This week, Panini gives us the first on card autographs featuring the 2021 NFL rookie class in their pro uniforms with 2021 Panini Origins Football, the MLBPA fan-favorite 2021 Donruss Optic Baseball drops, and Pokémon’s 25th anniversary party continues with the official release of Pokémon Celebrations that holds an iconic Charizard reprint. Read up on all of these releases and more in this week’s edition of The Rip.
2021 Panini Origins Football
2021 Panini Origins Football brings some early season excitement to the football card hobby. For the first time ever the set will be the first to include on card autograph cards featuring the top 2021 NFL rookies in their pro uniforms. The 100 card base set will also include rookies in their pro uniforms as well as some of the top veterans in the game. Aside from the base set, you can collect a variety of autographs, memorabilia cards, and inserts such as “How it Started vs. How it’s Going” that feature NFL legends with imagery from their playing days and Hall of Fame inductions.
The 2021 Panini Origins Football Hobby Box holds seven cards per pack, and one pack per box. Each box will add one Rookie Patch Autograph, one additional autograph, and one memorabilia card to your collection on average. The 2021 Panini Origins Hobby Box releases on October 6th and can be found at online and local trading card hobby shops.
2021 Panini Donruss Optic Baseball Hobby Box
2021 Panini Donruss Optic Baseball brings an updated chromium look to the vintage-inspired Donruss card brand. Of course, Panini does not hold the MLB license so all cards will be void of MLB team logos and trademarks. The main set checklist is composed of 200 cards including 70 Rated Rookies, and 30 Diamond Kings cards. Of course, being a chromium Panini set, it promises a huge rainbow of limited print run color variation Prizm parallels. This year’s set also comes equipped with on-card autographs. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jo Adell Rookie cards will be included, as well as Jasson Dominguez Rated Prospect cards.
The 2021 Panini Donruss Optic Baseball Hobby Box holds four cards per pack, and 20 packs per box. You can look forward to finding at least two autographs, ten Prizm parallels, and 20 inserts. Panini will also be randomly making some hobby boxes “hot boxes” meaning they will come with five autographs instead of two, or 20 limited print run Prizm parallels instead of ten. 2021 Panini Donruss Optic Baseball will release on October 6th at online and local trading card hobby shops. Retail products such as Blasters should start appearing on shelves around this time as well.
2021 Panini Chronicles UFC Hobby Box
Panini has wasted no time expanding their UFC sets since acquiring the license in January 2021, and is back with another product making its debut in 2021 Panini Chronicles UFC. Staying true to the Chronicles line, the UFC edition is made up of over 20 different base sets utilizing designs that will not be featured as standalone sets this year. Popular card brands that are highlighted in the set include Spectra, Donruss Optic Rated Rookie, Origins, Contenders Optic Season Ticket, plus more. You will also be able to find premium cards such as National Treasures, Gala, and Noir exclusively in hobby boxes. Hunt for some of the most exciting up-and-comers as well as the most established stars in the sport like Amanda Nunes, Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz, and Kamaru Usman.
The 2021 Panini Chronicles UFC Hobby Box carries eight cards per pack, and six packs per box, with each box also promising two autographs on average. Retail blaster and mega boxes will also be made available for the 2021 Panini Chronicles UFC set and can be found at Target, Walmart, and anywhere else trading cards are sold. 2021 Panini Chronicles UFC Hobby Boxes will release on October 6th at online and local trading card hobby shops.
Pokémon Celebrations
The appropriately named Pokémon Celebrations brings you the official English language 25th-anniversary set. Pokémon Celebrations is made up of over 45 cards and is divided into two subsets. The first subset is named Celebrations, within this subset, you can find cards for some fan-favorite Pokémon including Ho-Oh, Mew, Lugia, and several Pikachu variations such as Flying Pikachu V/VMAX and Surfing Pikachu V/VMAX. The second subset is named the Classic Collection and is home to reprints of some of the most iconic cards throughout the history of the trading card game, with the biggest prize in the set being the 1999 Base Set Charizard Holo.
Pokémon Celebrations booster packs will only come in special Pokémon Celebrations boxes. The best way to get your hands on Pokémon Celebrations packs is with the Pokémon Celebrations Elite Trainer Box. Inside of this box, you will find ten Pokémon Celebrations Booster Packs that hold four cards each, five additional Pokémon TCG booster packs, one foil promo card featuring Greninja, 65 card sleeves featuring the Pokémon 25 logo, 45 Pokémon TCG Energy cards, a Celebrations player’s guide, assorted gameplay accessories, a collector’s box, and a code card for the online Pokémon card game. The Pokémon Celebrations Elite Trainer Box releases on October 8th for a retail price of $50 and can be found wherever Pokémon cards are sold.
Pokémon V Battle Decks: Rayquaza V and Noivern V
The release of Evolving Skies in late August saw the return of Dragon-type Pokémon to the English TCG for the first time since 2019. Now you can get your hands on even more Dragon-type Pokémon with the newest Pokémon V Battle Decks. The first Deck is built on the fiery strikes of Rayquaza V, while the second is Based on Noivern V’s overwhelming Psychic attacks.
These Pokémon V Battle Decks come with a 60 card playable deck, three reference cards, one rules book, a single-player playmat, damage counters, one metallic coin, a deck box, a quick strategy guide, and a code card to unlock the deck in the Pokémon TCG online game. The Pokémon V Battle Decks: Rayquaza V and Noivern V will release on October 8th for a retail price of $15 wherever Pokémon cards are sold.
