2014-15 Panini Excalibur Basketball Details
Panini America has tried something new with some of its NBA releases this season and partnered up with Target to ensure that three of them were going to be exclusive to the retail giant. With Prestige and Threads getting new life brought into them in recent months by becoming retail exclusive, now it’s 2014-15 Panini Excalibur Basketball.
New to the basketball market, there are only scant details available regarding Excalibur at this time, but Panini has noted that it will be available in three different formats. The most expensive is the Premium box which is set to contain three autograph or memorabilia hits along with at least three always-popular Crusade cards. For those that want to dabble first but at least pull something decent, blaster boxes will retail at $34.99. Finally, gravity feed packs provide a realistic shot at a good pull (two autograph or memorabilia cards per box) without having to put much money down at the cash register.
One of the biggest highlights for collectors busting the Premium boxes is the potential to pull the super-tough Kaboom! illustrated inserts featuring artwork from Gyula Nemeth. After debuting in 2013-14 Panini Innovation, the company has increased their scarcity and they are expected to perform well on the secondary market. Other cards exclusive to this stream include Rookie Rampage Duals (with a Prime variant) and a trio of autograph sets with Quest Signatures, Majestic Marks Signatures, and High Praise Signatures.
Blasters will provide some instant gratification through their lone hit and there are some memorabilia sets specifically created for them in Rookie Rampage Jumbos (with a Prime edition numbered to 25 plus blue and autograph parallels as well), and Sultans of Springfield. The gravity feed packs will include Knights of the Round (1:29) and an orange parallel card seeded once in every pack.
Images for the Juggernauts inserts and Red, White & Blue memorabilia cards have also been unveiled but their specific stream was not noted at this time. Details regarding the Excalibur base set and subsets should be announced in the future as well.
Like them or hate them. Panini products are here to stay. The problem is….they are staying a long, long time in Target stores collecting a heavy layer of dust along the way….
Panini has shown that it CAN make quality cards and provide a volume of them to the “collector” at a reasonable price- see Score Football 2015.
Unfortunately, their three installments at Target get more and more expensive with each issue…The first installment of basketball gave you 70 cards in a blaster box for $20.00. Their second installment gave you 20 cards in a blaster box for $30.00, or 60 cards in their “special” box for $200.00!!!!!! Their third-and I hope-final installment- gives you 20 cards for $35.00.
Of course, this is Target-not the National Convention, and while shoppers have no problem dropping $20.00 hard earned dollars for a FULL box of cards, they scuffle at dropping 2 bills for 60 cards.
I am betting that their latest brainchild ideas will continue to clog up the card isles.
Please- will any other company step forward and obtain an NBA license???!!!
Looks like Crusade with a new name.The retail only idea is in the right direction,but not at the price point they have.$30-$35 for a blaster that yields a mem card that’s worth $6,is nuts.All the gravity feed boxes do,is let someone buy all the thick packs.They should lower the prices,my Target still has Prestige and Threads.
What an odd combination of cards…looks like a medieval theme mixed with collectors choice type kid stuff and immaculate. When is the exclusive up? We need topps chrome and sp authentic…please
Any timeline for when this will be checklisted and priced?