Ultimate Color Blast Insert Guide

Color Blast cards are some of the most eye-catching cards that Panini has ever created, and not only are they beautiful cards – they’re valuable cards, too. They’re an SSP, meaning they’re exceptionally tough pulls that have been as tough to find as one per case or even one per x-many cases. In this post, we’ll take a trip through Colorblast and see what makes these cards so valuable, and – more importantly – should you invest in them. We hope you enjoy our ultimate Color Blast insert guide.

Color Blast Insert Guide To Its Uniqueness

Color Blast cards are pretty close to the Kaboom cards and the Downtown cards in many ways: they’re artistic, they’re hard to pull, and they’re often very valuable. However, one of the most significant differences is that they haven’t been around for as long.

In fact, Colorblasts first hit the market in 2019 and have since been a tremendously popular super-short print or SSP. Panini made some controversial decisions in the rollout – notably including Color Blast in NBA Draft Prizm instead of Prizm to keep the demand high for the weaker product – but that cards were received very well.

The card is unique because there are no other cards that look anything like it. They are white (apart from a black version released for the Obsidian set) with an explosion of color in the middle. The athlete is pictured in the middle of the Color Blast.

Unlike Kaboom and Downtown, these cards use an actual player image instead of an artistic rendering. For collectors that prefer the realistic look, this could be a draw.

These beautiful cards have a photo of the player, rather than an artistic rendering like other premium inserts. Look for Tyrese Maxey colorblasts on eBay. 

Color Blast Insert Guide To Rarity

How are Color Blast inserts? The rareness of Color Blast remains up for debate. It’s been stated for some products but not others. During the first release in the 2019 Prizm Set, Panini’s selling points advertised them as something you could find in “1 out of every 10 cases.” Now that’s an SSP.

Nonetheless, Panini has changed how they talk about Color Blast over the last few seasons. For example, 2021 Prizm football says to “look the ultra-rare Color Blast” but doesn’t provide any specifics for how rare they are. Like most other products, however, it’s easy to assume that the print run has swelled, and the Color Blasts aren’t quite as rare now as they were in their inaugural year.

At some point, we’ll be able to tell thanks to the PSA grading population report, but that doesn’t work with Color Blast cards.

Why?

Recent years of the cards (anything 2020 or later) will not be graded as often because PSA has been so backlogged and mismanaged over the last 18 months that the Color Blast cards are not being graded nearly as frequently as they would under more normal circumstances.

Graded colorblast inserts are relatively rare because of the backlog at PSA. Look for PSA 10 colorblasts on eBay. 

Color Blast Insert Guide To Where To Find Them

Where can you find Color Blast inserts? Color Blast is primarily a Prizm product – that’s how it was introduced – but it’s seemed out a bit over the years and sports. So here’s a list of where you can hope to find Color Blasts.

Basketball

• Spectra 2019-21
• Prizm Draft Picks 2019-21

Football

• Prizm 2019-21
• Obsidian 2020
• Prizm Draft Picks 2020-21

Baseball

• 2019-21 Prizm

Other

• Prizm Premier League Soccer 2019-21
• Obsidian Soccer 2020-21
• Prizm NASCAR 2021
• UFC Prizm 2021
• Prizm WNBA 2021

Panini has been inserting Color Blasts in sports cards outside the big US sports. Look for Lionel Messi Color Blasts on eBay. 

Color Blast Insert Guide To Value

To get a better feel for the value of Color Blast Cards, let’s compare the other most popular SSPs – Kaboom and Downtown. Please note it’s challenging to compare these because they’re so rare that it’s hard to get them to line up one-to-one.

So What Are Color Blasts Worth?

With the Mahomes example, the most valuable sales in descending order were Color Blast, Kaboom, Downtown.

The Curry example’s most valuable sales in descending order were Color Blast, Downtown, Kaboom.

What do we do with this information? It’s hard to say what changed the value of the Downtown and Kaboom between sports and players. Still, with SSPs that rarely are on the market and seldom have competition, the final selling price comes down to simply how much the most passionate collector is willing to pay for the card while it’s available.

Either way, the Color Blasts are hands-down the most valuable of Panini’s big three SSP lineup. They were nearly twice as valuable as the next most expensive card in both cases above.

Translation: If you’re lucky enough to pull one, you’re making bank. If you’re looking to buy one, you better be ready to pony up some cash.

Color Blast Insert Guide To The Top Five Cards

Finally, here’s our countdown of the Top 5 Color Blast Cards ever and why you should consider them. Note: this list is solely the opinion of me, the writer.

Also, note: I usually do a Top 10, but these cards have been around for 2 years. So 10 might be pushing it. Other honorable mentions could include the LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards Prizm rookies.

5. Any Curry/LeBron/Luka/Mahomes/Brady

I said the same thing during my review of Kaboom and Downtown. However, the claim still holds: any time you’re lucky enough to get a Color Blast of the GOAT-conversation players, it’s incredibly valuable and arguably worthy of a top-5 spot on this list. The only thing keeping these players from landing higher is that they’re not rookie cards, which adds inherent value.

4.  Zion Williamson Rookie 2019-20 Spectra

Zion has been controversial and confusing all year long (2021-22). He is trying to force his way out of New Orleans; he keeps having setbacks to his health, and seeing him in public is like running into a sasquatch. That said, there’s a reality where Zion comes back and has a career that looks like it did last year when Williamson was an absolute force to contend with. If that happens, he could easily be number one on this list.

The Zion Color Blast is special because it is a rookie of a possible future MVP. Look for his Color Blast inserts on eBay. 

3. Justin Herbert Rookie 2020 Prizm

Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are neck and neck. You could consider them tied for number two if you want to – that’s how close they are. But since Burrow made a magical Super Bowl run and Herbert hasn’t reached the playoffs yet, Burrow probably has the slight edge with most collectors. Either way, lots to love about having a Herbert Color Blast rookie.

Justin Herbert is another rookie with Hall of Fame potential. Look for his Color Blast cards on eBay. 

2. Joe Burrow Rookie Prizm

Joe Burrow has redefined cool for a new era of football fans after a Super Bowl trip and lots of swag, boosting the value of his Prizm rookies. Is there a world where he never reaches the Super Bowl again? Yes. Absolutely. The AFC is cut-throat. But from what we’ve seen thus far, it’s hard to bet against this young man.

1. Ja Morant Rookie 2019-20 Spectra

This pick may be a case of recency bias. After all, Morant has been playing like an MVP over the last two months upon me writing this article. If I wrote it in mid-February, Joey B would have the number one spot. But Ja Morant is proving to be explosive, dangerous, and leading a hungry young Grizzlies team to a top seed in the West. If I were to have a color blast card today, Morant would be the one I want most.

Call it recency bias if you want, but Ja Morant looks like the real thing to us. Look for his Color Blast cards on eBay. 

Bottomline Of The Color Blast Insert Guide

Color Blast cards are not only eye-catching, but they’re rare and artful enough to make them long-term holds. So if you’re interested in investing in Color Blasts, it could pay off big time in the future – despite the steep entry price.