Upper Deck is a little more on track with the release of 2022-23 Artifacts Hockey. Whereas the 2021-22 Artifacts set did not come out until September of 2022 — a good three months after the ’21-22 season wrapped up — the 2022-23 Artifacts set came midseason at the tail-end of January 2023. 

Like last year’s Artifacts set (reviewed here), a box of 2022-23 Artifacts Hockey contains eight four-card packs. It is currently selling for about $130 per box. The box states that you can get “at least 2 hits per box (on average).” However, product descriptions from online card sellers state that you get three autograph, memorabilia or “tech cards” per box, either one rookie redemption or Clear Cut card per box, and four serial-numbered cards per box. 

Last week, we talked about 2022-23 Artifacts in episode #147 of the Puck Junk Podcast. But here’s the full box break, including some additional images. 

22 Base Cards

My box had 22 base cards. The base set has 100 cards, so if you are trying to put a base set together you will need around five boxes. The player’s name, team logo, and “Artifacts” logo across the top are in silver foil, which unfortunately looks black when scanned. But trust me, it’s silver. I am not sure what the design element that is behind — and on either side of — the player is supposed to be. Maybe a scroll? Maybe a map? Zoomed in, it looks kind of like the side of a mountain. I really don’t know. 

Card backs reprise the photo used on the front and have up to five years of statistics, along with player vitals such as height and weight.

1 Short-Printed High-Number Card

If you want to build the FULL 2022-23 Artifacts Hockey set, it is going to be tough sledding this year. The set has expanded to 200 cards, with cards 101-200 being short prints. I got one high-numbered short print in my box. 

Cards 101-135 are of star players, such as Chris Kreider (above) and are numbered out of 599. 

Cards 136-155 are of goalies and are also numbered out of 599.

Cards 156-170 are of legends and too are numbered out of 599.

Finally, cards 171-200 are of rookies, but are numbered out of 999. Thankfully, Upper Deck increased the numbering for the rookies, as those will likely be the short prints that are most in-demand. 

The “Hits”

This year’s Artifacts set promises “at least 2 hits per box (on average).” Hits can be a memorabilia card, an autographed card, or a “Tech Insert” card. 

1 Dual Patch Card /65

This Yegor Sharangovich card is numbered 61/65 and replaces the silver foil with green foil. The patch pieces appear to be parts of numbers from Sharangovich’s jersey. 

1 Dual Jersey Card /249

This Dylan Cozens dual-jersey card is numbered out of 249 and uses gold foil instead of silver foil. As I’ve stated before, if a jersey card features two pieces of jersey, they should be different colors. 

1 “Tech Insert”

The third “hit” in my box was a so-called “Wood” parallel, which uses snazzy rainbow foil instead of silver fol. The card has an…odd…feel to it on the front. I guess it is supposed to feel like wood, but it feels more like the sticky floor at a hockey stadium, if that makes sense. I like the rainbow foil, but I’m not sold on the odd feel to the front of the card. And the background image has been replaced with a woodgrain pattern, which makes Marc-Andre Fleury look like he is crouching inside of a hollow log 🙂 

Rookie Redemption Card

Redemption cards are back, as this year’s Artifacts set came out midseason. (There were no redemption cards in 2021-22 Artifacts since the set came out after the season wrapped up.) I pulled a redemption card for the Los Angeles Kings. Upper Deck has not announced the full checklist of rookies yet, so I’m not sure whose rookie card this will get me. 

The Parallels

Oh yes, there are parallels, because Deck gonna Deck. This year’s Artifact has Ruby (#/499), Copper (#/299), Royal Blue (#/199), Emerald (#/99), Light Blue Steel (#/85), Autumn (#/75), Rose (#/65), Yellow (#/50), Pink (#/35), Purple (#/25), Indigo (#/10), and Black (#/5) parallel cards. Additionally, there are Spectrum Jungle (#/15) and Turquoise parallels found in blaster boxes. Plus, high-numbered cards 101-200 also have the “tech” parallels, like Wood (seen above), Leather, and Plexi, which I assume are made of (or feel like) plexiglass. 

1 Base Parallel Ruby /499

This John Tavares Ruby parallel is numbered 497/499. 

1 High-Numbered Royal Blue Parallel /199

I honestly thought this Jack Hughes card was a Purple parallel, but Purple parallels are numbered out of 35, whereas Royal Blue parallels are numbered out of 199. When I hold it in direct light, the foil does look blue and not purple, though. 

1 High-Numbered Autumn Parallel /75

Finally, the last numbered parallel is an Autumn parallel of Sidney Crosby, numbered 27/75. 

My thoughts about Artifacts are pretty much unchanged from last year, the only difference being that I liked last year’s set design better. Like last year, the memorabilia cards in 2022-23 Artifacts are underwhelming, and not as nice-looking as they were in previous years. (See my review of 2021-22 Artifacts for a compilation of some memorabilia cards from over the years.) I’m disappointed that there was no autographed card; one “Autofacts” autographed card per box has been a staple of Artifacts for as long as I can remember. But if you like memorabilia cards, rookie cards (even if they are one per box), and a fistful of parallels — including some strange ones like Wood or Plexi — then you may want to check out 2022-23 Artifacts. 

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