Released September 10, 2020 • hobby box includes 18 packs with 10 cards each, 180 cards total • click here for checklist on Trading Card Database
My review:
I will admit that in April 2020 when we got the first look at 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee, my first reaction to both the base and retro designs was disappointment. But I’ve learned to give new designs some time to grow on me, and thankfully the look of the base cards has done just that, at least to the point where I find them fine to pretty good. But this is the fourth straight OPC base design with zero color (save the photo and team logo), and once again that plainness gets old over the large set. The lack of color does not echo the bright and lively designs of classic, old-school cards, from which modern O-Pee-Chee sets are seemingly meant to draw inspiration.
Unfortunately, time has not warmed me to the retro set. And handling them has made me like them even less because they are printed on super thin 14 point paper that is just as insubstantial as the design. The flimsy cards are even more of a bummer on the black-bordered parallels that are serial numbered out of 100, which is supposed to make them some of the nicer cards to chase, but they sure don’t feel nice. 2020-21 marks the 13th straight O-Pee-Chee release to feature a retro parallel, and they are my least favorite to date.
Weirdly, the card backs are really strong across the board. I dig the light and dark purple color scheme on the retro backs, and the base backs are even better. For the last 14 years, Upper Deck has used a raw, brownish cardboard for the backs of their O-Pee-Chee sets, reminiscent of old-school Topps cards, not old-school O-Pee-Chee cards, which featured bright white backs. This detail bothered some, but it was never a problem for me, perhaps because I grew up with more Topps cards than O-Pee-Chee, so the backs have always hit their nostalgic mark. But now that white backs are here for 2020-21, I’m surprised to find out that I do vastly prefer the white! They simply look better, and they are so much easier to read (which I have particularly appreciated when putting a large number of cards in numerical order). In another UD-era first, a player photo is included on the back, which is another plus.
I was ready for a fifth straight year of playing cards inserts to feel like overkill, but then I actually saw them—and the design is so outstanding that another round is totally welcome. The fronts are great, and again the backs are really killer. They are easily the best looking OPC playing cards so far (which is saying something!), and everyone I’ve watched pull some on YouTube has commented on how fantastic they are.
I’m a sucker for mini cards, and I’ve eaten up the OPC mini inserts over the previous six sets, from the V-Series to the tobacco-sized to the “caramels” from last year. That streak is broken a bit this year with the overly simple look of the Premier Tallboys. It’s an extremely subjective and fine line between “nice and simple” and “boring,” but the Tallboys fall squarely in the yawn column for me. The backs aren’t anything too special either, but it was quite a surprise to turn one over and discover full color on the back of an OPC card!
Despite the flaws, opening and collecting 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee is still a blast. I like seeing so many players in the league represented in the base set, that sweet nostalgia kick is still strong, and every single pack lands you a combination of two to four short prints, parallels, inserts, or other unannounced surprises. It all adds up to another supremely entertaining O-Pee-Chee release.
My ratings /10:
base design 7.2 retro design 6.8 inserts 7.9 overall 8.0
Affiliate Links:
eBay: click here to shop 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee
 |
The Largest Online Trading Card Marketplace |
Regular Print Base Cards #1-500
Short Prints #501-600 • 2:3 hobby packs
Marquee Rookies #501-530, Marquee Legends #531-550, Team Checklists #551-581, League Leaders #582-590, Season Highlights #591-599, Checklist #600
Thanks to a tiny carry-over rookie crop from the abbreviated 2019-20 season, just 30 rookie cards are included, a new low for Upper Deck-era O-Pee-Chee. None of the featured rookies are making much noise in the hobby at the time of release, but there are a handful of young guys with potential in the set, such as Liam Foudy, Tyler Benson, Josh Norris, Jason Robertson, and more.
The small rookie crop freed up space for the return of 20 Marquee Legends, a sub-set that had not been seen since 2015-16.
Retro parallels • 1:1 hobby pack
Other Parallels:
retro black border • serial numbered to 100, usually two per hobby box
retro blank backs • odds unknown, estimated print run of 5-15
blue border • 1:3 hobby packs
red border • 1:18 hobby packs
red border blank back • numbered 1/1
Inserts:
Tallboys • regular print, 1:5 hobby packs, short print, 1:44 hobby packs, super short print, 1:87 hobby packs
Tallboys yellow border • 1:5 blaster packs
Tallboys red border • unannounced
Playing Cards • 2-King, 1:5 hobby packs, Aces 1:120 hobby packs, Gritty Jokers: unannounced
Cup Captain • 1:4,608 hobby packs
Cup Finals Moments • 1:864 hobby packs
Manufactured Patches • odds vary, overall Trophy Winners are 1:72 hobby packs
Platinum Preview • unannounced, includes base cards as well as eight parallels
#1 Draft Pick Puzzle Redemption • 1:96 hobby packs
Glossy Rookies Redemption • 1:2,160 hobby packs
Marquee Rookies 3-D • unannounced
base variations—all star, warm-up jersey, rookie year photo, black & white, photo • unannounced
Update Set #s 601-650
For the eighth straight year, O-Pee-Chee update cards were inserted into Upper Deck Series 2. The updates include 10 award winners from the 2019-20 season and 40 rookie cards. Rookies include Bowen Byram, Jake Oettinger, Vitek Vanecek, Peyton Krebs, Pavel Francouz, and Alexis Lafreniere.
Leave a Reply