Paula Abdul sang it 26 years ago:
“I take two steps forward, I take two steps back
We come together, ’cause opposites attract.”
Topps took two steps forward when it introduced an iPad version of its Bunt application in 2012. Since then, it has progressed to iPhones and Androids, with baseball card fanatics able to build collections on their phones and use the cards in. Moms from the 1950s and ’60s would have applauded — cards were no longer strewn around rooms, but instead were encased inside a smartphone.
Topps Bunt is fun on the phone. But now, Topps decided to take two steps back and recapture its past — that is to say, physical baseball cards. So for the first time, Topps will release a card set that is built around and supported by a digital trading card app. Make way for the 2016 Topps Bunt box.
Two opposite types of cards for sure, but they will complement one another.
2016 Top
ps Bunt Basics
The 2016 Topps Bunt card set will be released August 17. A hobby box will contain 36 packs, with seven cards to a pack. A base set will consist of 200 cards. What collectors will find appealing is that the price seems very reasonable, in the $25 range for a hobby box. Plus, the
physical cards will tie in with the mobile game. A full checklist for 2016 Topps Bunt is available for download below.
Parallels for the base cards include platinum, numbered to 99; topaz (50); crimson (1/1) and hobby exclusive 1/1 printing plates.
Inserts and Autographs
Inserts will be plentiful, and collectors should find them in every other pack. Unique Unis showcases up to 10 players in various uniforms from special games. Programs will feature each team’s top player in a design that looks like a game-day program. Light Force will feature 25 of major-league baseball’s top stars.
Other inserts will be Future of the Franchise, which will focus on 15 of the game’s top young players. Moon Shots will pay tribute to the game’s 
sluggers, while Stadium Heritage connects 15 franchise players to their home ballparks.
Now, here is where the marriage between digital and physical cards becomes apparent. Title Town is a 10-card 
insert that will feature three players on a card that have won one or more World Series titles. The card backs will contain a code that can be used to unlock a digital version on the Bunt app. These base cards will be numbered to 75 and will have amber parallels numbered to 50 and 1/1 platinum parallels.
The same theory applies to Autograph Cards, as cards will have signatures of rookies and veterans. Autos can be found live in the product and also unlocked online through contests in the Bunt app.
Bunt Loot cards will be inserted every three packs. These cards will unlock a free, 10-card digital pack that includes one topaz parallel and one insert. Platinum parallel cards will be inserted one in every 10 digital packs. Mystery Rookies will be a 30-subject subset and note unexpected call-ups of rookies from the minor leagues, plus players who seemed destined to make the big-league club. Cards will fall one in every 12 packs.
Rampage will be a 20-card insert set that also will fall every 12 packs, and players will be able to unlock a 3x boost. Young Stars is a thirty-card set; these cards will be found in every other pack, on average.
Topps Bunt will be a mixture of old-fashioned and modern technology. But, it’s an interesting idea.
2016 Topps BUNT physical checklist
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