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AIC NEWS: What Will be the Toy Line of 2025?
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Welcome to AICNN (Adventures in Collecting News Network) where toy news matters! This is your AIC NEWS brief. Give us a few minutes, and we'll give you the goods.
This week the AICNN anchors kick off the 5th Annual Archie tournament to crown the best toy line of the year!
Donate to the Operation Toy Train Toys for Tots toy drive before 12/13 at Chubzzy Wubzzy! https://chubzzywubzzy.com
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
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Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction to the 2025 Archie Tournament
00:00:05
Speaker
AICNN, where toy news matters.
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. ah This is a special edition of AIC News as we have kicked off our 2025 Archie tournament.
00:00:24
Speaker
For those not in the know, this this is our fifth annual tournament that ah crowns the toy line of the year. So we pick 64 different toy lines and pit them against each other in a single elimination tournament voted on by you, our listeners, subscribers, and followers over on Instagram at AIC underscore podcast.
00:00:46
Speaker
The stories go up with polls and ah anyone that wants to vote can vote. And we had thousands of votes this year, which is amazing. um Super, super cool to see so many people turn out and vote Yeah, really, really excited with the results. But before we reveal the round one results and the minor bit of controversy that came with round one, a little bit of housekeeping.
Toy Drive Collaboration with Chubsy-Websy Toys
00:01:10
Speaker
So first and foremost, um it is that time of the year again, and it is time for our toy drive with our friends at Chubsy-Websy Toys in Little Falls, New Jersey. We are making donations really, really easy for you.
00:01:24
Speaker
um Instead of going around and finding a Toys for Tots box, and not getting to actually see that donation happen, we have something, a special opportunity for you. So we have teamed up with our friends Machu and J-Shot over at Between Two Sentinels and Chubsy Wubsy Toys to donate directly to Operation Toy Train.
00:01:46
Speaker
um Really, really cool part of the Toys for Tots universe. There is a restored train, multiple routes, but in our case, the Northeast Corridor here, a restored train that pulls up and you get to actually take the toys that you donated and put them on the train yourself.
00:02:05
Speaker
Santa Claus is there. They usually have all these that's kind of pomp and circumstances. The the Girl Scouts are part of it. It's it's a very big um event in ah in in a bunch of local towns. And what we do is we pick one of the stops. We show up together, we donate the toys. You get to actually see the things that you donated, go onto a train,
00:02:26
Speaker
um it's It's a really cool experience. So um what you can do is you can visit ChubseyWubseyToys.com and we'll put a link um in the description below where you can do that. There are tons of toys available on Chubsey's website in the clearance section.
00:02:41
Speaker
This is your opportunity to donate and make the season bright for children that are are less privileged. So um if you can find it in your heart and your wallet,
00:02:52
Speaker
If you donate a little bit, not only do you help give back to a really, really cool ah local business, but you're donating toys to children in need.
2025 Holiday Giveaway Details
00:03:00
Speaker
So um it's a great way to give back during the holidays. Speaking of giving back, it is also time for 2025 holiday giveaway. So
00:03:13
Speaker
You know, it is it is that time of the year and every year for the past four years or so we have done this kind of instant ah holiday in a box giveaway. So um one winner will receive a box with everything pictured here. including a $100 gift card to the D. Blake Makes store donated by D. Blake, Damien himself. So we've partnered with him on this giveaway. He's contributed that ah that very gracious gift card to his store here in ah in our box. So um the box has a little bit of everything. So it's got Funko Pops, got Handmade by Robots, Sectors, got Savage Crucible, Total Anime, it's got some stuff from Super Impulse, some stuff from our friends at Collect Major, it's got a Platinum Edition, Batman from McFarlane Toys, some Ringside exclusive, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall figures, the Tamashi Nation store, New York
00:04:09
Speaker
the city exclusive Goku, some G.I. Joe classified, some Marvel Legends, some LEGO, some PMI toys. There's a lot happening in this bundle. It's kind of the biggest bundle that we've given out um so far, which is really, really fun.
00:04:24
Speaker
So ah you can head on over to at AIC underscore podcast and and get your your entry in to win this amazing prize package. And then just one last note about the giveaway, um or I'm sorry, the toy drive.
00:04:40
Speaker
The last day to donate is December 13th. So that's this Friday. If you are listening to this episode and it is new, you have until this Friday, December 13th to donate. So make sure you you get your donations in at chubsywubsy.com. Or if you are in the area, go visit him and you can you can purchase a toy in person and and give it to the donation. So whatever is easier for you.
Tournament Rules Explained
00:05:05
Speaker
So with that said, let's head on over to our tournament results here. So like i said, first first round, 64 toy lines, um some rules. So in previous years, we have established two rules. One, if you receive less than 10% of the vote in a round, you are eliminated from further competition.
00:05:26
Speaker
um As in, you you'd get a year off. You're basically disqualified from the next year. so that's one rule. Two rule, or second rule. ah The only team that gets a seeded slot in the tournament is the previous year's winner. So last year's winner was the Marvel Legends line. So they are the one seed.
00:05:44
Speaker
Everything else is completely randomized. We do have one. We had a couple of lines that dropped off due to either discontinuation or or non-production. So um we did make an exception and brought back a couple of the lines last year that did fall under that 10 percent mark.
00:05:59
Speaker
um It was kind of unusual. We had a couple of companies go out of business, couple of toy lines stop. So we did need to make some shuffling and we felt that it was it was valid to bring some of these back.
00:06:10
Speaker
Most notably, our our good friend Josh over at Zombie Sailor Toys, um Heels and Faces absolutely crushes it and they they caught a buzzsaw in the first round last year. So um we wanted to make sure that they got back into play this year.
00:06:24
Speaker
So that being said, let's hop into the results and take a look at what happened in round one of the tournament.
Round One Results and Highlights
00:06:32
Speaker
So our first matchup here was Marvel Legends versus Masters of the Universe Origins. Marvel Legends topples them 81% 19%.
00:06:43
Speaker
um Not our biggest margin, though. Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron toppled the Biker Meister Mars with a 58% over 42% victory. ah Our closest matchup, Super 7 Ultimates, just edged out ah Rebel Tech Amazing Yamaguchi 51% to 49%.
00:07:02
Speaker
ah Boss Fight Epic Hacks, that's the 112 scale line, they won over SH Monster Arts 54% 46%.
00:07:10
Speaker
Our first competitors that get discontinued or disqualified from next year's competition. Pro Wrestling Tees, Micro Brawlers lost out 7% to 93% against the Mattel WWE line.
00:07:25
Speaker
Bandai's Gundam Universe falls to Jax Pacific Mario 43 to 57. Super Reaction loses to against Sonic line.
00:07:38
Speaker
The Bandai SH Figure Arts line topples the Valverse Action Force line 62 to 38. Jada Mega Man beats Jack Simpsons 59 to 41.
00:07:51
Speaker
Star Wars Retro Collection loses to Storm Arena 29 71.
00:07:56
Speaker
The Four Horsemen Studios' Figure Obscura lo wins over Mattel Jurassic 54 to 46. NECA Ultimates beat out Good Smile Company's Nendroid line 82 to 18%.
00:08:10
Speaker
Knights of the Slice loses to Loose Collector Collectibles 15 to 85. The Little People lose to Star Wars The Vintage Collection 17 to 83. Mezco 112 loses to Jada Street Fighter 29 71.
00:08:24
Speaker
Mezco 5 points beats out the Collect Major Big Rubber Guys 55 to 45. Jazzwares 5 Nights at Freddy's beats out Major Bendy's 66 to 34.
00:08:36
Speaker
McFarlane Movie Maniacs loses to the Masters of the Universe Masterverse 20 to 80 percent. Figma loses to Blockies 38 to 62.
00:08:47
Speaker
Jazwares AEW beats out Marvel Epic Heroes 58 to 42. Our second and last competitor that gets disqualified from next year's competition is Thrilljoy with pulling in only 6% of the vote against Mondo's real Ghostbusters claiming 94%. And that is our biggest margin of victory in the in the first round.
00:09:10
Speaker
Tooney Terrors beat out Handmade by Robots 87 13. Monster Force by Freshmonkey Fiction and Big Bad Workshop beats out Funko Pop 79 to 21.
00:09:20
Speaker
The big first round of clash of Hasbro's Transformers versus G.I. Joe Classified. Classified comes out on top with a split. Jada Scooby-Doo beats out the Ghostbusters Plasma Series fifty eight to forty two after we needed to rerun the vote. The first round yielded in a 50-50 mathematical tie.
00:09:41
Speaker
Exact tie. So we did rerun the vote and ah the vote came out with a with an upper hand to Jada Scooby-Doo. Like I said, 58-42. Animal Warriors of the Kingdom by Spearow beats out Jazware's Total Anime sixty two to thirty eight Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beats out Hassle Toy Grapplers and Gimmicks 83 to 17.
00:10:03
Speaker
McFarlane Superpowers beats out Zombies Heels Faces 80 to 20. Star Wars The Black Series beats out Savage Crucible 70 to 30. Medicom Moffex loses to McFarlane DC Multiverse 45 to 55.
00:10:18
Speaker
NECA's Ben Cooper Kids loses to Bandai's Anime Heroes 43 to 57. And the the Battle of the Four Horsemen Studios major lines, Cosmic Legions and Mythic Legions comes out mythic legions comes out with vote so what does that leave us for round two which will start tomorrow uh what date is that that is tuesday it is tuesday the ninth so uh tuesday december 9th uh voting will open in the morning on uh on round two for the archie tournament which we'll see marvel legends take on star wars micro galaxy super seven ultimates will take on boss fight epic hacks Mattel WWE wwe will take on Jax Mario.
00:11:07
Speaker
Jax Sonic will take on Bondi's SH Figure Arts. Jada Mega Man will take on Storm Arena. That's an interesting one. Figura Obscura will take on NECA Ultimates.
00:11:18
Speaker
Loose Collector Collectibles will take on Star Wars The Vintage Collection. Jada Street Fighter will take on Mezco Five Points. Jazwares Five Nights at Freddy will take on the Masterverse.
00:11:29
Speaker
Blockies will take on Jasper's AEW. Mondo the Real Ghostbusters will square off against Toonie Terrors. Monster Force will square off against G.I. Joe Classified.
00:11:40
Speaker
Jada Scooby Doo will clash with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom. Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will square off against McFarlane Superpowers. Star Wars the Black Series against DC Multiverse, and Anime Heroes will square off against Mythic Legions all in our second round.
00:11:57
Speaker
um Personally, the ones that I am looking out for the most, um I think it goes without saying that any of the previous winners, so Marvel Legends um and G.I. Joe Classified are all you know very much so in the hunt.
00:12:13
Speaker
But I think that the the line, the company to watch here is Jada. So there has been a lot of chatter about Jada's Mega Man line, Jada's um Street Fighter line, Jada's Scooby Doo line. All three of those lines made it out of the first ah First round.
00:12:30
Speaker
So all of the data ah Jada opportunities still
Round Two Preview and Predictions
00:12:34
Speaker
exist. I think the Storm Arena figures also present a challenge throughout this. So the matches that I would say to look out for in round two um Let's see what happens with the kind of Jax bracket. We could be looking at a Jax Mario versus Jax Sonic ah situation in round three.
00:12:55
Speaker
um We've got Jada up against Storm Arena in round two here as well. So Jada Mega Man versus Storm Arena, I think that's one to watch out for because that does have the trajectory If things go a certain way, we could be looking at Storm Arena versus Jada Street Fighter um in in round four.
00:13:19
Speaker
So I would definitely keep an eye out on on those kind of four matches here to see where that goes. So that's Jada Mega Man versus Storm Arena, Figure Obscura versus NECA Ultimates, Loose Collector versus Star Wars The Vintage Collection and Jada Street Fighter versus Mezco 5 points. Those four matchups um could lead to a showdown between Storm Arena and Jada Street Fighter if it goes a certain way. So I would definitely keep an eye on those matches. um I would also watch out for blockies and keep an eye out on what they're up to.
00:13:53
Speaker
That's another line that has been i'm pretty pretty well lauded in 2025. So it's it's definitely something to watch out for. Um, ultimately the way that the brackets did randomize, we are looking at the potential matchup of, um, what we've a matchup we've seen multiple times, uh, in this tournament, which is Marvel legends versus, uh, GI Joe classified for either the final or the semi or I think it's the final. Yeah.
00:14:18
Speaker
ah if If it goes the the right way, i guess you could say the, if you split this in a north-south situation, um Marvel Legends does have the the, it is possible that Marvel Legends can take the north um side of the the tournament, as G.I. Joe Classified could take the south, and could see them meeting up in the final. So, yeah.
00:14:44
Speaker
Definitely some interesting matchups in round two and and projected forward.
Audience Participation and Voting
00:14:48
Speaker
So with that, we want to make sure that you vote, make sure that you engage, make sure that you get involved in this tournament. um this is up to you. So you own the destiny of these toy lines and where they fall in this tournament. So make sure that you keep an eye on us at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram. That's where all the voting is going to take place in the stories there.
00:15:11
Speaker
So if you're not following us and you're listening to us, thank you for listening, but please make sure you head on over to Instagram and follow us to get your votes in for this. This is a big, this tournament gets bigger and bigger every year, more and more participation. So We're super excited to see how it goes.
Upcoming Episodes and Holiday Special Tease
00:15:27
Speaker
um And with that, we will be back next week with either another Archie tournament recap um or a standard news episode.
00:15:37
Speaker
Don't quote me on that yet. But then the week after that, so the week of the 22nd, will be our annual holiday extravaganza episode. We are, we we're cooking, as the kids say these days. these days So we we are cooking and we are trying to get something really fun for the holiday.
00:15:54
Speaker
episode this year. So again, stay tuned on Instagram for that too, because if we get the guests that we think that we're going to get, um you're going to want to ask questions and we will be collecting questions for this episode as we usually do.
00:16:07
Speaker
And um you will likely have some for these guests. I'll, I'll put it that way. With that, i on behalf of the entire AI CNN team, this has been your Archie tournament news special until next time.
Credits and Production Details
00:16:27
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Frank Hablaui. This program and many others like it on the Non-Productive Network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.