First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Lair of Darkness

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Lair of Darkness
Arrives: April 20
Box basics: 42 cards per structure deck (12 eight-box displays per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this release date “shall forever be known as the day that Darkest Diabolos and the terrifying tyrants of torment descend upon the earth in Structure Deck: Lair of Darkness. These wicked shadow lords boast immeasurable power, but demand heavy Tribute from any Duelist who seeks to wield it.” The Darkest Diabolos, Lord of the Lair “holds no hint of compassion or mercy, not even for cards that have yet to be played,” while Lilith, Lady of Lament has the Grinning Grave Virus. “This Virus requires the Tribute of a Dark monster to activate, then unleashes a deadly epidemic on your opponent’s hand and Deck,” according to Konami. … There will be 36 common cards, three Super Rare cards, two Ultra Rare cards, one Token Card, one beginner’s guide and game mat per deck. … Decks carry a suggested retail price of $9.99

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Flames of Destruction

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Flames of Destruction
Arrives: May 4
Box basics: 24 nine-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this one “closes out the first dueling season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS era with a bang” with a 100-card booster set that “will shake things up with new cards for established Deck themes, a brand-new Link Monster theme that can be played as its own deck or spliced into existing strategies.” According to the company, there will be powerful Trap Cards, a new Trap Hole that banishes monsters face down, a new “Topologic” Link Monster and more. … There will be 48 common cards, 20 Rare cards, 14 Super Rare cards 10 Ultra Rare cards and eight Secret Rare cards. … Packs carry a suggested retail price of $3.99

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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First Buzz: 2018 Panini MetaX Attack on Titan trading card game

What: 2018 Panini MetaX Attack on Titan trading card game
Arrives: March 30
Box basics: 12 cards per booster pack and 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case); 100 cards per starter deck (two 40-card decks; 20 foil parallels)

Yu-Gi-Oh! ‘Lost Art’ promo cards begin arriving in February

Six original Yu-Gi-Oh! cards will be resurfacing with new artwork at participating Konami Official Tournament Stores beginning next month, according to to the company.

The Lost Art promo cards should be known to veteran players

“These cards hark back to the original Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series and its pervading Egyptian theme, all used by Yugi in his quest to regain the lost memories of the Pharaoh and save the world from evil,” said a statement from the company. “Monster Reborn and all five pieces of the unstoppable Exodia have been available in Asia for nearly two decades with special card art that was never released outside of that continent. But thanks to The Lost Art Promotion at Official Tournament Stores, those cards will soon become available worldwide.”

Original 1999 Pokemon set sells for $100,000-plus via Goldin Auctions

A perfect PSA 10 set of 1999 Pokemon 1st Edition cards dominated on the auction block this weekend, ending with a final gavel price that might shock those who don’t know the power of Charizard.

It racked up a dozen bids after its $25,000 opener at Goldin Auctions and when the final gavel went down the price was at $100,655.

Check out a gallery of all of the cards after the jump.

Panini readies World Cup soccer gaming cards & stickers

What: 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Adrenalyn XL cards
Arrives: Feb. 28 (Update: Outside North America only.)
Box basics: 50 six-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

The Basics: With the World Cup set for June 14 to July 15, Panini gets the head start on the action with this one, which will include 468 cards — 360 basic cards, 40 Fan Favorites (every other pack), 32 Power Up cards (one in five), 30 Rare cards (one in seven) and six Extra Rare (one in 48 packs). All 32 World Cup teams will be represented

Keep reading for info on Panini’s upcoming World Cup sticker collection.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Collection Kaiba & Yu-Gi-Oh! Star Pack Vrains

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Collection Kaiba
Arrives: March 9
Box basics: Three Legendary Collection Kaiba Mega Packs, five new cards and game board

What’s buzz-worthy: The packs in this one include four Secret Rares and six Ultra Rares in each one — 30 cards — with the five new cards based on “some of Kaiba’s famous cards like Lord of D, including a new Fusion Monster to Summon with The Fang of Critias,” according to Konami. These will carry a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Keep reading for the details on Yu-Gi-Oh! Star Pack Vrains.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wave of Light

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wave of Light
Arrives: Jan. 19
Box basics: Eight structure decks per display box (12 displays per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: The first structure deck for 2018 arrives with this summary from Konami: “Fairies are back in a big way this new year, harnessing a bounty of wisdom to counter anything their foe throws at them” as part of a structure deck that “takes the popular Counter Trap Fairy strategy to new heights.” … Each deck includes 36 common cards, three Super Rare cards, two Ultra Rare cards, one Token Card, one beginner’s guide and a game mat/dueling guide. … Decks carry a suggested retail price of $9.99.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

>> Click here to shop for gaming on BlowoutCards.com.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Extreme Force

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Extreme Force
Arrives: Feb. 2
Box basics: 24 nine-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: The first 100-card booster set for 2018 arrives with “a number of powerful cards that duelists can add to any deck” but also with “brand-new strategies and individual cards to bolster old favorites,” according to Konami. The company promises “several powerful new Link Monsters” as well as two new strategies. There will be 48 common cards, 20 Rares, 14 Super Rares, 10 Ultra Rares and eight Secret Rares in this release. … Packs carry a suggested retail price of $3.99.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

>> Click here to shop for gaming on BlowoutCards.com.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Spirit Warriors

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Spirit Warriors
Arrives: Nov. 17
Box basics: Twenty-four five-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this new 60-card booster set “takes full advantage of the latest updates to the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game” with Link Monsters, Extra Monster Zones and strategy key while also introducing two new themes. There are new “Six Samurai” cards that are compatible with old ones.  … This booster set includes 40 Super Rares and 20 Ultra Rares. … The packs will carry a suggested retail price of $3.99.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

>> Click here to shop for cards on BlowoutCards.com.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Circuit Break

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Circuit Break
Arrives: Oct. 20
Box basics: nine cards per blister pack (24 packs per box; 12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “Halloween horrors arrive early” here with a 100-card booster set, which his “home to more Link Monsters, including a terrifying new 3000 ATK Dragon that can brainwash monsters it attacks, giving you control over them until their minds burn out.” What else is here?

First Buzz: 2017-18 Topps UEFA Champions League Match Attax

What: 2017-18 Topps UEFA Champions League Match Attax soccer gaming cards
Arrives: October
Box basics: Six cards per pack and 50 packs per display box (16 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: Topps unleashes another edition of its international trading card game to the world of Champions League soccer with a three-pronged attack on how to play the pitch — starter boxes, display boxes and tins.

Keep reading for more.

Buzz 12 in 12: Busting a 2017 Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball box (Hour 2)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today’s your day then as we launch 12 in 12 — a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We’ll post one every hour on the hour all day long today … this is Hour 2.

The box: 2017 Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball
The cost: Click here

What’s inside this one? Keep reading …

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Dragon Decks

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Dragon Decks
Arrives: Oct. 6
Basics: Three decks (and more) per box (15 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: There will be three decks per box here — Legendary Dragons of Atlantis, Cyber Dragons and Dimensional Dragons. According to Konami, each Legendary Dragon Decks set contains 153 cards — two 40-card decks with 11-card extra decks along with one 41-card Deck with a 10-card extra deck. This one also includes variant art of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. Each deck also includes five foil cards. … The suggested retail price on these boxes is $29.99.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to shop for gaming on BlowoutCards.com.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Code of the Duelist Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Code of the Duelist Special Edition
Arrives: Sept. 22
Basics: Three packs, one Super Rare card and one preview card per pack (12 packs per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “Code of the Duelist Special Edition is the ultimate value for Duelists” with one of two preview cards and one of two Super Rares in every pack. This 100-card booster set combines Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum with new Link Monsters while also introducing new Deck strategies where position of cards matters just as much as which cards played. … The suggested retail price on these is $9.99 a pack.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to shop for gaming on BlowoutCards.com.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Duelists

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Duelists
Arrives: Sept. 8
Box basics: Five cards per pack, two packs per blister (240 packs per case); display boxes will have 36 packs (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, “to reign victorious in the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Yugi had to face off against powerhouse Duelists like Mai Valentine, Mako Tsunami and even his own friend and protégé Joey Wheeler. Now they’re all back with brand-new cards in Legendary Duelists, a booster set that powers up famous strategies from the classic series and beyond.”

Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball offers new ways to play & collect

A new player in the fantasy baseball realm — as well as the baseball card world — is here.

It’s Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball and it’s a combination of fantasy play with more than $6,200 in cash prizes up for grabs and collecting where every single card has a scratch-off code for the player to enter your lineup.

It also presents a collecting challenge — do you scratch the card or keep it mint?

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! 2017 Mega Tins

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! 2017 Mega Tins
Arrives: Aug. 25
Box basics: Three 16-card mega packs per tin (12 boxes per case; two designs)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Pendulum Evolution

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Pendulum Evolution
Arrives: June 23
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Pack Dimensional Guardians

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Pack Dimensional Guardians
Arrives: May 26
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 36 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition
Arrives: June 9
Box basics: Three Maximum Crisis booster packs, one of two variant foil cards and one of two preview cards for the summer booster set.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Machine Reactor & Dinosmasher’s Fury structure decks

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Machine Reactor & Dinosmasher’s Fury structure decks
Arrives: April 14
Box basics: 41 cards per deck (eight decks per display)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis
Arrives: May 5
Box basics: Twenty-four nine-card packs per box (12 boxes per case) or nine cards per blister pack (240 blister packs per case)

MLBPA approves licensing deal for Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball game

The MLBPA has approved a licensing deal for a new fantasy baseball game to arrive this spring that will utilize packs of cards as part of the action.

It’s Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball and it’s being launched by Rittenhouse Archives president Steve Charendoff, who is also at the helm of Honus Bonus Partners.

“As a lifelong baseball card collector and long-time fantasy game player, it made perfect sense to combine these two overlapping passions in this unique series of cards,” Charendoff said in a prepared release. “We’re extremely pleased to partner with the MLBPA, particularly at this time when so many of its players are enjoying unprecedented popularity.”

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Raging Tempest

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Raging Tempest
Arrives: Feb. 10
Box basics: Twenty-four packs per box (12 boxes per case) or nine cards per blister pack (240 packs per case)

Two Pokemon 20th anniversary imports now available via Blowout

Pokemon turned 20 years old this year and the popular animated series and trading card game has had its share of fans and collectors through all those years — collectors from around the world.

And that’s where Blowout reached out to land a pair of items from the Japanese market that are now available to fans here in the United States.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance Special Edition
Arrives: Dec. 9
Box basics: Three packs, one Super Rare and one preview card per deck, 10 decks per display  (12 displays per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Soldiers

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Soldiers
Arrives: Nov. 18
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: 2016 Afterworld Genesis trading card game

What: 2016 Afterworld Genesis trading card game
Arrives: Sept. 30
Box basics: 20 10-card packs per box (12 boxes per case via two inner cases)

What’s buzz-worthy: Panini America unleashes a new TCG, which we’ll let them sum up like this: “In the Afterworld, the greatest champions from the civilizations of Atlantis, Viking legend, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Japan are pitted against each other for dominance. With stunning original artwork and exciting gameplay, Afterworld offers players the best of both worlds, a complete and compelling game experience with the fun of chasing rare cards to enhance the experience.”

Keep reading for more and a gallery of images.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion: Vengeance
Arrives: Nov. 4
Box basics: Nine cards per pack, 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragons of Legend — Unleashed

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Dragons of Legend — Unleashed
Arrives: Aug. 19
Box basics: Five cards per pack, 12 packs per box (12 boxes per case)

Red is one color you’ll want to see in new third series of Topps Star Wars Galactic Connexions

The third series of Topps Star Wars Galactic Connexions arrived in Walmart stores yesterday and there’s one color besides gold that you’ll want to see inside packs of the collectable gaming discs.

Imperial Red.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the True Dragons Structure Deck

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the True Dragons Structure Deck
Arrives: July 15
Box basics: 41 cards per deck (eight decks per display box)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, the second half of this year “is a season for Dragons” with this one being the second of four products focusing on the dragon strategy from the original series. It includes “new high-level dragons that banish opposing cards when summoned, and gain more attack points for each card they banish” while “warriors work with any high-level dragons, including dragons from other decks and booster sets.” … Each deck includes two Ultra Rares, three Super Rares and 36 Commons.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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Star Wars Connexions Princess Leia 14k gold discs are still out there … but not in a galaxy far, far away

There has been plenty of Star Wars merchandise in the last year — and there’s still more to come along with plenty of movies — but there are few Star Wars items that are as rare as the Topps Star Wars Galactic Connexions gold discs.

Just five copies of the Slave Leia disc were made for the first series of Connexions — and they are found via redemptions since they are made of 14-karat gold. Just two of the five have been found — a collector named Mike was the latest as seen above — and there are five more in Series 2.

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! starter – Yuya

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! starter deck – Yuya
Arrives: May 27
Box basics: 43 cards per deck (10 decks per display)

What’s buzz-worthy: According to Konami, this one is “specially crafted to gear up new duelists for the stage as well as adding new support cards” in what is a pre-constructed deck. … According to the company, there are 10 new cards in this one. … The starter deck will contain 35 common cards, three Super Rare, two Ultra Rare and three Token cards.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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>> Click here to pre-order and see even more on the sell sheet