Many of BBM's premium team sets this year are following a single theme, called Heat. The card design is basically the same, as is the set design.
Released in early June, a complete 27-card base set can be found in every box. The flame design and Heat text in the middle has a bronze/fire colored foil, though my scanner can't handle the coloring well, and the card stock is a bit better than regular BBM issues.
One box retails for 10,000 yen, which is about $100. Inside, packaged with the base set, are two autographs. I don't have any copies for myself yet, so the images below are BBM's promotional images.
Regular autographs for what might be the entire Dragons roster are serial numbered to 45 copies or less.
Twenty-seven players also have a "special" autograph card with a print run of 10 copies each. I'll leave it up to you to guess which 27. Okay, I'll tell you: the 27 who are in the regular set. These are also the players who have fewer autographs in the regular checklist, though it's not always 10 fewer, so the remaining stickers may have been used or saved for other releases.
I bet they are cool in person. One thing I wish that BBM would start doing is using different card images between the front and back of the cards.
ReplyDeleteThe cards are nicer than the scans, but not quite appealing enough to me (yet) to warrant any interest in a full set.
DeleteBBM is too lazy to do anything other than throw an image on most of its insert sets, so why bother with anything else? I get that there is probably marginal profit in the card industry, even though people probably buy whatever is in front of them because of their interest in the hobby. But when it comes to a lot of aspects of BBM's sets, it's more than formulaic. Posting about the pack-based team sets is pretty monotonous because it's the same thing over and over again.
This is turning into a rant, but BBM hasn't even bothered issuing any really good sets this year. No Classic. No topical sets. Just team sets, 1st Version, Rookie Edition, and the box sets. Seriously, it's a boring year.
Love the large bold signatures. It's just a shame that they're sticker autographs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure BBM ever does on-card autographs. Except the buybacks, perhaps, which were only in Classic, which seems to have ended. BBM does seem to have the best stickers, though.
DeleteI picked up one of the regular autographs not too long ago. Although I'm still after the Nomura Ryosuke auto. If my hunch is correct, they're all sticker autographs. But still pretty big and impressive. I'm planning on picking up an opened box with just the base set the next time I go to Japan.
ReplyDeleteThey're definitely BIG, bold, and beautiful. Each signature is like a piece of art.
DeleteI do love Japanese autographs.
DeleteKenny, I can probably grab you a base set. I have something else for you too. Actually, a few Kurodas and that set.