2013 Topps Strata Football Cards

Product Review

2013 Topps Strata Football Product Review

Reviewed by Leland Page

Good: Affordable product. Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics look great. Three hits per box.

Bad: Thicker cards are very condition sensitive. Many were damaged in the box. Few inserts available.

The Bottom Line: The Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics are the big draw of this product and it is hard to beat the price for three hits per box. While the card design has improved over last year, there are still some improvements that can be made in the packaging to reduce card damage.

Card Design: 4.5/5.0

The updated base card design in 2013 Topps Strata Football is a great improvement over last year’s product. The cards are more colorful and you get the illusion that the player is actually coming through a portal. It really makes the player stand out more on the card. The Topaz Orange parallels are a nice addition. I like that Rookie Die-Cut cards feature a black border, with the team colors behind their nameplates. The downside to the intricate die-cut is that the cut appears to be off-center on many of them.

The player worn memorabilia cards are hit and miss. I have seen some sweet multi-colored patches and some not so exciting single-jersey swatches. I would like to see more of the multi-color patches. On the plus side, when I pulled the base autograph, I actually thought it was an on-card auto because the sticker is well-placed and doesn't take away from the design.

The main appeal of 2013 Topps Strata Football is the Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics. First of all, they are on-card autographs, and are actually signed on acetate. Add in a player-worn memorabilia swatch and that makes the card even more desirable. The parallel patch versions look amazing with the jumbo swatch attached. This has been one of my favorite new innovations in jersey autograph cards that have been developed in recent years.

Checklist: 2.5/5.0

The base card set is comprised of 150 cards, which includes 50 rookies. While there are some veteran sticker autographs, this is definitely a rookie product. The Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics feature mostly players who attended the Rookie Premiere, but there are some additional players.

I didn't really like that some packs would have no rookies at all, and others would have three or four. I would rather see at least one rookie card in every pack. This is also a very simple product, as the only base insert is the Rookie Die-Cut set. The only other true inserts are the various colored parallels.

The box had a lot of duplicates and was missing many of the main rookies. It would probably take at least three boxes to build a set.

Value: 2.5/5.0

2013 Topps Strata Football boxes cost around $70, which makes it a very affordable product. The downside of this is that unless you pull an autograph of one of the top rookies, it will be hard to break even. The fact that the thicker card stock is prone to damage during packing will definitely hinder many collectors.

The Fun Factor: 4.0/5.0

This is a fun product to open. While this box lacked some of the top rookies, the chance to pull a Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics makes it worth the time. Also, unlike last year, it was not obvious which pack had the Clear Cut Autographed Rookie Relics, so collectors wont have to worry as much about pack searchers.