Saturday, 6 October 2018

2018 Topps Big League - Green


I've always red on other blogs about Gint-a-Cuffs. Never abled to participate I'll get inspired by that and play the game, sort of...

So, there are 4 colours, 6 packs of each. By chance I started with the green ones. Lets see what I got, for first 2 packs.

Pack1.



So already starting getting a RC. What about +3 points per RC card? Sounds good. And Guzman card is quite cool because I like to see the name on the shirt and the number.



Yes, I'm a Yankees fan but I also like Reds, D-Backs and Astros. So, let say getting a Yankee is +10 and for the other 3 teams is +5. So go Schebler.



Four Pitchers in a row

Cueto is one of those pitchers that promise a great season at each start, and he sure has it...like 3 years on-and-off.

Since I love horizontal cards, I get +4 for that Miller beauty


First pack and a variation card already!

So this is not an insert set, it works as a variation form the base card. Topps...I cannot keep track of all this!

But besides that, I like this variation, for the Players Weekend Variation thing. That's when they can use the name, or nickname, they prefer on their shirt, right?

This gets +5. It would be like +7 if we could see the name on the shirt.


In every pack there is a gold variation from a base card. Since it's always there I will only add +1 to the count because of this. But will add a +3 because part of the photo goes outside the frame. I'm such a weirdo for strange details... So I'm also adding +3 to the Tonny card above this, because the bat is also out of the frame (even if you cannot see it because of my scanner from doom)

Result: 24


Pack 2.


And just opening the second pack I get one of my favourite players, which, of course, I collect.

Because of that I get +7 but also -5 because he now got the wrong sox going on.



Cole reminds me of other player but I cannot figure out who it might be...

And here, for two Astros, I get +5 * 2.


Don't get what is going on with players I like. Why they insist on going to Red Sox!?
Kimbrel gives me +7 and -5. That's a second go in the same pack!


So it seems Topps decided to include kind-of-inserts in the base set. So from base set 331 to 350 we get All-Time Greats cards. And the first I get is the first one, 331 Hank Aaron. I'm not sure if the stats on the back of these cards, states all the years they've played. Aaron goes from 62 to 76 states.

For the old school heroes I go with +7. And add +3 for once again the bat going off the frame.


And now I finally see something close to home! Yankee Stadium! YEAHHHHHHHH!

Ballpark Landmarks cards work like the above All-Time Greats cards. So I go with the same +7 for the card and +10 because it's YANKEES!


And if those 2 previous card were not enough I got a card for the third insert-but-not-quite set!

Stat Kings Trio is the usual group card showing the top 3 players for some of the major statistics.

Got the Slugging kings, Stanton, Blackmon and Freeman. I kinda always enjoy Freeman play. Always wished he could be a star player, but something is always missing...

And I think Topps got lazy and the photos pictured in these cards are the same from the base set for each player. And because of that, instead of adding +7 like the previous two, I only add +5.


And to end the pack I got the gold parallel for Clemens! And what a card this could have been if he was wearing a Yankees uniform...

And that's why I'm adding +1 for the gold parallel, +7 because of the All-Time Greats and taking -5 because Boston...

Result:49


I think I'm giving too much points lol Or maybe it's because it's a bit later here and I cannot do maths any more.


First 2 packs and I scored 73. I just love baseball cards.

Friday, 5 October 2018

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game - FF X Starter Set


Final Fantasy X. The moment my life changed.

Still remmeber like it was yesterday, when I finally had enought money to buy my PS2 bundle with FFX. Both, console and game, promised to change our minds about videogames. And they both did. At least to me.

FFX is all about Tidus and Yuna journey and love story.



FFX was so good that instead of launching a totally new game they extended the X universe to the FFX-2 (which I also have).


And X-2 was all about the girls. We got Yuna with a make over and not even talking about the ultimate make over Rikku had... We also get a new character, Paine, which kinda takes the place of Lulu.


Wakka was a funny character, and it meant to play water polo. Which was a side-quest always good to play.



The starter set also include the 'doodles' I like, from FF Tactics.




And these cute again. Highlight to the 'Devout' card. It reminds me of Carnival costumes. And the others remind me of the costumes we used try to imitate to play all the worlds and adventures we used to imagine as kids.


Next up is the almighty FFVII starter set.



(PS: I don't know why, but sometimes my scanner cuts the image...)

Thursday, 4 October 2018

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game - FF XIII Starter Set


Never played FF XIII but read it was a good release, even if FF series are not quite like before the X instalment.


Some characters look like the same from game to game. That's a issue to me, because in an RPG, specially in a JRPG, you have to have good/great/memorable characters, and that goes with them being different from each other.





I understand the 3D-almost-like-humans graphics, but the best FF games and cards are precisely the ones with old FF characters. Specially I love these doodles ones.


This Snow card looks like they zoomed in too much in a PS1 game.




Moogle. Always the Mogs! And the little ones, like Bard and Dark Knight.



Next FF post will be with the most significant FF to me, which is FF X, the first I ever had (always new about them but never had a console with those games), and the first game to my PS2.