It’s that time of the year again when San Diego Studios drops the newest 99 OVR card for the MLB The Show 26 roster. The card — likely Miguel Cabrera, based on recent posts — will be part of the Legends & Flashbacks Collection and will drop this Friday, April 24. But getting this card is a lot harder than people think. And for the average player, there are a ton of things you can do to swing the collection in your favor.
Today, I’ll be talking about what players should be doing before the big drop in a few days. How do you prepare for it? What measures do you take? Stick around to find out.
Do This Before The Big Collection Arrives
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Stay Realistic
Before we begin, let’s get one thing clear. If you’re thinking of completing this collection on day one, that likely won’t be possible. This isn’t to discourage players from grinding for it; however, with the amount of collection cards the Legends & Flashbacks Collection requires, most of us won’t finish it anytime soon.
Instead, players should focus on completing smaller collections and eventually working their way up. Similar to the Legends Collection in MLB The Show 25, you’ll need several high-value cards that are either limited-edition or rewards from other lengthy collections.
But if you’re not grinding towards completing the collection, how does the collection affect you at all? Well, because a major chunk of the player base will be, and you can use that to your advantage. Here’s what you should do instead.
Save Limited Edition Cards
The most beneficial thing you can do right now is save your rare cards, the ones that can’t be obtained anymore, and leverage them on Friday. A lot of players either bind these for collections or sell them immediately if they already have a copy bound.
However, if one of those cards is required to complete the Legends & Flashbacks Collection, its price in the marketplace will shoot up. A good example of this is the 94 OVR Victor Martinez, part of the Weekend Classic event.
Since the event rolls around every three weeks, cards already in play will skyrocket in price if they’re part of the collection. Another point to note is that, since you can earn the card only once through the Weekend Classic event, the only way to get an extra one is to buy it. It’s possible there will be a Rewind pack at some point, but we don’t know for sure.
This places anyone who holds the card in a great position. You can either use the card for the collection, or (and I recommend this) sell it on the market to earn extra stubs. Since the demand will be way higher than usual, you’ll be able to get a premium price.
Now, we can’t say for sure which cards will be needed for the Legends & Flashbacks collection in MLB The Show 26, so this is all hypothetical. The only one we know that will produce a guaranteed voucher is for Jolt cards, earned through Team Affinity. You’ll need 30.
However, once the collection is out, take a look at your inventory, and if you have a limited edition card that is sellable, exchanging it for stubs might be the right call, as completing the collection immediately would be near impossible.
Focus On Your Live Series Collections
Remember, you need to be fairly deep into the Live Series to have a chance at the new 99-rated legend. However, if you’re not, it’s time you start chipping away at it. Live Series collections are not only important for larger collections, but also have amazing rewards, i.e., the only three 99 OVR cards in the game currently. Is it easy? No. But is it worthwhile? Definitely.
The difficulty of this collection varies depending on how lucky you get. While the prices of live series cards vary based on performance, bigger cards like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are usually pretty hard on the wallet. So, unless you get lucky by pulling them, the collection will take some time.
Simply place buy orders when prices tank and use market trends to fill your Live Series collection. Since they are constantly updated based on real-world performance, some of those cards might end up being useful for your starting lineup as well (J-Ram, Judge, etc.), depending on when you get them, of course.
Once you’re deep in Live Series, you’ll have a much better chance at completing the Legends & Flashbacks collection as well. Keep it on your priority list, and start chipping away at it.
Finish Off Smaller Collections
One last tip I can provide for inching closer to that 99 OVR Legend card is to finish off smaller collections. Many collections, when completed, reward you with vouchers. You can use these vouchers for the Legends & Flashbacks collection to skip cards that are very far off for you.
An example of an easy collection is Jolt, which is tied to Team Affinity cards. You can use the marketplace to buy all unowned cards and complete the Jolt collection. This will reward you with a guaranteed voucher. Other than that, take it slow and slowly make your way towards those big collections. There’s no rush to grind for it right now.
Published: Apr 22, 2026 03:30 pm