On top of the Future of the Franchise Program dropping today, we also got our first mega collection with Finest George Brett. Market prices dipped in the wake of the content drop, which should make finishing the collection go more smoothly in the days and weeks ahead. However, you should feel no pressure to finish the collection today as it’s not really supposed to be completed on day one. On top of that, there will be more and more cards released in all the series, which will make it easier to complete this collection as time goes by.
There are 17 collections, and as of this writing you need to do 16 to get Finest George Brett (there is a voucher for Future Stars even if it’s not listed in the Brett screen right now). That said, I won’t be surprised if another voucher is added (Lightning) in the days ahead. Let’s discuss further below.
Finest George Brett
It is undeniable how good this card is at this point. Even if 1B and 3B have good options, and even if you don’t like George Brett or his swing, the card is worth grabbing at this point. The attributes are clean across the board, and with 74 speed he’s even solid there. On top of that, it’s probably the best card art in the game as of today. Again, there’s no need to rush it, but it will be nice to have George Brett when you finally reach the mountaintop.
Collections (Prices Subject To Change)
Takashi Okazaki Collection
This will cost roughly 350K as of now and is one of the bigger roadblocks (beyond completing Live Series). That said, Joe Morgan and Greg Maddux are the two roadblocks for now adding to the cost in a major way (and you can technically get them for free grinding the BR and Ranked programs). If you take those out, it’s closer to 90K, and that also doesn’t take into account any cards you got through free packs. I will only say this once (as I said it once above already as well), but there will be more of these cards released.
Cover Athletes Collection
This will cost roughly 240K if you did not keep any of your free packs to this point. More likely, this cost is well south of 200K at this point.
Milestone Collection
You need 6 of the 7 available Milestone cards. This will cost a little north of 150K. That said, Dontrelle Willis can be snagged through the Rewind Ranked Seasons pack, and Britton was in a prior program, which cuts into the cost. The new Nick Castellanos is the other major roadblock if you don’t have collections done for Roberto Clemente.
Signature Series Collection
You need 5 of the 6 available Signature Series cards. I would put this is as the other major roadblock because basically it involves being done with the Live Series. This will be the one I will be waiting on when it comes to releasing more players as the cost from scratch is like 2 million stubs to finish Live Series.
Awards Collection
You need 10 of the 11 available cards here. Again, this is tricky when factoring in the Live Series element as Frank Thomas is one of the players. If you take him out, then you need the new Reggie Jackson or the Chase Set Albert Pujols. In other words, wait here as well for more cards to drop.
Prime Series Collection
You need 10 of the 12 available cards here. If we take out Glaus and Utley from the Live Series collections, then the real cost is just getting Live Series Jose Ramirez to get the Grady Sizemore. After that, the cost is a little over 110K for everyone else needed.
Faces of the Franchise Collection
You get 6 more of these cards from the latest program if you get far enough. On top of the 12 you could already have from the first program, then you need 27 of the 30 cards, so that means you need 9 more cards. It’s hard to say the cost because everyone will have different ones, but these are going for 8-10K as of now.
Future Stars Collection
You need 27 Future Stars players. Beyond the 30 from the program, we’ll get plenty more of these in the days and weeks ahead. The cost for now is TBD.
Topps Now Collection
You need 33 of the 34 available cards, but we’ll get more Topps Now next week. This cost should basically be “free” so I won’t put a cost on them. If you sold all your Topps Now cards, that’s on you. This one is doable now on the cheap.
2nd Half Heroes Collection
You need 22 of the 29 available cards. You get a bunch of new ones in the new program, so you’re just going to need to get some random ones for 10K each and then splurge on maybe one or two cards (north of 20K) to wrap it up. This one is doable now.
Breakout Collection
You need 35 of the 42 cards here. This one you will need to finish some cheap Live Series teams, and probably grab one or two cards that are 8-10K. Otherwise, it comes down to finishing earlier BR and Featured Programs. This one is doable now.
All-Star Collection
You need 60 of the 73 available cards here. This one will be greatly helped by the ongoing Featured Program. The cost shouldn’t be too high if you wait to grab all those cards. This one is doable depending on the speed with which you get through the Faces of the Future Program.
Veteran Collection
You need 28 of the 33 players here. This one should be very cheap as well as long as you wait to get the extra players from the Featured Program.
Postseason Collection
You need 12 of the 14 players here. One of the cheapest collections to do if you wait to grab the Postseason players from the ongoing program.
Prospect Series Collection
You need 40 of the 43 available players. If you have stayed on top of grabbing packs and doing Conquest maps, this one should be just about free when factoring in the Big Dog packs you probably opened. This one is doable now on the cheap.
Monthly Awards Collection
You need 14 of the 15 available cards. This one is free if you have done the old Featured Program and your April Monthly Awards Program. This one is doable now for free.
Rookie Collection
You need 30 of the 36 available cards. This one should be just about free if you kept up with the old BR programs and Featured Programs. This one is doable now on the cheap.
Colorado Rockies Nike City Connect Uniform
The Rockies need to go even tackier with their uniforms to really bring back the glory days of the early ’90s, but this is a good start.
Moments
The first moment is worth 5 points, the others are worth 4 points
- Welcome To Colorful Colorado
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Score 1 run
- Elevate And Celebrate
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Tally 4 total bases
- The Ultimate Rookie
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Tally 4 total bases
- Dante Biceps
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Hit 1 home run
- Chuck Nasty
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Tally 3 total bases
- Seeing Beach Balls
- Difficulty: Rookie
- Tally 15 total bases (over 4 games)
Missions
- 500 PxP with All-Star Charlie Blackmon (10 points)
- 250 PxP with Rockies (2 points)
- 500 PxP with Rockies (3 points)
- 1,000 PxP with Rockies (5 points)
- 1,500 PxP with Rockies (5 points)
Exchanges
- Exchange Rockies (3 points)
- Exchange NL West players (6 points)
Rewards
- 10 points – The Show pack
- 20 points – Universal profile icon
- 30 points – All-Star Charlie Blackmon, 1,000 stubs
- 35 points – Headliners Set 9 pack
- 40 points – Rockies bat skin
- 45 points – The Show pack (x5)
- 50 points – Colorado Rockies Nike City Connect Uniform
Always Intense Set 2
Top round choices:
If you like the gold Brian Wilson, then this is basically that card but better. With Nick Castellanos, he has maxed out stats against LHP, but then has bad defense and mediocre speed. With Semien, he’s the most balanced and if you like his gold Live Series then go with him. I think I would go with Castellanos if I had my pick.
Consolation round choices:
Jorge Polanco comes equipped with his buttery swing and a switch-hitting bat. Duvall has great power against RHP with great defense. Brock Holt is the super utility option. Lorenzo Cain is Duvall but in CF with more contact and less power. And then Goldschmidt feels out of place as long as his Live Series card remains Supercharged.
Headliners Set 19 Awards Robbie Ray
Robbie Ray had the Lightning card last year that positively ripped through some folks, but it’s hard to say how good this card will be right now. He does not have the meta pitch mix, and his control is suspect on everything but the 4-seam, slider, and curve. That said, he has 95 H/9 and solid velocity. My guess is this card will not be great, but I’m always for trying cards that go against the grain and see how they actually feel against real opponents.
The odds on Headliners packs to pull a diamond are 1:10 (as always), albeit that diamond might not be Awards Robbie Ray. In addition, this year you can buy one pack of the Headliners choice pack, which gives you 1:3 odds of pulling a 90+ overall diamond (and of course costs more stubs).
