2022-23 Skybox Metal Universe serves as a Siren’s Call for collectors who reminisce about the hobby in the 90s.

Upper Deck has brought the retro brand back with a host of base cards, inserts, and parallels that give a different look to a new crop of modern NHL stars.

The Breakdown

2022-23 Metal Universe was released in August of 2023.  Hobby boxes contained 15 packs, with 7 cards in each pack.  Those who did not live near an LCS will also have the opportunity to buy via ePack while supplies last.  Retail blasters were another wax configuration available in major box stores.

The base set consisted of 100 cards of NHL veterans.  Cards 101-150 are categorized as “Base Stars” and fall one per pack.  Finally, cards 151-200 are the “Base Rookies” and also fall one per pack.  Printing Plates, Blue Spectrum FX, Purple Spectrum FX, and PMGs serve as base set parallels and each has a different level of scarcity.

Autographs fall about one in every two boxes.  Thirteen different designs are used for the autograph cards providing a ton of design variety.  

The sense of nostalgia doesn’t stop with the base cards.  The 18, yes 18, different insert sets use a mix of both old and new designs.  The 1998-99 Retro set and the 1998-99 Skybox Premium Star Rubies trigger the love of premium chase cards.  Add in the Jambalaya and 2013 Retro sets bring back a flood of even more memories.

During the course of a season, Upper Deck provides products with a variety of checklist structures.  Some products are full of legends, some more rookie focused, and some with a mix of new and old players.  I love the variety across releases and this product is one that focuses on active stars and rookies.  That’s great, we don’t want every product to feel the same

Box Break

I opened one hobby box courtesy of Upper Deck.   Here’s what I found inside.

1 Autograph

14 Inserts

90 Base cards

Check out every card here!

What do you think? Are you a fan of this product? Did you open any? Let me know in the comments below.

Wrapping it Up

Overall, this was a fun product to open.  The variety of designs and the mix of new and old was just right in my opinion.  I think there is something for everyone with this product.  Set collector’s can build a challenging but not impossible base set.  Hobbyists who love 90s insert designs can track down Jambalaya or PMGs of their favorite players, and rookie card specialists have a wide variety of designs to pick from when tracking down the newest stars of the game.

At the time of this article, sealed wax boxes are still reasonably priced.  But picking up singles on eBay, COMC, and Sportlots are an even more affordable way to pick up your favorite players.

Check out beckett.com for the full checklist.