COMING ATTRACTIONS

2023 24 UPPER DECK SERIES 1

WHAT IS IT?:

Series 1 will look familiar at a casual glance, but UD has done a lot of tinkering under the hood. For 2023-24 the packs are getting bigger but the boxes are getting smaller. Collectors also will find more parallels than before and more insert content at the pack level. Young Guns will remain a big part of the mix, but they’ll be statistically easier to pull and there will be several new parallels to add to the hunt.

THE BASICS:

Hobby packs will include 12 cards, up from eight. Collectors also will find an average of three non-base cards per pack instead of one. Hobby boxes will be a significantly faster rip now with just 12 packs, half of what they had been. It also means fewer cards overall per box.

†e base set remains at 250 total cards, including 50 Young Guns. †e hobby odds on these improve from the traditional 1:4 packs to 1:2.

Another noticeable change is the parallel lineup, which introduces several new levels for all 250 cards. Look for:

• Outburst Silver – 1:15, Young Guns 1:60

• Clear Cut – 1:48, Young Guns 1:144

• Deluxe – /250

• Exclusives – /100

• Outburst Red – /25

• High Gloss – /10

• Outburst Gold – 1/1

CHASE HIGHLIGHTS:

You won’t find a lot of auto or relic hits in UD1, but there are plenty of inserts to chase including 120 UD Canvas (1:3). Black and White (1:48, Young Guns 1:144) and Printing Plates (1/1) are in the mix, along with some scarce autograph parallels. UD Portraits (1:7) return with another over-the-top design. †is year, the frames act as parallel points with Silver (/99) and Red (/25) versions available alongside one-of-one Printing Plates.

Other familiar options include Special Edition (1:5), with Red (1:180) and Gold (/50) parallels, and Population Count, with seven tiers varying from 1,000 copies to one-of-ones. Honor Roll (1:3) and Dazzlers (1:12) both have all-veteran checklists. Honor Roll has Silver (/250), Gold (/25), and Printing Plates (1/1) parallels while Dazzlers has Pink (1:144).

New concepts this year include Star Zone (1:7; Red 1:240, Gold /25), Rookie Retrospective (1:8), Stat Box Fillers (1:6), and Teacher’s Pet (1:5). Star Surge (1:7) focuses on young players. Both the Red (1:240) and Gold (/25) parallels are die-cut. 200’ x 85’ (1:6) mimics an ice sheet and is printed with Lite FX. Parallels include Gold (1:36), Red (/99), and Black (1/1).

WHAT DO YOU THINK?:

You know what they say about not messing with success? It feels incredibly bold that UD would make these changes, but we’re excited to see how it all plays out. Plus there’s something incredibly compelling about the additions to the parallel offerings. Outside of Printing Plates, Outburst Gold marks the first time Young Guns have been given the one-of-one treatment. You can imagine the frenzy for those upon release.