Trading Card News: Magic God Packs, Brady SSPs, and a $7,700 Mario
Cards Mania Editorial Team
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5 min read
CARDS MANIA / WEEKLY · OCTOBER 3-9, 2026
New pack formats, familiar faces and a smaller grading queue lead this week's trading card news. Magic is changing its boosters for 2027, Brady inserts are drawing big early sales, and vintage Nintendo cards have a fresh headline. Here is what happened, with sources and the details collectors should check before spending.
Magic is changing boosters in 2027
Wizards of the Coast announced on October 5 that booster contents will change starting with Nauctis: The Sunken Realm, the first Magic set of 2027. Play Boosters will be renamed Booster Packs, and traditional-foil Japan Showcase cards will become possible pulls from their wildcard slot. Wizards says these changes will not increase MSRP.
The headline chase is the God Pack: a rare pack where every nonbasic card is rare or mythic rare. Wizards gives odds of 1 in 1,000 for Booster Packs and 1 in 300 for Collector Boosters in Magic Multiverse sets. Universes Beyond participation is expected in 2028, not at the start of 2027.
There is a trade-off. Regular Booster Packs lose foil commons and uncommons and will no longer guarantee a foil. Collector Boosters lose two foil commons and one foil uncommon without replacements.
| Change | What collectors should know |
|---|---|
| Timing | Starts with Nauctis in 2027, not current packs |
| God Packs | 1:1,000 Booster Packs; 1:300 Collector Boosters |
| Pricing | No MSRP increase attached to these changes |
More chase opportunities do not guarantee more value. Compare the whole pack configuration, not just the rarest possible hit.
Sources: Wizards of the Coast, Oct. 5
Brady leads the early Bowman SSP chase
Collectors are paying up for the short-print inserts in 2026 Bowman Football. In its October 6 report, Collectibles on SI cites Card Ladder sales of $7,800, $7,140 and $6,500 for Tom Brady Anime SSP cards. Its highest listed Garbage Pail Kids Brady sale is $6,500 for the "Bejeweled Brady" design.
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen also appear near the top of the report. The distinction matters: Allen's $4,000 result is for the Gold /50 Crystallized Chrome version, not the unnumbered insert.
| Card reported by SI | Reported sale |
|---|---|
| Tom Brady Anime SSP | $7,800 |
| Tom Brady Garbage Pail Kids SSP | $6,500 |
| Patrick Mahomes Garbage Pail Kids SSP | $5,400 |
| Josh Allen Crystallized Chrome Gold /50 | $4,000 |
These are selected early sales, not a settled price guide. Match the exact insert, parallel and condition before treating a headline price as a comp.
A $7,700 Mario card puts nostalgia in focus
Non-sport has a real story this week. Collectibles on SI reports that a PSA 10 1989 Topps Nintendo Super Mario Bros. 2 Mario Madness #1 sold on October 2 for an accepted offer of $7,700. The asking price was $9,500, which is not the sale price.
The October 7 article also reports a $900 October 2 sale for a PSA 10 Super Mario Bros. card, compared with a $183.56 average across five recorded sales from January through May 2026. Those figures come from Card Ladder, as cited by SI.
The original Nintendo set mixes scratch-off game cards and stickers. That makes exact card identification especially important: a sticker and a scratch-off with a similar number are not interchangeable comps.
| Reported result | Context |
|---|---|
| Mario Madness #1, PSA 10 | $7,700 accepted offer on Oct. 2 |
| Super Mario Bros., PSA 10 | $900 on Oct. 2; different card |
A handful of high-grade sales can reveal interest without proving the entire set has repriced. Check the card type, grade and recent sold history. If grading an old favorite, use the Card Grading Finder to compare routes before sending it.
PSA backlog falls to 8.2 million
PSA's October 6 global backlog update puts the queue at 8.2 million units, down from 9 million on September 22. The update, visible on PSA's Canadian-locale official tracker, says sustained progress would put it on a path to assess reopening more service tiers in the coming months.
That is progress, not a reopening announcement. PSA's US submission-update page still carries a banner saying Value services are temporarily paused. There is no confirmed reopening date in the October 6 statement.
| Official update | Active backlog |
|---|---|
| Sept. 22 | 9 million units |
| Oct. 6 | 8.2 million units |
Do not budget around a hoped-for reopening date or an old fee. Check the live submission options and compare alternatives with our Card Grading Finder. For low-value cards, shipping and service fees can matter as much as the grade.
Sources: PSA official global backlog tracker, Oct. 6 · PSA US submission updates
My Little Pony adds three US card releases
KAYOU and Hasbro announced a new wave of My Little Pony cards on October 6, with the announcement reproduced by Action Figure Insider on October 7. Friendship Eternal Moon Edition 4 gets an early New York Comic Con appearance before its nationwide October 16 release. The collectible series has 162 cards across 10 rarity tiers.
The separate playable TCG line gets two seasonal booster releases: Nightmare Night, described as available now, and Hearth's Warming Eve, due October 30. The announcement lists 190 cards for Nightmare Night and 197 for Hearth's Warming Eve.
| Product | Announced US timing |
|---|---|
| Friendship Eternal Moon Edition 4 | Oct. 16 nationwide; early at NYCC |
| Nightmare Night TCG boosters | Available now, per announcement |
| Hearth's Warming Eve TCG boosters | Oct. 30 |
Collectible cards and playable TCG cards are different product lines. Check which one you want before buying. Announced retail rollout does not guarantee stock at your local store.
Sources: KAYOU/Hasbro announcement via Action Figure Insider, Oct. 7
Dragon Ball Z Playpaks: check the updated date
ICv2 reported on October 8 that Cryptozoic is adding Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga to its Playpaks line. These are activity-focused collectible cards, with characters including Goku, Piccolo, Raditz and Vegeta, rather than a new competitive TCG.
The timing needs a correction before it goes on your shopping calendar. ICv2 gives November, but Cryptozoic's own product pages currently list December 2026. The manufacturer also identifies the blaster as four packs and the Gravity Feed box as 24 packs, the reverse of the configurations in the ICv2 report. We are using the manufacturer's current details here.
| Manufacturer detail | Current listing |
|---|---|
| Set / pack | 48 cards in the set; 5 cards per pack |
| Blaster | 4 packs plus an exclusive standee |
| Gravity Feed | 24 packs; manufacturer guarantees a full 48-card set |
| Release month | December 2026; differs from initial coverage |
A small, character-led set offers a different collecting experience from an expensive hit chase. Keep the date provisional until the retailer confirms it, and follow the current manufacturer listing over an older announcement.
Sources: ICv2, Oct. 8 · Cryptozoic 4-pack blaster · Cryptozoic 24-pack Gravity Feed
Checked October 9, 2026. Selected sales are source-reported results, not guaranteed market values. Release dates can change. Cover is an editorial illustration, not product imagery.
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Cards Mania Editorial Team
Cards Mania is an independent trading card media project covering sports cards, Pokémon, TCG, vintage cards, grading, collecting, card storage and hobby news. Articles are produced by the Cards Mania Editorial Team.
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