What Mr. Jackson can get you at the LCS...

The answer to this age old question happens to be:

• 1 2015 Gypsy Queen Hobby Pack
• 1 2014 Bowman Draft Hobby Pack
• 1 2014 Allen & Ginter Hobby Pack
• 1 Dragons of Tarkir MTG Pack
• some supplies I needed (boxes, team bags, penny sleeves)

We're going to skip the Magic pack because this blog really isn't about Magic, but if anyone's curious my rare was Berserker's Onslaught (booooo).

I picked up the first two packs because I hadn't seen any of the cards from those sets yet.  I picked up the A&G pack because it's A&G and I'm still missing inserts from last year.

Gypsy Queen:

I didn't pull anything overly special in this year's quota of one pack of this stuff.  I've never really been a huge fan of this set, but I also really can't put a finger on why that is.  I enjoy the faded type color scheme that Gypsy Queen brings to the table, but either the photos or the quirky borders seem to turn me off from the set every year.  This year is no exception.  I think this year it's more to do with the quirky border than anything else.

I do, however, really enjoy the one paper framed card I got (Juan Marichal above).  The wrapper claims these fall 1:17 packs which made me fairly happy.  These new paper frames make the image seem more important and draws your attention to different parts of the card than the normal base cards.  If you haven't seen one of these framed cards live, I would strongly recommend finding one before judging from this, or any other picture online.  It's hard to do the card justice with just a scan/photo.

I actually just joined a group break sponsored by Nachos Grande that contains 1 box of this stuff (not opened as of this post).  It also included a box of Diamond Kings which was opened yesterday and the only card that I hit was a framed (just like these Gypsy Queen cards) Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves.  I'm even more excited to see that card in person now.

The insert from the pack was a The Queen's Throwback card of James Shields.  Meh.  I'm spoiled.  I get to look at Allen & Ginter inserts all day.  This is boring, though I feel I must mention that Gypsy Queen looks like it tried a lot harder this year than it did most of the previous years.  I've seen other Gypsy Queen inserts from other blogs that actually look halfway decent (I think there's a defensive themed set this year that I remember looking pretty cool).

Bowman Draft:

I kinda just picked this up for ha-ha's.  The above was the best card I pulled as of right now (we'll wait 5 years and see I suppose...).  I swear this is a refractor because its way more shiny than the other chrome card I got from the pack, but the back doesn't say anything about it being so, yet Bowman is usually pretty good at putting that word beneath the set/number (it is their main selling point after all).  Perhaps they didn't print the word refractor in this set... don't know, not going to open more to find out.

Both the front and back are typical Bowman and pretty bland, but still a good design that makes the player the main focus (exactly what this type of set should be aiming for).  I'm not a huge prospector, but I tend to find myself buying base Bowman every now and then just for the simplicity and random autographs.  I suppose its my replacement for Topps flagship, which I usually don't touch.

Allen & Ginter:

This should have been a fruitless pickup.  I have a complete base set, the vast majority of inserts are complete, and I'm even over 80% complete on the mini set.  I got the pack simply because I like the brand so much.  Yet.... you never really know do you...

I only have one of these, which is a partial win for me.  It means I've got more trade bait for this set.

I got a SP which is nice.  It is, however, VERY miscut.  I've heard a couple people complain about miscut cards this year, but I really haven't seen too many.  This is very obvious (maybe not so much so in the picture).  Still, I suppose it's a SP...

Uh.... YES!  Case hit is a single pack?!?!?! YES!!!  We'll talk about this particular insert (much later) in my insert set series, but we can talk about this specific card now.  This kind of thing is exactly why I love Allen & Ginter so much.  Who makes a card about the world's strangest sport??? A&G does.  If you read the description, apparently Cheese Rolling has almost nothing to do with cheese (which I happen to love very much).  Instead, it is simply a downhill sprint with the victor being the first to reach the bottom.  Sound simple?  Well... for your enjoyment.

Freakin' awesome... that's what Cheese Rolling is.

P.S. I'd be the guy leveling people at the bottom of the hill.  That's even more awesome.