Diamond Market - Part 2

Yesterday I introduced Spirit's answer to Topps' annual web-code-giveaway-thing, called the Diamond Market. Basically, you pull code cards that look like credit cards and redeem the codes on the back for credits, which can be used to 'buy' exclusive cards of players you might actually collect. Fairly simple. Today, we're unveiling the actual 'buying' structure along with the kind of cards you can get your hands on.

Like I mentioned yesterday, the credit values you unlock with a code are 25, 50 and 100. There are 4 tiers of cards:

• Base cards: 100-player checklist, numbered of 249, purchased for 10 credits
• Relic cards: same 100-player checklist, numbered of 149, purchased for 40 credits
• Jumbo Relic cards: same 100-player checklist, numbered to 99, purchased for 80 credits
• Autograph cards: same 100-player checklist, numbered to 49, purchased for 150 credits

As you may have noticed, the code credit values don't correspond to the card purchase values. Here's where the Diamond Market gets fun. Say you get a 25 credit code. Do you use it up immediately buying 2 base cards of players you like? Or do you let that balance sit while you try to find another code to add in hopes of getting enough for a jumbo relic or auto? Or say you're later into the collecting season and a lot of the cards are no longer available. Do you take the last auto of guy you're not too crazy about or do you snatch up 15 different base cards?

Maybe at the end of it, if you have unused credits and you can't really find anything left of interest, you can turn those credits into packs of other Spirit products. Or maybe they could partially carry over to next year's contest.

I'm not sure if the numbers for the print runs or checklists are right. Right now they add up to just under 55,000 total cards. But those could be manipulated to fit logistically. We could add another tier with a refractor or something, number it at 149. For now, this is a good start.

So what do you think of this concept? Anywhere you could see improvements? How does it stack up to Topps' apparatus? More fun than collecting virtual rings?

Diamond Market - Part 1

Well, it looks like Topps finally opened the Golden Giveaway gates yesterday. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'm going to redeem my codes or just sell/auction them off on eBay. I'll probably wait a few weeks to hear people's thoughts on the GG before deciding either way. But this seems like the perfect time to introduce something similar to Topps' online endeavors but potentially better.

Say hello to Spirit's Diamond Market. It's similar to the MCG, DG, and GG in that you get a card with a code, entered said code online and unlock 'stuff.' Where it's different starts with the code cards themselves. Instead of just some flimsy, over-crowded card that you throw away once the code has been redeemed, these Diamond Market Code Cards are worth keeping in your collection. They're shaped like credit/debit cards with the round edges and printed on a similar plastic-like stock. There are 20 different players depicted in the 'set' so it's worth collecting even after the codes have been redeemed.

The credit/debit card motif isn't just for looks, though the hologram Spirit logo and player name embossing does look neat. The Diamond Market itself uses the concept of accruing credits into your account and then using them to 'buy' exclusive cards available only through the Diamond Market. When you enter a code, it adds a value of 10, 25, 50, or 100 credits to your account.

Instead of just randomly getting whatever card you happen to 'unlock,' the choice is yours as to which cards to add to your collection. No more 1988 Chris Bosios or 1980 Ed Halickis languishing in your 'portfolio' for perpetuity because they aren't worth the $10+ it takes to ship the batch of junk to you. These are brand new cards of players that people actively collect.

These cards are inserted into Spirit Series 1 packs at a rate somewhere between conventional inserts and relic cards. Something like 1:16 or so. They won't be as easy to pull as Topps' code cards but they won't be so rare that you have to buy box after box just to rack up enough credits to broaden your options. Because, as Part 2 of this post will show, you might want to save up some credits to really splurge.