By Don White aka Doniceage
Description
This product was just released on November 27th so I was more than happy to receive a box to review. At first glance I see that the packaging states 11 hits per box, with the claim of “four autographs, 2 crystal ballers, 2 parallels, 2 short prints, and 1 Obak update per box.
The cards are simple and aesthetically pleasing as they do not try to be anything they are not. I do enjoy the look of the Crystal Baller cards as I will explain d further below. Also, it is worth to note that Tri-star uses sticker autographs, this is not everyone‘s favorite type of autograph. The one thing I like about theirs though is that unlike other companies they are see thru so at first glance you cannot truly even see the sticker. Only upon close inspection can you really see it. Of course some claim they like the hard signed cards but at this price level it’s not going to happen. There are also cut signatures inserted which I assume would be hard signed. This might give some collectors with a reservation about sticker auto to give the product a chance.
Box Details
Pack per box: 20
Cards per pack: Six
Base set: 100 cards
Price: $70 to $80 a box online
The release includes 100 base cards and autographs that can be found at this link: http://www.tristarcards.com/. Here is a quick shot of the what the various card will look like.
Base Cards:
Crystal Baller Cards:
Autograph Cards:
Obak Update Card (1 per hobby box):
Stephen Strasburg card:
Parallel Cards:
Base Card Parallels are as follows:
GOLD (print run to 50)
GREEN (print run to 25)
RED (print run to 5)
PURPLE (print run to 1)
While the Autograph Parallels are as follows:
SILVER (print run to 199)
GOLD (print run to 50)
GREEN (print run to 25)
RED (print run to 5)
PURPLE (print run to 1)
With those different variations the boxes can yield some rare cards for player collectors who like to chase PC (personal collection) guys.
The Break from our Hobby Box on Youtube: Box Break
All of the cards below were pulled during our break and are a fair representation of what you could get if you decided to invest in a box.
Base Set: (99 out of a 100) with nine duplicates
Short Prints: We pulled two being Dustin Ackley and Donovan Tate
Crystal Ballers: We pulled three with one being a parallel card Tony Sanchez,
Kristopher Hobson, and Alex White gold parallel numbered to 50
Autographs: We pulled four autographs with three being silver Joshua Phegley,
Manny Banuelos, Michael Minor numbered to 199 and Eric Arnett numbered to 50
Obak Update: We pulled one of Donovan Tate
Parallel Cards: We pulled Tony Sanchez numbered to 50 and the Crystal Baller of Alex White numbered to 50
Comments
With 120 cards per box including 11 hits and a base set of a 100 card, it means there is going to be some dupes. It was minimal however and this should allow any set builders to complete the set with one or two boxes at most. This showed good quality control by TriStar and great collation. The stated odds were 11 hits per box and they delivered perfectly even though I got worried towards the end of the break. If you watch the box break portion you will see me down to my last two packs noting that we had only pulled two autographs. Each of the next two pack delivered an autograph to finally deliver the expected 11 hit per box. I have never been shorted on hits in any product by TriStar which is not something I can say for many card companies.
As far as our hits we did okay but nothing out of the ordinary as the best auto we had was of the number seven pick. There were no dual autographs or rare pulls numbered to five or one of one but how often do you actually get that? The break was fun and the excitement of having a chance to pull a Strasburg autograph will give everyone a thrill. Of course there are some other awesome hits with the one of ones, the dual to quad autographs and cut signatures of new and old players to name a few.
My one question is why is the Stephen Strasburg card a art card? The rest of the draft picks are not. This has been asked by other collectors and I will need to find out as I am truly curious as to why this is.
Final Ratings
Overall Design: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Fun: 4/5
Rebuy: 3.5/5
Variety: 4/5
Final Grade: 78%
While this was a fun break, as collectors we all know we want the big hit. However, that is part of the gamble that makes us all want to buy boxes. If you’re a set builder this set will deliver, as you will get close to 100 percent of the set completed with minimal dupes. That means two boxes would guarantee you a full set with a long way into your second set and a nice shot at pulling some autographs and nice parallels of some of the top prospects from the first round. The base cards are also nicely designed and could be used for collectors who send cards through the mail or for in person autographs. I truly like the design of the Crystal Ballers as it puts the player inset into a crystal ball which ties into what being a prospect is all about (foresight of success). Wouldn’t we all like to know who is going to be the stud or the dud for collecting purposes. Many collect rookies hoping to cash in on the success of the player they think might pan out… This is much like going to a fortune teller to have them tell us who is going to be good or not. Except in this case we make the predictions when we decide who to collect.
Once again, thanks to Jill Masters and the great folks at TriStar for providing this box for review. Check out the their site for any of their great products at http://www.tristarcards.com/. Also, we would like to thank them for also sending two boxes of retail exclusive which will be used for contests on SCF. So at least two of our members out there will get a Stephen Strasburg card.
Here is a link to the first contest if you wish to try your hand at landing one of the boxes TriStar sent:
http://www.sportscardforum.com/showthread.php?t=964196
