Tribute is the second to last Topps product of the year, and I think I can tell that this one looks like an afterthought. After seeing the sets that have been Topps’ incredible successes, as well as the ones that were their epic failures, this one looks like more of the latter than the former. Although there is one particular part of this set that I very much like, the rest of the set is practically Triple Threads, Prime and Supreme with a different name on the box.

First, the part that I like is the dual relic autos, regardless of the fact that the sticker is AGAIN built into the design instead of applied see-through to the card’s surface. I really like the layout of these cards, especially the big player picture to the side of the auto and relics. I think that Topps has a winner here, and if they used a similar layout for other parts of this set, maybe my review would be very different. I cannot put into words how much a large player picture can add to any card, and yet we commonly see that the companies are more focused on packing as much jersey onto a cards as possible. Don’t believe me? Look at the ridiculous abominations in 2010 Absolute. Rather than creating a well thought out card, Panini thought it the jersey was so important that they covered up most of the player with the swatch. These dual relics from Tribute take a different approach, and I think it looks great. I mean, compare them side by side with the triples and quads, and you will see what I mean when I say that the picture makes ALL the difference.

Dual Relic Auto

Triple Relic Auto

Moving on to my least favorite parts of this set, Im very disappointed that we are getting a third set with this same quad relic crap that seems to be stamped on the Topps design team’s forehead. We got it in Prime, we got it in Supreme, and Now we are getting it in Tribute. ZZZZzzzzzzZZZzzzzz, sorry, I just fell asleep. Although I am aware that Topps’ calendar didn’t have as much time to come together as Panini’s due to the licensing renewal at the start of 2010, and I am also aware that Topps has MANY more successes than Panini this year, I am beyond bored. Sad thing is, these are minimal tweaks that don’t take much time to do. Tribute is such a simplistic set that you would expect it to be designed with care. Usually, when you don’t have to spend the time tweaking the individual subsets, you can spend the time organizing the cards THAT much more effectively. Upper Deck made this their bread and butter, and the results were amazing. This, not so much.

Now, if we had some on card signatures in this set, you would automatically surpass a lot of what Panini did in 95% of their crap this year. That’s how much it means these days. Secondly, Topps needs to realize that you don’t need a white background to see the sticker. Stickers were created to hide the fact that cards werent hard signed, not highlight it. These cards, much like EVERY high end sticker set from Topps this year, goes the complete opposite direction. That is unfortunate.

When you think about the long term prospects of this set, its basically a dud. You have a collector favorite in Contenders coming out next week, and you have National Treasures shortly after that. Then, when the Five Star A-Bomb drops, you are going to see forgettable stuff like this fade into the past. Five Star, aside from making National Treasures look like Score Select, will blow everything previously released from Topps away, and that doesn’t spell well for long term value here. When you release a product like Five Star, its almost like setting the bar too high. Now that we know what Topps is capable of, everything else will forever be compared to it, and will continue to live in the shadow until the next best thing comes out.