Price$12.00
Media TypeDeck of Cards
CategoryCollectibles
Date AddedSep 17, 2013
Reviews
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Decks of cards are difficult to review. There are tons of decks out there and there are tons of uses for cards. I’m going to try to focus on this decks use in magic, flourishing, and gaming.
Fortunately after you know the details about a deck it is easy to figure out if it will work for you. The details that I will concentrate on are as follow: print quality, finish, pip and face design, back design, and box design.
Box Design
The box is nice. It is black with what looks like gold foil. In a circular pattern on one side and a stylized mans face on the other. I understand that it is supposed to be a Chinese themed deck but the man looks like he could be Aztec.
Back Design
Upon opening the deck all of the cards are black with a yellow and tan design. I was kind of disappointed with the color, I was hoping for gold cards, but the yellow looks alright. The design looks eastern but not necessarily what I would consider Chinese.
Pip and Face Design
The pips look to me as if they are part of an early video game. They are all slightly slanted and they have a weird repeated outline below every single one. The repeat seems to coorespond with the value of the card, so on a 3 it is repeated 3 times.
Even with the black deck it is easy to differentiate the black and red. The black pips are just outlines in white while the red cards are filled in with bright red ink.
The indices are too close to the corners for many card effects. The perfect placement would be in the same place that the borders stop. They are way too close in my opinion.
All of the face cards are custom. Their pips are outlined in yellow rather than white like the others and they are completely printed in yellow ink. They are unique and look very nice.
All of the aces use typical sized pips except for the ace of spades. It is large ornate and gold. It does not feel like it belongs in the deck.
Finish
The finish is very slick. It is similar to an air cushion finish but they slide around easier. I’ve come across this with custom decks made by Bicycle from time to time with decks that have pictures of Elvis and Disney Princesses on them. They are very slippery.
They feel thinner than standard Bicycle cards. This may be preferred by some. They have a similar thickness to Stud cards.
Print Quality
Usually there is no issue with this but unfortunately on this deck there are some issues. The back design is slightly off to one side. Problems of this nature can be a risk when playing cards.
Of course with the black ink of the cards, any scuffs or scratches leave you with white imperfections. After time this makes it very difficult to hide a card that has been secretly reversed in the deck. Some of this can be minimized if you take a black marker and color the sides of the deck.
Both jokers are designed differently. The king of clubs is the suicide king rather than the heart, the jacks of diamonds and clubs have one eye rather than the classic spade and heart as well. There are 2 advertisement cards rather than a double baker or blank card.
Overall
I feel like this deck would be best used for cardistry and flourishing. It looks nice but there are various problems that make it difficult to perform magic with. I feel like they just put a deck out that looks nice rather than concentrating on actual function.
Fortunately after you know the details about a deck it is easy to figure out if it will work for you. The details that I will concentrate on are as follow: print quality, finish, pip and face design, back design, and box design.
Box Design
The box is nice. It is black with what looks like gold foil. In a circular pattern on one side and a stylized mans face on the other. I understand that it is supposed to be a Chinese themed deck but the man looks like he could be Aztec.
Back Design
Upon opening the deck all of the cards are black with a yellow and tan design. I was kind of disappointed with the color, I was hoping for gold cards, but the yellow looks alright. The design looks eastern but not necessarily what I would consider Chinese.
Pip and Face Design
The pips look to me as if they are part of an early video game. They are all slightly slanted and they have a weird repeated outline below every single one. The repeat seems to coorespond with the value of the card, so on a 3 it is repeated 3 times.
Even with the black deck it is easy to differentiate the black and red. The black pips are just outlines in white while the red cards are filled in with bright red ink.
The indices are too close to the corners for many card effects. The perfect placement would be in the same place that the borders stop. They are way too close in my opinion.
All of the face cards are custom. Their pips are outlined in yellow rather than white like the others and they are completely printed in yellow ink. They are unique and look very nice.
All of the aces use typical sized pips except for the ace of spades. It is large ornate and gold. It does not feel like it belongs in the deck.
Finish
The finish is very slick. It is similar to an air cushion finish but they slide around easier. I’ve come across this with custom decks made by Bicycle from time to time with decks that have pictures of Elvis and Disney Princesses on them. They are very slippery.
They feel thinner than standard Bicycle cards. This may be preferred by some. They have a similar thickness to Stud cards.
Print Quality
Usually there is no issue with this but unfortunately on this deck there are some issues. The back design is slightly off to one side. Problems of this nature can be a risk when playing cards.
Of course with the black ink of the cards, any scuffs or scratches leave you with white imperfections. After time this makes it very difficult to hide a card that has been secretly reversed in the deck. Some of this can be minimized if you take a black marker and color the sides of the deck.
Both jokers are designed differently. The king of clubs is the suicide king rather than the heart, the jacks of diamonds and clubs have one eye rather than the classic spade and heart as well. There are 2 advertisement cards rather than a double baker or blank card.
Overall
I feel like this deck would be best used for cardistry and flourishing. It looks nice but there are various problems that make it difficult to perform magic with. I feel like they just put a deck out that looks nice rather than concentrating on actual function.