Topps Strata has proven to be one of my favorite products of the year, so far. Regardless of what comes out of each box, the main hits in this product are more amazing than any other set that has been released to date. The use of oversized swatch windows and overlaying the player on top through acetate, provides a stunning use of available technology to present the best possible result. This doesnt even start to discuss the new Strata relic and rivet cards.
Some of the best of the best have started to surface on eBay, including some of the logo books and 1/1 clear cut cards, which have shown that Topps did not hold back in a lot of these circumstances:
2012 Topps Strata Robert Griffin III Clear Cut Auto Logo Patch 1/1
2012 Topps Strata Andrew Luck Clear Cut Auto Logo – Spikes 1/1 – really cool card.
2012 Topps Strata Russell Wilson Clear Cut Auto Seahawks Logo
2012 Topps Strata Brian Quick / Isaiah Pead Dual Logo Patch Auto Book 1/1 – WOW.
2012 Topps Strata Jarius Wright Clear Cut Auto Patch Vikings Logo 1/1
Although we have yet to see the Griffin/Luck clear cut book auto 1/1 surface, and the cool Griffin sock book that features those famous ones from the draft, I do believe that we have gotten a great representation of what these are capable of. Considering that Panini has yet to match any of the willingness to go outside the normal product confines, Strata has lapped each of the existing releases so far.
Many collectors have stated that the difficulty of pulling big names has swayed them away from buying into boxes, but the singles for this product are well worth looking into. When we finally wrap up the 2012 card season (now in April for some god forsaken reason), I have no doubt that this will end up as a resounding rookie of the year, and also near the top in MVP.
Unfortunately, as you very subtly referred to in your post, this set is marred by the money grab that is Topps 2012 product lineup.
The clear cut cards are a great concept. The problem is that most of them are not numbered and the rest of the box is pretty much worthless. The die cut inserts are cool but Strata is a good example of how Topps has rolled this year–squeeze as much money out of collectors as they can on products with name recognition like Chrome, Platinum, and Finest and then using a limited supply of fresh ideas to sell a new product like Strata while still delivering little to no box value.
I understand that most boxes are losers but this year just seems particularly bad, especially Topps’ products.