Buzz Break: 2019 Panini Illusions football cards (blaster box)

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The box: 2019 Panini Illusions football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 6
Cards per box: 36
Base set completion: 
31 of 100 (31 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Derrick Henry, J.J. Watt, Andrew Luck, Davante Adams, Khalil Mack, George Kittle, David Johnson

Rookies (13) – Josh Jacobs, Marquise Brown, Drew Lock, Devin Singletary, Devin White, Brian Burns, Rashan Gary, Dexter Lawrence, Mecole Hardman Jr., N'Keal Harry, Benny Snell Jr., J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, T.J. Hockenson

Insert/short-print cards: 4 (all in gallery below with some base)
Trophy Collection Emerald parallels (3) – Julian Edelman, N'Keal Harry (RC), J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (RC)
Living Legends (1) – Jim Kelly

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Great Expectations Memorabilia (1) – Kyler Murray

What’s Buzz-worthy: Illusions hits the gridiron for a new season with a design that's familiar but seems a little crisper design-wise. Gone is the idea of showing a past player on the present one's card -- probably a good move in most instances, though some past combos were fun -- so these cards are purely dedicated to the cards of today. The card backs are a bit barren but with text blurbs (no stats) but the fronts feel full with the striping and details, though the dark foil atop foilboard is a challenge to read sometimes and creates its obvious potential condition issues if slabbing is in your mind. (That's probably my curse more than most of yours ... I like grading a lot of stuff.) The base set here is small -- you'll get about a third of it in a single blaster -- but the blaster-only parallels (green) add a little (but not enough) variety and then you get an insert and a hit. The memorabilia cards are only found here and I landed a solid one. There are just six insert sets to be found here but with a low volume of them per box that could spark some challenges. If you're a fan of this one's approach, I'd suggest going hobby where you'll land ink and a lot more. (The 40 auto-mem Rookie Cards are noted as being in this one on the side panel but I'm not 100 percent sure if they can be found in this format. I'd bet it's likely.) If you're not necessarily sold on it, try one of these boxes to see if you do like it. It has a slightly Unparalleled feel to me but without the crazy textures and colors. If these cards were a smidge brighter in color somehow, I'd like it a little more. However, I think the overall feel here is pretty good.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: A (thanks to the hit and some rookies)
Fun Grade: B (dry break but good rookie volume)

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