A hearty welcome to 2025!! Very excited for what the year might bring.
I haven't been much of a pack ripper over the past couple years. Just not as much product that really gets me excited as there once was. I normally gravitate towards stuff that my guy, Trevor Linden, resides in. It's been slimmer pickings recently.
But I found myself busting open some packs on a couple occasions this past week. And if you're a regular here...it might feel quite outside the box.
For about 3-4 years now, I've been enjoying the Marvel deck building game, Legendary. Developed by Upper Deck over a decade ago, this game has seen literally dozens of expansions and now is a world that consists of thousands of cards.
I love the game mechanics, the cooperative nature (and it even has a solid solo version that I play quite a bit).
So...where am I going with this? Upper Deck recently released the Marvel trading card product, Renditions. As a part of the checklist, there are some foil versions of the Legendary cards. My ears perked up at the thought of landing some fun inserts.
I didn't know much about the product when I bought my packs - other than the aforementioned Legendary cards. But I had seen some of the artwork involved and couldn't resist.
I'm still a real sucker for opening packs. I believe it to be the essence of what the trading card hobby is all about. The real thrill of the chase.
Now....in the news world, they say "don't bury the lede", or don't keep the most important stuff to the end.
So......
Opened a pack...very excited to see a card midway down that had its own penny sleeve. That got the goosebumps going. Booklet sketch card....oh boy, here we go!!
KAPOW!! This photo does not do the card justice. It is absolutely amazing to see this much crazy detail embedded in such a small canvas. Wow! Just floored by this pull.
One person in the store said "case hit". Heck, I think it might be "product hit"...gotta be one of the best cards in the entire release.
The artist is gentleman by the name of M. Arief Russanto. I know nothing of him other than very, very talented.
(quick Google search....young artist from Indonesia. Amazing detailed artwork.)
Now that we've seen the big hit...all this is going to look like mush. Ha ha. Seriously though, I love the artwork on these cards. And of course, some amazing, iconic characters.
It's one of the biggest reasons why I am drawn to the Marvel Legendary game, even though I know next to nothing of the comic books (which a lot of this is inspired by and comes from). But it works so well on the 2.5x3.5 trading card canvas.
This Silk card is a perfect example. The rays of light just enhance the punch of red color coming from Spidey and Silk. Gradient, blending colors create a mesmerizing flow. Piercing highlights on the hair and shoulders make this card pop.
Super eye-catching.
Some of the inserts from the packs...these are canvas comic book cover cards. They look really cool and I can see a lot of people wanting to chase down this set. Again, a perfect vehicle for the trading card.
These not rare by any means (one in every pack)...so an affordable chase is definitely there.
Base cards have some parallel versions. This is the "Goblin Green foil" offering, numbered to 399. Happy with the ones I got in my packs.
The "Kingpin Purple Tie" shiny card (numbered to 99) looks really great in the light. I don't know how they make that foil pattern dance...but it works.
I won't lie though, might be the worst card art in the base set. This Scorpion character does not inspire.
But the main reason why I wanted to open some packs....
Here are the two Legendary foil cards that I pulled. They look dynamite in person. Again, the artwork. I love how these heroes punch right through the card-style borders. Just makes it feel like they're jumping out of the cards at you. Love it.
I'm not sure if I'll chase down the entire foil set (a 90-card build). If they run $3-5 a piece...might be a tough go. They are however, seeded 1 in every 3 packs so there might be a few floating around after the initial wave dies down.
But, they might get scooped up too. It's a hot item currently. Who knows.
Nonetheless, I had a blast opening these few packs (one can say that when he hits a monster sketch booklet - literally). See what I did there? Solid fun.
Let's hope there more big hits to come this year.
What are the "outside the box" items that you chase (or want to chase)? Why?
