Post by Ghezzi_TCG on May 12, 2020 10:39:36 GMT -5
Collecting Classic Yu-Gi-Oh!: Tournament Packs 1 & 2
Rarity, Power and Prestige
By Anthony Ghezzi
Tournament Packs 1 and 2, abbreviated TP1 and TP2 respectively, were unlike any set ever released for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (TCG). They were short-lived, produced in low quantity and contain some of the most prestigious cards available in the Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! market. They are without a doubt among some of the rarest cards to collect in GEM MT 10.
“For those of us who played in sanctioned tournaments in late 2002, it doesn’t get much better than TP1 and TP2,” said expert collector Ian Douglas. “For TCG players, these cards were prize cards before there were prize cards.” Douglas is a highly respected expert and collector of Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! known on Instagram and YouTube by his pseudonym The_Old_School_Expert.
These packs were not simply available to buy, though. “You could only receive these packs if you participated in an official tournament, and you only got one pack per entry,” added Douglas. “There is an air of prestige to these sets stemming from their limited availability and singular distribution at sanctioned tournaments.”
The boxes were small, packs even smaller and ratios discouraging. Each set is a meager 30 cards with only one ultra rare, four super rares, ten rares and 15 commons. Each box comes with 20 packs and each pack with three cards, and many packs with only commons.
The pull ratios for these two sets were staggering and starkly contrasted from existing booster sets. They boasted the most disparaging pull ratios in Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! With only 1:108 packs containing an ultra rare card, the odds are that even in five boxes you may not find an ultra rare. Collectors usually get a super rare sometimes two, as well as a multitude of rares (See accompanying chart).
CARD TYPES AND RATIOS
Type of Card No. of Cards Insert Ratio Per Pack No. Per Box
Ultra Rare 1 1:108 1 in 5.4 Boxes
Super Rare 4 1:18 1 or 2
Rare 10 1:3 6 or 7
Common 15 3:1 or 2:1 51 or 53
Tournament Pack 1 was released in September and Tournament Pack 2 in October 2002. These boxes went straight to Konami sponsored hobby stores for immediate use in local sanctioned tournaments.
Because these boxes were not intended for sale, the box design was plain, unappealing, and looks like government rations might be found inside. The biggest problem with that? Tournament Pack 1 through Tournament Pack 5 look exactly the same, leaving many collectors wondering which box they have.
“The most challenging aspect of buying a box is the fact that you truly do not know which box it is until you open it,” explained Douglas. “You could even have a European TP1 box. All TP boxes (through TP5) look the same, with the same “STOP” tape sealing them.”
Boxes of Tournament Pack 1 were never exceedingly rare but did cost quite a bit even as far back as 2013, selling for about $175. In 2016 these boxes were selling for about $300. Today, a box of Tournament Pack 1 trends for about $900, if not more. Remember, these boxes only have 20 packs in them and only three cards per pack with only one guaranteed foil per box.
Boxes of Tournament Pack 2 are far rarer and only publicly surface once every few years, leaving a massive disparity between TP1 and TP2 sale records. Making matters worse, many tournament pack boxes are misattributed as Tournament Pack 2 and are actually other tournament series.
“I remember asking my local card shop owner why TP2 was so valuable back in 2004,” said Douglas. “He told me that TP2 was short printed, and that he only got about half the boxes of TP2 as he had TP1,” he added.
There was one recorded sale of a Tournament Pack 2 box in 2013 for $300, with the buyer reselling the same box in 2016 for $600, however after that there is no sale data available. Undoubtedly, buying a Tournament Pack 2 box will cost a lot with single packs selling for upwards of $75 each, possibly as much as $2,500.
With all this value, you would think that these sets had plenty of playable cards. In truth, these sets are largely comprised of a multitude of cards that had never been printed in English before and many of which never served any purpose in the competitive arena. Most are reprints from early releases in Japan, some of which were printed in these tournament series and never reprinted again in English.
Even among collectors who fondly remember Classic Yu-Gi-Oh!, many cannot recall some of the cards in these sets. There are two cards in these sets that are easily remembered though, Mechanicalchaser and Morphing Jar. Both were the coveted ultra rare from each set, Mechanicalchaser from TP1 and Morphing Jar from TP2.
The ultra rares for these two sets were exclusive, rare, and immediately required for anyone intent on competitive play. As a result, prices for these cards were immediately high with Mechanicalchaser selling for over $100 and Morphing Jar over $200 upon release.
With 1850 attack points, Mechnicalchaser was the ultimate powerhouse and dominated early Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments. “It was hard to find back in 2002 given the dearth of online resources. Most players did not have one in their deck, let alone the three you could play,” said Douglas.
Rarity, Power and Prestige
By Anthony Ghezzi
Tournament Packs 1 and 2, abbreviated TP1 and TP2 respectively, were unlike any set ever released for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (TCG). They were short-lived, produced in low quantity and contain some of the most prestigious cards available in the Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! market. They are without a doubt among some of the rarest cards to collect in GEM MT 10.
“For those of us who played in sanctioned tournaments in late 2002, it doesn’t get much better than TP1 and TP2,” said expert collector Ian Douglas. “For TCG players, these cards were prize cards before there were prize cards.” Douglas is a highly respected expert and collector of Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! known on Instagram and YouTube by his pseudonym The_Old_School_Expert.
These packs were not simply available to buy, though. “You could only receive these packs if you participated in an official tournament, and you only got one pack per entry,” added Douglas. “There is an air of prestige to these sets stemming from their limited availability and singular distribution at sanctioned tournaments.”
The boxes were small, packs even smaller and ratios discouraging. Each set is a meager 30 cards with only one ultra rare, four super rares, ten rares and 15 commons. Each box comes with 20 packs and each pack with three cards, and many packs with only commons.
The pull ratios for these two sets were staggering and starkly contrasted from existing booster sets. They boasted the most disparaging pull ratios in Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! With only 1:108 packs containing an ultra rare card, the odds are that even in five boxes you may not find an ultra rare. Collectors usually get a super rare sometimes two, as well as a multitude of rares (See accompanying chart).
CARD TYPES AND RATIOS
Type of Card No. of Cards Insert Ratio Per Pack No. Per Box
Ultra Rare 1 1:108 1 in 5.4 Boxes
Super Rare 4 1:18 1 or 2
Rare 10 1:3 6 or 7
Common 15 3:1 or 2:1 51 or 53
Tournament Pack 1 was released in September and Tournament Pack 2 in October 2002. These boxes went straight to Konami sponsored hobby stores for immediate use in local sanctioned tournaments.
Because these boxes were not intended for sale, the box design was plain, unappealing, and looks like government rations might be found inside. The biggest problem with that? Tournament Pack 1 through Tournament Pack 5 look exactly the same, leaving many collectors wondering which box they have.
“The most challenging aspect of buying a box is the fact that you truly do not know which box it is until you open it,” explained Douglas. “You could even have a European TP1 box. All TP boxes (through TP5) look the same, with the same “STOP” tape sealing them.”
Boxes of Tournament Pack 1 were never exceedingly rare but did cost quite a bit even as far back as 2013, selling for about $175. In 2016 these boxes were selling for about $300. Today, a box of Tournament Pack 1 trends for about $900, if not more. Remember, these boxes only have 20 packs in them and only three cards per pack with only one guaranteed foil per box.
Boxes of Tournament Pack 2 are far rarer and only publicly surface once every few years, leaving a massive disparity between TP1 and TP2 sale records. Making matters worse, many tournament pack boxes are misattributed as Tournament Pack 2 and are actually other tournament series.
“I remember asking my local card shop owner why TP2 was so valuable back in 2004,” said Douglas. “He told me that TP2 was short printed, and that he only got about half the boxes of TP2 as he had TP1,” he added.
There was one recorded sale of a Tournament Pack 2 box in 2013 for $300, with the buyer reselling the same box in 2016 for $600, however after that there is no sale data available. Undoubtedly, buying a Tournament Pack 2 box will cost a lot with single packs selling for upwards of $75 each, possibly as much as $2,500.
With all this value, you would think that these sets had plenty of playable cards. In truth, these sets are largely comprised of a multitude of cards that had never been printed in English before and many of which never served any purpose in the competitive arena. Most are reprints from early releases in Japan, some of which were printed in these tournament series and never reprinted again in English.
Even among collectors who fondly remember Classic Yu-Gi-Oh!, many cannot recall some of the cards in these sets. There are two cards in these sets that are easily remembered though, Mechanicalchaser and Morphing Jar. Both were the coveted ultra rare from each set, Mechanicalchaser from TP1 and Morphing Jar from TP2.
The ultra rares for these two sets were exclusive, rare, and immediately required for anyone intent on competitive play. As a result, prices for these cards were immediately high with Mechanicalchaser selling for over $100 and Morphing Jar over $200 upon release.
With 1850 attack points, Mechnicalchaser was the ultimate powerhouse and dominated early Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments. “It was hard to find back in 2002 given the dearth of online resources. Most players did not have one in their deck, let alone the three you could play,” said Douglas.