Card Trader Illuminerdy

The Contour set gave us 9 cards covering the Three Most Iconic Star Wars Villains. The Ultra-Limited version of this set sees it grow exponentially. As Rhett says, he can't quite put his finger on it, but even though all of those dozens of cards are low count, something about that translation loses his interest. We also discuss the TapJoy-for-Inserts program, a brief history of Jelly Belly, touch on the sports apps, and a little pro (and not so pro-) wrestling discussion. Enjoy!

It's seemed like a relatively quiet week in the app, but we find plenty to talk about. Rhett feels disengaged from the app, but after enumerating what he does chase, it turns out to be pretty much everything that doesn't require a pay bundle. Still, it's interesting that he feels that way, even while passively chasing so many cards. The drop in Kick daily credits is discussed, with the theory mistakenly floated that it's due to off-season; we understand now that it's due to something new Topps is trying to get people to "earn" all their 10K daily credits.

We're back from a week off; life and scheduling conflicts happen, but card trading goes on. We talk about how close Rhett came to Olympic greatness, and the Olympics in general. The mediocrity of Ruby Tuesday inspires a surprising amount of passion. And the cards, of course; we discuss how both open sets and ultra limited sets may as a net effect make the original sets less valuable. And we discuss the gift credits and packs that Topps gave out, but without official apologies, the gesture may not have gone as far as it could have in restoring good will.

We talk about post-SDCC things, including the card-count-white-out. My example of using card counts to aid in judging value in a trade fails, though, when Rhett informs me that the 2500 count Santa Cruz I traded away was actually worth more than the 750 count Rebels Watercolor that I was offered. And there are plenty of random topics to go around. Hot dog eating contests, casket advertising. The post-show is heavy on Preacher, comic movies/shows, the dislike for walls in movies that stretch out, and unboxing videos on YouTube.

Michael talks about his enjoyment of Star Wars Celebration Europe, doing what it takes to enjoy it during a work day across the Atlantic. Rhett tries to pin down what's got him concerned about the state of affairs in the quality control and/or customer service arena at Topps. Meanwhile, though, cards keep coming, which is a good thing. Dave Filoni's set, announced by him at an SWCE panel, is a highlight. We discuss the quad sig card and where the sig count may go from here. Post-show is mostly about acute brain freeze pain, frozen yogurt, and imagining the use of Push-To-Talk in digital card trading.

As the nation, yea, planet, is gripped in the throes of Pokemon Go, a new app emerges to vie for our attention...and succeeds, even as we record. We talk WWE Slam, and what we look forward to seeing in it action. We also talk some of the new SWCT goings-ons, like the digital badges, the new way to correct an error-ed card, optionally, via Smugglers Den. Good luck to everyone logging into Slam!

Rhett begins the long slog that will be the chase of the Chuchi rainbow. Michael talks about his experience so far with the UFC app...and even mentions considering downloading Kick (so now is as good a time as any to shore up your doomsday supplies/fallout shelters). We discuss the Medallion Marathon bundle, and while we don't have a problem with a bundle-only Marathon in principle, asking $25 for a bundle that may only contain a leftover card from another marathon is just bad for all involved.

We have a lot to say about the changes to the way the new marathons are being released. In addition to the cost and end of stacking marathons, we touch on separating tiny Lego pieces, inserting contacts, current Star Wars comics, and how bad Independence Day: Resurgence is. You wouldn't know it from that list, but we felt a lot more on-topic than usual. Whether that's a good thing or not is of course debatable. And we were apparently hungry, because the post-show is all food, from Fruitista to donuts. Enjoy!

We find a lot to talk about, some of it about cards, some of it not. Michael in particular is getting tired of being on the outside looking in at the Star Trek sets in Quidd, and is hoping the Android version drops soon. He "drones on", as Rhett says, a little about Bunt. Rhett speaks out in defense of people that advertise "1 insert for two", and the kinds of bargains that can be found trading with them. We conclude with typical randomness: the subtleties of recording on a VHS, Benson, Soap with Billy Crystal, Bob Ross, and Picture Pages.

Michael's back on top of the world and tells how he was able to get the missing 1-count to fill the void in his life. We discuss roulage and the top three Most Iconic Star Wars villains. There is disagreement over whether AT-AT Driver should be among them. Warning: the post-show somehow ends up being all business. We start by joking about which walker to hoard in TWD, but then wonder how anyone hoards a specific since there's no distinguishing text on the cards. Then we talk a little Bunt contests and Huddle.