Set Breakdown-
20 packs per box
6 cards per pack
90 cards in the base set plus 1 if you count the checklist "box topper" and not counting the Obak cards.
6 "hits" per box-
2 Obak cards
2 autographs
1 event used
1 base set parallel
What I pulled-
1 card shy of a complete base set and several extras to spare-
The base set has a mixed selection of TNA stars while focusing on the arrival of Hulk Hogan to the TNA wrestling scene. Also included in the set are the 2010 TNA debut cards of familiar wrestling faces of Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac. Of course you cant forget the TNA Knockouts!
The 6 Hits-
Base set parallel-
Sting- Card #85 #d 14/30
Obak-
Kevin Nash- Card #94
Kurt Angle- Card #96
Event Worn-
Sting- Card #M4 #d 90/199
Autographs-
Kurt Angle- Card #A4 #d 19/50
Abyss- Card #A19 #d 14/50
My Thoughts-
Overall the base set is what it is. Nothing new or exciting to the design of it but compared to past sets, something about the photography of it all looks better.
Inserts wise, I dont care for the Obak cards. They shouldnt count as "hits" being theyre just an expansion of the base set. I could see calling them Short Prints but I wouldnt call them hits. Putting these in and calling them hits is definately on the marketing side of things and who can hold it against a company for doing so.
The base set parallel took a step down with me this go around. In the past it was really obvious when you got one based on the design. This go around, I missed mine being I expected more on the front of the card and the silver foil logo up top went unseen. Almost thought I didnt get one.
I really do like the look of the event worn and autographs. They definately took things up a notch with the designs. Especially the autographs.
Out of all the autographs done from Tristars TNA sets, this takes the #1 spot for me in overall quality and design. Downfall? No Scott Hall or Syxx-Pac autos. I watched the big debut show of Hogan and company. The whole "getting the band back together" angle. Ill be honest, my high point in watching wrestling was the first run of the nWo. While thats not outright what was going on here, but it was close enough that they were playing off that angle. Maybe Im not seeing all the hits since its still a bit early but you have Hogan, Nash, Pac, Hall, and Bischoff and you dont do a triple or quad event worn or auto of those guys together? In my opinion, that would have been huge. I wont knock Tristar because Im sure someone saw this possiblity and something just didnt go down right for them to pull that off.
Again this is just speculation since I havent seen everything being pulled from all the box and case breaks but with a huge selection of event worn stuff that was released, it would have been nice to have several names do an autographed version and have it a little more short printed and harder to pull, lower numbered and kept to 20 or less of each.
Also, havent seen any print plates for this set so Ill assume at this point they werent included. Are they being stashed for something special? Where did they go?
I like that they brought back the redemption cards for signed stuff and the possibility of dinner with a TNA superstar.
With the addition of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Jeff Hardy, its not a shocker that the price point in this jumped fairly quickly during pre-order status to when it actually went live. There are some HUGE hits to be had from the autos to the event worn stuff. Maybe we can thank all the Hogan stuff included for the premium pricing of this long with the fact only 100 cases were done.
If you got in on some early pre-sells then kudos and congrats to you! If you havent busted a box or two and didnt get in on the pre-order, its a bit expensive at this point, maybe it will go down a bit but I dont see that happening anytime soon. Theres just too much good stuff to be had.
Overall, Id say at least break one box but beware that the "better" hits are few and far inbetween so dont get your hopes up of a guranteed return on every box, they all cant pay for themselves! Most important thoughts already posted, hope Tristar doesnt take some of the info too hard because where things were disappointed in one area, there was improvements in the other areas.
Tristar dropped another awesome product on the public and Ive said this once before and Ill say it again, Topps could learn a few things from Tristar!
Do you want the hits I pulled? All you have to do is send an email to-
NonSportsCardForum AT gmail.com.
In the subject line put-
TNA New Era.
In the email, I want you to give me your thoughts on this product. Depending on how many emails I get, and the quality of the thoughts, 1 person may get all six, or 6 people may get 1 each, it all depends.
To everyone the replies, Ill send 1 reply to each email stating I got it. You have until May 9th to get your thoughts together and get that email in.
The winner, or winners, will be notified via email hopefully within a week. I wont be a judge of who wins so that time frame is out of my hands.
If this little giveaway at the end is a no-no to any site Ive posted this on, I apologize as this isnt an attempt to spam etc. Edit out the info at the bottom or delete the post altogether, Ill totally understand.
No email accounts used in the giveaway will be sold or given to anyone else. Once this contest is over, all emails except for the winners will be deleted and never used for anything else.
