Product Grade: A / A-
We may have been unfairly harsh on Upper Deck for the mess that we felt 2011-12 SP Authentic was, but if we were unfairly harsh then, we are unfairly in love with 11-12 Ultimate now. This product is one of the most complete, satisfying, and exciting products this year. It is a must buy (at least one box), and really if you can afford multiple boxes or a case of this stuff – go for it! There really is no better buy for the money as of right now (11-12 Panini Titanium is a challenger for best bang for the buck with 11-12 Ultimate though). As a high end product and at the $100 price tag, 11-12 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection stands alone.
Base: A- (Base Set Completion: 0 out of 60 [0%] with 0 doubles)
HB: I think Upper Deck has the base card down to a science with their Ultimate base card set. Year in and year out, their base card designs are well done and the set is highly collected and highly desirable. Why is that? Because of the small size of the base card set, 60 cards, the mix of past and present stars, and the print run of each base card to 399. I think the Ultimate base set beats out even The Cup base set in terms of collectability. This year is no different and I think it’s a strong point of 11-12 Ultimate. We didn’t have a base card in our pack, but I am not going to complain about getting an extra autograph! 
HB’s Grade: A
HG: This was the first box of high-end hockey cards I have opened since I have been collecting, so I was very excited about this product. And I was not disappointed. We actually did not get a base card in the box we opened (which I definitely won’t complain about :p) but I saw the design of it and I am a fan. The cards look expensive, as well they should, and have a nice, well thought out, though not over the top design. I really like them.
HG’s Grade: A-
Inserts: N/A
There are no true inserts in this product. Because of that, no grade will be given or factored in for Inserts.
Rookies: A-
HB: If you want to know when a rookie card has truly become desirable, look at the sale prices of non-auto, non-jersey/patch rookie cards. Young Guns, ICE rookies, and Ultimate rookies are the best selling each and every year. Take a peek at what the Jonathan Quick Ultimate Rookies are selling for right now – somewhere between $100 and $130. That’s a card numbered /499 with no autograph. Upper Deck does a tremendous job with Ultimate Rookies. There are 50 rookies numbered /399 with no auto, 20 rookies numbered /299 and 20 rookies numbered /99 both with autos. So that’s 90 different rookies in a high end product. You never know when your /399 $2 or $3 rookie will turn into a Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup Winner. It makes the rookie cards exciting. In regards to the 2 rookies we pulled – I love the /399 Anders Nilsson rookie. Nice, big player photo, clean lines, and a vertical “Ultimate Rookies” off to the left side but still prominent. I like the Marcus Kruger auto rookie /299 as well, I just wish the autograph space was all white and didn’t have the white, “handwriting” lines on the card. That is a little distracting to me. But still, great looking card.
HB’s Grade: A-
HG: We got two rookie cards in our box, which both have different deigns so I thought that was cool! The first rookie card we got was of Anders Nilsson from the Islanders. The design is very similar to the design of the base cards which is a little bit of a bummer. The fact that we didn’t get a base card in our box makes me forgive this a little more, but overall, I do wish they mixed it up a little. The second rookie card we got was an auto rookie of Marcus Kruger from the Blackhawks. I really like this card. I don’t know who the player is, but it is a nice card, with the metallic gold background and numbered /299. So I would say one great card, and one not so much.
HG’s Grade: B+
Hits: A
HB: Let’s be honest, unless a person pulls an auto /99 rookie, they don’t care about the rookies or base cards much, if not at all. People rip open their Ultimate packs and hope to hit something huge. So let’s talk about the hits. There seems to be quite a few of these 10-11 Ultimate Signatures cards inserted into the 11-12 product, but that’s ok because they’re beautiful and well designed cards. And with signers like P.K. Subban and Tyler Seguin, they’re not bad cards to pull. I have seen a TON of these Halak cards pulled already. But here’s what makes Ultimate stand alone in the realm of other products at this point in time – for $100, there is an opportunity for some HUGE pulls. The Cup is the creme de la creme (is that even how it’s spelled), but it’s a big risk for the right around $500 price tag. Ultimate stands alone because for the cost of many other mid end products, it is a high end product with some beautiful and top notch cards. This Ultimate Trios Patches /10 of Capitals (and former Capital) Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin is one of those cards. Absolutely gorgeous patches on this card. I really can’t say too much more about it because the picture speaks for itself. But if you want a chance (and a pretty good chance) at pulling some incredible this, Ultimate is for you.
HB’s Grade: A
HG: This is the category that really counts especially for a high-end box. When you only get 4 cards, your nice card better be very nice. And for us, it definitely was. We got two hit. The first was an Ultimate Signature card of Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak. I am not very familiar with this player, but it is a nice card! I like the simple, elegant, design of all the cards in this box, and this auto is no exception to that. Then we got the hit of the box. It is amazing. We got an Ultimate Trios Patches of Washington Capitals players Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom andddd Alexander Ovechkin. This is easily the nicest card I have ever pulled. The patches are beautiful. It is such a nice card. I was thrilled to get to pull it. It was fun to open a high-end product because you have a great chance to get an amazing card with some gorgeous patches like this. You can’t find that with many other products.
HG’s Grade: A
Satisfaction: A
HB: You may noticed that we changed the heading for this section, and it will be explained in another post, but now we’re all about satisfaction! Ok, with that being said. 2011-12 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection is a VERY satisfying break. Hockey Girl and I are not rich. We set aside money and save and sell to have funds to buy the boxes we review. While I’d love to break case after case of Ultimate or The Cup, it’s just not going to happen for us (maybe someday!). So it’s special when we get to open a high end box together. For us, it adds to the satisfaction. From the box, to the one pack, to the gorgeous cards, Ultimate really and truly does feel like a high end product. That adds to the satisfaction of opening the box. Even if we got nothing big or didn’t make any money on the cards, the whole presentation and cards themselves *feel* expensive and high end. The base cards are thicker stock even. Everything in this product is different from other $100 boxes. It all adds to what makes this product special. I also enjoy the bit of gambling that is an aspect of this product. Now, as much as I like The Cup, the part that scares me is that it really is a $500 gamble. That’s a lot of money. I’m a bit more comfortable gambling the $100 and it has seemed like Ultimate is a bit less of a gamble. For people who can never afford The Cup, they have an opportunity to open a high end product and get treated like a big time box breaker for only $100 which most people can find a way to save or sell a few cards be able to purchase a box. To me – Ultimate is a unique and necessary product and 2011-12 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection is a very complete and must break product.
HB’s Grade: A+
HG: I loved opening this box. Because it was the first high end box I have ever opened, and we got such a nice hit, I realize I may be a little biased. However, even if we hadn’t gotten such a nice hit I think I would still love this product. Before I opened a product like this, I thought that $100 for 4 cards was a little crazy, but now that I have seen the potential in a product like this, I am a big fan and would encourage others to check it out as well! All the cards are beautiful and the hits you can get are really incredible. Most likely, it will be well worth it for you.
HG’s Grade: A
Much love,
Hockey Boy & Hockey Girl
