Allure-ing

 It's always a good trade day when I get some wrestling cards coming my way. Mainly because it is the much less likely than baseball or hockey, and getting some AEW cards is a change from the usual WWE fare.

Lots of 2022 AEW Allure, so let's look.

Lots of known names - like Jade now doing well in WWE, Britt being a solid player in the women's division in AEW, Keith Lee who should have been bugger in WWE.

The cards themselves look and feel good - typical Allure. Oh Punk, how you have happily turned things around in WWE.

I do like the roster set up of the base set, very nice and basic approach.

I know AEW went for the "wins and losses matter" approach at times and would have been cool to see year by year stats on the back, but no luck. Fine enough write ups though.

Ruby and Christian looking good post WWE here too.

Awesome that they include the refs in the set, definitely deserved and reminds me of hockey refs being included in the 1990-91 Pro Set release.

A couple subsets added to the 100 card pure base set, and a few cards from each of these. MJF is one guy who would be interesting to see in WWE - maybe one day.

I don't like the Star Futures name, but small complaint really.

Getting to inserts and parallels, we bring in some colour with red, gold, oranges, yellows, etc.

Allure also adds in some sneaky die cuts which I enjoy...

I guess if there are Title Ambitions, have to have title related cards too like...

Bryan and Mox have done well in AEW, and glad they received success in the extension of their careers. I guess the same for Cope, though wish he stayed WWE more.

These Upper Deck set cards align well with the hickey design of the same year and are the first in my collection.

A fantastic trade with a bunch of new cards from the squared circle. Love it!

Definitely A Fan

 We keep on the trade sharing roam with another today, this one with RaiderFan from TCDB. I may not go out of my way to collect stamps or stickers or similar smaller card type items, but a bunch offered ere from Leaf teams before I was born, so let's take a look.

We get to start all the way back with 1970-71 Esso Power Players. ROn Ellis is from the 1974-75 NHL Action Stamps and is actually the last one I needed of 18 to complete that team set (a nice surprise).

Most of the rest are 70s O Pee Chee cards, and though I don't finish any of those sets, definitely love the adds. A bit put off by the blank white space under Salming's name, and Sittler's too...and no idea why the photo just wasn't extended, but so be it.

We end with the last of 42 Leaf cards from the 1994 Parkhurst Missing Links 1956-57 set. Wasn't expecting to complete that one in a trade, but so be it. What it does mean is, I need to ensure getting a second copy of each because it's a set I would really like to also complete!

OfficerZero Brings Raw

 I have done a couple trades before with OfficeZero, and another in the books now which brings some baseball and some wrestling card to my collection.

A dabbling all over as we start with a couple 1988 Sportflics Jays, 1997 Leaf, and a few from the late 2010s. Groshans may be the best looking card, but Tony Fernandez is one of my all time favourite Jays.

The Artist Proof Gallery Tellez is my first Artist Proof card from the set, so bonus!

As for the rest of the cards...Raw Deal in the house.

I never got into playing the game, probably because I was just in University and school was all encompassing and card games were not on the docket of things to do. There was a little MTG the first term of first year and then, that was it.

I don't play the game even now, but love collecting one of each card for the action shots. Interesting on the game mechanics side, but it's more about the photography.

The one thing I don't live about the sets, is there isn't a great way to tell the different sets apart for someone with a bit of a vision problem. I find the copyright lines and such details too small for an easy read. Magic cards are hard enough, but these ones are a bit more difficult.

As for OfficerZero - appreciate the trade and hope to get more wrestling cards from you in the future!

Getting Into The Storm

 A bit late to sharing this pick up as the set was out a couple months ago, but as I do, I picked up some artifacts and packs from the recently enough released Tarkir Dragonstorm set, and as usual, it came from 401games...

With the releases now, we have the regular base cards, we have the foil versions and we have commander deck cards as well, so plenty of options to have to collect from for the artifacts.

I do like creature cards like Watcher of the Wayside, any card with a nice milling ability as I always enjoyed trying to run opponents out of cards. Not the easiest way to win, but fun in keeping the length of the game longer.

Most of the cards have their place in certain decks, but not big abilities, hence common cards in most cases.

The commander deck cards have the different symbol, and different cards, but reprints of ones I have in other sets like the Signet cards.

Steel Hellkite is pretty sweet - a flying pumper when I ran artifact decks that created a bunch of mana, worked very well.

Pretty nice looking packs for the collection, and that marks off another set represented in the unopened pack collection. I should count it up on of these days, but I think I am only really missing 5 sets which had booster pack releases - not bad for what has to be about 100 set releases now.

A Puzzling Post

 A quick trade for share today with TCDB member melamathman who was looking for a single card and willing to add to a puzzling puzzle I am trying to finish up.

You may recognize the puzzle these pieces come from - 1987 Donruss puzzle of Roberto Clemente. I've talked a few times about the Donruss puzzle sets and my like of them, and this is one that I am now closing in on completing - 19 or 21 cards in the collection so far.

I have been tempted at times to try and collect two sets of each so that I can put one together the way they were meant to be, but I can't get myself to breaking the pieces out of their holding in each "card".

I am sure I can find a trade for the last two cards, maybe over the summer I can get the energy to put out an offer to someone through TCDB.

Another Lot Bites The Dust

 Well, the BASEball lot has been fun, but comes to an end today, and at least ends on a pretty good note with 2021 Topps Update being another set to start and grow from this purchase.

As you can see below, we get about 3/4 of the set done here, and plenty of Jays cards. I did have a complete team set already, but easily pick up most of them again for ensuring to have the cards I need for the set build. As you can see, some cards in bigger numbers than others, but not a surprise there.

Happily, not just Jays to be found as we get a couple insert cards too...

Okay, technically one insert with the All Star Game card, and one serial numbered advance stat card. I'd rather see the advanced stat cards as a non-serial numbered variation for the base cards, or even do as a full parallel, that would be neat.

I will show some base cards, but they are not much different than the flagship set of course....or Opening Day...or Chrome really...or even Holiday....

So, we can look at the final standings...

Well, there may have been only one complete set, but getting 11 sets over 50% complete in one go, and over 500 Jays cards including duplicates is solid. Add in the non-base cards, though mostly Bowman, for another almost 900 and that's a nice lot.

I do have one other mixed sport lot I'll go through in a while, but after that, I think I am going to take on the task of trading away as much as I can to build for a while. I need to reduce the traders for sure as I have about 10 3200/5000 count boxes full, and it's just too much...but first, on to trades, new product opening and other such fun stuff!

The Same But Different

 Maybe a few less snowflakes on the design, but the 2021 Topps Opening Day set looks a lot like yesterday's Holiday edition - go figure!

I am a fan of the Opening Day sets as they give a great chance to actually collect a base set at a relatively cheap price point, and as long as the design is good for the flagship sets that year, they look good too. I think 2021 was a bit more of an acquired taste on the design, but it is fine enough. That said, moreso because there wasn't quite enough in this set to get me a start, I am not going to try and complete this one. Heck, I have a few other Opening Day sets from more recent years on the go, so don't need another at this point.

If you collect baseball, is Opening Day a set you watch for each year? Do you enjoy it, or do you prefer flagship? Is it special enough in your eyes to deserve a separate release?

Always interested to understand what others look for in sets and what draws them to, or away from certain ones.

Holiday Party

 I think the next few days will look pretty similar in cards since we have Topps Holiday, Opening Day and Update sets left to go through from the BASEball lot.

Happy day with holiday Jays though...

There may not be a need for a holiday version, but happy to get some Jays out of the bunch. More Bo Bo and a go go for me.

As for the rest - there is enough here for me to want to finish the set, no matter how unnecessary it is. The design is still fine and all, and the holiday look at least is one of the better, if not excessive ones.

Almost looks more like streaking rain when you put a sheet of cards together like this - save for the large snowflakes sprinkled throughout.

The holiday look with the matching diagonal boxes streaming across the cards does look much better than on the regular set, but will be able to compare it to Opening Day tomorrow.

Short Print Learning

I remember, even when I was a kid collecting cards in the "junk wax" era, I didn't even know about the different micro variations in sets like Donruss in the late 80s with the * and Inc / Inc. differences, or in 1991 Fleer with the USA dot differences, but as a kid, I didn't care and don't think many did.

Skip ahead and variations to cards became more of a purposeful think, and though I understand some of the base card variations like alternate photos, some I don't get. 

In the 2021 Topps Heritage cards I got in the BASEball lot, I didn't get any of the base card short print variations, but I did get some more Jays at least. A couple of the variations for a number of cards include a difference to the colours used on the team name, and whether the card has the stars on the front design.

Why?

I mean, I am probably one of the reasons - I'd collect the differences, but just because I am a sucker, doesn't mean they have to take advantage of me....

Just like the handful plus of short prints I will be keeping - why do we have to make short prints? Just make insert sets and let the base set sit as an actually reasonably collectible set.

I doubt anyone can complain about the design on the cards as it is iconic and done well in this set, but although I wasn't around when the design was originally used by Topps, my guess is, these variations and short prints were not something of an issue done purposely by Topps to sell more cards. Different times....different times....

Gold and Gypsy

 A couple small representations of sets I am not collecting from the BASEball lot today...both of course circa 2021...

Fancy Smancy looking Topps Gold Label, which honestly, I didn't know had a 2021 release because...the world all ending with COVID and such still around this time. They cards do look high end, and at 100 card base set, an attainable base set to collect - but not a set that is styled enough to my tastes....unless full stats maybe on the back?

Nope - actually quite a plain and basic back for a classy, high end feeling card.

Then we have Gypsy Queen which is likely a set you either really like or really don't.

Almost all the designs for Gypsy Queen don't excite me and turn me off a bit. No quite the right hit of old time feel to the cards, I don't know. The backs definitely don't help as I can get behind the old feel of what they are going for, but A&G just does it all much better.

Maybe I shouldn't be comparing A&G to Gypsy Queen, but I do, and A&G always wins which is why these just aren't ones for my collection.