Box / Pack Breaks

Once upon a time, Black Diamond was a challenging set of cards to put together, usually consisting of 100 base cards, plus numerous short-printed Double Diamond, Triple Diamond, and Quadruple Diamond cards. It also cost around $100 per box. 

However, in 2015-16, Upper Deck refocused Black Diamond into a set consisting of hits, inserts, and autographs. And while it still has base cards, they are now serial-numbered. Thus, Upper Deck also raised the price of the set; in 2015-16, it was around $250 for a six-card box. 

Black Diamond is not for the faint of heart. A box of 2021-22 Black Diamond Hockey cards will cost you around $370 for a six-card pack. That’s over $60 per card. I know that the pandemic has both raised the demand for and reduced the supply of trading cards, but this has gotten out of hand.

Although I’m more of a set builder than a hit chaser, I still love to open hockey cards. So, let’s see what’s inside a box of 2021-22 Black Diamond Hockey. 

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Each year, hockey card collecting really doesn’t heat up until the release of Upper Deck Series One. Sure, there are other sets released before Series One launches, usually in November. But it is Series One that gets everyone excited about hockey card collecting — from the casual collectors, to the die-hard hockey peeps, to the breakers, speculators and “hobby bros..” It’s the new crop of Young Guns rookie cards that gets everyone involved. 

Like it has been for over a decade, a box of Upper Deck Series One has 24 packs per box, with each pack containing eight cards. I recently got my hands on a hobby box of 2022-23 Upper Deck Series One Hockey. Let’s take a look at what I got. 

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Upper Deck MVP is usually the first new hockey card set to hit the shelves, and this year was no exception. The 2022-23 MVP Hockey set was released in early September, roughly one month before the season started. MVP is relatively-affordable and easy enough to put together, usually weighing in at 200 base cards and 50 short prints.

A hobby box of 2022-23 MVP costs around $60. Each box has 20 eight-card packs for a total of 160 cards. Although I reviewed this set in an episode of the Puck Junk Podcast last month, I thought you might like to see what is inside a hobby box of MVP.

So, as Mr. Owl once said, “Let’s find out!” 

Continue reading “2022-23 MVP Hockey Box Break”

Don’t call it Series Three! The 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey card set was released in August of 2022, and adds another 250 cards to Upper Deck’s Series One/Two set. Extended Series has 200 base cards and 50 Young Guns rookie cards; technically 198 base cards, two base checklists, 49 Young Guns, and one Young Guns checklist. This makes Upper Deck’s flagship set a whopping 750 cards over three series. 

Admittedly, there was less fervor over the release of Extended Series as there was for Series One and Series Two; perhaps because it doesn’t have the big-name rookies like Series One (Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras) or Series Two (Moritz Seider, Mason McTavish) had. 

However, what it does have is a plethora of interesting, retro insert cards; some styled to look like cards from the mid-2000s, and others that have designs inspired by late 1990s hockey cards. 

2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series is currently selling for around $100 for a hobby box. Each hobby box has 24 packs, and each pack has eight cards. Let’s take a look at what is inside a box of Extended Series. 

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Upper Deck Series Two usually comes out in March or April — just in time for the Spring Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo. However, with all of the delays and production problems, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two set did not see its release until mid June of 2022 — right as the Stanley Cup Final was underway. Late or not, Series Two is always a hotly-anticipated hockey card set, as it features cards of many rookies who made their debut earlier that season. 

Originally a hobby box of Series Two was selling for around $100, but has since settled to about $90 per box. Each box has 24 packs, and each pack has eight cards. Let’s see what’s inside a hobby box of 2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two Hockey. 

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SP Authentic is perhaps best known for its popular Future Watch autographed rookie cards — and its sparse, mostly-white base card design. Like many of Upper Deck’s other hockey cards from 2020-21, SP Authentic also had a very late release. In fact, SP Authentic was not released until June 29, 2022 — three days after the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals concluded. 

Fortunately, though, SP Authentic was not cancelled like other sets for the shortened 2020-21 season. And that’s a good thing, because personally, I’ve always liked SP Authentic’s clean base card design and  on-card autographs. And the Future Watch autographed rookie cards may be second in popularity only to Upper Deck Young Guns when it comes to hockey rookie cards among collectors. 

However, SP Authentic is more expensive now, costing around $300 for an 18-pack box. Each pack has five cards, and each box guarantees two autographed cards. 

I recently got a box of 2020-21 SP Authentic. Let’s see what cards were inside. 

Continue reading “2020-21 SP Authentic Hockey Box Break”