With the launch of the new 2016 Bunt Update, we saw that for the first time, there are 10 different parallels of cards, not just 5. With only half of the cards available in packs, there is a super premium placed on high level Bunt boosts, especially black and above. There are lingering questions of how this might change over the course of the season, especially with some users taking advantage of a glitch early on in the game.

Right now, anything above purple is insanely valuable. There are a few people who have been resourceful enough to get some of their cards to black, but it is unclear how that might have happened. Its likely a combination of spending and the since corrected glitch, although the equipment packs are cheap enough that it could just be a lot of trading.

So far, only one gold has been achieved, from what I can see on the checklist. This early on, it might not even be that helpful to have shredded that many cards to get there, especially with card counts on base so low. People need to shred two of the previous level to get to the upper boosts, and I would MUCH rather have the incremental cards right now than the high level boosts. There just arent enough cards out there to fill a lineup unless you have spent a considerable amount of coins.

At the same time, when the season progresses and people have hundreds of base they cant play, those gold and silver boosts down to black, should remain quite valuable. Although they arent going to continue being the best thing the collection side has to offer with Marathons launching, they will likely continue to be the best gameplay cards for a long time.

The main issue at THIS point in the game is the cost to get to those levels as mentioned above. I know that some of the points players have been ripping packs pretty steadily as part of their planning for the season, but even with the amount of packs ripped, there is still an enormous card cost of losing two silver boosts for a gold, or two blacks for a silver. I would even argue that two purples for a black is putting your lineup at a severe disadvantage without equal replacement cards all together.

Now, if you are just looking to get to your favorite player’s rainbow, and you dont care as much about points, this is where the card exchange for 2016 Topps Bunt will be your best friend. Its a game within the game almost, and if you must have every Boston Red Sox card, you are going to have to work harder than before. Even though that has some tenuous implications with some people who dont want the extra work, the side quest element to the process is something that will keep us going when things get slow.

Additionally, having extra copies to trade and diversify your collection is big right now. If you have 4 teal Kershaw cards, and you want to get to black with 2 purples, why not hold off and trade a few to get some other pitchers who are going to have similar value in gameplay? The lower level cards are valuable right now, and you might be able to get more bang for your buck trading for cards who’s count will be large as the season progresses. Having 4 Kershaws only helps you once every 5 days for one game. If you can turn that into a Felix, Trout and a handful of other guys, you will have a better shot at winning more frequently.

Its clear that a few days without the marathon launches has people a bit anxious, but that will pass within a few weeks. I will warn against going full on with any of the card exchanges, especially for players who are valuable for their dupes, as mentioned above. Diversification is the name of the game short term.

On a more longer term level, that might be far from the case, especially when more packs are opened and card counts get higher. If you are a spender, there will be a point when you have 25 Jake Arrietas white cards, and that is where the card exchange will come into play heavily. Just be careful running in fifth gear for the exchange when you know that we only know 25% of the functionality right now. Its hard to be patient, but its a necessary thing until the plans are revealed.