Last week, I opened a pair of 2025 Topps Series 2 hobby boxes as part of my group break Patreon. One of the side benefits of running group breaks is that I can use the results of a box break for a box review here on the blog (without me having to buy my own box to rip and review). You can watch both boxes ripped on video on my YouTube channel, but for those who prefer lots of scans, you can simply read on to see how we did with one of our boxes!
We found a pair of rainbow foilboard parallels (Adames and Nola) plus a light blue parallel of Clarke Schmidt #/150. The Giants had the fewest regular base cards in this particular box so it was nice for the San Francisco slot to pick up a rainbow parallel!
2025 Topps Series 2 (hobby box):
Each hobby box of Topps Series 2 promises one hit (either an autograph or memorabilia) somewhere within the 20 packs. Each pack contains 12 cards, so your usual hobby box should produce a total of 240 cards.
Base:
Since this is a Series 2 box, the base design is probably familiar to most people already. Topps didn't change anything in a meaningful way for Series 2, so if you are someone who likes to put your cards in card binders, the series will flow nicely from one to the next.
The photography continues to be a strong point in Series 2, with plenty of nice images, including several "jumping at the wall" shots.
Parallels:
Topps has cut down on the total number of inserts and parallels that are seeded in a single hobby box, while also seemingly increasing the total number of different inserts and parallel sets that are possible to find in the product. Some of the confusion is a direct result of Topps now having at least 16 different SKUs in terms of how it distributes 2025 Series 2!
Our rarest parallel in the box was this Golden Mirror card of Victor Robles.
According to Topps' website, Golden Mirror parallels are inserted 1:521 hobby packs!
It's always fun to pull a rare card, especially in a group break situation!
Inserts:
The box produced a total of 10 inserts spread across five different sets.
I do like the 1990 themed inserts, however, my favorite set of the bunch is probably the hippie Summer Superstars cards. That set looks like it came straight out of a Topps Big League set design (and I mean that as a compliment).
Box topper:
Each hobby box comes with a silver pack box topper. Each silver pack contains a total of four Chrome Mojo cards. In Series 2, those Chrome cards are spread across two different sets. There is a 50-card All-Star set and the next 50 cards for the regular Chrome Mojo set that began in Series 1. Our boxtopper pack produced an even mix of both sets:
Pulling the All-Star versions of both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the same pack is hard to beat! I don't know much about either of our rookies in the regular Chrome Mojo set but it's okay, they are overshadowed by two of the best players in recent memory!
Hit:
As stated near the top of the post, each hobby box promises a single hit (either a relic or an autograph). We ended up with a nice Major League Material card of Nolan Arenado.
I'm not a huge fan of most relics, but at least this one is A) of a good player and B) fairly well designed. Interestingly enough, Nolan Arenado showed up as our hit in one of our 2025 Topps Series 1 boxes as well (though in that case, it was a much nicer autograph card)!
Overall, I give the 2025 Topps Series 2 hobby box the following rating:
Set Design: A
Collation: A
Opening Thrill: B
Overall: B+
Topps flagship continues to be a solid box break. You get a nice assortment of cards spread across all 30 teams, plus the chance at some cool inserts/parallels/hits. There are plenty of inserts based on the 1990 Topps design (which you probably either love or hate). I love that set as it is smack dab in the prime of my childhood collecting window, so for me, 2025 Topps is a winner (even if I keep pulling Cardinal hits despite me being a Reds fan)!
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