were to end up with WWE, but I would expect that likely isn't going to happen any time soon.

He has a great presence, and I though that his work in Happy Gilmore 2 was solid enough, I could see him doing more in the acting realm, though I would suspect his focus will be mainly wrestling for a period to come. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a good second career if he would want it to be when done with wrestling (see the transition a la John Cena or maybe Rock, though I think Rock started leaving a bit sooner).

Paul Wight would be a legend and did a fair bit of acting as well, though not nearly to the same level as a Rock or Cena. I will say, his one season show under his name was a nice sitcom, and is well worth the watch. Our family enjoyed it.

We end with a Sting gold parallel Main Features which is a great card, and highlights another legend. I have talked about how his WWE run wasn't anything near what he deserved, but at least he was able to wrap up decently in AEW. May not have been the biggest stage, but with his participation in Wrestlemania already done - whether considered good/bad/ugly, he had the experience, so I don't think Sting has much complaints about his career. I'd hope not - it was a pretty awesome one up and down.

Different Times

On to the next pack of 2022 Upper Deck AEW cards, and we continue the amazing streak of all new base cards - would love that trend to continue through the whole box as I'd get to over 70 cards of the base set in that case.

Just goes to show again, the importance to the individual wrestlers for having another option

 than WWE. It' good to have other employers out there to make for a better job market as we have seen Rey now move to WWE, Black went from WWE and now has gone back, Justin and Taz both had time in WWE.

Wonder where they would be if not for this option - maybe TNA, maybe indies, but AEW is a solid second right now (as WWE tried to help it become TNA instead by the looks of it).

The all new inserts:

 Wish Ruby was able to go the way that Liv did in WWE. If I were to have picked who would be most successful from Riot Squad, I would have hoped it to by Ruby, but Liv has definitely won in that regard as she tore it up the last couple years in WWE. Not a knock on her, or on Ruby, Ruby has been fine, just didn't catch fire the way Liv did.

Another really great pack out of this box - love it!

A Bit More Normal

We get into the second pack of 2022 AEW Upper Deck cards from the blaster today, and another good sign to start as all of these...

Are new base card additions for me. These get me to 41 of 100 - yay, and include Adam Cole Bay-Bay. A shame for the time needed to step away for medical reasons in 2025, but I'd rather see him step away and take care of himself than put him in harm's way in the ring.

Funny to also see Miro and Andrade who have both since made their way back to WWE since these cards came out in 2022.

Inserts, well, we have three of those as we are back to the 8 cards per pack since yesterday had just the seven due to the slightly thicker Powerhouse card in that pack.

Another gold parallel which is new to me, an Outside The Ring insert which fall every 10 packs, so that's likely the one for this box, and the UD Canvas Keith Lee is actually a short print, though the Canvas cards fall every 5 packs in general.

Still wish Keith had a better go in WWE, but it is what it is - I gather he has been happy with his run in AEW.

Definitely a solid second pack here, just hope to keep the momentum!

A Powerhouse Start

This is my second blaster box to open of 2022 AEW Upper Deck and I am hoping we will be able to continue on with the base set build and maybe get a few additional sweet inserts on the way. In the first box, picked up about 1/3 of the 100 card base set, so hopefully over the halfway mark when this one is done.

I must say, the box and pack are very good for the product, I like them, and hopefully will like what's inside as well!

We start with all new for me base cards - a great start, and specifically Powerhouse Hobbs. After spending about a decade on the independents, he came to AEW in 2020, and by 2022 he was a mainstay in the company and his powerhouse style was doing him well. Fast forward to 2025, and he is still with the company and continues to make an impact.

I'd normally focus on the gold Jericho parallel or the MJF Main Features cards as these are both great, new for me inserts, but the Powerhouse Breakouts card is likely the big hit from the box. With the odds for these cards being one per 72 packs, likely not going to top this one. There are some shorter print ones, like CM Punk, which are more rare to pick up, but I'm good with this one - awesome pull and a great first pack from the blaster!

Is Current Better?

Though I still have a couple of the older Dollarama hockey card surprise bags, here is one of the more recent ones.

As you can see, the price is up to $3 when the old bags were $2. Does an increase in price mean an increase in quality? Probably not, but let's see.

Won't complain about the plastic container, but no score for it. As for the cards, let's see...

Nice to see an SP Authentic card, but at least Miller is a base card add.

Here is where we have everything no so good with these products. First, the math isn't matching as there were only 4 cards, not the 5 promised. Put with this the fact that these packs will be where all the high production year cards will show up - it's why the price is high for the cards.

Well, this pack makes it all worthwhile. Not only do I get another base card add, not only do I get a Leaf card with Cujo, we get an on card autograph of Larry Murphy!

It's a great auto, and the gold parallel auto cards in 1998-99 Be A Player is even more rare as they were "randomly inserted" though no specific pack odds. You did get an auto in every pack in the product, and golds were likely one per box or so - every 8 packs, but it was definitely a product I never opened at the price point of almost $10 a pack. Yeah, that use to be expensive.

I don't think I have ever pulled an auto from any version of these packs before so - a great way to end, and that one card at least makes the surprise bag worth the purchase.

Hard to go by any other odds than p[ack odds for the signature card, so suffers a bit being from a higher end product, but a fair score all around and a nice surprise for what it was.

A Trade With Coachnfisher

 As the name suggests, we have a quick PWE trade with TCDB member coachnfisher. He was working on completing 2020 and 2021 Topps flagship sets so we did a flagship Trade and I got these:

They don't all have to be big or flashy trades. This one gets me 3 cards closer on the 2021 set, and that works awesomely for me!

No surprise they were three more missing rookie cards as the last card lot purchase provided almost all the base set save for the Rookies which were generally all plucked out.

A Better End

 Last two packs of 2018 Topps Opening Day baseball for today...

A solid enough first pack with a nice Bellinger insert.

Second pack...

We end up with 5 more base cards to get to about 30 left in the base set.

The blue and dated Opening Day parallel Banda have a 2018 print run, and fall one every 9 packs, so one in this blaster tracks well.

Still some work to get through this base set, but this box brought me a bit closer, just a shame I didn't get the Ohtani rookie.

A fair ending place for the box compared to the rest of the openings this year.

Judge Me!

 Two more packs from the blaster after today. At least today, a bit of a trade off as I picked up two new base cards, but missed on dupes for two of the inserts.

The first pack out is a full duplicate unfortunately. Even the Team Traditions card was one I had picked up before. Can'twin them all, but at least I should be able to trade or find homes for these as I think enough people on TCDB collect the more recent opening day sets, so there's that at least.

This pack isa the winner for the day for a couple reasons - first being the new base set additional of Judge and Bour. Add to that the fact that I got my first Opening Day Stars insert (they fall one every 27 packs), and I can get over the Dodger Opening Day card being a duplicate for me.

It's Opening Day, so the inserts are not the most flashy as even the Pujols Stars card isn't super fancy, but has longer odds so you don't see it as much, still a sweet pull for the product. Yay!

Well - One Base Card Would Be Great

 As I was putting all of the 2018 Opening Day Topps cards in for trade since there were no need base cards in the couple packs below, it did make me remember the one card I really do need to see here in this blaster - the Ohtani rookie card (number 200). Even with it just being Opening Day, the card being considered a rookie card means it's worth a few dollars and would be much easier to pick up in opening a pack than forking out the money for the single card to try and complete this base set.

I will have to wait to see if it appears in the remaining packs as it didn't show up today.

Firebird is a solid enough mascot pickup. A solid look, a good personality and interaction - does what any good mascot should do, make a good impression and add to the game/impact of the team.

As for the second pack, the only keeper, the insert, is another Before Opening Day card which tells me that his power is in effect in spring training as, at the time of the stat from the card, he had 31 home runs in 531 plate appearance in grapefruit league action at this point. That would make for a solid season in and of itself!

Hitting Hazards

I guess the problem with getting a blaster when you have a lot of the common inserts and base cards is - you end up paying for a blaster which really comes out to only getting a few cards....I mean, not even the inserts become usefule to your collection.

I still had a good shot of needed most/all of the inserts since I had some of the cards from the more common sets, but no luck on the Sweet Caroline one here as it was a duplicate. My personal attachment to the song is that it was one used for the year at university that I went back, was part of the welcoming team for new students when my cousin was running it, and it was essentially one of the "anthems" that our group used to hype up for all the events we were part of.

I don't have any connection really to the bearded mascot from Milwaukee, but I do have the same situation of, I happen to already have that mascot insert so this ones up for trade.

The good from these two packs - at least there were 5 new base cards I got to add to the collection, so not all bad!

Speaking of packs, I will share part of an order I did recently from www.pastimesports.ca. I have done a few orders, and getting some personal stocking stuffers as well as a few other items, I figure I best share. I am not haring the small trick or treat type candy they include as a thank you, or the pack of top loaders branded with their website, but those were cool add ons. Will leave the Christmassy things until after Christmas, but here is the rest...

Some additions o the unopened pack collection for baseball and hockey which are a nice variety and bumps my total unopened packs across all my collections to over 1,000.

I keep talking about the Conlon sets, and took the plunge to pick up a bunch of the packs so I have those to open, along with the AEW blasters for another time. I have done a few orders, and though it's expensive to get to the $200 for free shipping in Canada, as long as I get there, the value is good for how they price products, so a thumbs up all around.

Two More

 Two more packs of 2018 Topps Opening Day today to share as we work to find some base cards I need still...

Dang - empty for needs on base cards for the second pack in this blaster. At least I can talk nicely about the Rangers opening day insert. I don't know why they leave some teams out of this insert set - each team should be represented, but I don't get to make the rules on what to include or not include in the set, so, it is what it is.

Buston and Benindenti are finally the first new base addition cards - only took until the third pack to get them. Hopefully a good sign of cards to come?

We also get the first Jays card - not new to me, but that's okay, all Jays welcome here, and Tulo is a solid pick up.

Bryant wins for best card in the pack as the insert from the Before Opening Day set - a nice nod to what goes on pre-season start.

Between the two packs, the second obviously was the better of the two for me!

2018 Topps Opening Day Baseball

No falso advertising here, today we start in on a 2018 Topps Opening Day baseball blaster...

11 packs with 7 cards each, and heading into opening this one, I have 142 of 200 base cards. It may be optimistic, but I'd love to close that missing card gap in half if I could. Knowing my luck, I'll only get a couple new to me base cards, but there are always the Jays and the inserts to help make the opening work, even if the base cards fail me.

I already have one of these in my unopened pack collection, so we do get to open the whole box - so let's knock one pack off today.

A design that has grown on me over the years, "the wave" as it were. Not a great start as these were all dupes, no Jays, no error cards, so me hope for a good pack lies on the insert...

I can get behind that. I must say, the Opening Day insert sets are usually pretty solid affairs, and the team traditions and celebrations theme is a good one. Here documenting the opening day parade for the Reds which has a history stretching over 100 years now - very cool.

Only going to head yp from here - right?

Better Ending

 Let's wrap these Magic cards up, and not too shabby an ending...

The rare isn't anything special - again, bulk rare and not in my collection, but we do get a few sweet keepers today including the token.

Myr Kinsmith works well in a Myr deck - not sure if those remain a real playable deck to construct, but there are plenty of available cards that you can make one - just don't know how successful a deck it would be.

Dune Mover is...fine. Nothing too great, and the mana cost with ability doesn't make it a very strong card, but it is an artifact and has a home with me now.

That wraps it for these packs, so let's see how we did...

Not too bad - middle of the pack, good number of artifacts with one being a great mythic hit. I'm happy with this one, but glad I got the packs for relatively cheap.

A Little SHort

 The second to last pack shows I may have worn out my luck on these Phyrexian packs already.

The token card is a keeper, but Red Sun's Twilight is a bulk rare, so nothing special for it, and nary another artifact card that fits my collection, is to be seen.

There are some good common cards to be had though - Blazing Crascendo is a really good ability card that works with ramping up red and would be a card I would definitely play with. Duress shows up in another print - I know it's been in other sets and seems to keep cycling into recent sets to remain playable in most formats.

Still, not a great collecting pack, but one more tomorrow to maybe end on a high note.

Breakdwon By Colour

Figure we can look at the next pack and see what the breakdown is by colour and which would win from the group. Why? Because I felt like it!

A very black and white pack, but with the rare being from black, and overall solid creatures, I'd give black the win on this pack. If I was playing the colour, definitely a win with this booster.

The artifact showing is alright with the Prism and another token. I like that "back when I played Magic", you just had to make up your own tokens, and there wasn't really a lot of them, so you could just use scraps of papers or coins, and knew what they represented. Now, you could end up with so many different tokens out in a game, you kind of need real representations to know what is what.

May not have won the pack, but I'll take two keepers for the collection. Two more packs to go, and the showing has been really solid so far, definitely a winning purchase regardless of what comes in the last two packs.

Another Nice Pull

 We get to about half way through the packs from Board Game Bliss for the Phyrexia There Will Be One set, and we get another solid hit which I might just put into the sell pile to 401games.

Tekutahl is another mythic hit, though this one doesn't do for my collection. I definitely will have reason to trade it in as I should be able to get $15-$20 store credit for it, and with the other cards I am sticking aside for store credit, I may have a chnace to finish a couple artifact set collections by picking up a couple more expensive cards. Will have to do a little homework on that thought, but if I do it, of course I will share here.

What I do get for keep is another (different) Skullbomb artifact - nice.

Another artifact token for keeps as well, and another Phyrexia language basic land, with the full art looking amazing.

Also, as you can tell by the numbering in the bottom left corner, the Sawblade Scamp is a showcase version, which has a number greater than the base set count - you can see the other cards show an /271, whereas this one doesn't. Doesn't mean it's big value, but more rare to pull, and something a little more special, if nothing else.

The Best It Gets For Me

 Sure, I could maybe get a foil version, but today I pulled the most expensive artifact card from the draft boosters...

It only runs about $15 give or take as there aren't a lot of big money cards in this set - probably part of the reason they were a cheaper pickup, but I feel much better spending the money on all of these packs and coming away with this card (which would have cost me about the same), plus all the extras.

It's a good card itself too, and a mythic, which is why the price also. Wasn't expecting to get one, but more than happy to be in the position - very cool.

Seems the tokens may be my best friend though as there are a few artifact related token cards I can get, so nice to see the second keeper.

With these being loose packs, I guess there's always the chance I could get another, versus pulls from a single box. Wouldn't be upset if that happened!

The Other End

Second pack of Phyrexia All Will Be One, and we get the opposite compared to yesterday - a fine enough pack, but no artifacts for me...

The rare, Conduit of Worlds is an interesting card with the land draw from graveyard ability. Definitely a green card by concept, and not a bad pull, just not something for me to keep. We get close to an artifact with the veil, though it has Cody Rhodes mask vibes to it which is cool.

I have to say that the land cards are pretty nice looking, and very obviously Phyrexian when the symbol is plastered in them. I won't count the ad card as a card for scoring, but included it in the scan to show, it exists, and is packing material if nothing else.

Blissful Opening

 If memory serves, these Magic The Gathering packs came from an order I did last Christmas where Board Game Bliss was doing a clearance sale of sorts, and these were just a bunch of loose packs they were looking to move/sell a couple dollars off each. Given the sale price, which you don't see a lot on Magic packs, I picked them up. I didn't need any unopened packs, but there are some artifact cards here I might luck into which would be a good pick up, otherwise, maybe something worthwhile for trade.

First pack, to give a lay of the land, is shown in the exact order it opens, front to back:

A bit unusual, but if you open the cards as they show, you get the token, land, and then the big "hits" before the rest of the cards. It's not the usual order for packs if I recall, but they do seem to change it up depending on the expansion set.

The poison counter has a great look and can be useful. The forest land is in the language of Phyrexian (something that is done with a number of cards in the set). As for the rares, The Rat King foil card shows a good example of how the poison counters will come into play. Showing the cards to my kids - we have pet rats, so they appreciated The Rat King card as well for, well, being a rat.

As for Kaya, I remember when planeswalker cards were rare, and almost all were really really good, but with time, these have been watered down and there are just so many, and more of which, are just not great and as such, not "special" or expensive. Kaya is an example. I don't think I have ever played a game with a planeswalker, and I haven't played the commander version - so shows how out of the game I have been, so you can take my thoughts as a player of the "old" game, and with a grain of salt.

Resistance Skywarden reminds me of an old school baddie - not too much to him but five mana for a 5/5 which would add a bit of toughness to your battlefield.

A good end with the commons on this pack with three artifacts for me. As you can see the Skullbomb cards have similarities, and there are a few in the set. As for the Atlas, another show of how the poison counters and effects of poison were heavily included in this expansion set.

A great first pack out of the game, so, happy so far!