In the sports card world, Panini starts the month of May starts with several hobby box only sets that are loaded with autograph and memorabilia cards including Crown Royale Basketball, Flawless Football, and Impeccable Premier League Soccer. Topps joins the high-end product party with the release of 2021 Tier One Baseball. And while Pokémon was quiet for most of April, May will see a handful of products released, starting off with the Galarian Rapidash V Box. Read about all of these products in this week’s issue of The Rip.
Pokémon Galarian Rapidash V Box
The Pokémon TCG Galarian Rapidash V Box is the first English language Pokémon card product to release since Battle Styles came out in March. This new V Box is a celebration of Galarian Rapidash, a menacing Psychic-type Pokémon with the ability to dominate its opponents thanks to mesmerizing psychic attacks.
The Pokémon TCG Galarian Rapidash V Box offers the first ever Galarian Rapidash V promo card. Typically these promo cards are revealed in the Japanese language sets first making this reveal a rare occurrence. The box also comes with an oversized Galarian Rapidash card for display and four Pokémon TCG booster packs. Based on the promotional image, it looks like two of the packs will come from Battle Styles, one from Darkness Ablaze, and one from Sun & Moon base. The box also includes a promo card for the online Pokémon card game.
The Pokémon TCG Galarian Rapidash V Box releases on May 7th for $19.99 wherever Pokémon card products are sold.
2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Basketball
2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Basketball brings one of the most distinctive designs to the basketball card hobby. The base set cards are all die-cuts, meaning they are cut in a unique pattern that differs greatly from the traditional rectangular trading card. For the Panini Crown Royale Basketball set, base cards are cut in the shape of a crown. Aside from the base set checklist that will include rookies like LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards, 2020-21 Panini Crown Royale is rumored to be the only basketball card set to include the very popular Kaboom! super short print inserts this year. (Typically for Panini, “super short print” refers to cards that have a print run of less than 100.) The Kaboom! subset will include 25 total cards with the full list yet to be announced.
The 2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Hobby Box comes with eight cards per pack and one pack per box. On average, you can expect to find one autograph card, one relic card, two inserts or parallels, and four Crown Royale die-cut base cards.
2020-21 Panini Crown Royale Hobby Boxes will release on May 5th through the Panini America Website and online and local trading card hobby shops. The pre-sale price is currently around $450.
2020 Panini Flawless Football
2020 Panini Flawless Football is one of the highest-end football card sets due out in 2021. With an emphasis on memorabilia, on-card autographs, and print runs no higher than 25, Flawless football provides you with only hits. While NFL Legends and current stars make up much of the set, the various rookie autograph, autograph relic, and rookie patch autograph cards are the most coveted cards in the set. The talented 2020 rookie QB class of Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Tua Tagovailoa are certainly among the players that collectors will be after.
The 2020 Panini Flawless Football Hobby Box is packed with 10 cards each in a single pack. On average you will find six autographs, two to three memorabilia cards, and one or two limited print run gem base cards.
2020 Panini Flawless Football Hobby Boxes release on May 5th at online and local trading card hobby shops. The pre-sale box price is currently $7,500.
2021 Topps Tier One Baseball
2021 Topps Tier One Baseball is yet another hits-only set releasing this week. This is a set for baseball card enthusiasts looking to build their premium collection. The hits offered in the set come in the form of on-card autographs, relics, and autograph relic cards. While many of the subsets include the typical jersey patch relics, one of the more unique items found in 2021 Topps Tier One Baseball is the Perfect Contact Autographed Bat Relics. These cards have a print run of five and include a game-used bat slice that is signed by the player, and it’s been teased that there’s a Mike Trout card in this collection.
The 2021 Topps Tier One Baseball Hobby Box can be defined as quality over quantity, which will explain the price. Each box contains three cards per pack, and one pack per box. You will find two autographs and one relic inside.
2021 Topps Tier One Baseball Hobby Boxes release on May 5th at online and local trading card shops. The presale box price is currently around $200.
2020-21 Panini Impeccable Premier League Soccer
2020-21 Panini Impeccable Premier League Soccer is the second year for the premium set that centers on one of the top leagues in European soccer. The base set is made up of 100 cards and also offers low print-run color variation parallels for each card. Also included are Metal card subsets, autographs, relics, and the very rare Premier League Logo set. Premier League Logos include a gold or silver bar in the card that has the player’s club logo etched into them.
The 2020-21 Panini Impeccable Premier League Soccer Hobby Box holds eight cards per pack and one pack per box. You can expect to find four autographs, one relic or additional autographs, one base card, one parallel, and one Metal insert.
2020-21 Panini Impeccable Premier League Soccer Hobby Box releases on May 7th with pre-sales starting at $1,500.
