It’s time for another round of the ongoing Upper Deck Box Battle series!
This time we are comparing a hobby box of 2022-23 Upper Deck Allure and a box of 2022-23 SP Authentic. Allure has been part of the hockey product mix since 2019 and serves as one of the chromium stock releases to satisfy the fans of shiny cards and colorful parallels. SP Authentic has been around since the 90s and has a ton of tradition and nostalgia on its side.
2022-23 Upper Deck Allure
If you like shiny chrome cards, then Allure is a great product for you. Every base card in the 156 card base set has the “rainbow" shine we typically see in “refractor” or “silver prizm” cards. There are also 13 different parallels with varying levels of scarcity that add both color and some patterned backgrounds.
2022-23 Upper Deck Allure base, Quartz and Blockers insert cards
The first 100 cards are all active veterans and are the most common cards found in a box. Cards 101-156 are all rookie cards and are a little more limited. They fall one per pack which makes them a little more short printed, but are not scarce by any means.
Colored parallels are abundant in Allure with the Black Rainbow and Red Rainbow being the most common. I received ten base parallels in my box with a Gold Glitter Bomb parallel #/199 being the most scarce.
The Color Flow is one of the most common insert cards averaging one per pack. There are five different color combinations which are progressively more scarce, and if you collect all five colors the cards line up to flow through the colors of the rainbow.
The Color Flow inserts combine to form a continual rainbow design.
Nine additional insert sets provide some more variety for collectors. I received six of these inserts in the box I opened. From goalies, to rookies, to action shots and even die cut cards, there is a lot to look at in the various insert sets this year.
Finally, autographed cards fall one per box on average and there is a long list of possible players to receive. Autographs of base cards, parallels, inserts, and even some very limited autographed relic cards are possible hits. There are no “standard relics” in Allure.
Each hobby box (eBay link) has 9 packs with 8 cards in each pack.
My Box Breakdown:
Base Veterans: 36
Base Rookies:9
Color Flow Inserts:9
Color Flow Spectrum Parallel:1 #d to 85
Other Inserts: 6
Base Parallels: 10
Autograph: 1
2022-23 SP Authentic
As mentioned above, the SP Authentic line dates back to the 90s. Cards 1-100 make up the standard veteran base set. Cards 101-200 are the Future Watch Rookies. The majority of the Future Watch cards are autographed, but some are not. Both the autographed and un-autographed versions are serial numbered.
In addition to base cards, there are five different parallels to chase. Red are the most common, but black 1/1s also exist for all 200 cards.
Seven different insert sets bring a combination of rookies, veterans, and retired legends into the mix. I received a total of 20 inserts in my box with a combination of base and parallel versions of Spectrum FX, True Leaders, SP Top Rookies, Pageantry, Collaborations, and Future Icons. Every card is serial numbered to /399 in the Future Icons set.
2022-23 SP Authentic Future Watch Auto Patch of Lukas Reichel
Upper Deck is continuing the bounty program for the 2022-23 SP Spectrum FX inserts. These cards have varying levels of scarcity, and if you are one of the first 50 collectors to aquire the full set, you can claim a special prize pack.
A variety of past releases get “updates” that are randomly included in these boxes. The frequency of their insertion rates is a little harder to determine. I did not receive any in my box. I’d suggest checking out this page at Beckett.com to see the full breakdown of update options.
Finally, there are all kinds of rookie and veteran autographs found inside each box. I ended up with two in my box. A Retro Future Watch auto and a Future Watch Auto Patch /100!
Each hobby box has 10 packs with 9 cards in each pack. Here’s what I found inside my box.
Base Cards: 56
Red Base Parallel: 8
Spectrum FX:2
Other Inserts: 18 with 3 parallels
Autos: 2
The Battle
So how do these products compare?
Well, first of all, the SP Future Watch Auto Patch /100 of Lukas Reichel was a huge hit and is not something you can count on in every box. So let’s kind of set that aside to consider what a typical box includes.
Both boxes have a similar number of cards and packs so if like a lot of cards, both of these are a good option. Both of these products also have a wide variety of inserts and both also provide the opportunity to get an autographed card.
In my opinion, the decision comes down to whether or not you like your cards shiny or not. The chrome nature of Allure and the 13 additional colorful parallels are a great combination for rainbow chasers. The 156 card base set is also an achievable build. The SP Authentic set is much more difficult with so many autos unless you focus on building something like the red parallel set where the un-autographed rookies fall much more often.
That being said, if you prefer cardboard over chrome, SP Authentic is a fantastic product.
The last thing to consider is the price. At the time of this article, on eBay Allure boxes are about $75 per box and SP Authentic is about $120.
In my opinion, both are affordable options and have features that make them worth buying if you like opening new packs. I’m going to put SP Authentic as the winner because personally I prefer non-chrome cards and I appreciate the nostalgia tied to the SP brand.
I should also mention, that buying singles of these on the secondary market is a great option. COMC has a ton of Allure cards from past years on their site which were added via the ePack partnership with Upper Deck. You can get the base rookies and parallel cards super cheap. At some point, the 2022-23 set will become available there as well. It’s worth checking Sportlots for base, inserts, and parallels as well, but you probably won’t find any big cards on that site.
2022-23 SP Authentic base and the Pageantry, Spectrum FX, and True Leaders insert cards.