Not A Hockey Card Collector, But....

Normally, when you think of hockey card collectors, you don't think of me.

But there are moments I have where I break down and buy some hockey and there is usually a good reasonable explanation behind it.

So when I saw the latest Metal Universe product release, I had to try some. Despite my wife giving me "the look" when I stuck a box of hockey cards at the register.

 

You know the one.

I still stuck with it despite it and opened up the $30 blaster box that came with 5 packs of 7 cards.

Nostalgia still is the driving force of my hobby.

The base card design is the typical metal look and I like that Upper Deck stuck with the basics.

Each pack that I opened came with a Blue Spectrum parallel. These typically fall 1:2 packs.

I am not complaining about getting one in every pack though. I really like the look of these.

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When it comes to the nostalgia I mentioned above, It was brought with the 1:4 pack finds of the 1997-98 throwback inserts.

Amped Up insert falls 1:10 packs.

Skybox Premium Prospects fall 1:4 packs. I have no idea if this is a good player or not. 

I also pulled the Sapphire Parallel that falls 1:6 packs (once again not sure how good this player is).

And my final cool card of the box was Big Man On Ice. This was actually my first insert pull of the box and falls 1:8 packs. As a by-far-distant NY Rangers fan, I know this name.

There wasn't a lot of value in the break, but it certainly was a lot of fun and I would love to do it again if I can find the funds and try to avoid getting the look again.

Thoughts on my break welcomed in comments.

Breakin' Wax:2021 Skybox Metal Universe Champions Blaster Box

I think it was roughly two years ago when Upper Deck announced a new Metal Universe product would be releasing. It looked absolutely amazing in the preview images, and I couldn't wait until it released.

Covid hit and all of a sudden this once highly sought product I wanted had disappeared...until recently.

The product finally released hitting hobby shelves at an expensive price that I wasn't going to be able to afford. Luckily for me, a retail version came out and I had to have some and give this product a chance.

 

Each blaster box of 2021 Skybox Metal Universe Champions Blaster Box comes with 5 packs of 7 cards. There are no guarantees, and each blaster is $29.99.

The base design is foil, like you would expect it to be for Metal. It has a space design and each side of the card has a blurb about space.

Here is the one on Mac Jones card.

Without having licenses for any sport but hockey, the sport players are featured in non-team shirts and regular clothing attire.

There are also some non-sport and other mix-ins as well.

Overall, 100 cards in this part of the base set to collect.

Following the base are the Metalized subsets which makes up the next 50 cards.

There are 150 cards overall including base and short printed subsets.

Each blaster also comes with Copper parallels.

Along with those, there are also chances at these other parallels,

Copper and Silver Dots /299 (Blaster).
PMG PARALLELS:Red PMG /150, Orange PMG /100, Pink PMG /75, Blue PMG /25, Green PMG /10, and Purple PMG 1/1.

These other parallels are randomly inserted and are across both inserts and base cards.

 Here are the bronze parallels I found in my break.

Other than the hope of beating the odds on pulling a PMG, my other interest was the inserts. I mean this is based on the 90's product, so these have to be rocking right?

Fresh Foundation has 50 cards to collect. Pretty deep set.

97-98 Retro design has 50 cards and throws it back to the good ole days. Man, this was great stuff. They should have just done the base like this.

Skybox Premium insert. These are shiny, me likey, and include a 50-card set. These fall 1:5 packs.

Blast Furnace has not 50 cards, but 24 and pays homage to the 90's. I pulled Tiget, can't complain. These fall 1:5 packs.

Arc Weld falls 1:12 packs and has 20 cards to collect. Kinda dig this look.

No hits for me in this blaster, I have seen others luck out with autographs, but I don't have that luck.

This was a pretty fun break, I really liked the insert designs. The base were lame duck, but that's okay. I wonder if the PMG's look cool up close or if they don't match the greatness of the 90's.

Let me know your thoughts on this product in comments!

All For The Metal

You all may think I am crazy, but I am giving up the "farm" for Fleer Metal Universe cards.

What does that mean? Well, I have been caught trading guys like Luis Robert, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert for plain 'ole Fleer Metal Universe cards. The more 1996 and 1997 they are, the better.

Here's a few recent adds (some photos are missing for one reason or another),

 

The design has always been interesting and fun. I like the 1996 and 1997 more than the 1998 because of the wackiness. Not that the 1998 on locations are bad.

So am I crazy for doing these types of trades? I will let you be the judge. All I know is that I am a collector first.