WELCOME 2019-20 PANINI OBSIDIAN SOCCER

THE BRAND NAME HITS THE PITCH

Having already produced baseball, football and basketball sets under the Obsidian brand name, Panini is bringing the name to soccer with 2019-20 Panini Obsidian Soccer cards.

The trademark combination of chromium and dark backdrops carry over. So too does the hits-focused configuration. Here that means four autographs or memorabilia cards in every sevencard box.

The base set totals 122 cards. Veterans from both the club and international scenes make up the majority of the checklist with 100 cards. The remaining 22 are rookies.

All base cards are numbered to 149. Electric Etch parallels get their name for the colored lines that highlight the background and give a distinct pop when seen in-hand. Colors include Purple (/65), Orange (/35), Green (/20), Yellow (/10), Contra (/8), Red (/5) and Blue Finite (1/1).

AUTOGRAPHS AND

MEMORABILIA CARDS

The inaugural edition of Obsidian Soccer has three insert sets dedicated to autographs: Aurora Autos, Lightning Strike and Obsidian Autos. Base versions in each top out at 125 copies each. Electric Etch parallels come in Purple (/75 or less), Orange (/50 or less), Green (/25 or less), Yellow (/10 or less), Red (/5) and Blue Finite (1/1).

Signatures carry over into three additional autographed memorabilia sets that have 99 copies each or less. These include Jersey Autographs, Dual Jersey

Ink and Matrix Material Autos. Additional parallels are available in Electric Etch Orange (/50 or less), Green (/25 or less), Yellow (/10 or less), Red (/5) and Blue Finite (1/1).

2019-20 Panini Obsidian Soccer has several memorabilia-focused inserts. Atomic Material, Mosaic Material and Volcanic Material all have print runs of 149 or less. These also have a handful of parallels in the form of Electric Etch Purple (/75), Orange (/50), Green (/25), Yellow (/10) and Blue Finite (1/1).

Cutting Edge, Eruption and Galaxy Gear continue with the relic themes. These are a little tougher with 125 copies or less for the base versions. The lone parallels are Electric Etch Green (/25), Yellow (/10), Red (/5) and Blue Finite (1/1).

ADDITIONAL INSERTS

While most of the chase cards are hits, each box of 2019-20 Obsidian Soccer also has one regular insert. The lineup for these is Pitch Black, Supernova, Tunnel Vision and Vitreous. For all four, base versions come with 99 copies. Electric Etch versions are Purple (/65), Orange (/35), Green (/20), Yellow (/10), Contra (/8), Red (/5) and Blue Finite (1/1).

- Ryan Cracknell