Buzz Break: 2020-21 Skybox Metal Universe (blaster)

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The box: 2020-21 Skybox Metal Universe hockey cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

Packs per box: 5
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 35
Set completion: 24 of 200 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Victor Hedman (SP), Jacob Markstrom (SP), John Carlson (SP), Jonathan Huberdeau (SP), Evander Kane, Anze Kopitar, Claude Giroux, Carey Price, Sean Monahan, Aleksander Barkov, Elvis Merzlikins, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Mark Scheifele, Mikko Rantanen, Thomas Chabot, Jonathan Marchessault, John Klingberg, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Igor Shesterkin

Rookie Cards (SP) (3) – Connor McMichael, Olli Juolevi, Alexander Romanov

Inserts: 11 (all cards from box in gallery below)
Blue Spectrum (5) – Jonathan Huberdeau, Anze Kopitar, Tristan Jarry, Brandon Hagel, Calvin Thurkauf (SP)
1997-98 Retro (2) – Jason Robertson, Ty Dellandrea
Intimidation Nation (1) – Robin Lehner
Net Deposits (1) – Dylan Cozens 
Skybox Premium Prospects (1) – Kirill Kaprizov
Skybox Premium Prospects Sapphire Star (1) – Alexander True

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: I landed this one in a lot of blasters for a good price -- so, no, I'm not branching out onto the ice (still can't collect it all) -- and I didn't mind the mix at all or the aesthetic that definitely felt more Metal than cosmic. That last part is why I didn't really give any of these brands a look back in the day when some of the looks here first arrived ... I just wasn't into the foiled space vibe. Oddly, though, this mix works and this box delivered good variety, a good mix of names and some stuff that wasn't seeded to land in every blaster. For me -- I'm not even a newb really for hockey cards -- I didn't mind it overall, but a diehard might want more from even a smaller box format than this one. If you grade, the foil surfaces here on selected stuff can be challenging at times -- especially the top edges and bottom corners -- but a top-mark card will look good when found as I don't think those will be easy. I suspect, based on a lot of the volume and pricing for cards I found here, that this one was made in decent quantity -- so that makes it more of a rip just for fun than big-dollar chase, especially in this format. At the same time, I think this isn't a bad release to, you know, collect. Those Blue parallels really pop.

Product Grade: B+ 
Box Grade: B
Fun Grade: B

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