Dominion's a much easier comparison to The Cup this year, because the sets are so similar in construction. In a lot of ways, 11-12 Dominion shares more of a lineage with The Cup (perhaps due to Karvin's influence) than it does with 10-11 Dominion (back in the Muir/Hall days). Taken on its own, that's neither good or bad -- just a reflection of what Panini's going for this time around.
One of the hallmarks of The Cup has always been the multiple (arguably redundant) patch/auto sets -- Limited Logos, Emblems of Endorsement, etc. Panini's gotten in on that this year with the Autographed Patches, Peerless Patches, and so on.
Panini did keep around some of the more unique sets from last year's Dominion -- benchmarks, engravatures, and the all-star embroidered autograph cards. I really like all three. I also like that they gave more meaning to the parallels, specifically tying different designs and foil colors to different memorabilia pieces.
There are parts of the Dominion program that do look rather plain, and I note a lack of foil on some of the inserts compared to last year (benchmarks, the booklet cards, the all-star patches, and a few others). As great as those concepts are, a flat surface finish just doesn't seal the deal. For a product at this level, I'd like to see every card be visually striking. You wouldn't want to embed a Gordie Howe stick piece on a Score base card. OK, on a stack of about 8 Score base cards.
I'm also concerned with a trend I've noticed in both Prime and Dominion -- some of the set names aren't printed anywhere on the card fronts (and in some cases, not even on the card backs). The jerseys look like base cards without a description, and would you know the name of this set? Supposedly this set is called All-Star Skills Complete Sweaters. No, this isn't a widespread problem, but it does make it tough to figure out which card is which, when there's a whole bunch of (very nice, but) similar sets in the product.
The memorabilia program in Dominion is a step ahead of The Cup. Frankly, I think The Cup is a little bit stale, as an overall brand. It's been nearly the exact same insert sets and parallel schemes for years now. I don't mind that Dominion uses some of the same basic structure as The Cup, as long as Panini's willing to keep and improve upon the unique elements. That's what sets the two products apart, and the continued evolution will certainly be worth watching.
As usual, another objective, detailed and enjoyable post, Andy.
With respect to the bolded paragraph above, this becomes even more important as collectors pursue cards from the same set each year. Like Kol is doing with Cup Signature Patches. These collecting endeavors are that much more rewarding when the internal consistency of the accumulation is obvious. At least for me it is. By the cards being mute on their set's name, collectors will make up their own which just causes confusion.
For lack of anything written on the cards, I call the Signature Patches that are /60, "Signature Patches". Sounds familiar.
And the All-Star Skills complete sweaters - I'll call them "Foundations".
Overall I am loving Dominion this year and these negatives although bothersome, are not even close to discouraging me from cracking this stuff. Even without names, those Signature Patches are whispering to me to buy lots of them, lol.
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