NHL hockey is back, so what better time for a new hockey card release? 2020-21 Upper Deck Artifacts, a set that is normally released in the fall, was pushed this season to a January 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the 2020-21 NHL season was also delayed, putting these two occasions right next to each other. A happy coincidence, as is there a better way to watch a game right now than doing it while opening packs of new hockey cards?

Base Cards

Artifacts is back with a whole new set full of epic designs and colourful parallels. The base set contains 220 cards total. The first hundred are made up of current NHL veterans, while the rest is split into three subsets: Stars (/699), Legends (/599), and Rookies (/999).

The 2020-21 Artifacts base set is loaded with parallels to find. Beckett has the breakdown as such:

• Veterans
  • Copper – /299
  • Gold Dual Jersey – /165
  • Emerald – /99
  • Horizontal Dual Jersey – /99
  • Autumn – /75
  • Emerald Jersey/Premium Material – /65
  • Aqua – /45
  • Purple Dual Premium Material – /25
  • Purple – /20
  • Horizontal Autograph Dual Jersey – /8 or /4
  • Black – /5
  • Black Autograph – /5
  • Dual Premium Material Black – /5
  • Purple Horizontal Dual Patch – /4
  • Black Horizontal Patch/Tag – /2
• Stars
  • Ruby – /399
  • Copper – /299
  • Gold Material Dual Jersey – /125
  • Emerald – /99
  • Autumn – /75
  • Aqua – /45
  • Gold Autograph Dual Jersey – /45 or /15
  • Emerald Jersey/Premium Material – /25
  • Purple – /20
  • Emerald Autograph Jersey/Premium Material – /10
  • Purple Dual Premium Material – /8
  • Black – /5
  • Black Autograph – /5
  • Purple Autograph Dual Premium Material – /5
  • Black Dual Premium Material – /3
  • Black Autograph Dual Premium Material – 1/1
• Legends
  • Ruby – /399
  • Copper – /299
  • Emerald – /99
  • Gold Dual Jersey – /99
  • Autumn – /75
  • Aqua – /45
  • Gold Autograph Dual Jersey – /45 or /15
  • Emerald Jersey/Premium Material – /25
  • Purple – /20
  • Emerald Autograph Jersey/Premium Material – /10
  • Black – /5
  • Black Autograph – /5
  • Purple Dual Premium Material – /5
  • Purple Autograph Dual Premium Material – /5
  • Black Dual Premium Material – /2
  • Black Autograph Dual Premium Material – 1/1
• Rookies
  • Gold Dual Jersey – /499
  • Ruby – /399
  • Copper – /299
  • Horizontal Dual Jersey – /199
  • Emerald – /99
  • Emerald Jersey/Patch – /99
  • Gold Autograph Dual Jersey – /99
  • Autumn – /75
  • Horizontal Autograph Dual Jersey – /49
  • Purple Dual Patch – /49
  • Aqua – /45
  • Emerald Autograph Jersey/Patch – /45
  • Horizontal Emerald Jersey/Patch – /25
  • Purple – /20
  • Purple Autograph Dual Patch – /15
  • Horizontal Purple Dual Patch – /6
  • Black – /5
  • Black Autograph – /5
  • Patch/Tag Black – /5
  • Horizontal Black Patch/Tag – /2
  • Black Autograph Patch/Tag – 1/1

Rookie Redemptions

Rookie Redemptions are included once again in this year’s edition of Artifacts to ensure collectors can get their hands on the hottest rookie autographs and memorabilia. Rookie Redemptions can be found one in every nine hobby packs on average. You can also find Emerald parallels (1:78). Six players are featured in SP Photo Variants (1:640) and these also come in Emerald Parallels (1:2059) as well as autograph versions (1:2059).

Did we mention autographs? Artifacts is full of them and it starts with hobby-exclusive Rookie Redemption Autographs. Eighteen rookie players are split into three levels of rarity: Tier 1: #1:VI (1:1440), Tier 2: #VII-XII (1:720), and Tier 3: #XIII-XVIII (1:360). 

There are hobby-exclusive redemptions for rookie memorabilia as well. Beckett has the breakdown:

• Gold Dual Jersey – 1:129
• Emerald Jersey/Patch – 1:520
• Purple Dual Patch – 1:1,050
• Gold Autograph Dual Jersey – 1:1,470
• Emerald Autograph Jersey/Patch – 1:3,421
• Black Patch/Tag – 1:10,293
• Purple Autograph Dual Patch – 1:10,293
• Black Autograph Patch/Tag – 1:51,467
• Only available in hobby

Autographs

Image from Beckett.

Rookie Redemptions aren’t the only autographs you can find in 2020-21 Artifacts. Indeed, there are a ton of different autograph inserts to look for, including a bunch featuring on-card autos, including Signature Apparel (/36 or fewer) which features an autograph on a relic card. Other on-card autograph inserts include Admirable Impressions (/24), Esteemed Endorsements (/28), Honoured Members Signatures (/27), and Honoured Hopefuls Signatures (/27). 

Other autograph inserts include Top 12 Rookie Signatures (1:800), Top 12 Rookie Signatures 2019-20 Update (1:800), Lord Stanley’s Legacy Signatures (1:480), and Lord Stanley’s Legacy Signatures Premium (/10). Auto Facts is the one autograph set you can find in retail and has odds of one in forty packs, as well as 2010-11 Retro versions (/49 or fewer).

Memorabilia

Image from Beckett.

There are lots of relic cards to find in 2020-21 Artifacts, including Treasured Swatches, a new set for this year. It’s found one in 160 hobby packs, and parallels include dual jersey autographs (/25 or fewer) and jersey/patch autographs (/5).

Arena Artifacts returns with a new twist. This year each card holds a piece of Maple Leaf Gardens, the old home of the Toronto Maple leafs. Each card features a Maple Leaf alumnus and is numbered out of 31 to commemorate 1931, the year the Gardens’ doors first opened.

Year One Sweaters feature game-worn jersey swatches from last season’s class of rookies, including Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Kaapo Kakko. Found one in sixty hobby packs, while Premium versions are numbered out of 25.

Other memorabilia cards include Lord Stanley’s Legacy Relics (1:160), Tundra Teammates Duos (/249), Tundra Teammates Quad (/99), and Threads of Time (1:80. NHL Remnants (1:24) can be found in retail packs as well, and there are Premium versions of each memorabilia insert set.

Aurum Bounty

Aurum Bounty cards return with a new prize to be won for collectors lucky enough to complete the set. This year’s edition is a hobby-exclusive 48-card set. Base Aurum cards feature NHL veterans and are found one in twenty-one packs. The rest of the set is made up of Holdover Rookies (Tier 1 – 1:144, Tier 2 – 1:320), Veteran All-Stars (1:480), and Legends (1:640). If you complete the set, Upper Deck will send you two Retro Rookie Bounty Achievement cards.

There are additional prizes if you complete your set quickly. The first twenty-five collectors to complete get the full 12-card Retro Rookie Bounty Achievement set. The first ten collectors to finish get an exclusive autograph card. And the first three collectors to find all 48 Aurum cards get a special Bounty Achieve Dual Autograph card.

Along with the 48 bounty cards, there are also Aurum Signatures autograph cards to find, which feature Legends (/13), Veterans (/13), and Rookies (/13), as well as Aurum Signature Duals (/3).

In Conclusion

A hobby box of 2020-21 Upper Deck Artifacts includes eight 4-card packs. On average a hobby box contains three hits, which could be autograph, relic, or Aurum Bounty cards. Hobby boxes also include one Rookie Redemption card and four serial numbered cards on average. 

Dive into the epic 2020-21 Upper Deck Artifacts set and you’ll be sure to find worthy additions to your hockey card collection. Whether it’s this season’s hottest rookie cards, unique autographs and relics, and the hunt for bounty cards, 2020-21 Artifacts has something for every collector, so get yourself a box or two today!

Which new Artifacts cards are you most excited about? Be sure to let us know in the comments and, as always, thanks for reading!