2023 Upper Deck Marvel's Allegiance: Avengers vs X-Men

[BobCollects]

Release date TBD. The set is based on a 2012 Marvel Comics miniseries. Here's the description from a Blowout competitor:

Debuting in 2023 is Allegiance: Avengers VS. X-Men, a new Upper Deck brand focusing on story arcs from the Marvel comics, featuring Turning Point holograms, Chapters sets, and thematic inserts! This set encompasses the 12 issues narrating the crossover story of Avengers VS. X-Men in the Marvel Publishing Universe!

90 Card Chapters Set and 90 Card Base Set

• Collect colorful Base Set Parallels!
• Rainbow, Red Rainbow & Blue Rainbow
• Numbered Base Set Parallels Include:
• Green Reality
• Orange Power
• Purple Cosmic
• X-Men
• Avengers
• Cosmic - #’d 1 of 1
• Search for Chapters Set Autographs and Printing Plates!

New lenticular inserts & foiled cards!

• Find Collision Events lenticular inserts – including short prints of the X-Babies and A-Babies
• Gather Protectors of Utopia and To Save the Earth deco foil cards
• Look for classic Spectromatic History triangular pattern rainbow foil board cards:
  • Red
  • Blue
  • Green
  • Orange
  • Purple
• Grab retro style Turning Point Hologram cards

Thematic Inserts

• Comic Covers
• A Cosmic Journey
• Story of Hope Summers

1-of-1 Original Art Sketch Cards!

• Look for Sketch Cards hand-drawn by talented artists!

BOX HITS (On Average)

• 1 Card from the following:
  • Base Set: Red, Green & Purple parallel
  • Chapters Set Rainbow
• 1 serial numbered parallel card
• 6 Ratio’d inserts

CHASE HITS

• Original Art Sketch cards
• 1 of 1 Base Set Cosmic Parallel
• Comic Cuts
• Comic Cut Booklets
• Clipping Autograph Booklets
• Printing Plates

6 cards per pack, 16 packs per box, 12 boxes per case.

Here's the Cardboard Connection page with the same info and mockup images. I don't see any preorders available but Google search results claims a Blowout competitor had boxes at $124.95 and cases at $1,479.95.

Thoughts?

[DynaEtch]

Looking at the mock-up images, looks like more digital rehashed comic images....not the type of marvel set I'll be going for. They look kinda cheap, I guess it's UD's version of a 'lower end' marvel set.

It's also a set based around a storyline in modern comics from 2012 that Im not really familiar with.

I'll be waiting patiently for Marvel Masterpieces 2022 which seems forever away. Its odd how UD is releasing stuff like this but even Beginnings and FUAvengers hasnt released yet...I wish they'd cut back with these types of rehashed art sets which will saturate the Marvel market and focus on finally releasing some of the more-awaited sets.

Edit: I shouldnt be too negative. The spectromatic history cracked ice inserts look interesting, and Im curious to see how those holograms turn out- will they be anything like 90s holograms. But I just cant get into the digitalized rehashed art, will likely pass on this one like I did with Spidey metal.

[PurplesaurusRex]

I never read Avengers vs. X-men. It would be great if they revisited some older story lines. Speaking of rehashed art, why not reprint older sets like 95 or 96 Masterpieces? Or 66 Donruss? Obviously not a 1 for 1 copy but they could put a cool twist on hard to find cards.

[Gambit C10]

Oh this was a fun series to read. First thing I read that got me back into the hobby for comics and later on, cards.

If I recall, the artwork was solid and depending on which images are used, there should be some nice singles to collect for character collectors.

[PurplesaurusRex]

Yeah, re-used art isn't a deal breaker for me. I just want high quality images. If you look at the original Flair it was all re-used with digital coloring on top. If they took some older artwork and added some nice colors they could make a fantastic set.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by PurplesaurusRex

Yeah, re-used art isn't a deal breaker for me. I just want high quality images. If you look at the original Flair it was all re-used with digital coloring on top. If they took some older artwork and added some nice colors they could make a fantastic set.

Good point with the 90s Flair.

Sorry if Im getting too far off the OP topic...as much as I dont like re-used art, 90s Flair was an example of reused art done....ok. Fleer (as in the actual Fleer, not Upper Deck Fleer) put some effort into it, to the point of basically completely rendering (I think I'm using the correct term here) the card in their own new fashion. The card art is transformed, with digital color, additions, and backgrounds into something I think almost looks more like a painted card with a more polished 3-d effect. Some people dont like the digital coloring in these sets, but I think it gives the set its own consistent feel, and makes the card art interesting in its own way.

Here is an example
























The best analogy I can think of is like transforming old Disney hand-drawn animation to a more pixar-type animation. Dont get me wrong, Jim Lee Wolverine vs Omega red is incredible as it is...but I like the innovation Fleer used here to reinvent the art for a card. It makes the card seem not quite as much like a straight-up reprint.

On the other hand, the re-used art from UD seems lazier, basically cropped how it appeared in the comics, cut and pasted onto whatever the card is. Now sometimes that art itself is digitally done (because taken from newer comics which can have that), but simply pasting that art onto a card does not give it the same feel as those 90s Flair cards. Whereas the 90s Flair card art looks like a cohesive image....the Upper deck reused art clearly looks digitally superimposed onto an artificial background (just look at some of the examples in the link for this Avengers vs X-men set).

In terms of preferences, commissioned original art > enhanced reused art created with effort (90s Flair)> straight up cut/paste type reused art. Sure am seeing a lot of the last in many of the UD sets, be it Annual, Metals, Vibranium, Beginnings, etc, and I just cant get into it as much. Someone else said it before, but it seems too much like a straight up reprint when it's re-used cut/paste art. I may be in the minority, but I was overwhelmingly NOT a fan of the Spiderman metal set, it basically embodies everything I dont like into a single set (copy/paste reused art, parallels galore, unnecessarily huge checklist, inserts of reused art superimposed onto a gimmick, insert templates from sports in a marvel set). And yet it sold out so fast at the ridiculous price point and made UD who knows how many millions...

[BobCollects]

A Blowout competitor has boxes available for preorder at $174.95. Still no release date.

[guard5]

Per blowout Product Is Scheduled To Release On 09/20/23. Being a X-men fan this is one I will be opening. Not as fancy as MM2022 but its also 1/8th of the price.

[glorbgorb]

Nine parallels is ridiculous, plus there'll be one or two more on the eventual ePack release. And sketchcards are 1:384. Both of those together tells me they printed a ton of this stuff.

Another set where I'm glad none of my pc characters are in it.

Sidenote, a different side from above said a Sept 30th release, but that feels way too soon.

[prospectorgems]

Just got a shipping notification. Completely forgot I pre-ordered a box of this.

[daviswr7]

sketches on this product shown off on FB look very very good.

[exotechktx]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

Good point with the 90s Flair.

Sorry if Im getting too far off the OP topic...as much as I dont like re-used art, 90s Flair was an example of reused art done....ok. Fleer (as in the actual Fleer, not Upper Deck Fleer) put some effort into it, to the point of basically completely rendering (I think I'm using the correct term here) the card in their own new fashion. The card art is transformed, with digital color, additions, and backgrounds into something I think almost looks more like a painted card with a more polished 3-d effect. Some people dont like the digital coloring in these sets, but I think it gives the set its own consistent feel, and makes the card art interesting in its own way.

Here is an example
























The best analogy I can think of is like transforming old Disney hand-drawn animation to a more pixar-type animation. Dont get me wrong, Jim Lee Wolverine vs Omega red is incredible as it is...but I like the innovation Fleer used here to reinvent the art for a card. It makes the card seem not quite as much like a straight-up reprint.

On the other hand, the re-used art from UD seems lazier, basically cropped how it appeared in the comics, cut and pasted onto whatever the card is. Now sometimes that art itself is digitally done (because taken from newer comics which can have that), but simply pasting that art onto a card does not give it the same feel as those 90s Flair cards. Whereas the 90s Flair card art looks like a cohesive image....the Upper deck reused art clearly looks digitally superimposed onto an artificial background (just look at some of the examples in the link for this Avengers vs X-men set).

In terms of preferences, commissioned original art > enhanced reused art created with effort (90s Flair)> straight up cut/paste type reused art. Sure am seeing a lot of the last in many of the UD sets, be it Annual, Metals, Vibranium, Beginnings, etc, and I just cant get into it as much. Someone else said it before, but it seems too much like a straight up reprint when it's re-used cut/paste art. I may be in the minority, but I was overwhelmingly NOT a fan of the Spiderman metal set, it basically embodies everything I dont like into a single set (copy/paste reused art, parallels galore, unnecessarily huge checklist, inserts of reused art superimposed onto a gimmick, insert templates from sports in a marvel set). And yet it sold out so fast at the ridiculous price point and made UD who knows how many millions...

PREACH my brother!

The sketches shown thus far do look sick, but looking at those odds........

[prospectorgems]

Originally Posted by prospectorgems

Just got a shipping notification. Completely forgot I pre-ordered a box of this.

Cards look nice. Not a great box in terms of hits but still like the look of the cards.

[hobbystuff]

Tried 3 boxes.
Hologram hit in one
John Romita Jr auto hit in another
A few numbered parallels

[finfangfan]

How expensive were the boxes?

[hobbystuff]

Not bad : $145 cnd so about $110 us

[mjohnatgt]

2023 Upper Deck Allegiance Avengers vs X-Men - Factory Sealed - Hobby Box #BULLPENLA - BullpenLA Personal Break [Digital BeingRedeemed]
Courtesy of COMC.com

BullpenLA is doing breaking for COMC and rather than ePack where you get a ton of digital base, these new breaks they're doing is for "ALL CARDS PROCESSED" for $125 COMC store credit. Sure, you're at their processing timelines, but it may be months before this product gets on ePack. I think the first time I got into one of these, it only took a few weeks for the cards to be loaded in my account.

[glorbgorb]

What's the selling point here? That you'll get physical base loaded into your account that is not worth the storage fees and certainly not shipping fees to get them home IF you could sell them?

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by glorbgorb

What's the selling point here? That you'll get physical base loaded into your account that is not worth the storage fees and certainly not shipping fees to get them home IF you could sell them?

I think the selling point is like anything else in the hobby… pay box price (in this case $125) in the hopes of pulling a “hit” you PC or that you can flip for close to break even if not profit. Base will always be race to bottom but base is not the chase in modern collecting that is dominated by adults with disposable income not kids with quarters.

[glorbgorb]

Originally Posted by finfangfan

I think the selling point is like anything else in the hobby… pay box price (in this case $125) in the hopes of pulling a “hit” you PC or that you can flip for close to break even if not profit. Base will always be race to bottom but base is not the chase in modern collecting that is dominated by adults with disposable income not kids with quarters.

Sure, but the poster above specifically stated:

BullpenLA is doing breaking for COMC and rather than ePack where you get a ton of digital base,...

[mjohnatgt]

I would also say that it's quite possible that ePack will cost $200 or so per box. So getting all the cards in the box for approx half (if ePack does cost that much) is a good thing. Obviously you're not going to foil up cards or win any achievements, but if you are only buying a box or two on ePack, you're not doing that either.

Plus, in some products, the hobby boxes may have better insertion odds than ePack (or hobby exclusives).

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

I would also say that it's quite possible that ePack will cost $200 or so per box. So getting all the cards in the box for approx half (if ePack does cost that much) is a good thing. Obviously you're not going to foil up cards or win any achievements, but if you are only buying a box or two on ePack, you're not doing that either.

Plus, in some products, the hobby boxes may have better insertion odds than ePack (or hobby exclusives).

I guess. But wouldn’t a big potential negative be you might be cracking a box where a case break has already been claimed. I see 1 sale (of 12) posted so can you watch another persons break live and then choose not to participate after case hit pops up? Or do all 12 boxes have to be sold first before any one box is opened? At least with ePack you can get a case hit (long odds sure) in one pack.

You never get the feeling anything has been pack searched before you buy a pack on ePack. Here it depends on how they conduct the break. If all boxes need to be sold before case is opened and then all box breaks shown… it’s fine. Anything else is a bit iffy.

[mjohnatgt]

Mine was the only box sold and the only box opened on the youtube channel today. Got a Thor /199, a Magma /63, and an Iron Man blue rainbow (refractor?).
Here was the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldyL8ICi28o

Another improvement rather than buying on ePack is cost: store credit is worth 10% less than cash due to the cash out fee, as well as the sales tax has already been paid on it. Whereas on ePack, they charge sales tax.

Different strokes for different folks, but it will make sense in some cases. I'd rather have a physical base Wolverine or Deadpool card than a digital base of the same character.

[PurplesaurusRex]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

I would also say that it's quite possible that ePack will cost $200 or so per box.

I'm not too sure about that. Box prices don't seem to be going up like the used to, and doesn't UD usually price Epack cheaper than the going rate?

[notoriousrmb]

Originally Posted by PurplesaurusRex

I'm not too sure about that. Box prices don't seem to be going up like the used to, and doesn't UD usually price Epack cheaper than the going rate?

Lately epack has been priced at close to market value. A year or two ago that wasn't the case, but prices have been on the rise on epack lately.

Look at Shang-Chi or any of the other TV/Movie releases - all above market on epack.