Pack of the Day 42: 2013 Topps Mini Box Break #1

I couldn't stand up to the pressure anymore, so I broke down and picked up some boxes of 2013 Topps Baseball Mini-Cards. Here's what came out of Box #1:

Base Cards - 227 / 660 - 34.39%

Doubles - 0

This is a pretty big set, so one box only gets you about 1/3 of the way there. Luckily, collation is pretty good, so there aren't any doubles in the box. The checklist and photographs are all the same as the regular Series 1 and Series 2 cards, so this is a design we've seen plenty of.

Here is how they stack up with other common card sizes. Standard-sized cards are represented on the far left, followed by the Mini-Cards, then the 1971 Topps Minis from this year's Update set, and a tobacco-sized mini from 2012 Gypsy Queen. So these cards fall somewhere between the retro minis from the base set and standard cards in size.

Chasing History - 6 - Bob Feller, Roberto Clemente, Mariano Rivera, Dylan Bundy, Buster Posey, Justin Verlander

Inserts in this set are pretty limited, with the Chasing History inserts being the only cards inserted that are not parallels, relics, or autographs. You get six of these per box.

Gold Parallels - 3 - Ubaldo Jiminez # 33 / 62, Josh Johnson # 42 / 62, Zack Greinke # 48 / 62

This box only had three Gold parallels in it, while the other ones I opened each had four. The other ones also had two parallels of other colors, while this one just had one. So I am not sure which is normal. This box got four parallels; the other boxes each had six. I guess the Greinke is the biggest name here.

Pink Parallel - 1 - Ted Lilly # 09 / 25

This is a decent-looking card, although I don't have any particular affinity for the Dodgers, unless they are playing against a team I like less. It will be interesting to see if they can make all the money they've spent pay off in the form of a championship.

Relic Card - Brandon Beachy

You are promised one relic or autograph per box, but the checklist isn't exactly strong. I think the odds of getting a relic are 1:29 packs and the odds on autographs are 1:147, so you will probably see a lot of relics before you see an auto. I've read anecdotes of people busting 9 or 10 boxes without seeing any autographs.

This set doesn't really break any new ground. It could be fun for set collectors or people who just want to chase parallels of favorite players or teams. With such a big checklist, though, it might not be advisable to chase a particular player's parallels by busting wax. The only problem is that I don't see a lot of the singles from this stuff up on eBay, COMC, Sportlots, or JustCommons. With it being an online-exclusive pushed directly from Topps.com's webstore, the bulk-breakers that usually get cards out into the marketplace seemed to stay away from it.