Which Stands Above – 2014 Valor or 2014 Playbook?

Although I am not a fan of Friday releases, we are getting not one, but two product releases this week. Valor has been available through retail for a while, and we have seen that the cards do look as nice as they did in 2012. Playbook is back for its 4th year, and there are reasons to get excited. The question remains, are either worth your time?

2014 Valor Football

As I have talked about prior, I think Valor was the first of the concept products that have led to others like Topps Fire, scheduled to be released later this year. Like I expect Fire to turn out, 2012 Valor tanked due to an unsustainable price point for cards that collectors never really saw as something worth picking up. It did have great looking cards with on card autos, but overall failed to strike a chord with the target market.

Here are some of the cool looking hits that have already surfaced from retail:

2014 Valor Eagles Quad Auto – Foles, McCoy, Matthews and Ertz

2014 Valor Teddy Bridgewater Auto Patch RC

2014 Valor Sammy Watkins Auto Patch RC Green Parallel

2014 Valor Marshawn Lynch Auto SSP

After being axed for 2013, its back this year with a different format and much lower price point. Its funny, because both Valor and Playbook are featuring huge cuts in wax MSRP, despite having content equal to what was featured in previous years. Funny how that works, right?

Like 2012, the new edition looks really well designed, and the beefed up box content should make it less of a jagged pill to swallow. The main issue is that the on card autos are gone (cant do them this early on), but that shouldnt cripple the product. The concept and motif are still going to be a challenge for the straight laced type of market that cards can have, but I think its still worth a look just for the design alone.

Similar issues will arise from going up against a product like Playbook, which has been a DOG and then some for Panini, but with a cheaper box price may perform better. It also has continuity which matters more than it should, and we all know how collectors prefer large patches to cards that actually look good. Valor has a tough road ahead, but definitely worth taking a look.

2014 Playbook Football

Though the box breaks have been cost prohibitive since day one on Playbook, the product has had its fair share of great looking cards with a cool theme. On the other hand, outside of the main booklet cards, this product has been about as big of a murder scene as can exist. Poor design, horrible value and dumb themes have been a death blow to the non-box hits, which in turn have left unopened boxes of Playbook rotting on shelves.

For 2014, the 90 dollar price point is a great adjustment to the configuration, although we dont know yet if there will still be the same content in each box as there used to be. I dont think anyone would care if the second jersey booklet card went away from each box, but if there is not one booklet in each break, things are going to get hairy.

Even with the adjusted configuration, I still think the overall booklet design is a complete downgrade over previous years's white silhouette infused awesomeness. Using those studio style head shots as an embellishment is a travesty, and I hope people dont support that by buying into this. The darker border along the booklets does not do the card any favors, especially with the awkward transition from color to color as you move from top to bottom. I cannot believe Panini doesnt have some sort of sports editor that can spot these issues.

They have also decided to include single acetate style autograph cards, but the design continues to be a visual assault on the eyes all around. You cant do an acetate window like that without using some sort of element to blend it with the rest of the card. As it stands right now, the cards just look like they are halfway done. Barf.

As in previous years, the down and dirty and other vet focused patch programs in Playbook look amazing. Its also quite clear that the diving player booklets are easily shaping up to be the most coveted cards in the product. Panini has staked their reputation around creating cards where the relics are more important than presentation of the design, but these look great.

Which product is worth your time? To be honest, its likely best to stick to singles on both of them. I would be thoroughly shocked if the secondary market value from either will have any staying power – especially if previous years have been any indicator.

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