Box / Pack Breaks

Normally, I avoid re-pack boxes unless they guarantee something spiffy. A few years back, I bought a so-called Hockey Cube because it promised two autographed cards and a full set of 2010-11 Score Traded. This particular box of packs, repacked by the Fairfield Company in Iowa, made no promises, other than a 40% savings.

Still, I was enticed by that pack of Be A Player, clearly shown in the right window of the box. We all know that Be A Player packs tend to have a higher ratio of autographed inserts than other sets. For $20 $12, I took a gamble to see if I’d pull an autograph. Continue reading “Hockey Extreme Value 10-Pack Box Break”

I bought this tin of 2013-14 Panini Titanium Hockey at a local Target store a few months ago, then forgot I had it until now. What treasures lie within this tin? Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Panini Titanium Hockey Retail Tin”

2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey came out last week, but I didn’t really notice until yesterday. Admittedly, I have not reviewed much Panini stuff this year. What drew me to Contenders is the fact that a $20 retail blaster box has two autographs. Sure, it only has 20 cards total, but come on — two ‘graphs for $20 isn’t bad.

So I had to give Contenders a try. Actually, I had to give it two tries, since my local Target had two blasters left, and I didn’t want to pick one and then wonder if the other blaster had the better autographs.

I will let you be the judge of which blaster had the better autographs. Continue reading “Two-Box Blaster Break: 2013-14 Panini Contenders Hockey”

Upper Deck SPx hockey cards are hard to miss. They are shiny, usually horizontal and have a giant “X” in the background. But as I’ve stated many times before, collectors don’t really buy a set like SPx for the base cards — they buy it for the hits.

A box of 2013-14 SPx Hockey costs around $100 per box and promises four hits on average. Each box contains 12 four-card packs, plus one bonus five-card pack of Upper Deck Ice, which has been relegated from stand-alone set to an impossible-to-complete insert set.

Here is what I got in this box of SPx:

Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 SPx Hockey”

Fleer Showcase picks up where 2012-13 Fleer Retro left off. Showcase is your typical mid-range Upper Deck hockey card set, with 100 base cards to collect. But 2013-14 Fleer Showcase also has inserts designed after 1990s Fleer sets — just like Fleer Retro did two years back, making it a spiritual successor to Retro.

For those who don’t know, the Fleer Showcase brand was used on baseball, football and basketball trading card sets from 2000 until around 2005. This is the first time that the Showcase name has been applied to hockey cards.

A box costs around $130 and gets you 15 five-card packs. What goodies could be lurking inside? Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Fleer Showcase”

Earlier this year, Upper Deck released a team-centric set called the Edmonton Oilers Collection. The set focuses on the greatest players in Oilers’ history — even including some players from the team’s WHA days. A box contains 10 packs, and each pack has 10 cards. The front of the box boasts that you will “get a full base set in every box!”

Spoiler Alert – I did indeed get a full base set in this box, and a few other goodies too. Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Upper Deck Edmonton Oilers Collection”

It’s goalies, more goalies and only goalies. Between the Pipes is back for its 12th year, and is poised to please fans of old school ‘tenders, current players and NHL hopefuls. A box contains 18 pack, and each pack has nine cards. Here’s what I got in my recent box break. Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Between The Pipes”