2011 Topps Allen & Ginter: Box Break!

As promised, here are the results of the first box out of my case.  But first, since a number of people wanted to see it, here are the scans for the checklist that comes in the hobby box.

 I figure I'll open a few boxes now and then wait until the Gint-a-Cuffs rules are announced so that I can use a box for scoring purposes.  Anyhow, I couldn't wait - so here's what I would consider a fairly typical box (based on previous year's experiences).  I didn't break the bank or pull anything spectacular, but overall I was happy!

Base cards:

Lots of 'em.  I'll have plenty of base duplicates when all is said and done, stay tuned for a "have list" which will go up on my blog after I bust a few boxes and accumulate duplicates.  Unfortunately, my box did contain three base duplicates (Michael Cuddyer, Jordan Zimmerman, and Xavier Nady).

Short prints:
Once again, short prints are numbers 301 - 350 (and are seeded 1:2 packs).  I got the requisite twelve short prints (no duplicates) which was good.  You'll see enough of these once Gint-a-Cuffs begins that I won't bother scanning them for now.

Code cards:
I ended up with three code cards (seeded 1:8 packs).  I wish I knew how many of these were made in total (i.e. is there a code version of every card or only some of them)?  Anyone have any ideas?

Box topper:
I ended up with an N43 card of Josh Johnson.  I am excited by the N43s this year though because out of the fifteen subjects, two of them are Reds (Joey Votto and Aroldis Chapman).

Regular minis:
My box yielded seven regular minis (five base and two short prints).  Once again, on a purely numbers basis it looks like the short print minis will be easier to find than the regular base minis.  I haven't decided if I am going to chase the mini set this year or not - I still haven't finished the last couple of year's worth so maybe I shouldn't.

Ad back minis:
I ended up with five ad back minis (no short prints).  I like the regular minis and the black bordered minis, but I don't care much for the ad back minis.  As such, I know that the five I ended up with are all for trade (and there will be more in future boxes I'm sure)!

Black bordered minis:
My box produced three black bordered minis.  Two regular and one short print.  The black bordered short prints are seeded 1:130 packs (which means I might find one more in my case)...  Maybe I should have used this box for Gint-a-Cuffs after all...

Baseball Highlight Sketches:
Personally, I'm sick of these but since I'm a fool for Ginter, I'll be chasing down the full set.  I ended up with four different sketch cards (Pujols, Giants, Wright, and Jimenez).

Hometown Heroes:
The one-per-pack inserts that really aren't.  My box yielded 18 Hometown Heroes cards.  Seeing how the Hometown Heroes set has 100 cards in it, it'll take quite a few boxes before one has the full set!

Minds that Made the Future:
There are 40 (!) different cards in the set - and my box gave me a mere three (which is right on par since they are seeded 1:8 packs I might add).  Even if you never got a duplicate, you'd still need more than a case to get the full set...

Ascent of Man:
Beautiful full color insert cards!  My box gave me the expected total (4 since they are seeded 1:6 packs).  I bet this set will look great in the binder once it is complete!

Floating Fortresses:
I loved the dinosaur set in last year's edition of Ginter - my other random interest happens to be boats - so you better believe that I love this year's set too!  My box gave me three of these beauties - and at 1:8 packs, that's the expected result.

Now, we turn to the mini inserts:

Uninvited Guests:
Two of these (seeded 1:12 packs) spooky cards means I'm only missing 8 more.  Based on a little arithmetic, I ought to end up with close to two full sets of Uninvited Guests in my case, at least, I would with decent collation!

Portraits in Penultimacy:
I got two of these as well (seeded 1:12 packs) - including the Gellner Ginter Code card that some jackwagon wants 250 bucks for on eBay.  All I can say is DON'T BID ON THAT.  The "code" on the back (such as it is) is a simple cypher that's cute but doesn't appeart to do anything but talk about the card's subject.

World's Most Mysterious Figures:
These are some nifty looking cards since they don't have a border.  At first, I thought this was one of the rare unannounced sets that Ginter is known for (seeing how I didn't remember the set on the sell sheet) but it turned out my memory sucks.  The cards are actually seeded 1:15 packs.  I only found the Nostradamus card which means I was slightly below average in my pulls for this set.

Step Right Up:
The Step Right Up set is another set that is seeded 1:15 packs - and since I got two of these, I ended up slightly above par here.  There are ten cards in both World's Most Mysterious Figures and Step Right Up so I guess I have no complaints as to which I ended up with an extra card of.

Animals in Peril:
The Animals in Peril set features 30 different animals (seeded 1:12 packs) which means this will be a more challenging mini set to put together.  I ended up with two animals and I must say, these are some sharp looking cards!

And finally, the hits!

Relics:
AGR-BM.  Brian McCann

AGR-HP.  Hunter Pence

At this point, I'm happy to get any relic since I think I'm going to try for the full set.  I will admit that I was hoping for some of the non-baseball player relics since those are sometimes hard to track down but hey, at this point I need to start my collection somewhere!

Auto:
AGA-BMO.  Brent Morel

I love that the auto is on card, I'm less enthused about Morel only because I know nothing about him.  The autograph list for this year's Ginter set is quite large so I don't know whether I'll actively try for the full set or not (I'm thinking not).  However, I won't hesitate to trade for any relics or autos that I don't already have from the set!


And that's that!  One box down, still a lot to go!  Overall, I think the new base card design is a welcome change of pace without completely disregarding past iterations of Ginter (I especially like the team logo on the front).  The mini insert sets are a bit less exciting to me than past years but I like the regular sized mini sets a lot.  Personally, I'm sick of the sketch cards (they could disappear next year and I wouldn't complain) but I would love to see another full bleed insert set like the Ascent of Man cards this year.  My hits were decidedly "meh" but that's ok, not every box is a winner I guess!