Topps Chrome is one of my favorite sets, if my my only favorite now that SPA and Exqusite will be NCAA licensed. However, that doesn’t mean it is all awesome all the time. In fact, it definitely has a few failures that could be considered pretty detrimental to the overall feel of the set. I want to discuss a few of them, as well as highlight some of the unparalleled successes that have surfaced so far.
I bought a blaster and a value rack pack yesterday because I was at Target and got a little too excited over the release. Basically, there are two ways Chrome will be distributed in retail. First with the normal Blaster, you get the standard 8 packs and it includes the retail purples and x-fractors, both at around 1-2 per box. The “value packs” are 3 packs of chrome with 3 exclusive orange refractors that are unnumbered. The racks are 8.99 a piece and actually may be one of the best ideas that Chrome has ever done for retail. The orange refractors are very cool, and for the price of 2-3 packs they are definitely a great bonus.
Refractor Odds (FAIL)
Remember back when refractors were only one per box, and you RARELY got anyone good? Its getting to be that way again, especially on the colored refractors that have made Chrome awesome over the last few years. In 2007, you were guaranteed one red refractor (box topper) to 179, and you got 2-4 white refractors
at /869. In 2008, you had the gold refractor
box toppers and the copper refractor
at 2-4 per box. In 2009, there was no box topper, but you got 2 copper refractor
per box. This year? Nothing. Absolutely nothing is guaranteed, and you may end up with a box that has nothing but refractors and a crap auto. Sure takes a lot of the win out of the box.
When you see a card like this CJ Spiller, you just have to laugh. Its like the Patch window is slowly impeding on his face, and each time you look at the card it will get that much closer to covering him up. This Mathews one is very similar
, mainly because it detracts from the overall appearance of the card. The windows are unnecessary and weird looking, despite being much better than 2009’s patches. Too bad they couldn’t have figured out another way to do it.
These cards are EXTREMELY rare and EXTREMELY awesome. The problem is that when we had these before, they were on card signatures, and the stickers are definitely a downgrade in that respect. However, even without the on card signatures, they are still some of the better cards of the set, especially in the way that Topps has decided to do them. There is one major problem, and that is with cards like this Peterson
. Unless you have a trained eye on what to look for, its going to be tough to tell that this is not the actual 2007 Chrome card once 2010 Chrome has been out forever. The only difference is that the Topps logo at the top isnt the Chrome logo, and that is going to be ultimately confusing I believe.
BOWMAN CHROME CARDS AND AUTOS (WIN)
I stand by the anger I originally felt when I heard that Bowman Chrome was getting canned. The cards look really good this year, and the refractor autos /25 look even better than some of the Topps Chrome ones. When you consider what Topps decided to produce INSTEAD of Bow Chro, it just makes me that much more angry. I would much rather have a redundancy in Chrome than a set like Unrivaled. No dout.
ROOKIE CHROME VARIATIONS (WIN)
I loved that every premiere rookie had a variation card, if not only because there were so many rookies stuck with TURRRABLE pictures on their RC. If you had a shitty pic on your normal version, most likely, you had a better SP version. I wasn’t sure if they would be available in 2010 Chrome, and much to my happiness, Topps did the right thing and got them into the product.
ROOKIE AUTOS AND REFRACTORS (WIN)
I love the way Topps did the rookie autos this year. The team word logos behind the sticker work so incredibly well that it is actually shocking that it took them this long to figure it out. Because the 2010 Topps design features the word logos to begin with, the design was already a win, but these are that much better. Its too bad the Vikings don’t have a rookie that is really going to be someone like Harvin or Peterson turned out to be, because I would go nuts buying all their cards. I already bought a Ryan Mathews auto because he has ultimately joined Clausen as my two 2010 targets, and its pretty unfortunate that both are struggling this year.
When it comes to the 1/1s, we all chase them regardless of whether or not we are going to sell or keep them. The Supers in Topps Chrome will be the best of the best this year, and its too bad they turned out the way they did. They look a lot more odd than usual, and I think it has something to do with adding the gold tint to this year’s design. I really think these could have been a lot better, and I think that when there are no other Chrome cards to feature a Superfractor, Topps kind of screwed the golden pooch.
Overall, Topps Chrome isnt going to fall short this year because of all the additions they brought into the product. However, I definitely think there are aspects that could have made this a legendary set. With the rookie class being as weak as it is this year, you really need to add something to the mix to get everything up to par. I think they did that, even though there were a handful of fails.
I could not agree more. I myself love love topps chrome every year. For months now I have been looking at the preview pages a couple times a week salivating at the images hoping that I might be able to get a taste of one of these beauties. So last week I find out that they have released the retail in stores and I had to go and purchase a blaster to wet my whistle. To my suprise I pulled a two purple, a regular and two x-fractors. I found myself getting even more excited for 2010 chrome hobby to hit the shelves. Then early this week the box break videos start making their way to the web pages. The first one I watched was the one from Blowout Cards. Yes they did pull a very nice auto of Dexter McCluster but seven refractors and absolutly no colored refractors at all. So I watched box break after box break and almost every one was the same. No name auto’s and no colored refractors. I’m not saying that topps should just load boxes up with gold in every pack. But it would be nice if you buy a half case of the stuff, as I did before I watched the box breaks, that you would have a good feeling about pulling a few desirable keepers. But at this point I don’t.
I decided to stop by my local target to check it out. Purchased a rack pack and was lucky enough to pull an auto of Ndamukong Suh. Only thing was, it is missing the auto. Check out the scan: http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr31/Calicokid18/For%20Trade/Football/scan0001-17.jpg
Where would you rate the quality control? I love the chrome product and the refractors look great, but this card should have never made it out.
I bought a blaster of Chrome, pulled two rookies I wanted but they were BADLY miscut. I think there are more problems with retail than hobby.
I bought a box of 2010 Topps Chrome as an afterthought when I was purchasing 3 boxes of Topps Finest and a box of Absolute Memorabilia. I had traded in some of my silver since it was over double what I paid for it, so buying boxes in this quantity is rare for me, but really exciting when it happens.
Anyways, the Chrome turned out pretty good, and I think I will buy another box or two later- mainly because of the hobby box price-point. At first, I wasn’t a big fan of the overall design of Topps this year, but the Chrome makes it look pretty good, and the design is growing on me. I haven’t bought any retail, but the hobby seemed pretty good for hits; at least in the box I got.
Ironically, the box of Absolute gave me the best hits, but I didn’t like the base card design or the box packaging. The hobbyshop guy had talked me into it based on more people having better luck breaking those in his shop.
But, I have to say, overall I was pretty happy with the Topps Finest boxes the most. I liked the design and took your advice, gellman, and made Finest my target product this year. All of the best hits were scrubs, but the refractors/xfractors and rookies helped make up for it.
I had a similar experience with Topps Baseball Chrome. Several cards were sealed with the edge of the pack and cut. I now have a Roy Halladay with a serrated edge. However, I do like the mysterious “powder” in each pack that prevents them from sticking.