Author: Allan Teruel, Waxstat.com
Do you know what I like about June? Playoffs and Championships! We start the month of June with the UEFA Champions League (congrats Real Madrid), the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Men’s College World Series, the US Open, UEFA Euro 2024 and we end it hopefully with the return of The Notorious Connor McGregor in the UFC Octagon.
Thank goodness for a comfy couch, a fast internet connection and a fully stocked fridge to enjoy hours of the best sports entertainment that Summer has to offer in the comfort of my own home. With that said, it wouldn’t be out of the question to enjoy these championship events while doing a personal rip. If opening wax is your thing in June 2024, then these are the new releases you should keep an eye on.
As always, release dates and product descriptions could change until the manufacturers release a checklist.
2023-24 Upper Deck Synergy Hockey Hobby Box (Release Date: June 5, 2024)
Synergy Hockey is a great entry-tier 2023-24 Hockey Card product for all fans with a price that won’t break the bank. For around $120 USD, you can chase the rookies and stars of the 2023-24 NHL season with a potential hit being a Connor Bedard autographed rookie card to /99. Each box contains 8 cards with 3 cards per pack. Ripping Upper Deck Synergy Hockey and watching the Stanley Cup Finals is not a bad way to spend a June evening.
2023-24 Panini Obsidian Basketball Hobby Box (Release Date: June 5, 2024)
I’m so ready for this year’s edition of The NBA Finals. We can finally find out if our Luka investments will pay off. Ha! I kid. I kid.
Obsidian Basketball releases on June 5 and the mid-tier 2023-24 NBA Basketball Card product on average will contain 2 autographs, 1 memorabilia card, 2 inserts/parallels and 2 base cards. Nicely priced at around $340 USD, any basketball fan will be excited to see Luka Dončić take on Jayson Tatum for their first championship ring.
Upper Deck Marvel Flair Hobby Box (Release Date: June 5, 2024)
Marvel Flair will hit your Upper Deck retailer on June 5, 2024 and this will be a fun rip for those that collected Marvel cards in the past. The original art used for the cards from artists such as Ty Romsa, Joel Holtzman, Oliver Harbour and Todd Nauck, remind me of my youth in the 1990s where I spent hours and days trying to draw like Jim Lee, Rob Leifeld, Marc Silvestri and Todd McFarlane.
While these cards aren’t in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s starting to get me excited for the Deadpool & Wolverine movie coming to theaters in July 2024 in addition to the other Marvel trading cards being released in 2024.
So much good stuff to find in the Marvel Flair Hobby Box such as artists autographs and 1-of-1 Original Art Sketch Cards. Each hobby box contains 12 packs with 4 cards per pack and a whole lot of fun.
2023-24 Panini Select Premier League Soccer Hobby Box (Release Date: June 28, 2024)
It’s Summertime (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) and that usually means international club football competitions (I’m looking at you UEFA Euro 2024 and 2024 Copa América). But the club teams don’t want you to forget about them so it’s not a surprise that Panini & Topps are dropping a few products. In addition to the Select Premiere League Soccer, expect releases for the 2023-24 Topps Chrome Bundesliga Soccer Hobby Box (Release Date: June 12, 2024) and the 2023-24 Panini Select Serie A Soccer Hobby Box (Release Date: June 5, 2024).
Priced around $300 USD and releasing on June 26, Select Premier League Soccer Hobby includes 12 packs per box and 5 cards per pack. Each box, on average, will contain 3 autographs or memorabilia cards and 5 numbered parallels. The chase with Select Premier League Soccer will be one of my favorites – the 1-per-case Stained Glass insert.
2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball (Release Date: June 12, 2024)
If you pick up nothing else this month, make sure to grab a pack of Topps’ flagship product with the release of 2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball. As a baseball fan, Topps Series 2 is one of the best products to chase among all the 2024 Baseball Cards. I’m excited to see what Easter Eggs Topps will drop in this release, such as the Kevin Hart short prints found in 2024 Topps Series 1 Baseball.
For those that are autograph chasing, 2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball Hobby Jumbo Box will have the best value at less than $200 and it will contain 1 autograph per box on average. For those that have a lighter budget, you can go after the 2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball Hobby Box or 2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball Blaster Box for around $90 and $30 respectively. Hot rookies to chase in Series 2 include Elly De La Cruz and Shota Imanaga.
2023-24 Panini Donruss Optic Basketball Hobby Box (Release Date: June 14, 2024)
Many will look back at the 2023-24 Basketball Card product year and immediately think of Victor Wembanyama. And while he had a fantastic rookie season, let’s not forget the other emerging rookies of the 2023-24 class including Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets and my fellow Santa Clara University alumni Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors.
In addition to the Hobby Box, collectors can expect several different retail versions such as Mega Boxes, Blaster Boxes and Retail Packs of 2023-24 Donruss Optic Basketball with the likelihood of difference depending on the retail store that the box appears in. Some collectors don’t realize that places such as Target or WalMart have slightly different variations of Panini and Topps products. It allows the manufacturers to differentiate their offerings to their retail partners.
2023 Panini Select Football Hobby Box (Release Date: June 14, 2024)
This will be one of your last chances at snagging football rookies of the 2023 Football Card class before we start to get bombarded by 2024 Football Cards and Caleb Williams rookie cards. I consider Select Football to be one of the mainstream tentpole football products offered by Panini with the others being Mosaic Football, Prizm Football and Donruss Optic Football. While I have much respect for National Treasures Football, Flawless Football and Immaculate Football, the price is out of reach for most collectors.
Priced around $1000 per hobby box as of this writing, each box will contain 2 autographs, 1 memorabilia card, 15 Prizm Parallels, 6 inserts and 2 Field Level base cards on average. I’ve always been a big fan of the Select products (especially when it entered the retail price point). Expect to see mega boxes, blasters, retail value packs of 2023 Select Football hitting your local stores at prices way below that of the Hobby Box.
2023 Panini Immaculate WWE Hobby Box (Release Date: June 19, 2024)
“Well, ya know something Mean Gene… 2023 Panini Immaculate WWE Hobby releases on June 19, 2024 and it’s gonna’ be wild brotha!” – Probably something that Hulk Hogan would say if he ran a promo for the Immaculate WWE product.
Immaculate is one of the higher tiered products released by Panini in the 2024 Wrestling Card Release Calendar and appropriately priced. But for less than $700, WWE fans can chase on-card autos of WWE Superstars past and present (hopefully some of my favorites like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena).
Did I say autographs? Because if I didn’t, you can expect a few. The box break on average will include 1 pack of 6 cards with 3 of those cards being autographs and 2 of the cards being memorabilia.
Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh (Release Date: various)
Shoutout to our Trading Card Game wax collectors. We’re expecting big releases in the 2024 TCG space with Magic the Gathering Modern Horizons 3 Collector Booster Box (Release Date: June 14, 2024) and 3 and Yu-Gi-Oh! Battles of Legend: Terminal Revenge Booster Box (Release Date: June 21, 2024).
The Magic Collector Booster Box will contain 12 packs per box with 15 cards per pack. The box break indicates that the chances of hitting a Serialized card is in <1% of boosters. It is nice to see that card companies are becoming more transparent with hit ratios.
The Yu-Gi-Oh Booster Box will contain 24 packs per box and 5 cards per pack and will hit store shelves on June 21, 2024.
Other products to keep an eye on for June 2024:
2023-24 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey Hobby Box (Release Date: June 19, 2024)
2023-24 Panini Contenders Basketball Hobby Box (Release Date: June 19, 2024)
2024 Panini USA Stars & Stripes Baseball Hobby Box (Release Date: June 26, 2024)
2023-24 Topps Chrome NBL Basketball Hobby Box (Release Date: June 26, 2024)
