2013 Topps Finest Baseball Cards Box Break Recap and Review

Topps has been tweaking and refining Finest Baseball over the years.  For the 20th anniversary edition, 2013 Topps Finest Baseball has continued making changes, jazzing up the base cards, while throwing back to 1993 with Baseball’s Finest inserts to go with the returning die cuts while adding new Finest Masters in insert and autographed versions, All Star Autographs in addition to the returning Autos.  All of this added value is a good thing because from a design level, the base cards leave something to be desired which might alienate collectors who look to Finest for their multi-color refractors needs.

While Finest Baseball falls under our classification of premium cards, there is enough here to keep set builders interested so there is some cross over into our trading cards category.  Hobby exclusive master boxes contain 2 mini boxes, with each mini containing 6 - 5 card packs.  Each master box contains 1 On-Card Autograph Rookie Refractor and 1 Autographed Jumbo Relic Rookie Card.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

2013 Topps Chrome Baseball Cards Box Break Recap and Review

Topps Chrome Baseball returns for 2013 with a familiar configuration, subscribing to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theory.  As usual Chrome provides rainbow collectors plenty to chase with refractors of different colors and some of the best looking die cuts to come along this year.

Topps Chrome Baseball falls under our trading card category.  Each box contains 24 - 4 cards per packs with a promise of 2 autographs per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

2013 Topps Prime Football Box Break Recap and Review

Topps Prime Football is known for its full bleed photo base cards and multi swatch relic autos.  The hit concentration leans heavily towards the Rookie class in various auto, auto relic booklet cards and multiple tier level hit forms.  Still there is a nice base of 25 veteran autographs including names like Andrew Luck, Frank Gore, RG3 and Jimmy Graham. 2013 Topps Prime Football should be looked at as a hybrid release that works for set builders and premium hit collectors alike.

Topps Prime Football falls under our premium cards category.  Each box contains 10 - 6 card packs and promises 1 Autograph, 1 Autographed Relic and 2 additional Relic cards.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

Topps Releases Skylanders QUBI Today

Starting today, November 11, fans of the very popular Skylanders series will be able to find their favorite characters in QUBI form.  Topps is releasing the all-new Skylanders QUBI - a unique, patented, collectible toy that combines a transparent cube with real images of Skylanders characters along with their catch phrase and a rubber stamp.

There are 38 different Skylanders QUBI’s to collect including Trigger Happy, Stealth Elf, Hot Dog, Spyro, Chop Chop and many more.

Each Skylanders QUBI comes in a blind-purchase foil bag with an SRP of $2.99, and includes a checklist of all 38 QUBI’s in the line.   They can be found nationwide in retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us.  

In additional to the Skylanders and the previously released MLB QUBI, Topps plans to launch other QUBI products this year with NFL QUBI launching November.  All lines will be available at major retailers across the country. 

2013 14 Panini NBA Hoops Basketball Box Break Recap And Review

Three years ago Panini went old school, bringing back NBA Hoops with a fresh take on the classic inaugural 1989-90 set.  The most current release, 2013-14 Panini NBA Hoops Basketball, is a great set for a wide range of collectors, from entry point to serious set builders.  For the first time Panini is offering hobby card collectors a jumbo box with behemoth 50 card packs and exclusive 1 of 1 artist proof parallels.

We classify 2013-14 Panini NBA Hoops Basketball as trading cards.  Each jumbo hobby box contains 10 – 50 card packs for a whopping 500 cards with the promise of 2 autographs and 1 Memorabilia card per box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

2013 Topps Triple Threads Baseball Box Break Recap and Review

Right away you can see a design change for 2013 Topps Triple Threads Baseball but the contents have remained relatively unchanged.  Most collectors will appreciate that, as Triple Thread has become the goto Premium Baseball card offering with the widest range of appeal.

Topps Triple Threads Baseball falls under our premium cards category.  Each master display box contains two mini boxes with 7 cards per mini. Every mini-box contains an autographed relic and relic card, one of which is a triple relic.

Here are all of the cards we pulled from our box.

2013 Panini Prizm Football Box Break Recap And Review

As Football Card collectors, we have been spoiled.  We have been feasting on a banquet of outstanding rookie classes in 2011 and 2012.  Rookies that went straight into starting rolls and became instant superstars.  So it would reasonable to expect a bit of a let down in 2013 with a rookie class that is talented but not quite as explosive as the Cam Newtons of the world.  But there is no let down with 2013 Panini Prizm Football.

If you follow our reviews you are aware that while past releases have benefited from these tremendous rookie classes, it is just a small part of what we use to judge sets that fit into our trading card category.  The overall look, likeability of inserts, completeness of checklists and urge to set build play a much bigger role.  In the long run, we find that serves the purposes of reviewing releases better as secondary market values fluctuate over time.  We can not forget about years like 2000, a year when collectors might have been hot to score a Chad Pennington rookie card, while most ignored the guy drafted in the sixth round, 199th over all, Tom Brady, who was a fourth string quarterback and only threw for six yards in his rookie season. While this may not be the year to “rip and flip” we are already starting to see some break out talent.

So 2013 becomes the year to revisit the true meaning of collecting, concentrating on building sets and gathering cards for your PC. 2013 Panini Prizm Football is a great set for that as this year’s edition still retains its simple configuration with a great looking set of base cards, some low numbered parallels in addition to solid inserts and hits.

As an added value, Panini brings their HRX format to the release with a new twist, escaping the limited number of video cards that can be distributed by enabling all collectors to turn their smart phones into instant video cards thanks to QRL Code technology, the use of Platinum League’s phone app and a rather animated Tracy Hackler to guide your way.

Though on the high end of the category from a cost standpoint, we classify Panini Prizm as trading cards.  Each box contains 20 - 6 card packs with a promise of 2 autographs in every box.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.