Shocking - 3 cases should get a Master Set

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
Shocking - 3 cases should get a Master Set

What makes it even more scarey is that to make a master set off Ebay at the moment, it would cost an eye-watering $546.40

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
Shocking - 3 cases should get a Master Set

What makes it even more scarey is that to make a master set off Ebay at the moment, it would cost an eye-watering $546.40

I am assuming you meant to put a £ sign rather than a $ sign .Even so that seems a little low when you consider 3 cases would cost a minimum of £1200 .

No, that was the cheapest on Ebay USA. What I ment was this would be the cost to Miss Lizzy to complete her set after what she's shelled out for three cases

Yeah...I really don't understand these collation issues....you really should be able to put together a master set in 3 cases. I mean you are talking 72 hits in a set with 20 autos and 20 costume cards. You definitely shouldn't be left with needing several cards to complete a master set.

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
No, that was the cheapest on Ebay USA. What I ment was this would be the cost to Miss Lizzy to complete her set after what she's shelled out for three cases

Ah,I see what you mean.And you are right,that is scary.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
Yeah...I really don't understand these collation issues....you really should be able to put together a master set in 3 cases. I mean you are talking 72 hits in a set with 20 autos and 20 costume cards. You definitely shouldn't be left with needing several cards to complete a master set.

You are assuming that the 20 autos and 20 costume cards have a comparable ratio and were seeded in a consistent manner. Looking at the breaks posted so far that does not seem to be even close.

Then factor in that even you could break 5 or 6 cases, they might yield duplicates of the same ultra limited cards. Well the cost would hardly be worth it and you still might be a couple of cards shy of a master.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
Yeah...I really don't understand these collation issues....you really should be able to put together a master set in 3 cases. I mean you are talking 72 hits in a set with 20 autos and 20 costume cards. You definitely shouldn't be left with needing several cards to complete a master set.

You are assuming that the 20 autos and 20 costume cards have a comparable ratio and were seeded in a consistent manner. Looking at the breaks posted so far that does not seem to be even close.

Then factor in that even you could break 5 or 6 cases, they might yield duplicates of the same ultra limited cards. Well the cost would hardly be worth it and you still might be a couple of cards shy of a master.

Which is part of the problem. I understand having SPs...like the patch cards in The Walking Dead where they are extremely limited, but these in between SPs are annoying especially where they don't make much sense.

And I'm not assuming equal numbers among the cards...if I were then I would say that you should be able to open 20 boxes and get a master set.

To me, you shouldn't have to be lucky to put together a master set when opening 3 cases of a product...it should be that you were unlucky in this case (i.e. more often than not a person would put together the master set in 3 cases), but there have been multiple people who have busted 3+ cases and weren't able put together a master set.

I think it would also be different if Cryptozoic released number of cards produced. This would make it obvious to the collector what they can expect to pull out of cases. Exact numbers wouldn't even be needed...look at Rittenhouse...they give a range of available autographs in their products so you can get a feel of how rare a card is to pull.

From my observations on peoples case breaks, is to me it seems like they Autos and Costumes weren't mixed up enough. Like not shuffling a deck of cards enough that when you deal out the cards you get a bunch of clubs and spades instead of an even distribution of diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades. Sorry for the bad analogy.

I've seen where some have opened 3 cases and didn't get 1 of which I got 3 of the same auto. And they got what are now known as more of the 'common' autos, of which I got none. So I think it is more a matter of bad collation rather than SP's

I noticed Ed's cases break was almost identical to mine( I got my case from Ed) which makes me wonder if you're not better off preordering 3 cases from 3 different sellers hoping that those cases will be far apart in the production line, giving you a better chance of getting a bit of everything.

In conclusion, I'm ordering only one case of the Fringe, and going to pick up the rest.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
From my observations on peoples case breaks, is to me it seems like they Autos and Costumes weren't mixed up enough. Like not shuffling a deck of cards enough that when you deal out the cards you get a bunch of clubs and spades instead of an even distribution of diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades. Sorry for the bad analogy.

I've seen where some have opened 3 cases and didn't get 1 of which I got 3 of the same auto. And they got what are now known as more of the 'common' autos, of which I got none. So I think it is more a matter of bad collation rather than SP's

I noticed Ed's cases break was almost identical to mine( I got my case from Ed) which makes me wonder if you're not better off preordering 3 cases from 3 different sellers hoping that those cases will be far apart in the production line, giving you a better chance of getting a bit of everything.

Smart thinking! I won a case on eBay ($625 total) and I hope you are right because I like the cards that the seller had available from his case breaks and wouldn't mind a similar break!

Are people still opening boxes? Opened up 2 more

Box 1
Auto. A20 Bianca Lawson
Costume. M6 Bonnie Bennett

Box 2
Auto. A15 Kelly Hu
Costume. M17 Vicki Donovan

I bought 1 more box and opened it today.

Got a Bonnie auto & Caroline wardrobe card.

Thanks

I got my Vampire Diaries Case today. Overall, I was just looking for one of the “big three” autos, and to fill some of the holes in my collection. I was able to do that a bit, and still have a bunch of copies to trade or sell on eBay.

Box #1
A1 Dobrev auto
M9 Caroline Costume
F02, 04, 06, 09
D02, 09

Box #2
A11 Plec auto
M19 Tyler Costume
F01, 03, 05, 08
D06

Box #3
A14 Kebbel auto
A3 Elena Costume
F01, 03, 05, 08
D02, 09

Box #4
A7 Roerig auto
M3 Elena Costume
F01, 03, 05, 08
D01, 07

Box #5
A14 Kebbel auto
M6 Bonnie Costume (gold)
F02, 05, 07, 08
D05, 07

Box #6
A10 Davis auto
M6 Bonnie Costume (gold)
F02, 04, 06, 09
D03, 08

Box #7
A10 Davis auto
M3 Elena Costume
F01, 03, 04, 06
D04, 06

Box #8
A15 Hu auto
M8 Jeremy Costume
F01, 04, 06, 09
D04, 06

Box #9
A15 Hu auto
M8 Jeremy Costume
F01, 03, 05, 08
D04, 05

Box #10
A16 Ewell auto
M13 Damon Costume
F01, 05, 08
D02, 07, 09

Box #11
A18 Martin auto
M6 Bonnie Costume (Black thick variant)
F03, 04, 06, 09
D04, 06

Box #12
A16 Ewell auto
M6 Bonnie Costume (gold)
F02, 05, 07, 09
D03, 04

Overall:
A1
A7
A10 x2
A11
A14 x2
A15 x2
A16 x2
A18
M3 x3
M6 x4 (3 gold, 1 black)
M8 x2
M9
M13
M19

Super happy with the Dobrev auto- it was in the first pack of the first box I opened, so I would have been happy with really anything else. I was hoping for some more of the low level autos, but can't complain really. The costume situationw as rather annoying, especially since I had all ready bought a M6 for myself, and had pulled an M3 all ready. Overall though, I had a great time opening the case and got my pack busting need fulfilled

The M3's, M6's (except the black variant), one of the M8 cards, as well as the Roerig, Plec, one of the Davis autos, one of the Kebbel autos, and both of the Hu and Ewell autos are for trade (looking to trade for my Vampire Diaries needs only). My wants/haves list has been update as well as my Photobucket if anyone is interested in trading.

Opened 4 more boxes.

Box 1.

Auto. A11 Julie Plec, A12 Kevin Williamson, A14 Arielle Kebbel
Costume. M19 Tyler Lockwood

Box 2.

Auto. A10 Matt Davis
Costume. M2 Stefan Salvatore

Box 3.

Auto. None
Costume. M10 Caroline Forbes, M18 Alaric Saltzman

Box 4.

Auto. Arielle Kebbel
Costume. Alaric Saltzman


Don't know if I want to get more or just purchase the singles as I haven't pulled any of the three main cast's autos.

4th and last case:

Foil Insert Set:
F01- x4
F02- x7
F03- x4
F04- x6
F05- x5
F06- x5
F07- x7
F08- x5
F09- x5

Die-Cut Insert Set:
D01- x2
D02- x4
D03- x2
D04- x3
D05- x3
D06- x1
D07- x3
D08- x3
D09- x3


Wardrobes:
M1 Stefan Salvatore x2
M2 Stefan Salvatore x2
M4 Elena Gilbert
M6 Bonnie Bennett
M8 Jeremy Gilbert
M11 Caroline Forbes
M12 Damon Salvatore
M15 Matt Donovan
M17 Vicki Donovan
M18 Alaric Saltzman

Autographs:
A1 Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
A2 Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
A7 Matt Roerig as Matt Donovan
A11 Julie Plec (Executive Producer)
A12 Kevin Williamson (Executive Producer)
A13 David Anders as John Gilbert
A14 Arielle Kebbel as Lexi Branson x2
A17 Susan Walters as Carol Lockwood
A18 Chris William Martin as Zach Salvatore x2
A20 Bianca Lawson as Emily Bennett


Overall from 4 cases:
Wardrobes:
M1-2
M2-2
M3-3
M4-2
M5-0
M6-5
M7-2
M8-2
M9-0
M10-0
M11-3
M12-4
M13-0
M14-3
M15-3
M16-1
M17-5
M18-3
M19-1
M20-0

Autographs:
A1-1
A2-3
A3-1
A4-2
A5-1
A6-1
A7-2
A8-1
A9-1
A10-2
A11-3
A12-2
A13-2
A14-6
A15-3
A16-3
A17-4
A18-5
A19-0
A20-4

quote:

Originally posted by hitdog44:
Overall from 4 cases:
Wardrobes:
M1-2
M2-2
M3-3
M4-2
M5-0
M6-5
M7-2
M8-2
M9-0
M10-0
M11-3
M12-4
M13-0
M14-3
M15-3
M16-1
M17-5
M18-3
M19-1
M20-0

Autographs:
A1-1
A2-3
A3-1
A4-2
A5-1
A6-1
A7-2
A8-1
A9-1
A10-2
A11-3
A12-2
A13-2
A14-6
A15-3
A16-3
A17-4
A18-5
A19-0
A20-4

I'm sorry, but not being able to put a master set together from 4 cases is insane...and it's not like you're only missing 1 card...you're missing 5!

I don't think I've seen a release nearly this bad (where it wasn't made clear by the manufacturer that a card was extremely short printed which I still haven't heard of CZE doing).

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
I'm sorry, but not being able to put a master set together from 4 cases is insane...and it's not like you're only missing 1 card...you're missing 5!

I don't think I've seen a release nearly this bad (where it wasn't made clear by the manufacturer that a card was extremely short printed which I still haven't heard of CZE doing).

I don't know if I would necessarily deem this set as bad because insertion ratios weren't made clear right up front- Inkworks never commented on how many of each auto cards were in each release, and one had to watch eBay or these forums to see how rare the card was. Rittenhouse only gives estimated numbers, and that only happens soon before a release when many retailers have all ready placed cards. As far as I can recall, most of the other card companies don't release insertion odds for specific auto pulls. I think it adds a little bit of thrill to case breaking in that you really don't know what you will get, and makes the lower level cards more valuable because they aren't "dime a dozen".

I will agree with you that after four cases, a master set should be completed, but I don't think it has to do with short printing- hitdog44 managed to get 3 A2 autos, 2 M4 costumes which are both seem to be rarer than 1 per case, but is missing many of the more common cards- M13, M20, A19. He could easily flip two of the A2 cards and one of the M4 cards and finish his collection- and that's not even counting what he could make off of his other extra autos (the 5 Kebbells should bring in $35 a piece and the two extra Hu autos should bring in another $90 or so).

If anything he got really lucky, especially with the case with the Dobrev and Wesley- right now it is looking like case breakers only get one A1, A2 or A3 per case, and he managed to get five of them in four cases. Again, it's not so much about the short printing as it is about the insertions per case.

I like the fact that the product has good value and is entertaining to open (I would've like pulling 4 Dobrevs out of 4 cases but getting multiple Kebbel's and Hu's in the first case was fine by me). I was only disappointed in the product after opening my first 2 cases where I was shorted 1 autograph and 5 wardrobes combined and no extra hits in any of the boxes opened. Overall, some quality control problems but fun product overall. When's Big Bang Theory and Smallville due out?

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
I'm sorry, but not being able to put a master set together from 4 cases is insane...and it's not like you're only missing 1 card...you're missing 5!

I don't think I've seen a release nearly this bad (where it wasn't made clear by the manufacturer that a card was extremely short printed which I still haven't heard of CZE doing).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hitdog44,

I was wondering if I might have done better buying a case. I ended up buying 10 boxes overall. The odds of autos and materials were a bit off per box as some of them were missing autos but some had 2, I also had a box with 3 autos.But it balanced out in the end and I ended up with 11 autos. Only sad part is I never got any of the three main cast members.

quote:

Originally posted by AlexC:
I was wondering if I might have done better buying a case. I ended up buying 10 boxes overall. The odds of autos and materials were a bit off per box as some of them were missing autos but some had 2, I also had a box with 3 autos.But it balanced out in the end and I ended up with 11 autos. Only sad part is I never got any of the three main cast members.

I think that this was a better release for case breakers. With the likelihood of getting at least one of the big three in a case and plenty of solid hits, I ended up buying five boxes that I preorders and then two cases for $595 each once the hysteria died down a bit. So far I have managed to get about 75% of the set and have ended up really only paying for the boxes because of the way that the Hu's and Kebbell's are selling.