Digital Card Central

The launch of the new Huddle 2014 update is likely a few weeks away, and I cannot be more excited. I think the new Bunt style format plays even better into football than it does into Baseball, and with increased focus on beautiful content, its going to be a banner year.

After going through two 2014 launches with Bunt and Kick (just for kicks! HA!), I have picked up a few things that I wanted to make sure everyone had in their back pocket. Here is my guide for starting off 2014 with Huddle.

Saved Coins

If you are like me, you have been checking in daily now for a few months to stock up on coins. Im at about 75,000, and you can bet I will be itching to spend them immediately upon launch. From the plan we saw with Bunt and Kick, the initial sig and inserts wont be released until a day or so after launch, so its best to have a planned out approach for your coins. The sig packs cost 10k coins in both previous apps, and have 7 cards. Keep that in mind when spending all your saved up loot. Its going to be good to wait, but I am not going to be able to do so, just like all of you.

Spending

My spending plan is as follows. Im going to waste through the 75,000 coins as the app starts off to get some cards to trade for other base that will be needed for scoring. After that, Ill wait for the sig to be released, and spend the gift cards I have saved for this occasions on the itunes store and see if I can get lucky. At the very least, Ill get some extra base cards worth playing during opening weeks.

Trading

EVERYONE is going to want 2014 cards to the point where the fan feed will be OVERRUN with people asking. For the first few weeks, the value of 2013 cards will be next to nothing as people try to stock up to score points in the games that weekend. With the old cards not scoring, no one will likely be looking to take them on in trade for newer cards. Later on in the season, that will change completely, especially as people see how older cards can positively impact collection scores. This is why its going to be important to buy in to the new cards as quickly as possible. If you are planning on only spending a bit of money this year, early on is a great place to do it. You will get MAX value for your cards even if you dont pull inserts. When everyone is a newbie, no one is.

Chases

The kickoff game is going to be crucial, as it is one of the only times this year where everyone is going to be watching. Chase the Seahawks and the Packers to ensure you dont get left behind. Marshawn Lynch and Eddie Lacy are safe bets alongside Aaron Rodgers, but I would NOT waste time picking up Russell Wilson. Some players are built for Huddle, and if last season was any indicator, he wont fit in well with the new scoring system. Think Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and company before chasing him down.

Sigs

If I had to guess, Lynch will be the first sig released. If the previous games are any indicator, he will be a very tough pull, potentially with odds as high as 1:100+ packs with a card count around 250 to 400. That means that if you pull one, HOLD IT. DO NOT TRADE IT. Im serious. At this point in the game, there is nothing that will be as valuable as Lynch, and if you are like me and not a Seahawks fan, there will be another card released this year that will likely be something you are dying to have. The opening sigs are AUTOMATICALLY more valuable than other sigs of their card count because you had to be online during the first week to get one. Lots of people join through the season, and will be aching to take it off your hands. You will thank me, I guarantee it.

Playing

Expect lag during the Kickoff game, as the servers will get their biggest test other than the Super Bowl. Plug in your players EARLY just in case things go haywire like they did during the SB last year. Read over the play rules as soon as they are released, and take note of which players are going to be the most playable in the early weeks. Because only a SELECT few people will have tons of cards from spending like crazy, there will be a lot of opportunity to rank high if you can pay attention to the live games for the first week.

HAVE FUN!

Football is back, baby! Live for this 6 months of the year, and keep up with the game, even if you are just setting and forgetting your lineup once during the year. Huddle is a blast, and I am beyond excited for it to get going!

As I mentioned before, I am a huge football fan who plays a lot of fantasy. After starting slow last year in huddle, I finished strong due to studying up on the potential for each team and who their likely big point scorers are. Those players are the ones you need the 9 sets of, and it will become evident who they are pretty quickly. Here is a primer of those guys who will likely be valuable regardless of point structures.

Its interesting, because last year, WR who were also returned kicks on special teams were some of the most reliable players in the game. With points adjustments likely coming, things might be a bit more balanced, but you never know.

LeSean McCoy

Although I think the Eagles are not going to be as good as they were in 2013, McCoy will be their top guy in points. They lost one of the top receivers in the league, and that only means Shady will catch more passes than ever out of the backfield. With likely points for both catches and yardage in place, he should end up being quite a valuable part of anyone’s team.

Cordarrelle Patterson

I am not making this suggestion only because I am a die hard Vikings fan, but because of how prolific Patterson was as a returner last year. He averaged over 30 yards per return, which netted 1000 point week on top of 1000 point week in Huddle, and now that his coach thinks he is also a huge weapon for their passing and running you can bet he is going to break out this year.

Peyton Manning

Obvious, I know, but still the best. I have a feeling that QBs are going to get more benefit of the point system this year after the WRs were much more playable last year with points for catches and yardage. The potential addition of longer warm up times will lend themselves much more to playing the QB over the WR, which means Manning will likely be the best guy to play.

Aaron Rodgers

When he is healthy, he is as good as anyone in the league. There is a great chance he will end up playing incredibly well early on as defenses try to get their playbooks on the field, and that is why I think he is a tremendous early season pick up. He is surrounded by Jordy Nelson and a healthy Randall Cobb, which will bring the Packers back to the top of the NFL power rankings.

Adrian Peterson

I know this is homer-ish of me to have two Vikings on this list, but there is no denying that Peterson is the best back in the league. He is poised to have another huge season, especially if the QB situation is as bad as it was prior.

Calvin Johnson

NFC North leading the way again, as Megatron should have a huge season in Detroit. Not only does he catch a ton of balls, but he gets the yardage too, which is almost more important than a score in huddle. Obviously, things could change with new scoring rules, but dont sleep on him.

AJ Green

Although I dont have a ton of confidence in Andy Dalton, Green is the freaking man. Yardage, TDs, catches everything play into his hand in scoring big points. I think that in terms of WRs, it all depends on the warm up time, as the longer it takes to get a receiver into the lineup, the less valuable a WR will be.

Jamaal Charles

Injuries are a concern, but a pass catching RB is hard to pass up for a lineup. As I have said a few times, longer warm up times will make RBs and QBs more valuable, which plays right into Charles’ hand. He has potential for TDs on the ground and in the air, which is attractive all around.

Marshawn Lynch

Hard to pass up the cover athlete for 2014, right? He is in the middle of a bid for a bigger contract, which means he should play up to his potential from the start. His goal will be to force Seattle into a bigger deal, and that means his intensity will get him further than before. Considering he was already one of the better backs in the league last year, scary to think what will happen when he is angry.

We are less than 3 weeks away from the start of the NFL season, which means that 2014 Huddle is going to be launched here shortly. I could not be more excited, as Huddle is my main jam when it comes to Topps digital apps. As much as I have become a Bunt fanatic this year, I have always been a HUGE football fan. This is the first real 2014 post for me on the Huddle front, and much more will be coming as soon as we get more into the launch of the new update.

Until then, the question is, what will it be like this year? Here are some of my responses and predictions to some of the overarching questions for the upcoming year.

Will Huddle Mirror 2014 Bunt?

Lets be 100% honest and say that 2014 Bunt is almost completely different than 2013 Bunt. The game structure has changed in that the base cards have multiple levels and boosts are no longer coveted items. Sigs still are the most valuable cards in the game, but inserts come on a daily basis. We have already been given major assurances with the launch of 2014 Kick that its a safe bet to think that 2014 Huddle and 2014 Bunt will be peas in a pod. This includes the play counts and load times, as well as card structures.

Prediction: No doubt about it

Will 2014 Huddle be NFL Licensed?

One of the enormous drawbacks to playing huddle was that no NFL logos could be used due to licensing only with the NFLPA. Bunt feels like more of a complete game because everything can be built around the teams, brands, events, and players and their history rather than just their players. In Huddle, it was almost impossible to drive content the same way because of how much depends on the use of NFL logos. Chris Vaccaro posted a question in a recent article about Marshawn Lynch’s selection as the cover athlete for 2014 Huddle, that made me do a double take. He addressed this head on, but gave no indication as to whether or not its happening. The fact that he addressed it changed my viewpoint from “No way is this happening” to, “Whoa, ok, this MIGHT be happening.”

Prediction: Huddle stays NFLPA licensed with major focus on design content to make the app more visually appealing

What Cards Will Be the Most Valuable for Points?

Last year’s value spectrum for scoring points was all over the place, and you really had to stack your teams with both a ton of Wide Receivers and Running Backs to really be successful. I expect that Running backs will continue to be the best players in the game, but expect QBs and WRs to be getting a nice bump in scoring. I think they learned a lesson in setting up the scoring in Bunt this year, where pitchers became the only playable cards, and I would guess that they wont present any similar situation in Huddle.

Prediction: A balanced approach to scoring

What Cards Will Be the Most Valuable Overall?

This was the case in Huddle last year, but sigs will continue to be the most valuable, if not more so than last year. With a likely increase of insert releases combined with larger attempts to create scarcity among the cards, expect that this will fuel the market for rare sigs and potentially increase the value of 2013 sigs along the way. Also, because I would expect a large migration from Bunt as well, the community already has a big focus on sig value. I would expect Marshawn Lynch to be the first sig of the year, which means Seahawks fans should start saving coins now.

Prediction: Sigs all the way, get on board early

How Much Will Investment Change?

From what I have gathered from vet Bunters, 2014 became a year of more investment in terms of money. To really be competitive in the game, real money needed to be spent, or hours and hours of trading needed to be spent. Both came with a significant cost. Because the amount of base cards quintupled, as did the amount of inserts released, it became a mad dash to get up to speed. I highly expect that Huddle will have a similar situation, to a lesser extent due to less users. If NFL licensing is secured, that could all change. Apps are extremely expensive to produce and maintain, and there is no doubt that more money will be needed to continue supporting the game. That bill is inevitably passed to the users, but with it should come more perks like VIP programs and better content. Its a trade off I dont really mind, but I know that isnt the case all around.

Prediction: More investment will be needed to stay on top

What Will 2014 Huddle’s Biggest Moments Be?

This is where I think things will get fun. As we saw in 2014 Bunt, there is an immediate transfer from real life events to in game releases. Because of this, expect big things in 2014. Peyton Manning will likely break Favre’s TD record, rookies will make debuts, and who knows what else may happen? All these new elements are why I expect Huddle to be incredible this year. Get ready people, its coming soon!

Prediction: Huddle’s Biggest and Best Year Yet

I will be posting lots of gameplay tips, reviews commentary and all sorts of other fun stuff this year, so check back often to read up. If you have any questions – dont hesitate to reach out!

On their Twitter account, the huddle team announced that 2013 cards will not score points in 2014. This should not come as a surprise following the announcement in the beginning of the year for Bunt. To be honest, the game is likely going to change so much that it wouldnt make sense for base cards to score. This isnt a bad thing, but it is going to change the economy when the 2014 update hits. Here is my experience from what happened in Bunt.

Are 2013 Base Cards Still Valuable?

Here is the thing. As with any card, it always depends on the person you are trading with. In Bunt, there is still a market for the 2013 base, but it is definitely smaller with a huge contingent of new users signing on with the new year.

Because the huddle crowd is smaller as of now, the base cards will likely retain some value, but will be drastically reduced when the new cards are released.

Are 2013 Inserts Still Valuable?

To echo the explanation above, it all depends on the person you are trading with. The difference is that because inserts are rarer cards, they still have considerably more value than the 2013 base cards. They wont be close to as valuable as they once were, but there will be a reason to keep your inserts. I have seen people trade rarer 2014 cards in bunt for rare 2013 cards, but its clear that the market will drop.

Are 2013 Sigs Still Valuable?

Here is where things get muddy. Certain cards from 2013 Bunt have a ton of continued value. The lower card count signature series cards are some of that group. If you have the crazy rare huddle sigs like Adrian Peterson and the like, it will definitely still hold considerable value, but it will not be one of the most valuable cards in the game as rarer 2014 sigs are released.

Dont get me wrong, I know how much people spent to obtain these cards, but it should have been clear that things were going to change almost 100% once the Bunt update came through. We are still 3 weeks from any concrete gameplay for the huddle app, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store.

More to come on this site regarding the main changes to Huddle as they are announced. Stay tuned!