Digital Card Central

Ahhhh yes. The age old discussion that has always been a hot one in Huddle. Is it better to be a collector of cards that score well in the live games or is it better to be a collector who has a hoard of rare inserts. Can one exist as both? I think that this discussion is actually a lot more complicated than people think, and I want to take some time to throw my two cents out there.

Background

Back when Huddle first came into being, it was the second of two Topps Apps, but unlike its predecessor in Bunt, was not league licensed. At the time, Topps Digital was a tiny group of employees at a company known for physical cards, and it wasnt a huge deal that head shots ruled the game. It wasnt until the 2013 Bunt season that Topps really decided to ratchet up the collecting aspect of Bunt, which gave birth to this discussion in the first place.

Huddle felt a lot of the brunt of this new collecting type of approach, because they werent able to operate the same way they were able to operate with a league license. Designing head shot cards can only take you so far, and as a result, the app remained heavily weighted towards playing along with the live games.

When 2014 Huddle started with a slew of photoshopped unlicensed cards, everyone thought that the game had finally turned the corner on bringing more of a collecting aspect to the game. When Huddle was forced to revert back to head shots after week 2, the game again decided focus as much of their efforts on an awesome play mode for the second straight year. This brought a community, with some collectors established, even further over to the points side of things, as it was hard to have the same cards over and over again and still consider that it was fresh. The team did a GREAT job making lemonade out of lemons, as the card designs still were awesome, but points were where it was at.

Now that Huddle has the full license for the NFL and its a deal that should be for a few years, I expected that when this year began, the scales would even out considerably. Although I saw that things have gotten A LOT more even, its still very much favoring the users who want to play for points. That is not a bad thing at all, as Huddle and Fantasy Sports have always gone hand in hand. Fantasy sports have always been rooted in Football, which shouldnt make this dichotomy surprising. The question remains, which side are you most likely to identify with.

Collecting Points Cards as a Priority

I love playing for points, only because I love watching football and I love playing fantasy. Not the daily fantasy stuff that has been all over every commercial break of everything down to Sesame Street, but regular fantasy. I will admit that I have never been very good, but it has always been something that is a boatload of fun.

Huddle plays almost directly into this, and unlike fantasy, I am very “good” at playing for points. Even though the approach is pretty straight forward, the strategy of playing along with the live games is still vital to anyone’s success. It does have a measure of collecting, which is where some people can turn being “good” at the game to being “amazing.”

There are two ways to acquire more cards, and that is where being “amazing” really comes into play. If you can operate the trade boards like a boss, you are going to be able to build your lineup so high, that even people who spend a considerable amount of money may not be able to compete. If you spend a lot of money, you can accomplish the same thing, and in a much less time consuming manner. Either works fine.

The great part about playing for points this year, is that there are crazy rare cards of top players that are being offered as of last week to anyone who has the goods to score among the top users in the game. Not only that, but they are some of the coolest looking cards released so far. That alone should be enough to get people running for the fan feed to stock up to at least give it a shot. If you dont succeed, its not like you spent any coins, so its a no brainer.

This situation has made Gold and Blue high scoring cards a hot commodity within the game, so much so that the collecting aspect of things has fallen much further behind than I expected. Even before the reward cards were created, points still had a significant lead, if not only because there are so many returning players who know how fun it is to really sprint for the points. Huddle has done a good job placating both sides of things, but with recent boosted inserts, I think they have shown they are recognizing how important the points game is.

Similarly advantageous is that you can chase points cards in pretty much any pack without penalty, and score some nice inserts along the way. These inserts can be traded for more points cards, and so on and so forth. This has led to some normally points chaser exclusive collectors to become more interested in the other aspects of the game, and that’s also a very good thing for everyone.

Collecting Inserts as Priority

Even when Huddle switched back to headshots last year, I was still quite a big collector of the rare inserts – especially sigs and stuff like that. Being that I have an enormous collection of physical cards to match my enormous collection of digital cards, its only natural that I want to mirror the collections after each other.

Here is why 2016 is literally one of the best times to be an Insert Collector – not only does one set look better than the next, with full uniforms and logos, but there are a lot of points players that will do the pack pulling work for you and trade them on the cheap for top scoring cards.

As mentioned before, if you can navigate the trade boards with impunity, you will find some INSANE deals to be had. Even though the inserts are higher count, they dont serve as much of a purpose to a points player up until the recent change to boosted cards last week. This means if you pull golds and blues while chasing your collecting targets, you will have a mutually beneficial situation for someone out there who has what you want.

Im not going to lie and say that I am not disappointed in the value that inserts have this year, considering the high pack prices and unfavorable odds. You would expect that for a card that likely took as many packs as some of these did, they would be worth considerably more in terms of the trade economy. They arent, and that is really unfortunate.

That being said, I dont think its hopeless, as the game is literally only 3 weeks old. Although we are reaching the 25% completion mark of a short NFL season, the game has a LOOOOOONG way to go. I was joking with a friend last year in week 14 that it felt much longer than the Bunt season, which went almost double the time, and 10 times the amount of games. Huddle time is accelerated, and we probably wont recognize the app in 6 weeks time. You can bet on that.

I will stand by what TOPPSMARC said on the Q and A and say that I dont believe they will get even in the same state as Boost Mania last year, but things will continue to change. If you are an insert collector, this could actually be a very good situation to be in. I have always been very much in favor of the economy supporting people who wanted to chase their targets without huge investments. I know that doesnt do much for Topps as a business, but I will be much happier if I can get all the Vikings cards without spending hundreds of dollars.

As a result of a higher count atmosphere, intrinsic value will drop in the cards, as there will be more supply than demand. Regardless of the atmosphere, this should end up being a banner year for Huddle, with a lot of reason to occupy both sides of the aisle. Because playing for points is still without cost attached, its in your best interest to be competitive at the very least. Once you try it, you will see how fun it really is. As for those that play for points, it might not be the worst thing to give into the vanity that makes the collecting world go ’round. At the very worst, you can always trade out the stuff that doesnt appeal to you.

Well, well, well! Not only do we have more GO Boosts this week, but a number of different updates to contests that I am literally balls to the walls excited about. Ill start with the changes to the contests, and then move onto the boosts and their potential for tonight.

Contest Changes

During weeks one and two, Huddle offered two types of contests – Fantasy and Showdown – both of which offered coins as prizes for participation. This time around, Huddle is offering packs as rewards, as well as one special twist that I have been talking about for a number of months.

For the first time in any app, it looks like Huddle will give the top 50 point scorers a special JJ Watt card for their performance during tonight’s game. I mentioned in both of my contest suggestion articles for Bunt and Huddle that this would make things a bit more lucrative to play along, and I am excited to see how this impacts the game. We can also see that an Aaron Rodgers and a Marcus Mariota card is available for Sunday and Monday’s contests, which is similarly awesome.

We should also note that Best of Huddle is back in the mix, and you should sign up and play along with this contest all through tonight. It will take more time, but with slow scoring API coming in, you should have plenty of time to make lineup switches as the points load.

Similarly, it looks like the best of Huddle cards are not based on previous week’s scoring which is actually better than one might think. Instead of playing your butt off, and getting stuck with a terrible player who had a great game, you now get to see ahead of time what is on the line. Cards look really good to boot.

Kirk Cousins – QB, Washington

I dont think the Redskins are a good team, and I am similarly cautious about picking up a lot of Cousins’ GO boosts for tonights game. He is very inconsistent in his performance, bouncing all over the place from good games with multiple TD passes to horrid games with multiple picks. The Giants have struggled this year to keep people out of the endzone, so maybe that will play to his advantage.

Scoring Potential: 

Alfred Morris – RB, Washington

Last week, he was shown up by rookie Matt Jones, who might have had the game of his career in the second week. Throughout this week, the team has said that Morris is still the guy, but he will undoubtedly see reduced carries just to see if Jones can replicate his success. Lessens his impact slightly.

Scoring Potential: 

Pierre Garcon – WR, Washington

With DeSean Jackson on the shelf, Garcon needs to step up and pick up the slack left behind. The Redskins receiver corps is a bunch of mediocre guys without Jackson in the mix, and Garcon is the only other receiver Washington has that I can even name. Not a good situation, but Garcon is always good for a TD.

Scoring Potential: 

DeAngelo Hall – DB, Washington

The fact that defensive player was picked only goes to show how few players the Redskins have that are worthy of a boost. He might have some tackles and a possible pick, but I would much rather pay attention to the other side of the ball.

Scoring Potential: 

Jordan Reed – TE, Washington

Like Garcon, Reed will definitely benefit from lack of good receivers for Cousins to throw to. Going to be interesting to see if Reed continues to get better after some nice performances, or if he disappears like he has in previous games and last year. Consistency is a myth in the NFL, and if you can perform like a champ week in and week out, you end up in Canton.

Scoring Potential: 

Eli Manning – QB, Giants

There is no doubt that Eli has taken the brunt of his mistakes over the last few weeks, including not taking the sack against the Cowboys to run the clock down even more. It led to a loss, and it didnt help that they lost again the following week. This is going to be Eli’s chance to redeem himself against a team I really dont think is going to be even close to good this year.

Scoring Potential: 

Odell Beckham Jr – WR, Giants

This. This is the boost to pick up. He has had two nice performances to start the year, and he has the potential to go off tonight. I would guess he gets no less than 8 catches and 100 yards, with a potential for multiple TDs. Cruz still isnt back yet, and Randle is maybe 80%. Beckham is Eli’s favorite target and this is his chance to shine again.

Scoring Potential: 

Rashad Jennings – RB, Giants

Im still not sold on Jennings as a feature back, and I am not sold that he will do much in this game. He has had a few games where he blew up, but they are really few and far between. Im still curious to see what might happen considering the Giants offensive line is just okay this year.

Scoring Potential: 

Shane Vereen – WR, Giants

I would have gone with Randle, even though he isnt all the way there, and if not randle, maybe a TE or something. Vereen gets looks out of the backfield, but he is a 3rd down/Change of Pace guy, and without Brady throwing him the ball, its not as effective. He has had his moments, so there isnt a complete bust written on this card.

Scoring Potential: 

Prince Amukamara – DB, Giants

I see that they are mirroring defensive guys here, and like I said with Hall, its not my thing. Amukamara isnt a bad player and should do well in coverage, but it all depends on passes deflected and tackles.

Scoring Potential: 

For the first time this year, we saw a Q&A posted with ToppsMarc and ToppsEd, producers for Huddle. They tackled a LOT of questions that were pressing, and did a great job following up on what many users had on the top of their mind. I want to break down some of the more important questions and give my thoughts.

The following questions and answers are copied and pasted from the article in the app. It can be found here if you would like to see it in the entirety.

Question: When will there be a card count on android I’m blind trading without knowing values?
Answer: We are working on fixing card counts on the back of certain cards. Should be good-to-go in the next update.

This is a huge issue with the game and continues to cause trading problems, not only for new cards on Android, but old cards everywhere in the game. I have had trades that I am providing a lopsided amount of cards for something only to have it turned down because no one can see card counts. Hopefully this is fixed soon, and I am glad they are aware.

Question: Will BOH, Editors Choice, FOTW and Fan Choice return? What about MNF inserts? 
Answer: Best of HUDDLE (BOH) will, indeed, occur again (another production delay), EC will occur, FOTW will not, and Fan’s Choice will not. MNF inserts will not.

Production delay seems to be the buzzword that is floating around the app, and I think we have all guessed what they are referring to. Based on what we see in Star Wars with similar wording from the team, its clear that the approval process with a full license is different than what it was in prior years. Based on my communication with the physical side of the card business, I know how difficult the NFL can be in approving physical trading cards, and the stuff they have to go through. Its only plausible that the same thing would happen here.  That also goes to show why Fan’s choice and other cards of that nature may not be possible.

That being said, I am happy to hear that EC and Best of Huddle will come back, as both were VERY popular inserts last year.

Question: Will there be permanent boosts?  
Answer: They will be permanent boosts but nowhere near the amount we released last season.

We all knew that Boost Mania from 2014 was a result of the switch back to head shots that happened in week 2. In the article released right after the switch happened, Huddle said the focus would shift to gameplay. When the boosts exploded in popularity, they went a little nuts because people kept buying.

Now that they have a full license, that isnt needed as much anymore, which makes complete sense.

Question: When will tapjoy work again?
Answer: We are working on fixing Tapjoy! We understand there have been issues. Trust me, this has not gone unnoticed!

Another issue that is plaguing the app, but it might be just in the way people use it. Many people do not complete the offers from inside the app, instead going to the tapjoy site and using that page, which is easier to navigate. Both ways should generate coins, but from talking to people who use the latter way of getting tapjoy coins, it never works. I have had no problems when completing offers inside the app itself. Both should work perfectly, as I know there are a lot of people that rely on this for coins. Hopefully this is fixed soon.

Question: The points situation kills me every time. Will there be a time I can count on it to run smoothly?
Answer: We are working on PTS lag and trying to improve every week. Our engineers have been on this.

I actually dont think the points lag is all Huddle’s fault, but processing the stats received through the scoring API might be well within their control. Right now, points run 5-8 plays behind live games, which is a big issue when offenses are running more and more quickly. You almost need a play tracker to ensure you get all the points. I can see this one taking a bit longer to fix, but it could be more about the stats API than anything.

Question: Why no VIP or FOTW? Recognizing those fans who spend money and/or time only benefits Topps.
Answer: It was an internal decision that we felt was best for our staff and platform. This was discussed internally for SEVERAL months.

Ahhh yes, one of the bigger questions they had to address. This had to be a tough decision, and one they knew was not going to be very popular. I think that overall, VIP had both good and bad things associated with it. It was a polarizing program, as many people felt it was unfair to free players, and others felt they wouldnt spend without it.

I can see where having the full license would incite Huddle to re-evaluate, especially when you see the shortage of coins and high pack prices in the app right now. Because there are so few coins floating around, opening packs is a luxury in itself. The NFL’s license adds new cost to the game for Topps, and they definitely need to ensure that spending is there to pay for it. That is a focus for them either way. Without VIP coins, it forces those pay users to give into more spending to get the premium cards. It might cause more buyer tension, but they are banking that it isnt enough to keep people from diving in. The cards look awesome this year, and I know it hasnt stopped me at all.

More importantly, VIP was probably a beast to manage. With how much work has to go into the app now, its pretty clear that it was a feature they felt they could survive without. I think it remains to be seen how the spending performs without VIP, but I also wouldnt take your in game buddy’s word for it either. Just because someone says they are done spending, doesnt necessarily mean they actually are done. Trust me on that. With factoring in the production delays, adding MORE cards on top of the ones they need for the game to run probably wasnt something they want to mess with.

More importantly, I see a huge amount of influence in 2016 Huddle from Star Wars Card Trader, which also has opted to go VIP-less all year without problems. SW also has the high insert counts and pack prices that fluctuate in a similar fashion. Not much pushback has existed for a number of weeks, at least not in the way Huddle is getting blasted.

I think the difference is that the SWCT community started stronger because of the structure of the original packs. It created a different type of community than Huddle or Bunt, mainly because everything was readily available wihtout much spending that was needed. The game was probably not making as much money as a result, and with a costly license like the NFL, that couldnt happen again with the new build for Huddle. Without that ramp up time to get people hooked, Huddle didnt get the same chance to build from within, and has left people a bit bitter over the way things are shaking out.

All in all, Huddle is a business, and the goal is for them to make money, as any business does. There was obviously careful consideration internally about removing VIP, but at the same time, I would guess the production delays and other logistical issues were not considered along that same line. We are still in the VERY early stages of 2016, and I can see a lot of changes happening as they always do. Regardless, looks like VIP is gone for good, and personally, as a Black VIP, I really dont care. The license is reward enough, I can do without the cherry on top of this giant sundae and still feel happy. If you feel different, that’s up to you.

Question: Will our licensed cards exist next season once your NFL license expires or will they go away? This is important to us.
Answer: NFL license will continue to exist and your cards will not go away.

Huge, HUGE, HUGE question here, and a great answer. For those of you who do not know, Topps Football Cards will likely not exist the same way next year that they have for the last 60 years. Panini (a competitor) has secured an NFLPA exclusive license, which means they are the only company that will be able to create and sell trading cards of current players.

What you might not have known is that digital licensing and physical licensing are separate, and this was a great confirmation.

Overall Thoughts

There are a few unanswered questions that remain, outside of things like QB passing yards counting correctly and other things. What everyone has to remember is that this is still week 2 of 16, and that doesnt include the months of playoffs that will be like another season all together. They will adjust and they will change things to match the needs of the business and the needs of the community.

As awesome as the new license is, it doesnt come without hiccups – which we see every year regardless of what the situation is. There are just some things that will always pop up, which I can assure you Topps’ apps are not alone in experiencing. I have to give them credit for remaining dedicated to having communication like this with the community, something I really dont see at all with any other apps I play.