Does the difference hurt or help...read on to find out.
Sorry,missing a box picture but will break it down anyways :)
In every box of 2016 Panini Certified football, there are 10 Packs Per Box with 5 Cards Per Pack. You should find Four Autographs or Memorabilia Cards with one at least being a Rookie Patch Autograph. Boxes are currently running around $90.
The biggest change this year to me is the base card set. No more of that full foil board and it's replaced with an actual photo base. I have been going back and forth on whether I fully like the change.
One, I liked the foil board as it set this product apart and it made the parallels look outstanding. On the other hand, the photography on these is pretty solid which is up my alley. But, the base cards however have a Score appeal which isn't bad thing but doesn't fit a medium-end product.
You Certified junkies need to help weigh in on this change.
There are 200 cards in the base set including veterans, rookies and Immortals.
The rookie cards in the product feature shots from the 2016 NFL Rookie Premier. But look sharp and are numbered to 999.
No more of the foil on these either other than the word Immortals. This subset is still numbered however and has parallels. The base versions are numbered 999.
Now onto the parallels.
These are much different Mirror parallels than we are accustomed to. No more of that rainbow perfection and instead it's just a border parallel. I miss the old version and once again I gotta make that Score comparison.
These are Mirror Oranges but there are plenty of other offerings like:
- Mirror #/499
- Mirror Red #/99
- Mirror Blue #/50
- Mirror Gold #/25
- Mirror Purple #/10
- Mirror Green #/5
- Mirror Black 1/1.
The other inserts in Certified are a bit bland other than the Gold Teams. Those are more of a Certified look to me and have parallels such as, Mirror Red #/99, Mirror Blue #/50, Mirror Gold #/25, Mirror Purple #/10, Mirror Green #/5, Mirror Black 1/1.
These also look really nice! Certified Champions! Despite 4 Super Bowls, no Giants on the checklist is a bit disappointing. Eli should have been there. But these have Mirror parallels as well, Mirror Red #/99, Mirror Blue #/50, Mirror Gold #/25, Mirror Purple #/10, Mirror Green #/5, Mirror Black 1/1.
The Wilson below is a Mirror Red.
Now onto the hits.
My first two are New Generation jersey cards. These come in parallels as well like this Mirror Orange Boyd below. Others include, Red #/299, Blue #/50, Gold #/25, Purple #/10, Green #/5, Black 1/1.
Not the best players, but nice looking cards.
My next pull was a Signed and Certified of Austin Johnson. The checklist for this set is a bit odd as it doesn't include the big names. It mainly includes those offbeat ones. Interesting take.
These have parallels too of Mirror Red #/75 (below), Mirror Blue #/50, Mirror Gold #/25 or #/15, Mirror Purple #/10, Mirror Green #/5, Mirror Black 1/1.
And my final pull of the box, the Rookie Patch auto. Not the best player off the checklist and is apart of a loaded Bills backfield, but here is to hoping!
These cards are also apart of the base set making up the master set. The patch autos are cards 201-240.
This is a Mirror Red below, but other options are Orange #/349 or less, Blue #/50, Gold #/25, Purple #/10, Green #/5, Black 1/1.
Some other pulls you can find are, FABRIC OF THE GAME SIGNATURES PRIME, GOLD TEAM SIGNATURES, EPIX VICTORY SUPER PRIME and PEYTON MANNING COLLECTION that pays tribute to one of the leagues best passers.
Overall, Certified wasn't completely disappointing as they stuck with some of the regular finds but I gotta say I am very much on the fence still about the base and parallels.
This box also felt like a dud to me compared to box price. I am pretty certain not all boxes are like this as I have busted plenty of this product in the past and have pulled some amazing cards. I know the hits are in there, it's just getting the right box like with any product.
Now I leave the floor open to you, your thoughts on Certified are welcomed below!
By the way, make sure you thank Panini America for this review box and check out their site for products like this one and others. Find some of these cards in a future NFL contest!
