[QuantaCondor]

New Collections released. I'm on the west coast and this is the first time I've gotten to see collections released right at the 0th minute. I made like 5k on some golds, could have probably made more, but lesson learned!

Anyway, collections overviews (estimations come from either AH listings or historical results for prices at that position):

PADRES:
Set reward: 100 RP Trevor Hoffman (Estimated value: 80k)
Numbers of Golds/high value silvers needed to finish: 8
Number of diamonds needed: 2
Other notable rewards: Diamond pack, Diamond SE 3B Chase Headley
Notes: A lot of the cost of the set comes from the three Tony Gwynns and the Rollie Fingers. If you have at least one Gwynn and a Rollie, you get a nice discount here.

ATHLETICS:
Set Reward: 100 SP Rube Waddell (Estimated Value: 400k)
Number of golds/high value silvers needed: 15
Number of diamonds: 6
Other notable rewards: SE Vida Blue (from existing Charlie O's collection, going for 200k alone), Diamond pack, 97 SP Charles Bender
Notes: This has shades of the White Sox collection, with the vast, vast majority of the value of the set coming from the topper and the reward for one of its high-cost sets. Interesting that they tied in an existing set to this new collection. Probably not accessible to us unless you already have Vida Blue knocked out, which was a pretty expensive set to complete in the first place. This is going to become the White Sox Appling set on steroids, for any of you who have tried that.

CUBS:
Set Reward: 93 SP Jack Taylor, 97 SS Ernie Banks (Estimated value: 50k)
Number of golds/high silvers: 12 (incl. Sutter, Dizzy Dean)
Number of diamonds: 4
Other notable rewards: A few low-value diamonds: Sosa, Ryndberg, Santo, each worth ~10-15k, all of which are basically not competitive
Notes: This kind of reminds me of the Pirates. There are a lot of diamonds you get back, but the return is super underwhelming. Stay away unless you're cubs themed. One interesting note though, Ernie Banks has 117 SS defense, the highest we've seen I think. Both of the set topper players might turn out being nice pickups for OL.

INDIANS:
Set Reward: 100 Lou Boudreau (Estimated Value: 300k+??)
Number of golds/high silvers: 20 (Including 88 Boudreau, Lindor, Piersall)
Number of diamonds: 9
Other notable rewards: SP Steve Gromek, SP Bob Lemon (two decent but not spectacular righty SPs), RF Rocky Colavito (a slightly worse righty version of 98 Yaz), 1B Jim Thome (forgettable), 3 Gold packs
Notes: And I thought the Red Sox set was a monster, my goodness. A NINE set mission for the OL lord and savior at SS, Lou Boudreau. I have no idea how to value him, but 100 Cal RIpken Jr goes for 200k, hits about just as well (a little better actually), but has 18 less defense at SS. Attached Boudreau ratings here.

OVERALL: What a disappointment for Cubs fans. The Athletics set is interesting, but the fact that it's locked behind the already-expensive-and-bound-to-get-more-expensive Charlie O's collection means that it's basically inaccessible for F2P players. Unless you're REALLY patient and have a huge bankroll, in which case it's an enormous slam dunk a la the Braves or White Sox. Boudreau is inaccessible to F2P most likely and there are better options if you want to do a huge set like this. But if you've already done White Sox, Braves, etc., it's another option. Plus some of the other set rewards are pretty nice. Lastly, the Padres looks interesting. Hoffman is an animal, among the best closers in the game now, but paying for all three Tony Gwynns + Rollie (or even two or three of those) on top of diamonds and other golds ends up being quite expensive.

Pack EV is higher now, so if you want to rip packs I'd encourage it (please... I just need Buxton to finish Twins...). I wonder if eventually the high diamond market will crash. I think something has to give with these regular price increases for golds/diamonds hitting the market. Eventually when virtually every card is in a collection, these prices are going to be unsustainable.