Friday, December 11, 2015

REVIEW:Cryptozoic Arrow Season 2 (GIVEAWAY)

Just like Oliver who returned to the city to save the day, Arrow trading cards returned to save.....well was going to say wallets but I think you would end up buying some after seeing my review so that doesn't work. So it has returned for a Season 2 release from Cryptozoic!

For those of you who don't watch the show, here is a quick glance at what it's all about.

A billionaire playboy named Oliver Queen was stranded five years on a remote island in the Pacific, while on that island it gave him plenty of time to think about his life and changed him. He finally returned home to Starling City and noticed it wasn't the same it was when he left as crime had taken over.

Everyone else including his family saw him as the same ole rich bachelor during the day, but at night with his BF Diggle, Oliver set out as a vigilante to transform the city of crime to its former glory.

Every box of Arrow season 2 comes with 24 packs with 5 cards per pack. Each box will run you roughly $85 and comes with on average one on-card autograph and one wardrobe card. My box came with an extra hit, we will get to that :)

The base cards capture all of the exciting moments from Season 2. The photography is well done on these high-gloss cards as it captures both up close and action.

There are 72 cards in the base set for those of us set collectors. I am not sure if you can get a base set in a box yet, I would assume so like with past Cryptozoic releases. I will update this post with that info later on.
 

There are parallels to the base set including green, red and silver. I didn't find a silver in my box but got a handful of the green and red. The inserts also have the same parallels.

Green Foil Stamp of Base, Character, Suicide Squad, Archers and Mirakuru cards (1:4 packs)
Red Foil Stamp of Base, Character, Suicide Squad, Archers and Mirakuru cards (1:8 packs)
Silver Foil Board of Base, Character, Suicide Squad, Archers and Mirakuru cards (1:30 packs)

Mirakuru (1:4 packs) insert cards.

Suicide Squad (1:4 packs). These come together to create a full puzzle picture. I like the creativity added here.


Archers (1:8 packs). Showcasing the sharp shooters. I really like the layout on these.

Character Bios (1:4 packs). Each is exactly as it states, I bio of the character and their role on the show.

Stickers (1:24 packs)

Autograph cards (1:24 packs). I got Dr. Anthony Ivo. He is the Scientist looking to unearth a breakthrough dating back to the latter days of World War II, namely Mirakuru, a deadly serum that gave its users super powers.

All autographs are on-card and NO REDEMPTIONS!

Here is the list of signers for the product.

Artine Brown as Hendrick von Arnim
Celina Jade as Shado
Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul
Seth Gabel as Count Vertigo
Summer Glau as Isabel Rochev / Ravager
Dylan Bruce as Adam Donner
James Pizzinato as Thomas Flynn
Dylan Neal as Dr. Anthony Ivo
Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller
Jessice de Gouw as Helena Bertinelli / The Huntress
Graham Shiels as Cyrus Gold
Jesse Hutch as Officer Daily / Brother Daily
Kelly Hu as China White
Michael Rowe as Floyd Lawton / Deadshot
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance / The Canary
David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood / Brother Blood
Michael Eklund as Barton Mathis / The Dollmaker
Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance
John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn / Dark Archer

Wardrobe cards (1:24 packs). Nice design.

Most boxes will provide you with the two hits, but sometimes you are extra lucky and pull a bonus hit. This is a toughie.

Dual Wardrobe cards (1:192 packs)
My overall thoughts were that I was impressed.  Great design and theme throughout. There are some rare big hits from the stars of the show waiting to happen just like the dual wardrobe I found. I also felt there is great value to be found in a box between the pulls, base and amount of inserts/parallels. The price point right now is a tad high, but there are some rare cards that you can pull that will more than cover the box price. Like with anything in the hobby, it's all about the risk. Season 1 had a high demand which drove its box price up and keeping it there. It's best to grab this while you can.

Now onto the GIVEAWAY, first off, give a big thanks to Cryptozoic for providing this for a review/giveaway. You can check them out HERE. Now onto winning some of these cards. Just leave a comment below with your thoughts on the product. That easy. I will randomly select a few of  you (depending on amount of entries) to win some of the cards above.

Now onto some mumbo jumbo for rules:
  1. Contest open to U.S. Residents or those who have an address in the U.S. but live outside it  Point being, I can only afford to ship within the U.S.
  2. Contest ends on December 18th 2015 with a winner being announced in a different post December 19th 2015.
  3. Random winners will be announced in another post on December 19th 2015.
  4. This contest is sponsored by me and Cryptozoic.
  5. Card will be shipped PWE. Sport Card Collectors and it's owner will NOT be held responsible for lost, stolen or damaged mail. I will ship it the safest way I can.

17 comments:

  1. Thank You Cryptozoic. I am so in love with the design of these cards and Arrow is 1 of my Favorite shows so I cant lose. great design and clean look make these some of the best non-sportscards out their. Thank You for the Chance.

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  2. I really like the design of the cards and the number of parallels and inserts is very good also. However, I have to agree with you though that the $85 per box is a bit on the steep side for me also.

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  3. I also agree that the price is steep for 1 auto for $85. The quality of the cards looks good, and if you get a complete set in a box, all the better. The puzzle inserts are the only ones that interest me; the parallels in these products with foil stamping colors isn't enough to generate interest for me either. A great addition would have been sketch cards.

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  4. Nice looking cards, but not sure that's enough for the $85 price point. I always think that the main character should have an autograph card too. I guess I'd have to hope for a Katie Cassidy auto. Also, thanks for the review and giveaway!

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  5. A BIG THANKS TO CRYPTOZOIC! I AM ALWAYS A FAN OF AN EXTRA HIT. ARE THERE ANY AUTOGRAPHED WARDROBE CARDS?

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  6. Love the show stills used for the cards! Base cards are over looked for the hits but to me the hits are icing on the cake, again great job on the base cards. Also, NO REDEMPTIONS!!!!
    Thank You, Cryptozoic & Sport Card Collector!!!

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  7. Great show and great looking set! Love the dual wardrobe card!

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  8. I'm just waiting for them to do The Flash!

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  9. I've never missed an episode of Arrow so I was extremely excited to learn of Cryptologic having trading cards for the show. Would love to start my collection. Thanks for the opportunity

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  10. Looks like a great product! Cryptologic is always bringing the best. Would love to add to my non sports trading card collection

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  11. Wish the cards were more assailable to regular fans-I hate having to buy on ebay as the prices are outrageous. Dealers buy up all the stock and have ways of checking individual packs for good cards then sell the rest. #MyOpinion

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  13. The product looks awesome. Everything Cryptozoic puts out does, though!

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  14. I think the product is cool. Not as good as season 1 autograph wise, but cool none the less. The dual wardrobe you pulled of sara and Nyssa is pretty rad!

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  16. Love the products!! Great review and I really like the design overall. Might be tempted to open some myself.

    Zazzy Q

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