Idea for 2026 content structure
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I am going to assume the short inning are here to stay for next year.
Possibly they will try to iterate on this year's team based TA concept as well
Here is my idea to not fall into the same traps as this yearEach inning should have a big set. Inning launch should have a major program with ~15 or so cards in it. Other cards can be acquired via exchanges, similar to the TA voucher concept. 10 team conquest? 5 vouchers. Mini season champion? 15 vouchers. Win an a Online game? 1 voucher for 3 inning game, 2 for ranked. Meet specific milestones for using the sets cards? Vouchers. Players would be added throughout the season, and there would of course be collection rewards, ranked rewards, etc. Packs arent going away so there would be big packs of course, but when enough time has passed after the inning is over, vouchers should be exchangeable for packs too.
With the big program in place they could then keep the focus in rest of inning on Topps Now, Spotlight, and the smaller programs like speedway, cornerstones, those 1 card programs they absolutely love to do, etc.
As an example of programs that can be used for 2026:
Inning 1: WBC
Inning 2: Fresh Start
Inning 3: Pipeline
Inning 4: Retro All stars
Inning 5: All Star Weekend
Inning 6: Incognito players out of position in street clothes riding a kaiju
Inning 7: Milestone
Inning 8: Playoff heroes (past and present)
Inning 9: Finest -
Why did you speak of Kaiju. You just know ashley will read this and we will be playing in stadiums with Godzilla knockoffs crashing through parking garages again.