PTSIA Product Review: Varsity Trading Cards, Courtesy of Topher

Topher of Crackin' Wax and Varsity Trading Cards recently allowed me to review his custom-made cards. This will be my first review of any kind on PTSIA, so I haven't come to any kind of set format yet. That's neither here nor there though. Let's get right to it with a card of the creator himself.

An auto of Topher, made all the better because it's on-card. I don't hate on sticker signatures, and I understand they are necessary in order to get certain players. However, if an auto can be on-card, it should be. A main theme of Topher's cards, as you'll soon see, is bright backgrounds that put nature on display. I think that's a great and underrated quality to card design that should be further explored by Topps. Though it's not a feature of the card itself, major points to Topher for sporting an excellent goatee. Lastly, the border colors are just nails.

A couple of base card samples come under examination next. The first things that stand out to me are the previously touched-upon bright background and the ample room for an on-card John Hancock. The general design is extremely well-done, with a great action shot that gives face-time to the player more than the company, which is the way it should be.

I really love the curved design on the bottom that has the logo of the team almost peeking through. The color schemes on all of Topher's cards are really well-done, and I'm a fan of a lot of color on cards generally-speaking. I am strongly of the opinion that bright cards are aesthetically-pleasing cards.

Finally, what would a cardboard review be without a look at the back of said cardboard? An incomplete review, that's what. What should stand out first is the full set of stats. The more numbers, the better, even though it'll be centuries until - if it even does occur - card companies put stats like wOBA, K/9 IP, FIP, SIERA, or WAR on their product. A man can hope though. The one thing I would change, and it is certainly a small quibble that doesn't affect the card overall, is the print in the Player Bio section. All caps just doesn't do it for me, so I'd work on that.

My OCD aside, Topher has done a marvelous job with Varsity Trading Cards, and these samples made me instantly want them to be the real thing in-hand, with autos and relics and short-prints galore.

Kudos Topher.

A job most well-done.