Man, I love this time of year. Football is in full swing, the MLB playoffs are on the horizon, and the weather is just quite nice enough that you only need a light jacket. Its amazing. With the beginning of the postseason coming up, Bunt is about to light off a rocket that will spur the app’s focus for the rest of the season. Get ready for the playoffs, because its about to get nuts.

Prep Your Deck

Right now, if you are a points player, I hope you have already started stocking up for the playoffs. All cards that are from eliminated teams should be thought of as expendable, and the focus of your trading should all be on teams you know are going to be in the playoffs for the long haul. I have seen an uptick in equipment trading as people look to stock their lineup with higher boosted cards, especially from series 2, and that wont stop. It will only get more and more difficult to get the gear you need to upgrade, especially if you are looking for orange and above.

Its worth mentioning that playoff base cards will be better to collect in the long run, but stocking up now on playoff teams might help you avoid some of the massive costs that will likely come with ripping packs of playoff cards.

If you really want to get in on the action (a good idea if last year was any indication), start to look for the bargains that give you access to the top players on each team. This means pitchers who will likely form the rotation in the AL and NLDS, and hitters who are high average, and dont strike out a lot. Because every game is televised, every part of the active roster is important to have at your disposal.

Even those middle relievers who were forgotten during the rest of the season are now valuable, as the playoffs are like Sunday Night Baseball every time there is a game.

A word of warning – try to diversify among the wild card teams. Because they can potentially be eliminated within one game, its important to have some cards in your arsenal, but dont spend time hoarding unless you know its a deal you cant pass up. I saw someone last year get their dreams dashed because their hoard team was eliminated in the first wild card game. Ouch.

Remember, the top two types of cards are high strike out pitchers with good WHIP, and high average hitters who have power. Because there is only one game at a time, it might even be in your best interest to stock up on guys that steal a lot of bases, as you will be able to get the points and sneak ahead if you play the stats right.

Prep Your Wallet

In all likelihood, the amount of money needed to be competitive in the top bracket of the playoffs will be high. There will be premium contests you will need to play in for top point scoring to be registered, and that means you will need lots of coins unless you have already started saving.

On top of that, there will be so many cool cards released that it only adds to the wallet pain, especially if last year was any indicator. With crossover physical cards now being a big part of the way Topps does business, expect that this will be the first time the playoffs take center stage on that level. I am quite excited for that especially, as its clear that having a physical commemoration of the digital awesomeness is a cool part of the game.

Last year, we didnt really see playoff specific signatures in a way like we did in 2014, so I hope that comes back – same thing with relics and limited. I am looking for premium content along side the regular playoff boosts, and hopefully we get both.

I would expect playoff cards to range in boost from 5x-10x, if not more, but it all depends on how they approach things. I could see them going all out like they did in 2015, with almost the entire playoff lineup getting cards, but the boost is what really matters. Gold being 5x should put them right in the middle of the top cards if I was to guess, with playoff base that I could see extending quite a bit past that point.

GO Boosts will also get their due too, with higher playoff levels than we have likely seen all year long. Depending on how things go, it might be that card exchange is brought back into it, as it has limited the count on the examples from the season, and made them much more of a luxury to chase.

Prep Your Expectations

Most importantly, I hope the prizes are on the level they were last year too. The playoffs are where everyone comes back to participate, which means the effort needed to place well is that much higher. We saw huge prizes given away last year, including iPad Pros, Trout signed bats and jerseys, among other things. I can only imagine what is in store, and I hope they go upwards not backwards.

Overall, this is why we play Bunt. This is the time where the competition becomes legendary. If you can do well in the playoffs, you will earn a reputation that is worth the effort. Good luck to everyone, and please let me know if you have questions on Twitter or in the game.