2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 Trading Cards
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$64.95 |  |
Product Details
2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 trading cards are based on SyFy television show. Offering a mix of base cards, inserts, autographs and costume cards, the release promises an in-depth recap of the first 11 episodes.
For those who haven't seen the show,Alphas takes place in a world inhabited by superhumans. The Alphas are a group of people who all have special powers and come together to solve crimes committed by other power-wielding bad guys. In a nutshell, think X-Men without tights and the fancy jet.
The 2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 base set has 60 cards. They offer images as episode summaries.
Collectors can look for randomly inserted Autographs and Wardrobe Cards, which have swatches from show-worn costumes. Both are inserted one per box. Dual Wardrobe cards fall approximately 1:4 boxes. A pair of basic insert sets, Alphas Team (seven cards) and Behind the Alphas (nine cards), round out the release.
Sold separately, an Alphas binder comes with an exclusive costume card.
Alphas stars include Academy Award nominee, David Strathairn, Ryan Cartwright, Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Laura Mennell and Malik Yoba.
Product Configuration: 24 packs per box, 5 cards per pack
Price Point: Low- to Mid-End Entertainment Card
Target Audience: Set Builders, Autograph Collectors, TV Memorabilia Collectors,
2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 Box Break
- 1 Autograph
- 1 Costume Card
- 4 Inserts
- 120 Total Cards
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Set Checklist
2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 Checklist
Base Set Checklist
60 cards. Shop for base sets on eBay.
02 An Unexpected Meeting
03 Conundrum
04 The Plot Thickens
05 A Good Question
06 An Unexpected Discovery
07 A Good Analogy
08 A World All His Own
09 Hard at Work
10 Waiting for the Next Move
11 Red Flag
12 Grocer Assassin?
13 On Deaf Ears
14 Caught in the Act
15 Mindful Awakening
16 Looking for Answers
17 The Ghost
18 Hard Questions and Difficult Answers
19 A New Member
20 Cold Charlie
21 Unconvinced
22 Finding a Ghost
23 An Appeal for Redemption
24 Something Isn't Right
25 It’s a Trap!
26 The Second Gunman
27 Friendly Fire
28 A Desperate Move
29 Unfolding Plans
30 The Price of Blind Trust
32 A Pyrrhic Victory
33 A Friend Too Perfect
34 An Uncertain Future
35 A Lesson in Murphy's Law
36 Trouble and Luck
37 On the Threshold
38 A Race against the Clock
39 Fight and Flight
40 A Friend in Need
41 Failed Rescue
42 Unfortunate Circumstances
43 No Way Out
44 Growing Suspicions
45 Out of the Frying Pan
46 Hiding Out
47 A Respite and a Plan
48 Hard Choices
49 Running Out of Time
50 Descending Forces
51 A Traitor Revealed
52 Betrayed
53 Puppets and Strings
54 A Final Moment Together
55 The Puppet Master
56 Sheep to the Slaughter
57 Armed but Outclassed
58 Making a Difference
59 Beat Them at Their Own Game
60 Checklist
Alphas Team Checklist
CB02 Cameron Hicks
CB03 Nina Theroux
CB04 Bill Harken
CB06 Gary Bell
CB07 The Alphas Team
Autographs Checklist
A2 Warren Christie as Cameron Hicks
A3 Azita Ghanizada as Rachel Pirzad
A4 Laura Mennell as Nina Theroux
A5 Malik Yoba as Bill Harken
Defense Agent Nathan Clay
A7 Kathleen Gati as Zahra Pirzad
A8 Jane Moffat as Sandra Bell
A9 Liane Balaban as Anna
Behind the Alphas Set Checklist
CH2 Nina
CH3 Bill
CH4 Nina and Rachel
CH5 Cameron
CH7 Dr. Rosen
CH8 Dr. Rosen, Rachel, Bill, Nina
CH9 The Alphas Team
Wardrobe Cards Checklist
M2 Bill Harken
M3 Bill Harken
M4 Cameron Hicks
M5 Cameron Hicks
M6 Dr. Lee Rosen
M8 Gary Bell
M9 Gary Bell
M10 Nina Theroux
M11 Rachel Pirzad (Binder Exclusive)
Dual Wardrobe Card Checklist
DM2 Rachel Pirzad and Gary Bell
DM3 Bill Harken and Cameron Hicks
Product Review
2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 Product Review
Reviewed by Ryan Cracknell
Good: Straightforward configuration, strong potential with autograph signers, clean designs.
Bad: Very bland basic inserts.
The Bottom Line: Summary Shortly after Cryptozoic announced they'd be making Alphas cards, the show was cancelled. This put the card maker in a tough spot. Already a show that didn't have a ton of followers was going to become even more obscure. Still, they pushed forward, delivering a solid release around the show's first season. There aren't a lot of headliners, particularly in the autographs, but this could easily be one of those sets down the line that could hit sleeper status. One would imagine the print run is lower than Cryptozoic's cornerstone franchises like The Walking Dead or Big Bang Theory. That said, this could be a set worth picking up now for an eye to the future.
Card Design: 3.5/5.0
The 2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 design is nice. But it's also very plain once you get beyond the base cards. The main set has a vertical design with an image from the show on the front. It's anchored by a nice nameplate that has both the Alphas logo and a small caption. Card backs have a related shot and a decent write-up.
Both of the set's basic insert sets are nearly identical to their base counterparts. The only notable enhancement for the Behind the Alphas set is that there are silver foil accents on the front. Similarly, the Alphas Team cards use a rainbow foil card stock with the same design.
Cryptozoic continues to do a solid job with their autographs and costume cards. The balance nicely as far as room for signatures and swatches. An added bonus is that many of the signers took the time to include nice autographs rather than simply scribing a squiggle.
Checklist: 4.0/5.0
Save for David Strathairn, the rest of the cast signed for the set. Sure, Strathairn is the show's biggest name, but there's a lot of potential with this list. The cast are already veterans of several other shows and films. Most should continue to find work. I look at this set as something similar to a prospecting set in sports cards. There's a lot of potential and getting in on the ground floor is relatively inexpensive. The entertainment card landscape is filled with guest stars who went on to become Hollywood A-listers. Just like sports, there are no guarantees but there is definitely some good potential.
The rest of the release makes for a nicely rounded take on the first season of Alphas. Strathairn shows up multiple times on the Wardrobe Card list.
Value: 4.0/5.0
Unlike a lot of other TV releases as of late, 2013 Cryptozoic Alphas Season 1 won't deliver any $300 or $500 cards. But the hits are holding very nicely given the relatively low box price. For those looking to sell off some singles, you aren't going to make very much right now but you're not going to take a major hit either.
The Fun Factor: 3.0/5.0
As solid as Alphas is overall, busting a box isn't that exciting. The designs gets redundant. The small base set leads to more duplicates that normal. And with only two basic insert sets, there's not a lot of excitement there either. However, the possibility of additional hits in the form Dual Wardrobe cards adds some unpredictability even if you do hit all your bonus cards by the half-way point of the box. Some different designs and fewer packs per box could have worked in a less-is-more sort of approach here.
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