Valentine’s Day is here, and KAWS is making it special for everyone with a new colorway of his Family figure. February also means Pokémon day is almost upon us, and to help build the hype, Daniel Arsham has given us his latest Crystalized Pokémon card that celebrates the 2000 Mew Black Star promo card. In the world of sports, uncertainty surrounds the 2022 Major League Baseball season, but the baseball card release schedule is starting right on time with 2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball due out this week, offering a rookie card that is sure to fetch a nice premium in the coming weeks. Panini joins the weekly release cadence by dropping 2021-22 Donruss Elite Basketball, and 2021 Panini Immaculate Soccer. Magic: The Gathering closes out the week with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, the first expansion of the year. Read up on all of these releases and more in this week’s edition of The Rip.
KAWS Family Figure Grey/Pink
In July of 2021, KAWS opened his Tokyo First Exhibition at the Mori Arts Center Gallery. The show was a retrospective of the artist’s career and displayed over 150 of his works. To help celebrate this momentous event, he released a Vinyl Figure set he called “Family”. Now with Valentine’s Day here, KAWS is giving us an updated Family figure that features appropriately colored grey and pink characters. The KAWS Family Vinyl Figure Set totals five figures: two Companion figures, two Chum figures, and a BFF figure. For any follower of KAWS’ career, the Family figure is a must-have.
The KAWS Family Figure Grey/Pink is set to release on February 14th at 12PM EST on KAWSONE.com.
Daniel Arsham x Pokémon Crystalized Mew Card Sculpture (Edition of 500)
Two years after Daniel Arsham debuted his crystalized sculpture interpretation of the iconic 1st Edition Base Set Charizard card, he has finally released his follow up in the form of the Daniel Arsham x Pokémon Crystalized Mew Card Sculpture (Edition of 500). Crafted out of whiite cast resin, this 30 cm Pokémon card sculpture is modeled after the 2000 Pokémon Black Star Promo Mew that was given out during Pokémon League sessions, and is designed in Arsham’s signature uchronic style that makes it appear as though it is a relic from the Kanto region of the Pokémon world.
The Daniel Arsham x Pokémon Crystalized Mew Card Sculpture (Edition of 500) was first released on Friday, February 11th for a retail price of $2,500.
2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball
Sticking with tradition, 2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball kicks off the collecting year for MLB trading cards. This year’s base set is made up of 330 cards, but everyone is going to be chasing after one player: Wander Franco. The mega prospect was called up in June of 2021, immediately living up to expectations by blasting a three run home run in his first game. 2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball is set to not only hold his first MLB rookie card, but also include several different autograph options.
2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball will have two different hobby box formats. The standard hobby box holds 14 cards per pack and 24 packs per box, promising one autograph. The 2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball HTA Jumbo Box comes with 46 cards per pack, and 10 packs per box and carries one autograph card in addition to two relic cards.
2022 Topps Series 1 Baseball Hobby Boxes are set to release on February 16th at online and local trading card hobby shops. Retail products such as blaster boxes and hangers are expected to hit the shelves of Targets and Walmarts in the weeks following.
2021-22 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball
2021-22 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball is the second major NBA release of the current season. The 250 card base set includes 50 rookie cards with each rookie card receiving a limited print run of 999 copies. First year talents, such as Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and Jalen Green, are all featured in the base set, as well as several of the autograph subsets.
The 2021-22 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball Hobby Box holds eight cards per pack, and 20 packs per box, with two autographs, eight color variation parallels, and eight inserts expected in each box.
The 2021-22 Panini Donruss Elite Basketball Hobby Box will be released on February 18th at online and local trading card hobby shops, which is a change from last year’s online exclusive release.
2021 Topps Formula 1 Racing
While Topps has held the Formula 1 license since 2020, 2021 Topps Formula 1 Racing marks the debut of the flagship line. The 200 card base set will include top drivers and moments from the latest season and include F1 Award Winners, Formula 1 Freshest, and Grand Prix Winners subsets. There does not appear to be any autographs in this year’s set, but relic cards have been teased with top drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen expected on the checklist.
The 2021 Topps Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box holds eight cards per pack, and 18 packs per box. On average, you can expect 18 parallels and 13 inserts.
2021 Topps Formula 1 Racing releases on February 16th at local and online trading card hobby shops. Retail boxes such as blasters are also expected for the set.
2021 Panini Immaculate Soccer
While the primary focus of the premium 2021 Panini Immaculate Soccer is on the English Premier League, the set does cover other clubs and national teams from around the globe. The base set is composed of 200 cards with each card having a print run of 80 copies. However, like any Immaculate set from Panini, collectors will be after the several different autograph and memorabilia subsets. This year’s autographs are a mix of sticker and on-card autographs, while memorabilia cards include swatches of jerseys, in addition to game-used shoe pieces.
The 2021 Panini Immaculate Soccer Hobby Box boasts seven cards total, five of which are set to be autograph or memorabilia cards. The 2021 Panini Immaculate Soccer Hobby Box will be released on February 18th on the Panini America website.
2021-22 Score Premier League Soccer
2021-22 Score Premier League Soccer marks the first time that the set celebrating the top league in England has gotten a standalone release. The 200 card base set features ten players from each Premier League team.
2021-22 Score Premier League Soccer Retail Boxes hold ten cards per pack, and 20 packs per box. Each retail box adds three limited print run parallels, five Red parallels, and 12 inserts, with one out of every five boxes holding rare autographs from the league’s top stars.
2021-22 Score Premier League Soccer Retail Boxes will be released on February 16th for a retail price of $80 exclusively through the Panini UK website.
2022 Topps Star Wars Signature Series
The Book of Boba Fett may have just come to an end, but this year’s Star Wars trading card releases are just getting underway. The first set of 2022 comes in the form of Topps Star Wars Signature Series. This premium set offers a “hits only” experience as every single card in the checklist is an autograph from over 100 different cast members from the galaxy far, far away.
Each 2022 Topps Star Wars Signature Series Hobby Box holds one encased autograph card. The 2022 Topps Star Wars Signature Series Hobby Box will be released on February 16th at online and local trading card hobby shops.
Magic: The Gathering Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty marks the 91st expansion in the Magic: The Gathering Trading card game. The set is made up of 302 total cards designed by some top names in the manga art scene, like Tetsuo Hara, with the cards featuring a futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic. The main storyline takes place in Kamigawa where the Emperor has been missing for ten years, and the Imperialists have their hands full as they are in constant conflict with the Futurists and Uprisers.
The Magic: The Gathering Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Draft Booster Box is perfect for those looking to build their deck for competitive play as it holds 36 draft booster packs that contain 15 cards each.
Magic: The Gathering Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty officially releases on February 18th at local trading card game stores.
