Pack Opening Review. Episode Nine. Ultimus Edition, part 2. Let's do this!
This was long overdue. I still have a backlog that keeps growing. I just need something to get my writing juices flowing. Some good pulls in this one may do the trick. Eight Ultimus packs to open. Four in the previous episode, and four on this one. These packs have triple the chance of pulling an Ultimus card. According to my pulls, which you will see below, we got 1.85% chance. According to the official drop rates for Ultimus packs, the chance is 2% flat. Let's see though.
Before we begin yet another episode, let's see where we stand from the last episode:
Total cards opened: 108
Hall of Fame: 0 - 0%
Ultimus: 2 - 1.85%
Awards: 1 - 0.93%
Legend (Blue/Sapphire): 2 - 1.85%
All-Pro (Red/Ruby): 4 - 3.70%
Star (Gold): 13 - 12.04%
Starter (Silver): 26 - 24.07%
Backup (Bronze): 59 - 54.63%
Team: 1 - 0.93%
Duplicates: 9 - 8.33%
There are some new series released between this and the previous opening. Expansion Holograph cards, Season 25, Rookie cards, some award cards were replaced. I also got an exclusive 1/1 card in a raffle in the general server, which I don't remember what it is. Alright, alright, I found it. It is a Rookie Autographed Asher Montain. Only players drafted in the first round of season 24 and season 25 are eligible for these. Honestly, the card is very well made. The jersey color swap, the number swap, the helmet color swap, the arm sleeve, the blur in the background that brings the focus on the render. Especially considering it was a swap on a Philly Eagles Chris Long. The signature looks realistic as well. It is a very well made card. Props to the Dotts team for the card.
On that, I will change the approach from solely talking about a player and their history on the league, to adding some comments about the card. Because I think that is what the Dotts designing team is looking for. Comments on how well the cards were made. Let's open the first pack, though.
Ok, Dotts team. The new Ultimus cover pack is a hundred times better than the old one. Let's see what's inside though. The first card of this pack opening is... Starter linebacker, Thudd Kassel. He was part of the season 18 draft class. The card is really well made. Kassel was drafted fifth overall by the New Orleans Second Line (Is it Second Line or Secondline? Can someone help here?) Shortly after he was drafted to the Liberty, and that is where he reached his peak. The user behind the player, DylanDeluxe, was banned a couple seasons later, thus getting automatically retired, but I cannot find the punishment. Anyway, I like drama, but not that much to try and find out why he got banned.
Next up, we got Star defensive end, Ben Tu'inukuafe. He was part of the season 16 draft class. If memory serves me right, he was drafted by Tijuana in the prospect draft of the previous season. He initially created as an offensive lineman, and was drafted by the Chicago Butchers in the season 18 majors draft. He went inactive at some point, while in Chicago, and ended up in NOLA, where he picked it back up, switched to defensive end, and ended up being part of the season 23 ASFC Pro Bowl roster. The design of the cards at this point is almost like from a template. Blurred background, maybe a number swap, a recolored jersey and helmet, and there you go. It is called the base set for a reason. I have seen some more carefully designed cards, but that is the beauty of collectible cards. The poorly made ones usually sell for a fortune, since they get replaced shortly after being released, by a newer and improved version.
I will put the next two cards in one paragraph, since I have already pulled them in past episodes. The first is Star cornerback, Johnathan King, part of the season 3 draft class, reaching his peak while playing for the Orange County Otters, and Starter safety from the season 22 and the Arizona Outlaws, Quinn Hughes. That is how the most recent pulls have gone for me. I will either have four new cards or six new cards. Is this a sign? But for what? The pattern is there, but I cannot get my head around it. Anyway, moving on.
The next one is part of one of my favorite sets of cards. Rookie Autograph, Maverick Bowie. Maverick joined the league as a member of the season 24 draft class. In the season 23 prospect draft, he was selected by Tijuana, eighth overall. In next season's ISFL draft, he was selected with the fifth overall pick, by the Baltimore Hawks. He was subsequently traded to the Austin Copperheads, late in season 24. Baltimore got two draft picks for the season 26 draft, a first rounder and a third rounder. Let's see how that plays out. About the card design, all I got to say is wow, just wow. The swaps are perfect. The only slight problem I have is with the number swap. It does not feel that natural. It looks like there is some shade between the number and the jersey. But with the work that is being put in those cards, expecting perfection is more or less, stupid.
The last card of the first pack is Backup tight end, Donatello Arrabiata. He is part of the morbid season 22 draft class. Who does not enjoy a Guy Fieri card? I really love the change of color in the cook uniform and the way the logo feels like it was seamed there. About the player, he was picked with the 146th pick in the season 21 prospect draft, by the London Royals, and with the 80th pick in the following season's ISFL draft, by the Philadelphia Liberty, where he still resides. He has since gone inactive. It is almost three months since the user posted an update for the player. I hope they return at some point.
I really want to cry about this pack. For real. The pulls have been mediocre at best. But was I ever lucky? It took me FIVE freaking tries before winning an Ultimus Bowl. Alas, with packs being cheaper now, I may start buying them again. Buy packs, write about them, make your money back and then a few times some.
Let's just tear a second pack open shall we? The first card is Backup safety, Derek Bohne. He was part of the season 12 draft class. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chi...ehm they would wish, the Kansas City Coyotes, in the fifth round of the season 11 prospect draft, and by the Baltimore Hawks in the fourth round of the season 12 ISFL draft. I think he was traded to the Liberty during the draft, as, per my research and the forums, his first contract was with Philly. But he went inactive, and eventually consumed by the auto retirement beast. Consumed by the auto retirement beast. I like that one. Be ready to see it very frequently.
Next up is another Philly player, Star running back, from the season 13 draft class, Vander Jones. He joined the development league through the waivers, and he was selected by the Orange County Otters, with the last pick of the second round. He was a cornerback at the time. He switched to running back before season 15, when he joined Philly as a free agent. His user then proceeded to become the Philly general manager. Jones retired and stepped down from the GM position slightly after the start of season 17. His dead corpse was traded to the Baltimore Hawks, in exchange of two draft picks for the season 18 draft, a fourth rounder and a sixth rounder. Would not want to be that guy honestly.
On a side note, something I have noticed is that the background blur is usually one of the team colors. Which is a very nice touch. I have seen some have totally custom backgrounds, instead of blurring.
Moving on with the revealing, we got Backup offensive lineman from season 1, Alex Thomas. Was this one of Er's multis? I am really curious, but too lazy to look it up in the forums. Educate me please. I would assume no, since the Backup tier is for players with a max TPE of 250 and below, right? Anyway, if it is not a multi, the user went inactive fairly early. I mean, it is hard to keep traction on a new league. It is hard now, that we have 22 teams full of players, wouldn't it be back then, with only six teams? In a very fresh league?
Next up we got Star running back from the Chicago Butchers, Farley Hank. He was drafted by Kansas City and Philly in the season 14 prospect and season 15 ISFL drafts respectively, and then he was traded to Chicago, along with another player and a season 22 3rd round draft pick, for a 1st and a 2nd round picks of the same draft class, as part of the worst management in league history. He retired after season 23.
And now, another Starter card. A corner back, from the season 21 draft class, Atlas Quin, of the Arizona Outlaws. I love the Tom Shelby render choice in this one. What is he holding? A gun? I simply love it. Not sure what to say about the player. It looks like he is a steady earner, thus a Starter. Scrap that, inactive. NEXT!
Last card of the pack is Backup defensive tackle from the season 25 class, Honky-Tonk Haywood, of the Philly Liberty. A season 25 card, meaning Skiuuup should be in these packs. The render is fucking amazing, the beard, the sunglasses, it is a thing of beauty. On that note, I dare you HO, fine me for the f-bomb.
Let's just open the next pack. OH. MY. GOD. Is that who I think it is? You sir, you are getting a tag. The Legend himself, back to back to back Ultimus champion, once with Yellowknife, and twice with San Jose, wide receiver of the season 13 draft class, Nate Swift (@Bigred1580). Why is he representing San Jose? He reached his peak in Yellowknife! I demand explanations for this...not!
Next up is Star kicker turned safety from the season 23 class, Philip Stein. He joined the Dallas Birddogs through the waivers as a kicker, and then switched to safety, slightly after the season 23 ISFL draft, explaining why he fell so low. I like the guy a lot, from our interactions thus far. San Jose have a very nice guy in their locker room. He is also young, meaning he can offer his services for the foreseeable future.
Last card of the penultimate pack is Backup safety from season 1, and the Colorado Yeti, Mike McNoodle. I will say whatever I have been saying about every season 1 pull I have had thus far. They are part of the most historic draft class of the league. But it was hard for a new league to retain all the new players. And honestly, I want to believe the point tasks available were far less than now, so the low rarity of the majority of the old cards can be explained.
At this point, I crashed, and I missed the other three cards of the pack, meaning I had to go through every card of my collection and my past articles to find which is new and which is not. Yikes... The good thing is... I managed to find them. The even better thing is that I did not discover any duplicates, it was three new cards that had slipped through a crack, and by crack, I mean my internet service provider being inconsistent at 6 in the morning.
The first of those three cards is Starter running back of the Baltimore Hawks, member of the season 24 draft class, Mai Fukushu. Can I voice my dislike for anime renders? Anyway, Fukushu has already been called up to the majors, and plays a major part in Baltimore's offence. With the acquisition of Mathias Hanyadi however, it is safe to assume Fukushu will be moved to a RB2 role.
Next is Backup kicker from season 19, Herbert Prohaska. He spent his entire career playing for the Second Line. I love the soccer (I throw up typing that word) player choice for a render. Can someone tell me who the player is though? Thanks!
The last card is Star tight end from season 22 and Orange County, Jeffrey Philips. The Travis Kelce render choice is spot on. Choosing a tight end for a tight end create makes sense. Looks at Kroustis. Gronk? Why? What was you thinking man? At least he got it right with Skiuuup. You know who you are.
Anyway, last pack! First up is All-Pro cornerback from season 15, Deon Taylor. He spent his whole career playing for the team that drafted him in the ISFL draft, the New Orleans Second Line. He is dubbed as a team guy, sticking with NOLA through thick and thin, tasting the seeds of his work in season 21, when he won his only Ultimus.
Next up is Backup defensive end from season 3, and Orange County, JD Boom. I will not say much here. Old player, low TPE, either inactive or few ways of earning TPE in the early days.
Then we got Backup linebacker from the season 15 draft class, Rock Hardshaft. What a name! He was drafted by Philly, but went inactive fairly quickly. It is what it is. Not everyone enjoys their time here.
Next card, gimme! Backup safety from season 12, Jonathan Towers. He reached his peak in Colorado, where he was drafted(?), but went inactive. Thank god retention rates have soared to all time high levels now.
Lastly, I will put the next two cards in one paragraph, again, since I have already pulled them in past episodes. The first is Star wide receiver, Jacoby Clay, part of the season 20 draft class, reaching his peak while playing for the Honolulu Hahalua, and Starter safety from season 12 and the Philadelphia Liberty, Luke Smyles. I will say again, I played with Smyles in YKW while playing as Kroustis. The team choices for some cards look weird to me.
Now that we are done, let's check where the pull numbers and percentages stand:
Total cards opened: 132
Hall of Fame: 0 - 0%
Ultimus: 2 - 1.52%
Awards: 1 - 0.76%
Rookie Autograph: 1 - 0.76%
Legend (Blue/Sapphire): 3 - 2.27%
All-Pro (Red/Ruby): 5 - 3.79%
Star (Gold): 19 - 14.40%
Starter (Silver): 32 - 24.24%
Backup (Bronze): 68 - 51.52%
Team Logos: 1 - 0.76%
Duplicates: 13 - 9.85%
Uh, I did not like this opening. I got a Rookie Autographed card, but it is an Ultimus promotion! ZERO Ultimus cards in 4 packs. It seems they did make pulling the rare cards hard. And the duplicates, no bueno, but it is something we have to put up with. I think I figured out an easier and more efficient way to write these, so you may see the new episodes more frequently, instead of whenever I find time, which, right now is every five or six weeks at least.
On a side note, if you have any kind of content you would want to see from me, let me know. Whether it is a draft class preview, a review, weekly reviews of games... Whatever it is. Do not hesitate to ask for it, either below, or by messaging me on Discord. My line is open. Thank you for reading all this, I really appreciate each and every single one of you.
And that's it for this one, folks. Next episode coming in real soon! I promise this time. Peace!
This was long overdue. I still have a backlog that keeps growing. I just need something to get my writing juices flowing. Some good pulls in this one may do the trick. Eight Ultimus packs to open. Four in the previous episode, and four on this one. These packs have triple the chance of pulling an Ultimus card. According to my pulls, which you will see below, we got 1.85% chance. According to the official drop rates for Ultimus packs, the chance is 2% flat. Let's see though.
Before we begin yet another episode, let's see where we stand from the last episode:
Total cards opened: 108
Hall of Fame: 0 - 0%
Ultimus: 2 - 1.85%
Awards: 1 - 0.93%
Legend (Blue/Sapphire): 2 - 1.85%
All-Pro (Red/Ruby): 4 - 3.70%
Star (Gold): 13 - 12.04%
Starter (Silver): 26 - 24.07%
Backup (Bronze): 59 - 54.63%
Team: 1 - 0.93%
Duplicates: 9 - 8.33%
There are some new series released between this and the previous opening. Expansion Holograph cards, Season 25, Rookie cards, some award cards were replaced. I also got an exclusive 1/1 card in a raffle in the general server, which I don't remember what it is. Alright, alright, I found it. It is a Rookie Autographed Asher Montain. Only players drafted in the first round of season 24 and season 25 are eligible for these. Honestly, the card is very well made. The jersey color swap, the number swap, the helmet color swap, the arm sleeve, the blur in the background that brings the focus on the render. Especially considering it was a swap on a Philly Eagles Chris Long. The signature looks realistic as well. It is a very well made card. Props to the Dotts team for the card.
On that, I will change the approach from solely talking about a player and their history on the league, to adding some comments about the card. Because I think that is what the Dotts designing team is looking for. Comments on how well the cards were made. Let's open the first pack, though.
Ok, Dotts team. The new Ultimus cover pack is a hundred times better than the old one. Let's see what's inside though. The first card of this pack opening is... Starter linebacker, Thudd Kassel. He was part of the season 18 draft class. The card is really well made. Kassel was drafted fifth overall by the New Orleans Second Line (Is it Second Line or Secondline? Can someone help here?) Shortly after he was drafted to the Liberty, and that is where he reached his peak. The user behind the player, DylanDeluxe, was banned a couple seasons later, thus getting automatically retired, but I cannot find the punishment. Anyway, I like drama, but not that much to try and find out why he got banned.
Next up, we got Star defensive end, Ben Tu'inukuafe. He was part of the season 16 draft class. If memory serves me right, he was drafted by Tijuana in the prospect draft of the previous season. He initially created as an offensive lineman, and was drafted by the Chicago Butchers in the season 18 majors draft. He went inactive at some point, while in Chicago, and ended up in NOLA, where he picked it back up, switched to defensive end, and ended up being part of the season 23 ASFC Pro Bowl roster. The design of the cards at this point is almost like from a template. Blurred background, maybe a number swap, a recolored jersey and helmet, and there you go. It is called the base set for a reason. I have seen some more carefully designed cards, but that is the beauty of collectible cards. The poorly made ones usually sell for a fortune, since they get replaced shortly after being released, by a newer and improved version.
I will put the next two cards in one paragraph, since I have already pulled them in past episodes. The first is Star cornerback, Johnathan King, part of the season 3 draft class, reaching his peak while playing for the Orange County Otters, and Starter safety from the season 22 and the Arizona Outlaws, Quinn Hughes. That is how the most recent pulls have gone for me. I will either have four new cards or six new cards. Is this a sign? But for what? The pattern is there, but I cannot get my head around it. Anyway, moving on.
The next one is part of one of my favorite sets of cards. Rookie Autograph, Maverick Bowie. Maverick joined the league as a member of the season 24 draft class. In the season 23 prospect draft, he was selected by Tijuana, eighth overall. In next season's ISFL draft, he was selected with the fifth overall pick, by the Baltimore Hawks. He was subsequently traded to the Austin Copperheads, late in season 24. Baltimore got two draft picks for the season 26 draft, a first rounder and a third rounder. Let's see how that plays out. About the card design, all I got to say is wow, just wow. The swaps are perfect. The only slight problem I have is with the number swap. It does not feel that natural. It looks like there is some shade between the number and the jersey. But with the work that is being put in those cards, expecting perfection is more or less, stupid.
The last card of the first pack is Backup tight end, Donatello Arrabiata. He is part of the morbid season 22 draft class. Who does not enjoy a Guy Fieri card? I really love the change of color in the cook uniform and the way the logo feels like it was seamed there. About the player, he was picked with the 146th pick in the season 21 prospect draft, by the London Royals, and with the 80th pick in the following season's ISFL draft, by the Philadelphia Liberty, where he still resides. He has since gone inactive. It is almost three months since the user posted an update for the player. I hope they return at some point.
I really want to cry about this pack. For real. The pulls have been mediocre at best. But was I ever lucky? It took me FIVE freaking tries before winning an Ultimus Bowl. Alas, with packs being cheaper now, I may start buying them again. Buy packs, write about them, make your money back and then a few times some.
Let's just tear a second pack open shall we? The first card is Backup safety, Derek Bohne. He was part of the season 12 draft class. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chi...ehm they would wish, the Kansas City Coyotes, in the fifth round of the season 11 prospect draft, and by the Baltimore Hawks in the fourth round of the season 12 ISFL draft. I think he was traded to the Liberty during the draft, as, per my research and the forums, his first contract was with Philly. But he went inactive, and eventually consumed by the auto retirement beast. Consumed by the auto retirement beast. I like that one. Be ready to see it very frequently.
Next up is another Philly player, Star running back, from the season 13 draft class, Vander Jones. He joined the development league through the waivers, and he was selected by the Orange County Otters, with the last pick of the second round. He was a cornerback at the time. He switched to running back before season 15, when he joined Philly as a free agent. His user then proceeded to become the Philly general manager. Jones retired and stepped down from the GM position slightly after the start of season 17. His dead corpse was traded to the Baltimore Hawks, in exchange of two draft picks for the season 18 draft, a fourth rounder and a sixth rounder. Would not want to be that guy honestly.
On a side note, something I have noticed is that the background blur is usually one of the team colors. Which is a very nice touch. I have seen some have totally custom backgrounds, instead of blurring.
Moving on with the revealing, we got Backup offensive lineman from season 1, Alex Thomas. Was this one of Er's multis? I am really curious, but too lazy to look it up in the forums. Educate me please. I would assume no, since the Backup tier is for players with a max TPE of 250 and below, right? Anyway, if it is not a multi, the user went inactive fairly early. I mean, it is hard to keep traction on a new league. It is hard now, that we have 22 teams full of players, wouldn't it be back then, with only six teams? In a very fresh league?
Next up we got Star running back from the Chicago Butchers, Farley Hank. He was drafted by Kansas City and Philly in the season 14 prospect and season 15 ISFL drafts respectively, and then he was traded to Chicago, along with another player and a season 22 3rd round draft pick, for a 1st and a 2nd round picks of the same draft class, as part of the worst management in league history. He retired after season 23.
And now, another Starter card. A corner back, from the season 21 draft class, Atlas Quin, of the Arizona Outlaws. I love the Tom Shelby render choice in this one. What is he holding? A gun? I simply love it. Not sure what to say about the player. It looks like he is a steady earner, thus a Starter. Scrap that, inactive. NEXT!
Last card of the pack is Backup defensive tackle from the season 25 class, Honky-Tonk Haywood, of the Philly Liberty. A season 25 card, meaning Skiuuup should be in these packs. The render is fucking amazing, the beard, the sunglasses, it is a thing of beauty. On that note, I dare you HO, fine me for the f-bomb.
Let's just open the next pack. OH. MY. GOD. Is that who I think it is? You sir, you are getting a tag. The Legend himself, back to back to back Ultimus champion, once with Yellowknife, and twice with San Jose, wide receiver of the season 13 draft class, Nate Swift (@Bigred1580). Why is he representing San Jose? He reached his peak in Yellowknife! I demand explanations for this...not!
Next up is Star kicker turned safety from the season 23 class, Philip Stein. He joined the Dallas Birddogs through the waivers as a kicker, and then switched to safety, slightly after the season 23 ISFL draft, explaining why he fell so low. I like the guy a lot, from our interactions thus far. San Jose have a very nice guy in their locker room. He is also young, meaning he can offer his services for the foreseeable future.
Last card of the penultimate pack is Backup safety from season 1, and the Colorado Yeti, Mike McNoodle. I will say whatever I have been saying about every season 1 pull I have had thus far. They are part of the most historic draft class of the league. But it was hard for a new league to retain all the new players. And honestly, I want to believe the point tasks available were far less than now, so the low rarity of the majority of the old cards can be explained.
At this point, I crashed, and I missed the other three cards of the pack, meaning I had to go through every card of my collection and my past articles to find which is new and which is not. Yikes... The good thing is... I managed to find them. The even better thing is that I did not discover any duplicates, it was three new cards that had slipped through a crack, and by crack, I mean my internet service provider being inconsistent at 6 in the morning.
The first of those three cards is Starter running back of the Baltimore Hawks, member of the season 24 draft class, Mai Fukushu. Can I voice my dislike for anime renders? Anyway, Fukushu has already been called up to the majors, and plays a major part in Baltimore's offence. With the acquisition of Mathias Hanyadi however, it is safe to assume Fukushu will be moved to a RB2 role.
Next is Backup kicker from season 19, Herbert Prohaska. He spent his entire career playing for the Second Line. I love the soccer (I throw up typing that word) player choice for a render. Can someone tell me who the player is though? Thanks!
The last card is Star tight end from season 22 and Orange County, Jeffrey Philips. The Travis Kelce render choice is spot on. Choosing a tight end for a tight end create makes sense. Looks at Kroustis. Gronk? Why? What was you thinking man? At least he got it right with Skiuuup. You know who you are.
Anyway, last pack! First up is All-Pro cornerback from season 15, Deon Taylor. He spent his whole career playing for the team that drafted him in the ISFL draft, the New Orleans Second Line. He is dubbed as a team guy, sticking with NOLA through thick and thin, tasting the seeds of his work in season 21, when he won his only Ultimus.
Next up is Backup defensive end from season 3, and Orange County, JD Boom. I will not say much here. Old player, low TPE, either inactive or few ways of earning TPE in the early days.
Then we got Backup linebacker from the season 15 draft class, Rock Hardshaft. What a name! He was drafted by Philly, but went inactive fairly quickly. It is what it is. Not everyone enjoys their time here.
Next card, gimme! Backup safety from season 12, Jonathan Towers. He reached his peak in Colorado, where he was drafted(?), but went inactive. Thank god retention rates have soared to all time high levels now.
Lastly, I will put the next two cards in one paragraph, again, since I have already pulled them in past episodes. The first is Star wide receiver, Jacoby Clay, part of the season 20 draft class, reaching his peak while playing for the Honolulu Hahalua, and Starter safety from season 12 and the Philadelphia Liberty, Luke Smyles. I will say again, I played with Smyles in YKW while playing as Kroustis. The team choices for some cards look weird to me.
Now that we are done, let's check where the pull numbers and percentages stand:
Total cards opened: 132
Hall of Fame: 0 - 0%
Ultimus: 2 - 1.52%
Awards: 1 - 0.76%
Rookie Autograph: 1 - 0.76%
Legend (Blue/Sapphire): 3 - 2.27%
All-Pro (Red/Ruby): 5 - 3.79%
Star (Gold): 19 - 14.40%
Starter (Silver): 32 - 24.24%
Backup (Bronze): 68 - 51.52%
Team Logos: 1 - 0.76%
Duplicates: 13 - 9.85%
Uh, I did not like this opening. I got a Rookie Autographed card, but it is an Ultimus promotion! ZERO Ultimus cards in 4 packs. It seems they did make pulling the rare cards hard. And the duplicates, no bueno, but it is something we have to put up with. I think I figured out an easier and more efficient way to write these, so you may see the new episodes more frequently, instead of whenever I find time, which, right now is every five or six weeks at least.
On a side note, if you have any kind of content you would want to see from me, let me know. Whether it is a draft class preview, a review, weekly reviews of games... Whatever it is. Do not hesitate to ask for it, either below, or by messaging me on Discord. My line is open. Thank you for reading all this, I really appreciate each and every single one of you.
And that's it for this one, folks. Next episode coming in real soon! I promise this time. Peace!
![[Image: VuJTbPi.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/VuJTbPi.gif)
![[Image: CmonSkiuuupSalamandersSig.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/758471909196562442/776932919251304469/CmonSkiuuupSalamandersSig.png)
