By Brian Cooper |
Updated on December 19, 2023
With all of the craziness going on in the world, sometimes change happens so fast that things get forgotten. The trading card game world is no different and I believe the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 (OB9) are part of the forgotten….for now.
So let’s dive into these nine MetaZoo rare cards and talk about what they are, where you can find them and figure out whether they’re worth investing in right now. Let’s do this!
Contents
- 1 What is the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9?
- 2 Where Can You Find The Obnoxious 9 Cards?
- 3 MetaZoo’s Mike Waddell Talks About How The Obnoxious 9 Originated
- 4 What is the Print Run of the Obnoxious 9 Cards?
- 5 Should You Buy or Sell MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Cards in 2023?
- 6 How To Buy the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Cards
- 7 MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Investing Tip!
- 8 The Obnoxious 9 Card I Think Will Be the MOST VALUABLE
What is the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9?
The “Obnoxious 9” are a group of nine specific Full Holo cards that were released exclusively in the MetaZoo Cryptid Nation set back in 2021. These nine powerful cards were only released as Full Holos, where other cards in the set had both Full Holo and Reverse Holo versions. Because of this, these nine cards were more difficult to find in packs because of their rarity, thus making it an unpleasant experience trying to find them in packs. Thus the name “Obnoxious.”
The Obnoxious 9 cards printed only in Full Holo were: Chessie, Death Beam, Ghost Train, Growth, Phoenix Rain, Powerup Red, Sam Sinclair, Silver Bullet and Uncle Sam. Click on the images below to see each one.
Where Can You Find The Obnoxious 9 Cards?
All of the Obnoxious 9 (OB9) cards can be found in booster packs of the following sets:
- MetaZoo Cryptid Nation Kickstarter
- MetaZoo Cryptid Nation 1st Edition
- MetaZoo Cryptid Nation 2nd Edition
The booster packs can be found in different products within each set including Booster Boxes (36-packs), Spell Books (10-packs), Release Event Boxes (3-packs) and Tribal Theme Decks (1-pack.)
MetaZoo’s Mike Waddell Talks About How The Obnoxious 9 Originated
In a 2001 interview online, MetaZoo founder Mike Waddell went into detail about how the Obnoxious 9 came about. That interview provided a lot of detail about why these particular cards came out only in Full Holo and the thinking behind what they would look like as Reverse Holos.
So as the story goes, Mike indicated that the concept came up when they were discussing which of the cards would be holographic rares. When they started to look at each individual card and how it would look as a Full Holo and Reverse Holo, certain decisions were made to not make Reverse Holo versions of specific cards.
So for instance, they looked at Ghost Train and saw that a Reverse Holo version would only be a small speck of space on the face of the train and it just didn’t sound like a great idea. The same with Silver Bullet and Phoenix Rain where only very small parts of the card would have the foiling if they did a Reverse Holo version. It was an entirely aesthetic decision as to whether each of these would look good as a reverse holo.
As Mike went on to say, “The unintended impact of that was that the holographic versions of these cards were the only way that you could get them and consequently they were rare. And so it was obnoxious because if you’re looking to collect, they were a little bit hard to pull.”
What is the Print Run of the Obnoxious 9 Cards?
For the Kickstarter Edition, there were only 863 of each Obnoxious 9 card printed. When compared to other rare cards in the set that had both Full and Reverse Holo versions, those standard rare cards had a total of 2,125 of each printed (863 Full Holo + 1,262 Reverse Holo.)
For the 1st Edition, there were only 9,444 of each Obnoxious 9 card printed. When compared to other rare cards in the set that had both Full and Reverse Holo versions, those standard rare cards had a total of 23,086 (9,444 Full Holo + 13,642 Reverse Holo.)
For the 2nd Edition, the numbers are a bit more difficult to determine but we’ll make an estimate. Based on information we can find, we know the approximate print runs of the set when it comes to Booster Boxes, Spell Books, etc as those were released online. Based on those numbers we’re estimating there were 3,187,000 packs printed which is 2.88 times that of the 1st Edition print run. So the numbers above for 1st Edition multiplied by 2.88 would probably get us in the ballpark if we rounded them.
That being said we can guess that there were approximately 28,000 of each Obnoxious 9 card printed for 2nd Edition. When compared to other rare cards in the 2nd edition that had both Full and Reverse Holo versions, those standard rare cards probably had a total of around 67,300 (28,000 Full Holo + 39,300 Reverse Holo.)
Should You Buy or Sell MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Cards in 2023?
Buying or selling is the ultimate question and honestly it has a lot to do with your personal situation.
As a true collector who is in this for the long term, I think today’s prices on both the Kickstarter and 1st Edition cards are still attractive. I have a feeling they’ll be flat for a while until the economy turns around, which probably won’t be until late 2023 or early 2024.
So, I don’t think there will be a mad buying rush on any of the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 cards for quite a while, at least through 2023. The way the world economy looks right now with recession fears, I would expect later 2023 and early 2024 that prices will start to rise again. That’s a good thing as that will give you ample time to shop these cards and come up with some decent prices, hopefully below current values.
That being said, I believe buying opportunities will be had over the next 12-months on all of the Obnoxious 9 cards and so my opinion is to BUY in this environment, not sell. It’s always a good idea to buy when times are bad and sell when times are good. Same here with these 9-cards.
How To Buy the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Cards
I think a great way to buy the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 is to just pick them up individually with the intent to build complete sets. It’s hard to pinpoint which specific card will take off in value down the road which is why making a goal to get all of them is reasonable and a good idea. We’re only talking 9-cards so that goal is definitely attainable.
There are a few that are higher priced, but in general all of them have the same print run so it’s not like we’re looking for a super short print. Shop them individually and hopefully by the time 2024 rolls around you have a complete set of both the Kickstarter and 1st Edition in your portfolio.
I would ignore 2nd Edition for now as the supply is just too much to recommend long term investing in that set. The 2nd Edition is mainly out there to casually collect and to play the game, not to invest large sums in at this point.
You should also consider your budget as investing in the Kickstarter Obnoxious 9 cards will be way more expensive than the 1st edition cards. They are basically the same cards outside of the Kickstarter “K” logo in the bottom right of the card image and the date stamp in the bottom left. Both versions will have a “1st Edition” indication at the bottom but Kickstarter will show 2020 and 1st Edition will show 2021 as the print years. Otherwise they are identical.
Here are the current values of the Obnoxious 9 in both Kickstarter and 1st Edition versions. Print it out and check them off as you get them!
| CARD NAME | KICKSTARTER PRICE | 1ST EDITION PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| CHESSIE | $100-$105 | $10-$15 |
| DEATH BEAM | $125-$150 | $15-$20 |
| GHOST TRAIN | $150-$160 | $25-$30 |
| GROWTH | $100-$140 | $15-$20 |
| PHOENIX RAIN | $100-$125 | $10-$15 |
| POWERUP RED | $100-$125 | $20-$25 |
| SAM SINCLAIR | $175-$200 | $20-$30 |
| SILVER BULLET | $150-$200 | $15-$20 |
| UNCLE SAM | $100-$105 | $15-$20 |
MetaZoo Obnoxious 9 Investing Tip!
The PSA 10 graded versions are bringing big dollars so I might steer clear of those for now. However, I’m a huge fan of buying up PSA 9 graded cards and I think the Obnoxious 9 can be had in this grade at decent prices.
I try to keep to the 33% rule which is a guide I use myself when it comes to graded cards. If I can get a PSA 9 graded card for less than 33% of the PSA 10 sold price, I’m doing good. So if the PSA 10 sold for (SOLD, not listed) $500 then I want to find the same card graded PSA 9 for about $165. The real deals are when you can get them lower than 33% (sometimes WAY lower.)
I’ll go into this at another time and give you some more ideas on buying up PSA graded MetaZoo and Magic cards. That’s a lot to talk about here.
The Obnoxious 9 Card I Think Will Be the MOST VALUABLE
When it comes to value, I preach RARITY constantly. The more rare, admired and powerful a card, the better the chances it will turn into something valuable years from now.
In the case of the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9, we have nine cards that all have equal rarity. There is not one card that is more limited than the other. So we can take that out of the equation.
So what’s left? What’s the most admired and powerful card of the group? If I had to pick two cards that fit the criteria I would say Death Beam and Powerup Red. If I had to pick just one card I would absolutely pick POWERUP RED.
Powerup Red is super powerful in gameplay, has awesome artwork and to me will end up being one of the most desired original MetaZoo cards ever made. And the best thing is that from a player standpoint, EVERYONE needs Powerup Red. It only requires (3) Neutral Aura to cast which means every spellbook should have one in it.
So that’s my pick. If you don’t have a Powerup Red, that’s the first one I’d try and buy if I wanted to collect the set.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you learned a little bit about the MetaZoo Obnoxious 9. Someday those Kickstarter versions will be the creme of the crop so make it a goal to find them in mint condition and at a bargain.
If you have any questions about MetaZoo, the Obnoxious 9 please send me a message on our Contact Page and I’ll get back to you ASAP! Take care and keep investing in Magic (and MetaZoo) cards!
