Digital Card Central

Its very easy to see all the amazing cards floating around, and want to get as many of them as you can. Like regular sports cards packs, all it takes is one for you to pull the best of the best. You dont need to be a VIP to get a nice card in a pack.

That being said, its much more strategic to build from the bottom than go straight for the big guns, and here is why.

Each week, the game gives out awards for hitting certain points thresholds, and those awards are worth major coins. You will need cards to gain points, and you cant do that without spending your coins wisely.

Added this week, you also get a limited edition card to match your winnings. Both of these prizes can be used to improve your collection. That is why I always suggest to fight the urge to buy the high end pack of SR cards and focus on the packs that offer lots of cards for cheap prices.

From my experience in Topps Huddle (football version of Bunt), the limited cards received from the weekly points chase are coveted, and can usually be traded for nice inserts as the collectors will want to fill out sets.

For reference, I currently own some of the best cards in Huddle and some nice cards in Bunt – I have only pulled 1 signature card from a pack in my career. Everything else has been from the bottom up through trading. Think of the guy who started with a red paper clip and traded his way to a house – that is the way this game works.

Photo courtesy of Huddle

I have had a lot of questions through twitter lately on the card count indicator on the back of each Bunt Card. Its located in the bottom left corner of the back of the card, which you can access by tapping the card from your card list, and tapping again near one of the corners to flip it over.

What is the Card Count?

Card count is the number of that particular card in circulation game wide.

Here is how to access the count:

Photo Courtesy of Topps Bunt App

Additionally, once a user has a card, its theirs unless they trade it away. Card counts may be inflated because users will leave the game, but their cards stay active. Just because there are 1500 of the card in the count, doesn’t mean all 1500 will be available for trading.

Secondarily, unless a card is sold out as indicated on the card sheet, more will likely (but not always) be available in packs. That’s why its usually better to trade inserts and hot cards when the count is lower – as they will be more valuable to the collectors that want them. Less supply = more demand.

The card count indicator is updated daily as more users open packs. Be advised that as card counts increase, the card values decrease. Not always though.

Understanding card counts when trading

• 0 – card is brand new, likely. Does not mean there are 0 in circulation though. To see if any have been pulled from packs, pull up the “all cards” card sheet and try initiating a trade. This number will increase after the next day’s updates.
• 1-100 – Incredibly rare (at this point). SR inserts with this card count are going to be very hard to pull and very hard to trade for. Don’t offer commons.
• 100-1000 – These cards are a bit more available, but when it comes to inserts, you will still have to come strong when trading.
• 1000-5000 – Inserts can be in this range, especially if they are released early and are still in packs. Still worth considering they will be harder to get. Most of the Super Rare base cards are going to fall in this category at this point, and are likely to keep going up as more are pulled from packs.
• 5000+ – Most of the non-super rares will be above 5000, even at this point. When trading at this level, its best to consider position, player popularity, and card playability.

How do Card Counts and Rarity Overlap?

Super Rare cards are obviously going to be the hardest to pull in the game, but not every super rare is created equal. SR gold base cards are going to be less valuable in most cases than super rare inserts. Trading by rarity at most levels will work, but not when it comes to inserts versus base cards.

Super rare inserts are the top pulls, and Scarce/Rare inserts are still likely more valuable than the gold super rare base cards. Don’t expect a collector to give up their super rare insert card for your super rare base card. It just rarely shakes out that way.

Commons are still valuable in the game because collecting them gets coins when team sets are completed. You may need to trade uncommon and rare colored cards for uncommons because of this fact.

If you have more questions – shoot me a same card trade (1:1) with a message in game. Ill try my best to answer.

When I sit down to trade, I really sit down to trade. I want to get as much done as possible. Its easy to get caught up in sending out a bunch of trades at a time.

That being said, dont offer the same card over and over again – even if its with different traders. Pending offers will stack up, and if someone accepts – all that work you did will be gone. Once the card is accepted, even if you have multiples, the rest of the trades will be voided.

Diversify your offers!

I posted a bunch of tips for newer users today on Twitter, and it got a lot of discussion around resources for newer users to eventually understand the nuances of the game. Like real baseball, there are a lot of unwritten rules. To really be successful, you need to know them well.

Making the most of top gaming elements

• To score enough to hit the award platforms, you will need to change your lineup at least 2-3 times per day. Once for the afternoon games, one for the night games and once for the west coast night games.
• There is no limit to how many times you change your lineup per day, which means you can technically switch out your players each inning as long as you have enough plays at your disposal
• You can play more than one card of any player at any time in your starting lineup, so try to get more copies of your top scoring cards to play multiples for multiple points
• At the current moment, its hard to pass over a pitcher for the starting lineup. They rarely score in negative point totals, and can basically be trusted to anchor your starting line up
• Watch the MLB.com scores page, which details current pitchers and batters, as well as outs and baserunners. If you want to go into super high focus mode, you can switch batters into your lineup when there are runners in scoring position, or pitchers when their team is on defense.

Trading on the App

• You will not be able to be a top player without trading. Its one of the most important elements of the game, no doubt about it
• Start at the bottom and work your way up. You will get to open a lot of packs during the course of the game, so dont think you need to shoot for the stars from the beginning.
• Go on the fan feed and search out players that have a high trader score and a high collection score by their name. They will likely have a ton of duplicate cards and will trade you commons and boosts for next to nothing.
• Be conscious of who you are trading with! Collectors will value rarity over gameplay and gamers will want multiple copies of high scoring cards. If you go into someone’s profile, and see they have a ton of nice cards but not many dupes, they may be a collector. Gamers will have tons of boosts and high scoring cards in multiples.
• For a collector, dont offer on their single cards, and be very conscious of the card count number on the back of the card. If you have a low count card that they want, you will be golden. But dont expect them to part with their prized possessions easily.
• For gamers, I would suggest offering more on the cards with dupes above nine. It means that they have more of that player than they can play at one time. They may be saving trade bait for new cards, so dont lowball them and expect them to be happy.
• Sigs are the highest value cards in the game, dont offer commons and non-inserts for any of these cards. It will only cause friction and low trader scores. I had to go 9-1 to get my first sig. Not kidding.
• I would suggest against lowballing any player when it comes to high value cards. When it comes to lower value cards, lowball away. You never know, but be prepared to be ignored if you offer junk for nice stuff.
• Never offer more than one trade at a time to anyone. Give them time to respond to an offer before offering again.
• If a player declines your trade without a counter, I would suggest against offering again on that card for at least a few hours. No one likes being harassed.
• New inserts are always worth more than older inserts. If a new insert is released, it automatically becomes more valuable than older inserts of that same rarity. Dont expect to trade 1-1 for a new card with an old card. Collectors are rabid, so they will overpay, and collectors will hold out for a good offer.

Buying Cards and Packs

• Daily coin bonus is your lifeblood, so get into the app at least once per day. You can either save up for a nicer pack of cards, or open some lower packs each day. My advice is to open the 500 coin 3 card packs at first to build your collection, and once you have some cards, switch over to save mode and buy the nicer packs that include SRs.
• I will never buy a pack in the morning. Wait until the day’s releases are done before you start buying packs. Wait until 6 or 7 pm to spend your coins. Its hard to wait, I know, but you will thank me.
• In all likelihood you will need to buy coins at some point to be competitive. Its just hard to beat the people who do if you choose not to. You dont have to spend a lot, but its good to invest 10-20 bucks a month if you really want to get nice stuff.

Shoot me a same card 1-1 trade and add comments in the box if you have any questions or need other advice. Always happy to help.