PACK RIPPING: 2011/12 Upper Deck Series II

In addition to 'winning the lottery' on Sunday, I made my way over to one of the local card stores in my area.  It's one that I don't get out to as much (as I see them at the monthly card shows).

I went to check out if they had opened any of In The Game's new 'Captain C' product (they did....and had no Lindens).  I did get to take a look at the one box they opened and it's not too bad a product.  I'm excited to start chasing some singles (but my wallet is making me wait....the Dominion quad auto was just the first card in a mini-plethora of Linden awesomeness - definitely stay tuned).

I didn't want to leave empty handed so I grabbed 3 packs of UD Series II and the results were not bad.

With 8 cards to a pack and a ton of insert and update sets, this is a product where you're almost sure to get a 'hit' in every pack.  It's kind of fun to see if that one special card is indeed....special.

The base cards are exactly what I've come to expect from Upper Deck.  Full bleed photos with top notch photography.

It almost seems too simple when it comes to delivering a card that fans will enjoy.

The horizontal base cards that I pulled really show off the stellar pics.  Fantastic angles, great action and proper framing.  Again, a simple mindset creating a simple product.  But when it's done right - it's effective.

This Jack Skille card leaped out at me (pardon the pun) when I pulled it from its pack.  It looks like he's about to get five and a game (and maybe a visit from Shanahan) for leveling the linesman.

Sadly, I think he's just hopping the boards.

The first of my 'hits' was this Ryan Clowe Canvas card.

And wouldn't you know it, I pulled the card literally an hour after I mailed off a package to one certain Ryan Clowe collector.

Not to worry Brad, this card is sitting in my 'to be sent' case for the next time (so don't go out of your way to land one).

A pair of Victory inserts were also in my 3 packs.  I don't know what it is about this year's Victory design, but I'm a fan of it.  It's a great low-end product that just looks like a lot of fun.

Notice the border on the Bryzgalov.  Yup, it's a black parallel.  Now before you Victory buffs get all excited, this year's Black parallel isn't nearly as rare as the cards /5 a few years back (but it's still a nice pull).

Last but not least, this Rookie Jersey card of Jonathon Blum.  While I'm not too excited that it's Blum, I can't complain that I hit a Rookie Jersey in one of my 3 packs.

White swatch....meh.

Overall, this was a fun pack rip.  If you're itching for busting one or two packs when you go out to the LCS, give it a try.  There's a lot of goodies that can be pulled from these wrappers.

I just need to stop opening stuff for a bit though.  I've got enough 'ripping' to do with the bubble envelopes that will be soon arriving.