This week, Pokémon returns after remaining quiet for over a month with the release of Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit. Meanwhile, Topps fills up a majority of the week’s trading card release calendar with the globally popular sports of soccer and Formula 1.
Pokémon Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit
Pokémon Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit is a Japanese language Pokémon set that serves as a preview to the English language version that’s due out in June and named Chilling Reign. Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit is a dual set, with each containing 70 cards plus any number of secret rares.
Silver Lance is highlighted by Ice Rider Calyrex V/VMAX and will hold Single Strike cards. Single Strike Pokémon know powerful knock-out attacks that defeat opponents in very few moves. Jet-Black Spirit is headlined by Shadow Rider Calyrex V/VMAX and contains Rapid Strike Pokémon that are built to wear your opponent down through a barrage of tactical strikes. For collectors, Full Art cards with an emphasis on the Pokémon’s environment are also noteworthy additions.
The best way to build your Pokémon Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit collection is with three main boxes. The Pokémon Silver Lance and Jet-Black Spirit Pokémon Booster Boxes are in the standard Japanese format where you will receive 30 booster packs from either Silver Lance or Jet-Black Spirit, with each pack holding five Japanese language Pokémon cards. The third box is the Pokémon Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit Pokémon Center Box, which comes packed with one Silver Lance Booster Box, one Jet-Black Spirit Booster Box, but it will also come with card sleeves and a deck case featuring an illustration of Melony the Pokémon trainer. This has caused speculation of Melony possibly being included as one of the Full Art cards.
Pokémon Silver Lance/Jet-Black Spirit will release on April 23rd at the Japanese Pokémon Center and wherever Japanese Pokémon cards are sold.
2020-21 Topps Museum Collection UEFA Champions League Soccer Hobby Box
As its name suggests, 2020-21 Topps Museum Collection UEFA Champions League Soccer is made up of cards that are fit for a museum. This high-end set does have a base card checklist, but it is the autograph and relic subsets that provide the most excitement for collectors. Among these subsets are Archival Autographs, Lore of the League Autographs, Museum Autograph Jumbo Relics, Momentous Material Prime Patch Relics, plus more. This rendition of Topps Museum Collection centers around the world-class athletes of the UEFA Champions League. You have the chance of finding autograph cards for legends such as Lionel Messi.
The 2020-21 Topps Museum Collection UEFA Champions League Soccer Hobby Box focuses on quality over quantity. The box holds one pack per box and eight cards per pack. Within each pack, you will typically find one autograph, one relic, one autograph relic, and four base cards. You will also receive one parallel, a limited print run color variation, of one of the cards in the many subsets. This is a “hit” heavy box as autographs, relics, and rare parallels make up half of the cards inside.
The 2020-21 Topps Museum Collection UEFA Champions League Soccer Hobby Box releases on April 21 at online and local trading card hobby shops.
2021 Topps MLS Soccer Hobby Box
2021 Topps MLS Soccer uses the top moments from the 2020 season of the premier soccer league in the United States as its inspiration. The base set checklist is made up of 175 cards with an additional 25 card “Pitch Prodigies” subset. Each of these 200 cards will be offered in their standard format as well as several limited-edition colored parallels including Orange, Red, and Black colorways.
The 2021 Topps MLS Soccer Hobby Box offers the best chance at finding the best cards in the set. The box itself contains eight cards per pack, and 24 packs per box. On average you will find three “hits” in the form of autograph or relic cards in each hobby box for players like Efrain Alvarez, Diego Rossi, and more.
The 2021 Topps MLS Soccer Hobby Box releases on April 21 at online and local trading card hobby shops. Lower-cost retail products should start appearing at Targets and Walmarts around this time as well.
2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box
Topps Formula 1 Chrome Racing is making its debut in 2020 and is only the second licensed Formula 1 trading card release ever produced by Topps, the first set being 2020 Topps Dynasty Formula 1 Racing that released earlier this year in February. The timing seems to be prime for this as the global audience for Formula 1 Racing continues to grow daily with much of the interest being driven by the face of the sport, Lewis Hamilton. In the card community, the Topps Chrome set is one of the most popular designation levels for baseball cards and used to be for basketball cards before Topps lost the NBA license during the 2009-10 season. Although Lewis Hamilton cannot be categorized as a rookie, his Topps Chrome cards from this set will surely be regarded as his earliest, and therefore among his most valuable. The set will even hold autographs with very limited print runs.
Each 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box comes with four cards per pack and 18 total packs. You can look to find ten limited print run parallels or short prints, and nine inserts per box. Given his universal popularity, Lewis Hamilton is sure to draw the attention of many card collectors to the inaugural year of Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing who don’t even follow the sport, which means potentially higher demand.
The Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box releases on April 23 at online and local card shops.
