Configuration:
Cards per pack: 4
Packs per box: 8
Boxes per case: 20 (two 10-box inner cases)
Set size: 220 cards (including all SP subsets and Rookie Redemptions)
Box Break:
- Autographs, Memorabilia or Aurum Bounty Cards – 3
- Serial-Numbered Cards – 4
- Rookie Redemptions – 1
Although it debuts just before the start of the new season and its batch of debuting first-year players, rookies are very much part of 2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey. So are autographs and memorabilia. There’s a Bounty element as well. All said, the set has plenty of elements, including many of the year’s first higher end-leaning possibilities.
Hobby boxes deliver three total autographs, memorabilia or Bounty cards. They’ve also got four serial-numbered cards, one of which is to 99 or less, and one of the line’s cornerstone Rookie Redemptions.
2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey Base Set Basic
The main shell base set has 100 cards. These have five basic levels of parallels: Copper (/299), Emerald (/99), Aqua (/45), Purple (/20) and Black (/5).
In line with other recent Artifacts sets, the base set expands with a trio of numbered subsets: Stars (/699), Legends (/599) and Rookies (/599), which cover players who debuted late in the 2018-19 season. Carryover rookies include Cale Makar, Filip Zadina, Quinn Hughes and Ryan Poehling.
Subset parallels are virtually the same as those in the shell set. Copper cards have 399 copies each but other colors fall in line. Rookies also have 15th Anniversary Rookie Tribute cards that are, appropriately enough, numbered to 15.
Additional parallels for all levels of the base set add autograph and memorabilia elements. These come in several levels of jersey swatches, patches, signatures and combinations of them.
Base
Gold Dual Jersey – /165
Emerald Jersey-Premium Material – /65
Purple Dual Premium Material – /25
Black Dual Premium Material – /5
Black Autographs – /5
Stars
Gold Dual Jersey – /125
Gold Dual Jersey Autographs – Tier 1 /45, Tier 2 /15
Emerald Jersey-Premium Material – /25
Emerald Jersey-Premium Material Autographs – /10
Purple Dual Premium Material – /8
Purple Dual Premium Material Autographs – /5
Black Dual Premium Materials – /3
Autographs Black – /5
Black Dual Premium Material Autographs – 1/1
Legends
Gold Dual Jersey – /99
Gold Dual Jersey Autographs – Tier 1 /45, Tier 2 /15
Emerald Jersey-Premium Material – /25
Emerald Jersey-Premium Material Autographs – /10
Purple Dual Premium Material – /5
Purple Dual Premium Material Autographs – /5
Black Dual Premium Materials – /3
Autographs Black – /5
Black Dual Premium Material Autographs – 1/1
Rookies
Gold Dual Jersey – /499
Gold Dual Jersey Autographs – /99
Emerald Jersey-Patch – /99
Emerald Jersey-Patch Autographs – /45
Purple Dual Patch – /49
Purple Dual Patch Autographs – /15
Black Patch-Tag – /5
Autographs Black – /5
Black Patch-Tag Autographs – 1/1
2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey Rookie Redemptions
Because of its early release date, Artifacts can’t directly include 2019 draft picks. Upper Deck can’t make NHL cards of these players until their debuts. For years, the brand has offered a work around of sorts with its extensive Rookie Redemptions program.
Every team has one that’s connected to the main checklist as well as a handful of wild cards. All told, there are 40 regular Rookie Redemptions, which combine to land 1:9 hobby packs. Once 2019-20 rookies start to populate NHL rosters, Upper Deck starts making plans and releasing names to go with the mystery redemptions, thus finalizing the checklist.
The main Rookie Redemptions also have Emerald (1:58) parallels.
In addition to these, select players also have a variety of memorabilia, autograph, and autographed memorabilia versions. These are similar to the base set’s premium upgrades. Hobby cases average one Rookie Redemption autograph.
Two Rookie Redemption Variations are extremely scarce with base versions for each falling 1:2,200 hobby packs. Emerald and Autograph versions for these two cards are 1:9,216.
Autographs and Memorabilia Cards
Lord Stanley’s Legacy spotlight Stanley Cup winners with both Jersey (1:160) and Premium Material (/25) versions. There’s also Lord Stanley’s Legacy Signatures (1:288) and Lord Stanley’s Legacy Signatures Parallel (/10).
Both the Honoured Members and Honoured Hopefuls sets return with on-card autographs. For both, cards have 27 copies each.
Other autograph inserts in 2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey include Autofacts (1:48), Esteemed Endorsements (/28), Admirable Impressions Signatures (/24), 15th Anniversary Rookie Tribute Autos (/15), and Top 12 Rookie Signatures (1:1,000).
On the memorabilia end, NHL Remnants are 1:24 packs. Premium parallels are numbered to 25.
Tundra Teammates has long been part of Artifacts and that isn’t changing. These have both Dual (/199) and Quad (/99) versions as well as low-numbered Premium Material parallels.
Arena Artifacts (/29) is back for another year. Last year, the memorabilia cards highlighted relics from the Montreal Forum. This time around, it moves south to the Blackhawks’ Chicago Stadium. The pieces in these cards don’t come from players but rather the venue itself.
Rounding out the relics are Year One Rookies Sweaters (1:48, Premium – /25) and Threads of Time (1:300, Premium – /25).
Aurum and the UD Bounty Chase
The UD Bounty program returns to Artifacts in 2019-20. Once again, they revolve around the Aurum insert set. Offering up an incentive for building the full set, those that complete the Bounty get cards not available in packs.
The Aurum set has 48 cards but they’re available with varying insertion rates. Basic cards are 1:20 hobby packs. Rookie SP cards are 1:320 while All-Stars and Legends are 1:640.
All who finish the set and register it at the UD Bounty website by entering the codes on the backs of the cards get two additional cards, making it a 50-card set.
For the first 25 to complete the quest, they get an additional nine-card 2005-06 Retro set plus an exclusive Auston Matthews autograph.
Although not part of the Bounty hunt, additional Aurum Signatures cards are available in packs. Veterans, Rookies and Stars all have 13 copies each. Aurum Signatures Duals are numbered to just 3.
