Wax Pack Hall of Fame Inaugural Class: 12-13 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey

In the early days of my card-blogging career, I did quite a few pack breaks. Most of the time they were the result of a $15-$25 binge on retail rack packs or discounted blasters, and usually were only of packs containing a legitimate hit. I've gone away from that, mostly. Not so much because I have not been ripping packs, as I have, I've just been in a nasty slump.

I got back into blogging around late September or early October. Much of it was because the 2012 baseball season and my own return to playing had reinvigorated my love of the game to a whole new level. Another reason was my first new purchase of fresh 2012 cards - a blaster of 2012 Allen & Ginter's baseball which netted me short prints of Bob Gibson, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn; a beautiful red swatch of David Ortiz jersey and/or codpiece, and a Mike Lombardozzi red-back hand-numbered to 25. Yeah. Hell of a pack.

But since, I had been getting killed with packs, boxes, tins, etc. 2012 Bowman Baseball. 2012-2013 UD Artifacts Hockey. Worst of all, an absolute rear-ending by 2012-2013 Upper Deck Flagship Hockey.

In order to counter-act my spewing of moderately hard-earned coin into empty packs of brutal base cards, I had recently been tossing some singles and some lots up on ebay.

Gotta get that evil out, yo.

To my surprise, every Young Guns I pulled from 12-13 UD Hockey sold (except one, but there is still time). Mantle refractor? Sold! Harper & Trout+ Update Series Lot? Sold!

Then the realization: I had nothing to protect these cards from the holiday-rush/fraternal hazing that the packages are bound to receive in their respective cross-country trips.

So off to Target I went, $15 budget in-hand to grab some top loaders and maybe some 2012 Chrome Football. After my third stop, I finally found some top loaders @ 75/$9. I checked the Topps Chrome football box and saw something disturbing - six loose cards (four base, a regular refractor and an x-fractor). I was mad. So I looked around. 2012 Update Series? Meh, I have something like 30 coming in from PA this week. Bowman Chrome? I've learned my lesson, there. O-Pee-Chee? Too far into dupes territory. Score? Gah.

Then I noticed the absolutely bulging pack of 2012-2013 Artifacts hockey. Crosby looking seriously bloated.

Disclaimer: I am not a pack-searcher. But it's hard to ignore a stunningly fat-pack sticking out so much in a batch of skinny, underfit packs.

So I grabbed it. Don't judge me.

I got home and ripped in excitement. I saw the thickness of a "hit", and shifted it to the back to quell surprise. Crosby looks annoyed or disgusted on the front of the package. He knows what's coming out first:

Ewwww. A Bruin.

Oh, hello Sidney. Noticing a theme? This is my third of this card. Want one?

I love the Coyote's logos of all ages. This, unfortunately is a dupe.

Doug Wilson. Hoped it would fit into my base set needs, yet it does not. le sigh.

Whoaaaaa that's better. You'd think a card numbered to /999 wouldn't be so much of a hit, but at 1:160, apparently, it is. Dayum. At this point the pack is a major success, but keep in mind the meathead that brought my attention to it to begin with.

Well then. I'd have to say that's quite exceptional for a $2.99 retail grab.

Something else: if you scroll up to the top, you'll notice that the pack states there should be 5 cards in this pack. WRONG. There were six! Four base cards, a 1:160 Team Canada short print and a 1:70 dual relic. Should I write Upper Deck and complain?