Holiday festivities have kicked off in Diamond Dynasty inside MLB The Show 26, with this year's Spooky Program launching.
In years past, the Spooky Program is a month-long jaunt through treats and goodies, delivered periodically with new Moments or missions in quick-bursts. It appears we're getting the same layout, so this page will become our running one-stop to bookmark to stay updated on all new Spooky Program content.
As future cards are released in the program, you can find them here!
Spooky Program Breakdown
Part of the fun with the Spooky Program is the inclusion of premium packs along with the new cards. Plenty of us still haven't completed all the big Legends and Flashbacks collections, so getting free picks to circle-back on what we still need is always great.
Two big-time power guys are the first two cards we can earn, with a power-pitcher and power-hitter setting the tone for Spooky month.
J.R. Richard is an absolute beast in terms of pure power and velocity. Outlier on his primary slider and secondary 4-seamer leaves hitters with no shortage of elite velocity to catch up to. Richard's pitch mix is rounded out with a cutter and sinker, with the cutter also nearing 100 MPH and the sinker being reliably mid-90's.
J.R. Richard is a classic dominant power pitcher that doesn't always translate to online play. The speed differentials are pretty close together, and upper divisions of online will most likely tee off on cards like this. However, in Events or lower divisions in Ranked, this is the type of card that you can fire off a random no-hitter with as well.
The second Spooky card reward in the program is Cardinals Big Mac.
Mark McGwire gets a St. Louis 99 OVR and immediately earns a spot on my squad somewhere. I will always love Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire for making baseball fun in the 90's, as the great home run chase captivated 8 year-old Zad helped grow my appreciation for the game. Getting to rock a McGwire card, clad in the 90's unis, will always be a great experience within MLB The Show for me.
Monster Smash Event Program Breakdown
A new Event has launched offering up another Rewind pack, as well as Deluxe and Premier Choice Packs. Somewhat unexciting from a rewards standpoint, but a great way to continue stacking Premier and Ultra Choice packs in preparation of Finest.
We don't know for sure yet, but I would expect Finest to end up with the same tiered packs that we've gotten all year, meaning any Deluxe/Premier/Ultra Choice Packs you sit on could turn into a bunch of free Finest packs when they drop.
I personally prefer Events this time of year, as Ranked is played out and there's nothing new really going on. If you aren't chasing leaderboard status, Ranked sorta falls off by this time so I'll take some Events and free packs.
Spooky Mini Seasons Breakdown
A new Spooky Mini Seasons has also dropped, with four new card rewards along with plenty of packs and XP.
Carlos Santana is often a premium collection or Chase card, so getting access to one within a Mini Seasons run is a nice change. This is a 99 OVR Slamtana that does carry catcher eligibility, but looks strongest at 1B or DH to me.
Anytime we get an Atlanta Braves variant of Gary Sheffield I am interested. This is prime Sheffield offensive prowess with ok enough defense to play in the field. He won't crack my main squad at this point, but boy does it make me want to bust out the Braves theme team again.
Bookmark this page and stay tuned for all future Spooky Program content drops, with card reviews and breakdowns as they are released!
