Retail Mega Boxes Provide Early Peek At 2014 Topps Valor

Back in 2012, I thought Valor had a pretty unique concept, using the painted style as a theme for a set build around battle on the gridiron. It featured on card autos and a lot of nice looking cards, but also a ridiculous box price that didnt deliver on the content. As a result the product tanked and was axed until its return this year. With the recent release of new Mega Boxes, we are getting an early peek at the cards.

Here are some of the early retail hits:

2014 Topps Valor Sammy Watkins Auto Patch

2014 Topps Valor Blake Bortles Auto RC

2014 Topps Valor Tom Savage Auto Patch /75

2014 Topps Valor Brandin Cooks Auto Patch /99

2014 Topps Valor Teddy Bridgewater Silhouette Jumbo Patch

I think as a concept, Valor remains a very cool idea, and has some very nice looking cards. However, with these packs being included almost 3 weeks ahead of time, its a bit odd in practice. Retail is a different animal, and we all know that the redemption issue is going to factor in, so maybe this is a way to mitigate some of the problems.

Secondarily, with a product performing as poorly as it did in the past, one has to wonder if this is a way to drum up some hype around a set that didnt have very many pre-orders. Im guessing Valor is going to be pretty short of a print run, and even with this retail element, there wont be much of it floating around.

I will say that I am impressed with the improvements made to the cards, as many of them look a lot better than they did last year. The shield motif is fun, and though the autographs have gone from on card to stickers, they did make the most of the way it looks.

There is a very Braveheart style feel to the cards, and I expect that collectors will appreciate it much more than the similarly off the beaten path look to Topps Fire. A drop in box price on the hobby side, plus more content of relic autos will do this product well, but I am still not sure how successful it will be. Concept and motif laden sets like this have a propensity to tank, even though they usually look better than the simple cookie cutter sets that some of the companies churn out ad nauseum.

In terms of the relics, I absolutely love when the companies use the silhouette style approach, as I think it adds a very dynamic feel to the card that wouldnt normally be there. We first saw similar cards like this in 2012 and 2013 Topps Supreme, and I think it was a great idea to bring them back.

I guess we will have to wait to see how this year truly differs from 2012 once the cards start hitting shelves later this month.

One thought on “Retail Mega Boxes Provide Early Peek At 2014 Topps Valor

  1. On one hand, the design elements of this product look really good. I think it might be one of my favorite looking card sets i have seen in a while. Based on what I have seen so far, I prefer it over it’s stylistic counterpart Inception by a lot. It seems to have a nice mix of rookie and vet content as well that does not feel entirely like a sticker dump. Which is a pleasant surprise from Topps.

    On the other hand……. as a concept, this represents everything wrong with the idolization of athletes and the lousy state this hobby is in.

    I fully understand that there was no way of predicting recent events attracting attention in the NFL. I also understand card companies need to put sets into production before the season even starts. But it is very sad that the industry is also at a point where they are so eager to just shove out product that in a few weeks they will actually release something called “Valor” that has parallel cards celebrating Discipline with Adrian Peterson and Strength with Ray Rice.

    Is this just careless, or a final F.U. to the NFL for withdrawing their license?

    Next year they should really go all out. How about a…
    Concentration Parallel featuring Wes Welker and other repeatedly concussed players?
    or an Agility Parallel with Sam Bradford and others recovering from ACL injury?
    or a Dignified Parallel featuring Jim Schwartz,Jim Harbaugh, and Richard Sherman?

    The possibilities are endless. And that is without even getting to PEDs, drunk driving, sexual harassment and assault, and of course murder. Save the last one for exclusive Superfractors!

    Its not my intent to just pick on Topps. In fairness, Panini puts out more than it’s fair share of garbage too. To boot, most of their designs look like they come from the same people who produce coupon mailers for local heating and cooling companies.

    Obviously there are a range of issues that are too large to discuss here, but as someone who has enjoyed this quirky little hobby it is very sad to see the direction it has taken. With the Panini exclusive looming the future does not look to be any better either. The Valor and Fire stuff from Topps and tie-dye Prizm from Panini is just nonsense and has nothing to do with Football.

    As it stands, I can’t imagine that this branch of the hobby will survive much longer.

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