Sadly, Baseball is over, and the offseason is upon us. Because Bunt thrives during the season, the app will definitely slow down over the next few weeks, and even more so over the winter. That being said, it does not mean the app shuts down, and a lot of people have been asking what is going to go down. I dont have any indication from the Topps team, but based on previous offseasons, here is what I would expect.

2015 Base Cards

Congratulations! You now own a bunch of base cards that likely will not score for 2016. Its time to come to terms with the fact that with each new season, new cards with new scoring will come into play, and your existing cards will be obsolete. Its called a business model. That doesnt mean its time to unload and have a fire sale, but it does mean that holding onto 8 dupes of a gold pitcher probably isnt in your best interest. Try to trade as many of your base dupes for inserts and other cards, if you can find a taker. Its tough, but there are people who are looking to complete sets before the awards are discontinued.

Offseason Inserts

There will be many inserts released during the offseason, and some of them will be valuable short term. Considering that we dont know anything about the 2016 Bunt build yet, we cant say if there will be a long term value in tact when the new season starts. There werent many times during this year that I even glanced at my older cards, which is so sad. We used to have the ability to display our favorite cards in our home screen, that was visible to everyone, but now that is gone. Even though we can hope that they bring back a way to display your top wares, we have to assume that 2016 will be just like 2015.

All of that being brought into consideration, its time to mention that chasing offseason inserts is only worthwhile if you collect the player or the team, or are just so bored with nothing going on that you want to chase some cards. Outside of that, see the next section.

Offseason inserts during the 2014 offseason were aimed at the smaller crowd, and things like Finest and other insert sets did have some sustained popularity into the next year. Keep an eye out for the inserts that should hold value due to subject matter, card type (sigs etc), or rarity. Those are the ones I would continue to collect, knowing that next year people will probably still have a filter to remove old cards from their trade.

Coin Saver Mode

As of today, we are about 5 months from the start of the 2016 season. That is about 2.5 million coins if you check in every day during the offseason and dont spend or buy. I get it, that is easiser said than done, but it might be worth it. Its worth it to download Bunt on another device and do nothing but check in all offseason. There will be massive coin sales that happen if last year was any indication, so you might even want to buy without intention of spending. Your coins will transfer over if the previous seasons hold true, and I dont think they would want to piss people off by clearing everything out.

The pros of saving is that you walk into 2016 with a TON of coins. Coins that can be used to buy whatever comes out. You could have a serious advantage, knowing that you can buy a crapload of packs and everyone else who didnt save or check in will not. The cons of saving is that you will likely miss out on some great cards. If you really want to go without distraction, just turn off the notifications, mute twitter, and just focus on not spending your coins. Get a buddy to let you know when the sales happen so you can set yourself up like a champ.

The Next Few Weeks

Over the next few weeks, a lot of fun stuff is going to happen. We are going to find out all the award winners, the gold gloves, silver sluggers, and a bunch of other stuff. Each of those guys will get cards, and if you are a fan of them, these will be cards worth chasing. We will also get a Thanksgiving program and a Black Friday chase, both of which were pretty popular last year.

Last year during Christmas they ran the Sig promotion with a new card every day leading up to the holidays, something that produced some of the nicer cards of the offseason as a whole. I would expect something like that to happen again too.

Cards that Score in 2016

At some point, cards that score in 2016 will hit the sheet. Whether they are VIP boosts, or actual pack pulled inserts, they will hit. When they do, take inventory. Are they cards that will score a ton? Are they base equivalent? Are they players that wont likely be featured in Series 1?  If you feel strategically that these cards will be worthwhile, dive in. Cards with a 1x boost for 2016 are only valuable if you dont think the player will be easy to find in the base cards when they hit.

The VIP Black boosts were the highest permanent boost scoring cards for the regular season, and Im curious to see if something similar happens this year too. If you own ANY black boost, do not trade it until you hear what the plan is. They could change their mind, but they could also roll with the flow from 2014 as well.

As a whole, just go into the offseason with an open mind. This is a testing ground for a bunch of stuff that could be a big part of 2016. If you like something, reach out to the team. If you hate something, same thing applies. They look to us to see what our reaction dictates, as the people that stick around for the winter months are usually the ones who will be a bigger part of 2016.