Unleash The Kraken!

After considering what to do with my BGS graded 2013 Leaf Rookie Retro Yasiel Puig card I finally came to a decision, it was time to release the card from its encased prison. I watched a couple of videos on how to crack open a BGS case and went to work. It took me just a minute or two and as long as you are careful it is actually pretty quick and painless.

 

First was cutting the top corners with a pair of pliers, slide a flathead screwdriver into the opening and pry up. The top and sides should give way pretty easily and doing it this way lessens the chance of damaging the card.

 

I popped the card from the case and then using scissors I cut the top of the sealed sleeve that was around the card and slid it out and waalaa the card is now out of the case and on its way to my baseball binder.

 

Leaf Draft Matrix Football Is Live

Leaf has just released an update of sorts for their 2013 Leaf Metal Draft Football, more of an extended insert series really. A 25-card Leaf Matrix was created using the top (mainly skilled position) rookies like Eddie Lacy, EJ Manual, Geno Smith and Tavon Austin.

 

Leaf decided to follow a path that they have used before; they posted the cards up for auction through their eBay store. The cards were posted Thursday afternoon and will run through Tuesday (8/27). Some cards are being sold individually while others are being sold as a complete set.

 

The 25-card base Matrix set sells for $39.99 each, there are 300 total sets made. The 25-card Green Matrix set (#/50) sells for $74.99 each. The Gold Matrix (#/5) and Orange Matrix (1/1) cards are being auctioned individually with the Gold cards beginning at $9.99 and the Orange cards beginning at $19.99 though a number of the cards are already rising quickly in price.

Green Matrix #/50

Gold matrix #/5

Orange Matrix 1/1

Leaf Matrix Is Unveiled

During the Las Vegas Industry Summit Brian Gray had alluded to a coming change to the Metal technology that Leaf is known for using in many of their releases. He did not go any further in to what to expect, leaving collectors waiting until things were ready for a proper release announcement.

 

The time has come and Leaf has finally introduced Matrix, an etching in the card coating that works with a refractor like color creating an interesting appearance. To a point it can be described as similar to Topps Finest or similar to Panini’s Prizm technology.

 

The first product to include Matrix inserts will be 2012-13 Leaf Metal Basketball which is scheduled for release sometime in May. The basketball inserts, Hoop Matrix, appears to have a basketball type texture on the face of the card, which is appealing to me. I like when there is a connection like this, Fleer started using textures in the 1990s and some companies still carry on the tradition.

 

There will also be football and baseball Matrix inserts in upcoming Rookie Retro products. These inserts, Genetic Matrix, use the familiar metal and refractor technology but add in a chemical bond like etched design (hence the “genetic”) on the face of the card. I am not big on the Genetic Matrix design; I would prefer a texture similar to the basketball related Hoop Matrix inserts.

 

Overall, besides the chemical bond designs, I like the Matrix technology. I think that Brian Gray and Leaf are on to something here, especially with Panini adding Prizm to their repertoire and Topps Finest still hanging strong in the market.