Germain Lussier interview, Classic Art 2, Women of Star Wars

Joining us this week is io9.com entertainment reporter Germain Lussier, the author of How the Hell Is This JPG of Han Solo Worth $225? He's been trading cards since nearly the beginning, and wrote the article to introduce the app, who runs it, and the community surrounding it, to people not already in the know. He gives us a background into how he got pulled into the app, the approach he used for the story, and extra bits from the people he spoke with at Lucasfilm and Topps that didn't make it into the article.

In other news, Michael's bold predictions fell flat last week: Topps stays silent on TK and storyboard...Topps gently put us in our place, reminding us that our predictions come true or not at their whim. So, thus humbled, we rein in our projections for this week, which, is probably a safe hedging of our bets, given what may be launching on Force Friday. We discuss the new sets, including the changes to the Classic Art format in #2, and Women of Star Wars, overall giving both a thumbs up due to the info we've been asking for, set length, awards to be had, etc., at their launch.

Also, of course, our R2 unit reveals the final clues for the Black Sun Card Cantina contest! Join the group and collect the clues from this month's episodes for a chance to win 7 marathon cards!

Follow Germain (and us) on Twitter, and stay close with us as we approach Force Friday!

Seven new sets in a week: From Prism to Naboo

"I'm thinking a new set between now and the next time we record." Michael, Thursday 7/30/2015.

I don't know if his prediction was accurate, or wildly inaccurate. Prism was released that afternoon and made his prediction true, but then 6 other sets introduced after that made something of a mockery of "a new set or two." Posters of the Rebellion, Mechanical Evolution, Icons, Light Side, Street Art, and Naboo have followed so fast and furious that our usual reflexive refresh of the Transmission feed has been tempered somewhat, lest it reveal another set and associated packs to vie for our at
tention in the Cantina. Speaking of which, at the time we recorded and our posting this, we count 18 different packs for sale in the Cantina without master pack access, and a whopping 37 total if you've got access to that. Don't say they never gave you enough options about where to spend credits!

Our contest in association with the Black Sun Card Cantina continues; listen for R2 to get another couple of letters for the prize hunt.

Thanks for letting us know you're enjoying what you're hearing. Reach out to us at CT_Illuminerdy on Twitter.

August Giveaway, Reflections / Wave 2 wrap up

We are helping to give away some cards! The Black Sun Card Cantina has 7 wave 2 marathon cards to give away at the end of August. To win: listen during the month as we give out letters each week. Re-arrange them for the correct solution. Be the first to post it to the Black Sun Card Cantina group to win all seven cards!

This week sees the end of Wave 2 as well as the relatively short-lived Reflections set. We tackle the existential question: Is it better for a set to end in the midst of its prime, before chase fatigue sets in, or better for it to fade away? Reflections is ending while still being the hottest trading ticket going; in addition to its good looks, will this ending cement it as set with trade longevity long past its "active"ness?

We also do a "Scorecard Rundown" to assess what we've gotten right and wrong in the last week: Spoiler alert, we weren't 100% correct!

Thanks as always for listening, and especially reaching out to us to let us know you're enjoying what you're hearing! On Twitter: @CT_Illuminerdy