Upper Deck Artifacts explained: rookie redemptions

Artifacts is an Upper Deck hockey release built around numbered color parallels, memorabilia cards and rookie redemptions. The 2026-27 edition has a 240-card base set, and its last 40 cards are not rookies yet: they are Rookie Redemption cards, RED201 to RED240, that Upper Deck exchanges for rookies it names later. Upper Deck’s checklist ties most of them to an NHL team, and in 2025-26 each team-named card became a rookie from that city.

How is the 2026-27 base set built?

In five numbered blocks:

The breakdown is subject to change. The 2025-26 edition shows why to read the checklist: it was also billed as a 240-card base set, but it runs to 250 numbered base cards, plus seven short-print versions of Stars cards. That edition had 35 Stars, a 15-card Goalies block, 30 Rookies and 50 redemption cards. Artifacts is a mid-range product for seasoned collectors, strong on memorabilia cards.

How do the Rookie Redemptions work?

The redemption card in the pack is a placeholder for a rookie card Upper Deck makes later.

1. The checklist ties each card to a team, or to none. On the 2026-27 checklist, RED201 to RED232 each name one NHL team, from the Anaheim Ducks at RED201 onward, and RED233 to RED240 name no single team. The rookie column reads TBD on all 40.

2. Upper Deck names the rookies later. For 2025-26, Redeemed Rookies 201 to 250, each numbered to 999, are named in a separate Artifacts Rookies Checklist dated February 2, 2026. They use the same numbers as the 50 redemption cards on the main checklist. All 32 cards that named a team became a rookie listed under the same city: 31 under the same team name, and Utah’s under a different team name. Card 201, for example, named the Anaheim Ducks and became Beckett Sennecke.

3. The redeemed rookies come back the next year. The 2026-27 edition includes a 50-card “2025 Update” Clear Cut acetate set in a block named Rookies, with card numbers 201 to 250, at 1:29 in hobby. They are the same 50 players at the same numbers as the 2025-26 redeemed list.

So “RED” in front of the number means the unexchanged placeholder, and a plain 201 to 250 means the redeemed card or its later acetate version. Check which one a listing is selling.

Do the redemptions come in other versions?

Yes. The top rookies in the program also get autograph, memorabilia and autograph memorabilia cards. The 2026-27 edition has 10 Rookie Redemption entries each in the Platinum Sparkle, Yellow, Purple, Emerald and Masterful Artifacts colors, 10 signed Black ones, six Rookie Relic Redemptions in each Material and Auto Material color, 18 Rookie Auto Variations Redemptions in three groups at 1:300, 1:600 and 1:1500 in hobby, and 10 Horizontal Rookies Auto Redemptions.

How do you redeem one?

Through your Upper Deck account. If more than 45 days pass after you redeem online, contact Upper Deck’s customer care. A card no longer in stock can be replaced with one of equal secondary market value. Our guide to sports card redemptions covers the full process, expiry dates and what to check before you buy one secondhand.

Which parallels does Artifacts have?

A long ladder of colors on the same blocks. From Upper Deck’s 2026-27 checklist, where “Packs” means listed in packs with no rate given:

Black works differently. It covers 94 base-block cards, 54 of them signed, and every Black rookie card is signed. Our guide to sports card parallels explains how serial-numbered colors work.

What are the Leather, Wood, Plexi and Clear Cut cards?

Versions of the Stars, Greats and Rookies printed on other materials, listed only in hobby.

Which cards carry memorabilia?

Four Material colors, plus signed Auto Material versions. Material Gold carries jersey pieces, Emerald a jersey and a patch piece, and Purple and Black mostly patch pieces. On Material Gold, the run depends on the block: 249 for base cards, 149 for Stars, 99 for Greats and 399 for Rookies. Material Emerald, Purple and Black step down from there, to as few as two copies on Material Black Greats. Auto Material Black cards are one of one. Material versions cover most cards, not all: Material Gold, for example, lists 91 of the 100 base-block cards. Our guide to patch cards and RPAs explains swatch cards.

What other inserts are there?

The 2026-27 inserts, with their listed hobby rates:

• Aurum: 84 cards in four groups, including 14 rookies, listed from 1:13 to 1:160. Aurum Teal versions are numbered to 150 or 100, and signed Aurum versions to 25.
• Auto Facts: 49 signed cards at 1:38.
• Top Tier Rookie Signatures: 12 signed rookies at 1:1000.
• Antiquity: 10 acetate cards at 1:144.
• NHL Remnants and Threads of Time: jersey cards, 31 and 12 of them, at 1:150 and 1:400.
• Tundra Teammates: jersey cards with two swatches, numbered to 49, or four, numbered to 25.

What does a box hold?

A box holds these, on average:

• four serial-numbered base set or base parallel cards
• two autograph, memorabilia or tech insert cards
• one Aurum card
• one Rookie Redemption card or acetate card

Each pack has three base cards. Read the box for its pack count before you turn a pack rate into a box figure. Rates and per-box figures are averages, so any one box can differ. Sky Blue and Jade Green come only in blasters, and the Material versions and most signed inserts only in hobby. Our guide to hobby and retail boxes explains the difference.

When does Artifacts come out?

Each checklist carries a date in Upper Deck’s archive:

The two most recent main checklists are dated in September, and the two before them in December. The archive also lists Artifacts Golf checklists, the latest dated July 10, 2026. Our guide to Upper Deck hockey sets places Artifacts in the yearly lineup.

How to check an Artifacts card before you buy

1. Read the number. 1 to 100 is base, 101 to 170 is Stars or Greats, 171 to 200 is a rookie, and RED201 to RED240 is an unexchanged redemption.
2. For a redemption, look up the team for its number on the checklist, and check whether a listing sells the placeholder or the redeemed card.
3. Match the color to the serial number using the table above. A Ruby base card reads out of 599; a Ruby rookie out of 499.
4. Measure the borders with our centering checker, which shows the CGC and SGC grades a centering split allows.
5. Price the exact version from recent sales, as our guide to finding what a card sold for explains.

Rip.fan’s card price lookup covers English Pokémon cards only, so sold listings are where to price Artifacts. If you sell on Whatnot, the seller fee calculator shows what you keep after its fees. Our guides to O-Pee-Chee, SP Authentic and The Cup cover more Upper Deck hockey, and the sports cards hub lists the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Should you uncover the code on a redemption card you plan to sell?

No. Each Upper Deck code is unique, so leave the cover over it intact until you redeem the card yourself. Once a code is uncovered and shared, anyone could claim it online.

How long do you have to report a problem with a shipped redemption?

6 months from the shipping date. Upper Deck's system files lost mail claims only within that window, so check your account for status updates.

When can you reach Upper Deck about a redemption?

Its redemption department answers Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time, by phone or by email.