Hockey card review: UD PowerPlay

(Ok, late summation of this set, but here goes.....)

UD Victory. Usually sells pretty well, for the first little while. It's usually the first official card set of the year (this year was the BAP auto set, but..... I don't know, just wasn't a hockey season set to me.....). Low price, and not much to justify a higher price. It's hockey cards. Period. Some parallels, clean design (ok, maybe not that), sturdy card stock.... it's a way to start the collecting year, and stoke the hockey card fire. But at some point, after getting a set, people go "Ok, I'm ready, give me something better."

Enter the newest UD set, Power Play. Decent price point of $3-$4 per pack, two jerseys per box, and two redemptions per box each for one of 4 sets of 10 rookies. So with 24 packs, when you buy a box you're getting 20 rookies. Not a bad return, really. 90 card set, with limited cards 1:4 packs. They are numbered in the set order, so to collect a master set, be prepared to buy a lot of packs/boxes, or pay secondary prices.

The cards are decent looking. Nice relatively understated use of foil on them, decent pics, new type of design. Value? Well, you're looking at $75 per box, and in there, if you get the A redemption with Crosby, that's a $40-$50 set. The B with Ovechkin is $30ish, and the other two are $20. So minimum $40 BV return. 2 jerseys, and with some players of note, not just no names. 6 limited cards, which are selling decently well on the secondary market. Are you going to make double your money? No. Should you make somewhat close to your money back? Probably.

Ratings 1-5:
Design: 3.5
- clean and room for the pic, but nothing special
Rookies: odds 5, value 3
- easy to get, not necessarily high value in the end
Game used: 5
- big swatches for the price point, and decent checklist
Autographs: 2
- very very tough to get, and sticker autos. And a very uninspiring checklist.
OVERALL RATING: 4
- considering the price point, there's nothing wrong with this set. Just nothing of special note.