Pack #1 First card: 5"x8" Eric Lindros Its fate: Just like real life, this card is about to sustain a major concussion The result: Brendan Shanahan base card The verdict: base card upgrade, good enough I suppose Second card: 5"x8" Vincent LeCavalier RC Its fate: It will gloriously live untorn forever… Maybe … I do have two now … Third card: 5"x8" Patrick Roy Its fate: On Hold – base cards don’t get much better than Roy so unless I have reason to believe an insert or rookie may be in there based on the rest of the box, it will probably remain intact. Pack #2 First card: 5"x8" Josh Holden RC Its fate: It lives … for now. I have a hard time tearing up rookies … but … Second card: 5"x8" Ray Bourque Silver Impulse Parallel Its fate: It too will live … a nice 1:7 parallel of a hall of fame defenseman can’t be torn up. Third card: 5"x8" Chris Osgood Its fate: Like I could let a whole pack go by without ripping! The result: Bobby Holik base card The verdict: OK … sure … whatever. Pack #3 First card: 5"x8" Roberto Luongo RC Its fate: Another sweet 5x8 RC, it too shall live for many a year Second card: 5"x8" Pavel Bure Silver Impulse Parallel Its fate: Life for now … Bure isn’t nearly as ensconced as Bourque Third card: 5"x8" Grant Fuhr Its fate: Once again, I can’t let three cards in a row go unripped. The result: Bobby Holik base card The verdict: Again? Pack #4 First card: 5"x8" Joe Sakic Its fate: I love Joe, but I haven’t been ripping enough … this one has to go … The result: Vincent LeCavalier RC The verdict: That swap will work! Second card: 5"x8" Mathieu Garon RC Its fate: I can’t rip any RC, especially just after discovering a sweet little RC. Third card: 5"x8" Ed Belfour Its fate: This on the other hand is not an RC The result: Pavel Bure base card The verdict: Whee, more base to play with. Pack #5 First card: 5"x8" Chris Chelios Its fate: So far, over half the 5x8s have survived. Time to change that. The result: Ron Francis base card The verdict: One closer to the set … only 96 to go! Second card: 5"x8" Curtis Joesph Its fate: Rip rip rip! The result: Sergei Samsonov Z-Gold Parallel (76/100) The verdict: Better player, better card … can you ask for anything more? Third card: 5"x8" Alexei Morozov Prospect Its fate: Off with its head! The result: Joe Sakic base card The verdict: To make up for the one I destroyed earlier?? Pack #6 First card: 5"x8" Ray Bourque Its fate: Well I’ve already got the parallel right? So I don’t need the regular … The result: Yanic Perrault base card The verdict: Wait … I do need the regular … Second card: 5"x8" Mike Richter Its fate: Ripping time. The result: Ray Bourque base card The verdict: Aww, Ray has no hard feelings about being ripped. Third card: 5"x8" Joe Nieuwendyk Its fate: Yeah, if Bourque can’t survive Niewy doesn’t stand much chance does he? The result: Rod Brind’Amor The verdict: Well, that pack was exciting. Pack #7 First card: 5"x8" Pat Lafontaine Its fate: Sorry … The result: Manny Malhotra RC The verdict: It’s an RC at least. Second card: 5"x8" Josh Holden RC Its fate: On hold – Well, one of the Holden’s will get it … but which one? Stay tuned! Third card: 5"x8" Ed Belfour Its fate: If the first was ripped, what would keep the second intact? The result: Jozef Stumpel The verdict: Answer – Knowing what was inside. Pack #8 First card: 5"x8" John Vanbisebrouck Its fate: Would I save a goalie? The result: Theo Fleury base card The verdict: Well then … Second card: 5"x8" Manny Malhotra RC Its fate: I still can’t rip up any RC … Third card: 5"x8" Jeremy Roenick Its fate: This one is for those horrible “Rooming with Roenick” Center Ice promos!! The result: Mark Recchi base card The verdict: I did get some cheap anger management out of the whole thing. Pack #9 First card: 5"x8" Teemu Selanne Its fate: I like Teemu … but he has to go The result: Mike Modano base card The verdict: Huh … Second card: 5"x8" Rod Brind ‘Amor Silver Impulse Parallel Its fate: It lives for now … although it’s close … Third card: 5"x8" Jaromir Jagr Its fate: If I’d rip Selanne I’d rip Jagr in a heartbeat. The result: Patrick Marleau base card The verdict: Big base card upgrade on that one. Pack #10 First card: 5"x8" Claude Lemieux Its fate: Isn’t it obvious? The result: Guy Hebert base card The verdict: Thrilling … Second card: 5"x8" Pat LaFontaine Its fate: If Ray can’t survive, then Laffy is going to have some trouble … The result: Chris Phillips Z-Silver Parallel The verdict: It’s a parallel … not of the player I’d like, but it’s a parallel Third card: 5"x8" Brian Leetch Its fate: Oooh, 3-for-3 on this pack! The result: Roberto Luongo RC The verdict: Yeah, I think that’ll do fine! Pack #11 First card: 5"x8" Dominik Hasek Its fate: As if it ever had a chance The result: Mathieu Garon RC The verdict: Yep, another exchange that works out quite nicely! Second card: 5"x8" Eric Lindros Z-Team Its fate: On Hold - Lindros? Anyone else and it probably would have lived for sure but it’s close now … Third card: 5"x8" Jozef Stumpel Its fate: Not only is it just Stumpel, but the thing has a printing defect in the corner. All too easy a decision. The result: Owen Nolan base card The verdict: No more printing defects anyway … Pack #12 First card: 5"x8" Eric Daze Its fate: Time for Daze to live up to his namesake … The result: Steve Yzerman base card The verdict: Yzerman is definitely a better pull than Daze anyway … Second card: 5"x8" Mikael Renberg Its fate: You show me a Lightning card and then give me the choice to rip?? The result: Pat LaFontaine The verdict: Rangers or Lightning … tough call there. Third card: 5"x8" Brendan Shanahan Its fate: Another sweep! The result: Vaclav Prospal RC The verdict: Makes up for the Prospal RC I missed in the Preferred box! Lucky Pack #13 First card: 5"x8" Bryan Berard Its fate: Poor defenseman never get any respect … and I’m not about to start now! The result: Cory Stillman base card The verdict: Not a defenseman. Second card: 5"x8" Saku Koivu Its fate: I gotta go. I need me a Tanguay RC … The result: Patrick Roy Z-Team The verdict: Not a Tanguay RC, but I’ll survive! Third card: 5"x8" Sergei Samsonov Its fate: I’ll keep it for now, gotta show some love to the favorites and all Pack #14 First card: 5"x8" Paul Kariya Its fate: I’ll give Kariya a break for now too … until I need to find that Tanguay RC anyway! Second card: 5"x8" Joe Thornton Prospect Its fate: And Joe’s done like it’s the first round of the playoffs … ohhhh The result: Miroslav Satan base card. The verdict: Well … ahhh … Third card: 5"x8" Peter Forsberg Its fate: He’s got to go. Who else would be concealing a Tanguay RC anyway? The result: Richard Zednik base card The verdict: Well that feel slightly below expectations Pack #15 – The Home Stretch and still no Tanguay First card: 5"x8" Dave Gagner Its fate: Even the card knows what’s happening … it’s trying to rip itself open … The result: Chris Gratton base card The verdict: Well that didn’t work out Second card: 5"x8" Joe Sakic Its fate: Alright. Sakic has got to be it … who else would hold the Tanguay RC? The result: Ed Belfour Z-Silver The verdict: Poor quality control here … the Belfour slid out of the card space before they sealed it and now about half an inch of the left border has paper stuck to it. Wonderful … well I’ll give it away and pretend it’s a Wade Belak base card. Third card: 5"x8" Richard Zednik Its fate: Since I’ve got the little one … The result: Dino Ciccarelli base card The verdict: Dino’s not a rookie … Pack #16 – Getting Desperate First card: 5"x8" Pierre Turgeon Its fate: Read the title … desperate … rip! The result: Alexei Morozov Prospect The verdict: Not quite … Second card: 5"x8" Keith Primeau Silver Impulse Parallels Its fate: The parallels live … for now. Third card: 5"x8" Jarome Iginla Its fate: I can’t rip Iggy … yet … I’m not desperate enough right now. Pack #17 – Time’s ticking away … First card: 5"x8" Ron Francis Its fate: It’s got to go … I’m getting quite desperate now … The result: Teemu Selanne base card The verdict: That doesn’t do much to curb desperation Second card: 5"x8" Yanic Perrault Its fate: It’s trying to rip itself open too … how cute. The result: Mattias Ohlund Prospect The verdict: Hooray or something. Third card: 5"x8” Martin Brodeur Its fate: Got to go. The result: Dave Gagner base card The verdict: What a great desperation pack … Pack #18 – The Last Shot at the Tanguay RC First card: 5"x8" Olaf Kolzig Its fate: This is the end … it’s gotta go The result: Brendan Morrison RC The verdict: Very cool RC to grab … not Tanguay but the next best thing. Second card: 5"x8" Steve Yzerman Its fate: One RC already found, I bet Stevie Y will be a nice guy and gimme the other one. The result: Patrick Roy Pinnacle Enix The verdict: Not sure what a Pinnacle Enix is … but Patrick Roy is always good and they say on the box to look for Enix’s, so this must be good! Third card: 5"x8" Mark Messier Its fate: Last pack … gotta go for the sweep The result: Patrik Elias RC The verdict: What a pack … Elias and Morrison RCs and a nice Roy insert! No Tanguay RC but some nice consolations. On the brink … the 5x8s that were temporarily spared. The first order of business is the duplicate Josh Holden 5x8 RCs. Now, I checked and discovered despite the stamp Pinnacle put on these things, this isn’t Holden’s RC (that came back in 1995-96). That means I have two more cards to rip! Oh, and don’t forget the Mathieu Garon Fake RC too. Three to rip! 5"x8" Josh Holden Fake RC (from Pack # 2) Its fate: Fake RCs are evil … Fake RCs should lead to real ones! The result: Mark Messier base card The verdict: Huh … 5"x8" Josh Holden Fake RC (from Pack # 7) Its fate: Fake RCs are even more evil now! The result: Miroslav Satan base card The verdict: Evil! 5"x8" Mathieu Garon Fake RC (from Pack # 2) Its fate: The last chance for the Fake RCs to redeem themselves… The result: Mark Messier base card The verdict: They don’t do redeeming very well at all, do they? Next the base cards. Roy and Samsonov are going to go because I pulled sweet little cards of them and I am quite desperate at this point. Iginla is also going to go because I just noticed scars across the bottom of the card, so that’s not going to lead to anything good. 5"x8" Patrick Roy base card (from Pack # 1) Its fate: It perishes in the Hunt for Tanguay. The result: Sami Kapanen base card The verdict: That didn’t work … 5"x8" Jarome Iginla base card (from Pack # 16) Its fate: Scratches on the bottom doom this card … The result: Joe Thornton Prospect The verdict: Well … no scratches… 5"x8" Sergei Samsonov Base Cars (from Lucky Pack # 13) Its fate: C’mon Sammy … lead me to victory! The result: Mikael Renberg base card The verdict: That is definitely NOT victory The parallels are next … I don’t really care too much about the Brind ‘Amor or Primeau parallels and the Bure parallel will also join the chopping block due to desperation. The Bourque parallel is not getting ripped at all though. 5"x8" Rod Brind ‘Amor Silver Impulse Parallel (from Pack # 9) Its fate: I am definitely desperate… The result: Manny Malhotra RC The verdict: Not quite the right RC … I’ve got one of those already … 5"x8" Rod Brind ‘Amor Silver Impulse Parallel (from Pack # 16) Its fate: The other parallel had an RC … c’mon, c’mon … The result: Vincent LeCavalier RC The verdict: Not Tanguay … but the best RC I could ever hope to dupe! 5"x8" Pavel Bure Silver Impulse Parallel (from Pack # 3) Its fate: 2-for-2 on RCs in Impulses … this has got to be the one! The result: Theo Fleury base card The verdict: That’s not an RC! Curse you Pavel! The ultimate desperation strikes. Time to cut down cards I never thought I would. The Kariya base card definitely is a leading candidate, followed by the Malhotra big RC (I’ve got two little ones anyway and Malhotra isn’t in big demand) followed by the Lindros Z-Team …. This is about it … only 5x8s after this are Bourque’s Impulse, LeCavalier’s RC and Luongo’s RC …. 5"x8" Paul Kariya base card (from Pack # 14) Its fate: This is the last hour … The result: Alyn McCauley base card The verdict: Not quite what I wanted … 5"x8" Manny Malhotra RC (from Pack # 8) Its fate: Gotta do it … The result: Saku Koivu base card The verdict: Someone get the unripper! 5"x8" Eric Lindros Z-Team (from Pack # 11) Its fate: I’m ripping an insert?? The result: Eric Lindros Z-Team Gold The verdict: That’s just a riot!! Alright, I have two big LeCavalier RCs … two little ones as well … I’m not going to ever rip the other one … so I’ll try this big one in hopes of the Tangers 5"x8" Vincent LeCavalier RC (from Pack # 1) Its fate: This is pathetic The result: Chris Osgood base card The verdict: I’m done. TOTAL BV of Desperation Ripped 5x8s: $75.15 TOTAL BV of What they Yielded: $152.75 GAIN/LOSS of BV in Desperation Ripping: + $77.60 (It would have been over a $100 gain if I had left the big Vinny RC alone though) Best Rip: Joe Sakic 5x8 base card turning into a Vincent LeCavalier RC Worst Rip: Vincent LeCavalier 5x8 RC turning into a Chris Osgood base card. Funniest Rip: Eric Lindros 5x8 Z-Team Silver turning into an Eric Lindros Z-Team Gold! When all is Said and Done: Vincent LeCavalier RC (BV $80) Vincent LeCavalier RC (BV $80) Roberto Luongo RC (BV $60) Patrick Roy Z-Team Silver (BV $60) Eric Lindros Z-Team Gold (BV $60) Brendan Morrison RC (BV $25) Roberto Luongo 5x8 RC (BV $25) Patrick Roy Pinnacle Epix Play Purple (BV $16) Patrik Elias RC (BV $15) Sergei Samsonov Z-Gold Parallel (76/100) (BV $15) Ray Bourque 5x8 Silver Impulse Parallel (BV $10) Manny Malhotra RC (BV $10) Manny Malhotra RC (BV $10) Vaclav Prospal RC (BV $6) Chris Phillips Z-Silver Parallel (BV $2.50) Ed Belfour Z-Silver Parallel (mint BV $7.25, as is BV negligible) TOTAL BV: $464.50 Ruminations: I got every major rookie in the set except for the one I wanted. It’s hard to be depressed with premier rookies of LeCavalier (twice!), Luongo, Morrison, Elias, and even a lesser Prospal RC. Even hit the perfect Z-Gold in Samsonov and had a ton of nice Roy inserts that should be nice and tradeable. But I wanted that Tanguay RC from the start and never got it. Although you know, having gathered all these cards together for the scan, I realize I got a ton of awesome rookies, it hurts a bit not getting the Tanguay but I can certainly live with what I got!! That $481.75 BV is probably overvalued as well, I’m not sure all the inserts would do as well as claimed, although I probably will looking into getting a bunch of the RCs graded and if they do well … that could definitely help. Product Review: It got a little tiring as the packs wore on and the Dare to Tear gimmick started wearing off. I mean, I'm basically ripping everything that isn't a rookie or an insert anyway, so the real "daring" didn't come until what I have dubbed "Desperation Time" above. And actually, half of those wouldn't have been ripped had I found a Tanguay RC along the way even. While the break does wear down as the "Dare to Tear" concept fades, you can't argue with the cards. Some great RCs in here and you get dozens of them. That might cause you to be somewhat skeptical of their market value (if every $80 box has 2 LeCavalier RCs how long do you think the single will sell for $80?) but still most of these RCs are as good as it gets ... these are some of the rarest RCs from 1997-98 and that will always keep the rookies high and in demand ... I mean really, $80 and I got 5 outstanding premier rookies? I'd pay $16 each for Vincent LeCavalier's, Roberto Luongo's, Brendan Morrison, and Patrik Elias' best rookies. The value is certainly there and Zenith is a great way to dig up the "old" rookies of some of the young stars breaking out now in the league. Box Rating: 9.9 / 10 I have to deduct a tenth for not giving me the Tanguay RC I wanted ... sorry. Almost perfect ... gimme Tanguay dupes instead of Malhotra dupes and we'll talk :) Product Rating: 9.0 / 10 Dare to Tear concept is a no-brainer most of the time, but a nice design, solid RCs, and the desperation ripping at the end all make it undoubtedly worth your while.